@ hptmurphy.
Your support troop in BRF are there to provide indirect fire support to your A + B troop in the event of withdraw from contact (again an occupational hazard) your MRV's would most probably be in an advance to contact role with your maneuver Sqn. A + B Troop can provide an element of fire and manuver during same (while calling in FIRES) but SP Troop would put down the required screening and / or HE / ATGW assets, having DF'ed the area its Troops are operating in. Not forgetting most of the vehicles are armed 12.7, 7.62 and there are 6 x ATGW within the Sqn. Their ability to call in FIRES gives them access to 120 mm and 105 mm from Arty gun lines don't forget (because now STA is located where it needs to be).
Idea is not to get involved in a prolonged engagement but identify enemy force movements and provide ISTAR on same so Brigade commander can task his motorised infantry while Cav "main force" move to provide mechanized armoured infantry intervention in support of said motorised infantary.
60's no longer in the inventory so you need an alternative, PIII's with a mortar det would do the job nicely.
Idea is to try and move away from that soft skin / armoured mix in the troops.
Again from a tactical point of view you do not want your B vehicle train anywhere near your armour, remember there recce and therefore right up at the tip of the spear, the first elements that will lightly encounter an enemy unit (their recce screen). Q Troop in a harbour under cover linked with your brigade forward elements.
You wont have lost your MRV's there just part of the "Main Cav force", literally a case of Cav to the rescue.
But their being maintained and filled as it is?!?! Just in penny packets with different units around the country. All i have done is group them together into a cohesive unit which actually makes it easier to deploy them overseas etc, "ISTAR unit required for the NBG, A Troop, off you go,,,,,,and take HQ Troop with you etc. etc". I see what your saying and understand it, hence all armour in the DF should be Cav owned and crewed. MFC's, FOO's and JTAC's are not from the Infantry, Artillery or Air Force, there Cav who have been trained up, same as your vehicle crews and for the most part the bods in the back.
Interesting stuff.
Why would Support Troop not have MRVs as opposed to dismounts with deployable weapons?Concept of OPs for Cav was that Support would provide fire support for a recce element and be able to disengage rapidly.
Support Platoon in an Infantry set up would have the weapons suggested for enhanced ops and for prolonged engagements.
The full Cavalry squadron in its original format as a Brigade Recce element was quite similar to that you suggest but mortars were an an inbuilt component of AML 60s, a very useful mobile mortar platform,
The Armoured section deploying both soft skins armour with Heavy weapons and anti tank capability.
Amalgamate your Q troop back into the HQ troop, redesignate 'A' troop as the 'Recce Troop' and 'B' Troop as Armour.. guess what , your back to where a Cav Squadron should have been from inception.
The removal of the key vehicles meant the squadrons had to be re aligned to their current setup as there was no vehicle in sight as a replacement for the AML 90 , but as the MRV now fills that role, you could actually be back to square one.
the major problem in the Irish Army as it always has been , the larger the unit, the more appointments to be maintained and filled. Due to the nature in which troops are deployed overseas and at home on course on duties etc, actually maintaining the unit as per its declared strenght is albeit impossible. The unit as described has too many specialist vacancies and will suffer as a result. If the amount of specialists is kept to a minimum but the require features retained you have some hope of keeping it working.
Interesting stuff.
Comment