Oh here we go again. The crazy guy is talking.
Look I'm not that crazy. Sometimes I just like to lay in bed at night, look at the stars, think to my---
Dude you're crazy.
Ok. So as promised, here's the 'idea' post this week... Combat Engineers.
Look I'm not that crazy. Sometimes I just like to lay in bed at night, look at the stars, think to my---
Dude you're crazy.
Ok. So as promised, here's the 'idea' post this week... Combat Engineers.
For the longest time I, and quite a few others, have been saying 'no, Combat Engineers will not be returning'. And we've stuck to those guns, and even with this theory we probably will. But this does take a fresh take and make us think a bit more about the topic.
First.. some history. I personally was a Combat Engineer when I joined the unit. We didn't do anything except for follow people around with a repair truck and fix up tanks. For a time they even carried Stingers, but this was quickly thereafter done away with. When I became in charge of the unit, we attempted to create things for them to do every mission, but it ended up just being cache demolitions or truck driving. So every operation we had this squad of ~6 engineers blowing up ammo caches, and until we found them that cache they were just an attached fire team/squad. For the first couple ops this isn't bad. But 10 ops in a row? Now it's boring and silly again. Eventually we shut down the engineers.
Now, though, there are a combination of factors that could make us reconsider. First and foremost is the success of the reorganization of the corpsman. Taking them outside of their own structure and embedding them in the infantry that they directly support, and organizing the specific way in which they deploy themselves, has been beyond successful. We no longer have 75% rotation of corpsman numbers every month.
The second factor is the abilities that certain systems can provide us. CSE is set to release within the next week (allegedly), and that is supposed to feature a detailed Combat Engineering module. The specifics of the module are still not out there (at least I couldn't find any information on it in an hour of searching), but you can theorize detailed IED disarming and mine sweeping, as well as repairing of vehicles. R3F has also just released their logistics module, and one interesting dynamic (at least in the way of Combat Engineers) is the 'Creation Factory', which essentially lets you spawn objects.
But what would the 1371 MOS do in our unit? In the real Marine Corps there are three different places the 1371 is assigned, and each assignment is distinct in what it does (even though the MOS is all the same)
1) Marine Wing Support Squadron: These guys deploy to the Marine Air Wings and work on runways and in the carpenter's shop. We won't be dealing with this at all.
2) Engineer Support Battalion: Pretty much deal in everything, but on the grander scale. Lot of time bridge building or doing little things like resupplies. They work with larger groups, and a bit too grand for us.
3) Combat Engineer Battalion: The up front guys, the one's we're dealing with. While they can do everything, their typical job is right up front, in the field, down in the dirt with us. This is what we're going to deal with.
Employing the engineers would require a bit of a change in how we operate. But that's not too big of a deal, though it depends on what kind of things are available to us (which is why this blog is 100% speculation). Will CSE include some sort of IED removal, or is there another one out there? Then we can expect to see IEDs in our missions more often, and charging the Engineers to remove them for us. They could also move wrecks or other obstacles from the roads. Destruction of ammo caches could also become part of their repertoire again, but not the extent we saw them before, and this could also be tied in with clearing holes in compounds (this is currently the primary job of the Assault Section with their SMAWs and Satchel Charges, but we could see the primary duty of Satchels moved to Engineers, with Assault retaining secondary duty, though their SMAW could still blow holes, as intended in real life scenarios) With our current vehicle repair, we could make it so that the Engineers are the only ones who repair the vehicles (at the very least the infantry vehicles), within reason. A stunted turret or missing tire any boot Marine could fix. Missing an armor plate or your tank is tracked? You're gonna need an engineer to come over and fix that bad boy up for you. You could also see the employed in the building of COPs (which we did a couple times this deployment). R3F provides that unique possibility, with the ability to place objects inside of cargo crate or vehicles, or the Creation Factory.
A big problem with the Combat Engineers before, though, was their organization. They were a full squad (up to 13 guys) in the LCE, separate. Learning our lesson from the corpsmen, the organization of Combat Engineers could be completely redone. There could be 1 or 2 (I don't think any more than 2 would be necessary) deployed directly into the platoon HQ, alongside the RTO and the Platoon Corpsman, as well as a Senior Combat Engineer placed inside of the Company HQ. The success of these smaller detachments is getting them a part of the infantry, not a support and say 'well figure out where you want to go'.
Could it work? Maybe. I honestly don't know. Is it worth a shot? That depends on what's available to us. With only R3F's base building and satchel charges as part of their abilities, the chances are extremely low. But if and when route clearance becomes a possibility... well you could see some serious discussion up top regarding this.
First.. some history. I personally was a Combat Engineer when I joined the unit. We didn't do anything except for follow people around with a repair truck and fix up tanks. For a time they even carried Stingers, but this was quickly thereafter done away with. When I became in charge of the unit, we attempted to create things for them to do every mission, but it ended up just being cache demolitions or truck driving. So every operation we had this squad of ~6 engineers blowing up ammo caches, and until we found them that cache they were just an attached fire team/squad. For the first couple ops this isn't bad. But 10 ops in a row? Now it's boring and silly again. Eventually we shut down the engineers.
Now, though, there are a combination of factors that could make us reconsider. First and foremost is the success of the reorganization of the corpsman. Taking them outside of their own structure and embedding them in the infantry that they directly support, and organizing the specific way in which they deploy themselves, has been beyond successful. We no longer have 75% rotation of corpsman numbers every month.
The second factor is the abilities that certain systems can provide us. CSE is set to release within the next week (allegedly), and that is supposed to feature a detailed Combat Engineering module. The specifics of the module are still not out there (at least I couldn't find any information on it in an hour of searching), but you can theorize detailed IED disarming and mine sweeping, as well as repairing of vehicles. R3F has also just released their logistics module, and one interesting dynamic (at least in the way of Combat Engineers) is the 'Creation Factory', which essentially lets you spawn objects.
But what would the 1371 MOS do in our unit? In the real Marine Corps there are three different places the 1371 is assigned, and each assignment is distinct in what it does (even though the MOS is all the same)
1) Marine Wing Support Squadron: These guys deploy to the Marine Air Wings and work on runways and in the carpenter's shop. We won't be dealing with this at all.
2) Engineer Support Battalion: Pretty much deal in everything, but on the grander scale. Lot of time bridge building or doing little things like resupplies. They work with larger groups, and a bit too grand for us.
3) Combat Engineer Battalion: The up front guys, the one's we're dealing with. While they can do everything, their typical job is right up front, in the field, down in the dirt with us. This is what we're going to deal with.
Employing the engineers would require a bit of a change in how we operate. But that's not too big of a deal, though it depends on what kind of things are available to us (which is why this blog is 100% speculation). Will CSE include some sort of IED removal, or is there another one out there? Then we can expect to see IEDs in our missions more often, and charging the Engineers to remove them for us. They could also move wrecks or other obstacles from the roads. Destruction of ammo caches could also become part of their repertoire again, but not the extent we saw them before, and this could also be tied in with clearing holes in compounds (this is currently the primary job of the Assault Section with their SMAWs and Satchel Charges, but we could see the primary duty of Satchels moved to Engineers, with Assault retaining secondary duty, though their SMAW could still blow holes, as intended in real life scenarios) With our current vehicle repair, we could make it so that the Engineers are the only ones who repair the vehicles (at the very least the infantry vehicles), within reason. A stunted turret or missing tire any boot Marine could fix. Missing an armor plate or your tank is tracked? You're gonna need an engineer to come over and fix that bad boy up for you. You could also see the employed in the building of COPs (which we did a couple times this deployment). R3F provides that unique possibility, with the ability to place objects inside of cargo crate or vehicles, or the Creation Factory.
A big problem with the Combat Engineers before, though, was their organization. They were a full squad (up to 13 guys) in the LCE, separate. Learning our lesson from the corpsmen, the organization of Combat Engineers could be completely redone. There could be 1 or 2 (I don't think any more than 2 would be necessary) deployed directly into the platoon HQ, alongside the RTO and the Platoon Corpsman, as well as a Senior Combat Engineer placed inside of the Company HQ. The success of these smaller detachments is getting them a part of the infantry, not a support and say 'well figure out where you want to go'.
Could it work? Maybe. I honestly don't know. Is it worth a shot? That depends on what's available to us. With only R3F's base building and satchel charges as part of their abilities, the chances are extremely low. But if and when route clearance becomes a possibility... well you could see some serious discussion up top regarding this.