Army Announces Stationing Decisions for New Troops

Army News Service ^ | Dec. 19, 2007 | Elizabeth M. Lorge

[quadrant]

That would be quite an improvement. George Patton’s Third Army - arguably the best fighting force the US Army ever fielded - had approximately 300,000 troops on the rolls but only 30,000 grunts. The US put almost 600,000 troops into South Vietnam but only about 50,000 combat soldiers/Marines.

[Dimez Apart]

For every 1 grunt there is 10 support guys. Thats how its always been. 150,000 troops in Iraq sounds like alot, but there aren’t that many grunts. Hence, the contractors. And besides, when I get back for 24 hours outside the wire, I’d rather deal with the nice civilian at the laundry place then a Private who sits around complaining that the AC is to cold. =[

[exit82]

Are we ever going to redeploy the troops in South Korea stateside?

Why after 57.7 years must we have a combat presence on the South Korean peninsula?

The ROKs can take care of SK themselves—and by now, they should.

[Stonewall Jackson]

Each Infantry BCT will have two infantry battalions, each with approximately 650 men, and one cavalry reconnaissance squadron, which fields around 150-175 men, so the actual numbers will be 1450-1475 combat troops out of the 3300-3500 men in each brigade. This equals out to around 44%.

This does not include the brigade's MP company. The MPs have been involved in quite a bit of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, from foot and vehicle patrols to escorting convoys to manning roadblocks and security checkpoints. If you include them, the numbers rise to around 1600, or 49%.

[Stonewall Jackson]

Quite a few of them are coming back to the States. Under BRAC, almost 40% of our forces in South Korea are going to be stationed in Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington.

[exit82]

Thanks.

Personally, I’d put the other 60% on the border with Mexico.

Merry Christmas!

[quadrant]

Again, I ask: out of 650 soldiers in a battalion, how many will be walking through villages? Don’t say, all 650 as most BN size units have a HQ company composed of troops who work at BN HQ and rarely, if ever, go into the field. And remember that even in a grunt company, some troops do not go into the field.

[Stonewall Jackson]

In the standard infantry battalion, there are usually five companies, a HQ company and four rifle companies. So about 80%.

[quadrant]

If one platoon comprises approximately 40 grunts and there are three platoons in a company and four companies in a bn that would be approximately 480 grunts in a bn. Now, if there are 2 bn per brigade and 8 brigades in total, how many grunts? Of course, this math assumes that all units are staffed at 100% of TO, a fact which anyone who served in the military knows is a fiction.

[Stonewall Jackson]

My mistake, each battalion has one HQ company, three infantry companies, and a weapons company. Additionally, the recon squadron has two mounted troops and one dismounted troop. This makes it a total of 1,197 grunts per brigade.

Here's a breakdown of the Infantry, Stryker, and Heavy BCTs. (sorry that each format is different, but they are all I could find at GlobalSecurity.org)

[wtc911]

We should have, at most, two batallions.....

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In Germany? That would be worse than none at all.

As for deploying more troops to Asia, our only Asian mainland toe-hold is ROK, from which we are pulling troops.

I'd like to see Brigade sized bases in Eastern Europe and the Horn of Africa.

[Stonewall Jackson]

Not counting the headquarters or support units, each infantry brigade will field about 1,200 combat troops, for a total of 7,200. I don't have the figures for the two Heavy BCTs, but considering they are 1/3 again the size of an Infantry BCT, I'd guestimate that they have approximately 1,600 combat troops. This makes it a total of 10,400.

But at the same time, you have to remember that this is not a conventional war and that many of the traditional rear-guard forces, like MPs and artillerymen, are being called upon to serve as foot soldiers in the hunt for the terrorists and insurgents. This would add another 4-5,000 to the total, for a final number somewhere between 14,400 and 15,400.

[wtc911]

Why after 57.7 years must we have a combat presence on the South Korean peninsula?

______________________________________

Because ROK is our only mainland Asian based staging area. It is about a lot more than the DMZ.

[BuckyKat]

The husband of one of my coworkers just received orders for Schofield Barracks. They head out at the end of January. I asked Alicia if they could adopt me, but she just laughed. I told her that I am only four years older than she is, so nobody will say anything, but she then reminded me that they are going to Hawaii not California.

I doubt anyone would say anything in Hawaii either - it might be even further left politically and socially that California. Our transfer here in 1994. We loved it so much we bribed another tour back here (by the better half offering a tour in Korea if they returned him to Hawaii to retire). This is truly the most wonderful, beautiful place on earth. Now if only they could integrate their legislature a little bit with some opposing viewpoints... but you can't have everything.

[Stonewall Jackson]

I'm hoping to get to Hawaii one of these days. I really want to see Pearl Harbor and visit the Arizona Memorial.

[exit82]

That may be, but that reflectz long gone thinking when we had far more troops there.

Today, they are in a kill zone, and if the NK army ever invades the south, we will be going tactical nuclear in short order to stem the human tidal wave going South.

We don’t need a staging area there for land troops any longer. There’s is nowhere to project to any longer in that region.

But we have an active invasion on our southern border of illegals and drugs, and there is no rational reason why that cannot be stopped.

[wtc911]

Do not discount the psychological impact that our 36,000 troops and the air bases we maintain on the Korean peninsula have on China.

Do not think that our troops on the Korean peninsula are not part of a long term commitment to an as yet not re-militarized Japan.

Don't buy the we will tac-nuke the People's Army jive. We know that any conflict would be over in ten days with days 3-10 belonging to us.

Do have a Merry Christmas.

[exit82]

I do not agree with your assessments numbers 1,2 and 3.

But I heartily agree to proposition number 4.

To you and yours, I wish a Merry Christmas.

[BuckyKat]

It’s a very moving experience. We had my husband’s Army retirement ceremony out at the visitor center there. As a parting memory they gave us a flag that had been raised over the memorial (a ritual they do most every morning I think to have the ceremonial flags for such events).

[rahbert]

me too. I want to visit the bbq pig trailer along the
kamekameha hwy and eat freah pineapple again.