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From: eachus@aries.mitre.org (Robert I. Eachus)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: unit_org
Message-ID: <1991Mar21.011723.7205@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 21 Mar 91 01:17:23 GMT
References: <1991Mar19.045043.9835@cbnews.att.com>
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From: eachus@aries.mitre.org (Robert I. Eachus)

In article <1991Mar19.045043.9835@cbnews.att.com> nzt1939@dsacg3.dsac.dla.mil (William M. Aldo) writes:

   >Each tank company has three platoons of four tanks each, and two HQ tanks.
   >The battalion HQ also also has two tanks.

   I was in HHC...Headquarters Tank Section -- we had three tanks. We
   were to pro- tect the Battalion CP. One of the tanks was the
   Battalion CO's tank if/when he chose to get aboard as its commander
   (just once on a 'minor' firing range, I was its commander on all
   other ranges, as well as the leader over the three tank section).
   Also, I'd swear that our line companies (Alpha, Bravo, & Charlie)
   all had six tanks to a platoon plus the Company CO's tank...but,
   since I can't remember that for sure, I won't press that
   issue;-);-) ...the six tanks that is...I'm positive about the
   Company CO's tank (three M60A1s with 'dozer blade attached -- A-68,
   B-68, and C-68).

   When I was assigned to 2/37th (4th AD) in Fuerth, Germany
1966-1968, each line company had three platoons of 5 M60A1's, and two
HQ platoon tanks.  The 66 tank belonged to the company commander, and
the 68 (dozer) tank was "officially" assigned to the company XO, but
SOP put him in the commo track. (So I got to TC the dozer. :-) HQ
company had three tanks for a total of 54 per battalion.  One of the
HQ company tanks was H66, commanded officially by the battalion
commander.  In practice, the battalion commander had little time for
training, so the gunner on H66 had better be damn good, and know how
to politely tell a light colonel what he did wrong when he fucked up
during practice.

  Most of the Armor companies in the desert had 14 tanks, four M1A1's
per line platoon, two in the HQ platoon.  I never saw a dozer tank on
CNN, but I know they were used to fill the ditches and push over the
berms.


					Robert I. Eachus

with STANDARD_DISCLAIMER;
use  STANDARD_DISCLAIMER;
function MESSAGE (TEXT: in CLEVER_IDEAS) return BETTER_IDEAS is...
--

					Robert I. Eachus