Army Rumour Service

Register a free account today to join our community
Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site, connect with other members through your own private inbox and will receive smaller adverts!

Army ‘to be cut by 20,000’ if No 10 plan is approved

If I can be wide-eyedly naive for a moment..

The US Army bases it's high intensity ops around the Armoured Brigade Combat Team

Approx 17000 all trades and ranks about 6000 Infantry/Cavalry The rest Dropshorts Engineers Signals and other support roles.

About 90 tanks 100 IFV's 18 SP 155's. Plus logistics and support vehicles AVRE's bridging units etc...

Surely we could assemble and man 1 of those from the numbers of troops tanks. IFV's and other vehicles we've already got.

If we put up one of those ironed out any ammo, fuel compatibility issues and worked on sufficient commonality of doctrine so ours could take line next to one of theirs.. Then chucked in Rotary Wing and Air Transport to aid mobility.. The Yanks would be more than happy with us...

Am I missing something?

An ABCT has a little over 4700 Soldiers assigned to it when fully manned.
Three combined arms battalions, a fires battalion, a cav squadron, the brigade support battalion, and a engineer battalion.

The numbers you put up are for a division.
 
Couple of nice pieces in The Guardian which tend to give last week's ST pieces more credence and put the wind up the top brass.
1) Dominic Cummings to tour sensitive MoD sites amid defence review - PM’s adviser will visit SAS and Porton Down, and has been to MI5 and MI6, leaked email says
and
2) Mark Francois being his usual debonair self in committee.



If there's a hole in a' your coats,
I rede you tent it:
A chield's amang you takin notes,
And, faith, he'll prent it:
 

Brigade Combat Team/Functional Support Brigade/Regiment/Group: A brigade is commanded by a colonel and is generally configured as either a brigade combat team (BCT) or a functional support brigade (FSB). A BCT has about 4,400 to 4,700 personnel, depending on whether it is an armored, Stryker, or infantry BCT. An FSB has about 3,000 to 5,000 personnel, depending on its type (of which there are 20). Cavalry brigades are called regiments; some types of support brigades are called groups. Marine Corps units at this level are also called regiments. (The term “Marine expeditionary brigade” refers to a task force, which is larger.)



Division: A division is commanded by a major general and includes two to five BCTs (usually four), an aviation brigade, an artillery brigade, an engineer brigade, and a logistics brigade. Divisions have about 12,000 to 16,000 personnel.


Figure 2-1 for the breakdown of the ABCT.
 
I like the RCDS tie to show he’s a kindred spirit to Carter, even if he only did the short course. His ‘conversations’ with German and French RCDS members on his course were probably worth listening to for novelty value, if nothing else.
The last time we held informal 'conversations' with the French, some tw@t committed the UK to sending a BEF of six infantry divisions and one cavalry division to help them out!!

Step forward Brigadier-General (at the time) Henry Wilson, for it was you!!

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
 
Couple of nice pieces in The Guardian which tend to give last week's ST pieces more credence and put the wind up the top brass.
1) Dominic Cummings to tour sensitive MoD sites amid defence review - PM’s adviser will visit SAS and Porton Down, and has been to MI5 and MI6, leaked email says
and
2) Mark Francois being his usual debonair self in committee.



I've just read the Guardian article.


Cummings seems hung up on drones in the way that Sandys was about surface to air missiles, with disastrous results for the RAF and UK industry.

It's amazing the difference a week makes - before word of the possible shape of the defence review leaked, I was pretty keen on Cummings shaking things up in Whitehall. The more it seems he believes drones and IT can win wars by themselves, the less keen I am.
 
I've just read the Guardian article.


Cummings seems hung up on drones in the way that Sandys was about surface to air missiles, with disastrous results for the RAF and UK industry.

It's amazing the difference a week makes - before word of the possible shape of the defence review leaked, I was pretty keen on Cummings shaking things up in Whitehall. The more it seems he believes drones and IT can win wars by themselves, the less keen I am.
Don't forget AI
 
I've just read the Guardian article.


Cummings seems hung up on drones in the way that Sandys was about surface to air missiles, with disastrous results for the RAF and UK industry.

It's amazing the difference a week makes - before word of the possible shape of the defence review leaked, I was pretty keen on Cummings shaking things up in Whitehall. The more it seems he believes drones and IT can win wars by themselves, the less keen I am.

Israel hasn’t laid a direct finger on Iran, but lots of Iranian stuff keeps blowing up.

IT is as effective a weapon as a cruise missile through the window, and much cheaper.
 
If I can be wide-eyedly naive for a moment..

The US Army bases it's high intensity ops around the Armoured Brigade Combat Team

Approx 17000 all trades and ranks about 6000 Infantry/Cavalry The rest Dropshorts Engineers Signals and other support roles.

I think you've quoted Division liability rather than Brigade

Whether a matching division would be possible in an army of 50 - 60K i dont know- a simple fantasy orbat on a basic numbers count would suggest yes - but reality is never so accommodating

That US Division will have additional Corps and Army level support as well such as tank transporter regiments, 3rdline engineering, strategic communications - Likewise A British Division would also need to be supported by those as well and as in industry theres a minimum size overhead you need to function. The smaller the force / business / whatever the proportionally larger the liability.

So for example it could be you need 30000 men in unavoidable support / Admin / training roles - in an army of 50K yet only 35000 in an army of 150K
 
You worked in Whitehall, but you haven't got any idea how MOD planning works? Riiiiiiight...



No, but you'd have thought it would give you an entry-level understanding of how the MOD operates.
Probably considerably more expert than yourself, but you are just lashing out now as is usual when you are shown to be incorrect. Which is fairly frequently.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top