Introduction to the Rifle Platoon Flashcards
What is a Rifle PLT
- Led by a platoon commander
- 3 rifle squads and a platoon headquarters
- Rifle SQD is made up of 3 fire teams and SL
- Headquarters element
- Platoon sergeant
- Platoon guide
- Radio-transmitter operator (RTO)
- Corpsman
Responsibility of PLT CMDR
- Responsible for deployment, tactical employment, discipline, morale, and welfare
- Five horizontal themes
- Carries out the orders of the Rifle Co CMDR
- Proficent w/ all T/O weapons
- Ensure PLT is trained to standards
Responsibility of PLT Guide
- Senior SGT in Rifle PLT
- Assist PLT SGT w/ admin and logistics
- Coordinating CASEVAC, EPW
- Perform all task of a SQD LDR
- Serve as SQD LDR or PLT SGT
Responsibility of a Squad Leader
- Carries out orders issued by PLT CMDR
- Tactical employment, fire discipline, fire control, maneuver of his squad.
- T/O weapon is the M16
- Discipline, appearance, training, control, conduct, welfare of SQD
Responsibility of a Fire Team Leader
- Carries out the orders of the SQD LDR
- responsible for the fire discipline and control of his fire team
- May serve as grenadier, employ grenade
Responsibility of a Radio Transmitter Operator (RTO)
- Establish/Maintain comm between higher, adjacent, and supporting units
- Proficient on all comm equipment
- Employed to pass pertinent report
Responsibility of PLT Corpsman
-Health, Sanitation, First Aid training, CAS care
What is the purpose of the offense
- Destroy EN forces equipment, resources
- Disrupt EN actions or preparations
- Deceive and divert EN
- Deprive EN of terrain relevant to OBJ
- Fix EN in place
- Gain info on the EN
4 general types of operations (EMAP)
- Exploitation
- Movement to Contact
- Attack
- Pursuit
What is a Exploitation operation
Offensive operation usually following an attack, is designed to disorganize the enemy in depth
What is a Pursuit operation
Offensive operation designed to catch or cut off and destroy the enemy attempting to escape
What is a Attack Mission
Defeat, destroy, or neutralize the EN
How to maximize combat power w/ attack
- Bold Maneuver
- Shock effect in assault
- Prompt exploitation of success
8 types of attacks
- Hasty
- Deliberate
- Spoiling
- Counterattack
- Feint
- Recon in Force
- Raid
- Demonstration
What is a hasty attack
attack in which preparation time is traded for speed to exploit opportunity
What is a deliberate attack
-Preplanned coordinated employment of firepower and maneuver to close with and destroy the EN
What is a spoiling attack
-Mounted from defensive position to disrupt an expected enemy attack
What is a counterattack
- Conducted either with a reserve or otherwise uncommitted or lightly engaged forces
- Conducted after the enemy has begun his attack and a resolute defense or enemy tactical error exposes him to effective counteraction
What is feint attack
-supporting effort designed to divert or distract the enemy’s attention away from the main effort, involves physical contact w/ EN
What is Recon on Force
Always a deliberate attack by major forces to obtain information and to locate and test enemy reactions, disposition and strength
What is a raid attack
Small scale offensive operation, penetrating hostile territory for a specific purpose other than seizing and holding terrain and for which there is always a planned withdrawal
What is a demonstration
- Aims to deceive and confuse the EN
- Does not make contact with the EN
- Used during amphibious operations to draw EN forces away from actual landing beaches, or fix them in place
What is a purpose of the defense
- To defeat an EN attack
- Force EN to reach his culminating point w/o achieving his OBJ
- Gain and maintain initiative for friendly forces
- Create opportunities to shift to the offense
2 general types of defense operations
Postion and Mobile
What is a Mobile defense
- Defense of an area in which maneuver is used together with fire and terrain to seize the initiative from the EN
- Orients on the destruction of the attacking force by permitting the enemy to advance into a position that exposes him to counterattack by a mobile reserve
What is a Position Defense
- Focuses on retention of terrain by absorbing EN in interlocking series of positions and destroying him largely by fires
- Defense in which the bulk of the defending force is disposed in selected tactical positions where the decisive battle is to be fought
Circumstances favor the conduct of a mobile defense
- The frontage exceeds the defender’s capability to establish an effective position defense
- Time for preparing defensive positions is limited
- Mission does not require denying the enemy specific terrain
