Quote:
Originally Posted by Webstral
You've summarized my thinking more succinctly than I did.
Webstral
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No honestly it can go either way. There could be a Company with 4 platoons... One for each of the three Brigades and one for Division. Or one "Company" in sense that many other Companies happen to be in. It would depend on a number of things, the Division itself, how much combat the Division has seen, and other factors. Armored and Mechanized Divisions would probably have a smaller "Companies", while a Light Infantry Division commander would try to field a company. One of the rationale behind this would be they would help the Divisional Cavalry in their assignment too. Remember in the US Army of the Twilight 2000 war, Brigades didn't have their own recon units. They relied on Division diverting assets to them or worse diverting the assets at Battalion level for their need.
Remember a Divisional Commander could come from any branch of the military in theory. Artillery unit or Engineer or Armor/Armor Cavalry/Mechanized minded Commanders wouldn't realize the what an 'asset' this type of company could be. On the other hand many Commanders who had seen service in Vietnam would view all Special Force with mix feelings. Some would know and understand what they are capable of, while others would go out of their way to not use them. It really depend on how any commander would feel what they need to provide the security for their unit. Much like a member of this group wrote up re-organization of the 5th US Mechanized Division in which it was basically one Heavy Brigade and two Light Infantry Brigade with enough transport to move a Battalion or two of those Brigade if need be.
One has to remember before the US Army committed troops World War II to the Battle that the Armor Division were basically 2 Armor Regiments and 1 Armor Infantry Regiment. Later all but two of the Divisions were reorganized 3 Armor Battalions and 3 Armored Infantry Battalion usually organized in into three combat commands that would have one Battalion of each to work with. Again Combat Command were quite fluid in who had what.
Up until 1943 the US Army had tried organize Motorized Infantry Divisions but the idea was dropped and it was decide that if they needed a Motorized Infantry Division they would supply a Division from Corps/Army/Army Group levels transport assets to make the unit mobile. Not only that many Division had enough Motorized Recon Vehicle (jeeps) and other transport to move up to Regiment at when need in leapfrog fashion. Much how the 101st had done with their Air Assault assets during Operation Desert Storm.