Adam Frankl <adam%rondo@rand.org> (10/30/90)
From: Adam Frankl <adam%rondo@rand.org> The previous post on Army TO&Es was pretty much correct, with the following changes: The 25th Infantry is a Light Infantry Division The 1st Cavalry is an Armored Division (same TO&E as 2nd Armored, for example.) All heavy divisions based in the US have two active duty brigades and one "roundout" army reserve or national guard brigade. The roundout brigades for the 24th Mech and the 1st Cav were not sent to Saudi Arabia. Instead, a brigade of the 2nd armoured was attached to the 1st Cav, and the 197 Infantry Brigade was attached to the 24th Mech. Divisions slated for elimination soon are the 9th Motorized, the 2nd Armored, and the 8th Mech (currently in Germany). Adam Frankl 1LT IN
military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) (01/12/91)
From: sun!apple!cup.portal.com!Eric_S_Klien
" Let's hope no other 'brushfire' lights up somewhere else in the world.
So what's left in the 'active duty' inventory and where are they? "
If anything happened elsewhere in the world we would be in deep trouble.
Remember that 100% of our active duty cargo ships are being used. We
are also starting to run out of reserve ships. There has been some talk
of reactivating the old Victory ships. So basically we have near zero
sealift and airlift capacity for other conflicts. On the other hand, we
are going to do real well in Iraq since the world is peaceful enough for
us to go wild and send everything to our buddy Saddam. I estimate that 50%
of our firepower has been sent and this number will continue to increase
until the war with Iraq ends. An extended war could get us to 60-75% easily.
[mod.note: I think those are "Liberty" ships, not Victory ships. - Bill ]
Here is some info from a letter I received, I think the percentages
are a little low based on other letters that I don't have copies of
at the moment:
"I don't know the percentage of firepower that has been deployed. The specific
units and the composition of those units remains classified. If we're talking
total power, there is an insignificant amount when strategic nuclear forces
are included. But, if you only consider conventional forces (and a few
tactical nuclear assets) I would say there is quite a bit. Consider, there will
be 6 to 8 of 14 carriers in the region (the Ranger hasn't left yet and there
are rumors that the Nimitz will be sent also) and 2 of 3 active service
battleships. At least 4 of the 13 cruisers which carry Tomahawk missiles are
already there. With the two carrier groups in transit right now I would
expect another 2. There are also a few Spruance class destroyers, also
with Tomahawks. Right there is alot of firepower, nearly half the navy's
ground attack capability.
There are 9 tactical fighter wings deployed with maybe 3 more to be deployed.
The US has 23 or so active combat wings, so that would be perhaps 40%
of the US tactical air capability. There are 36 of 84 strike B-52s at
Diego Garcia (in the middle of the Indian Ocean), a number that could be
maximized in under 48 hours (40% with a potential of 100%) so that's
a significant ammount of air power.
Ground forces, on the other hand, is at this time impossible to estimate.
With alot of active units being pulled from Germany I would make a rough
guess and say that about 40% of the US ground capability is present in
Saudi Arabia. This is mostly based on the percentages of air power present and
the balance of combined arms strategy. The US military is based on the
combined armes concept, that air and ground forces should act in tandem
(remember 'blitzkreig'?). If the whole tactical force is based on this, if
40% of the air power is used, then 40% of the ground power will be used.
Now, the sourcebook I have has the US total MBTs at 15,000. I doubt that
the US has 6000 tanks in Saudi Arabia. This number includes training tanks
and those tanks not 'active'. I would guess that there are hundreds of
tanks, mostly M1-A1s. There might be over 1000 (probably) but I really
don't have any information to go on."aj0200@usma2.usma.edu (Cummings James CPT) (01/12/91)
From: aj0200@usma2.usma.edu (Cummings James CPT) It is true that all of the Army's Armored Divisions are deployed to Saudi Arabia, however, almost half of the maneuver battalions in an Infantry Division are tank battalions. Regarding the Army units left to put out any other brush fires, the 194th Brigade at Fort Knox is in the process of shutting down to become solely a school support unit and will not be capable of handling too much action. James P. Cummings D/Mathematical Sciences CPT, FA # 2037 TH 219
major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) (01/16/91)
From: bcstec!shuksan!major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) > From: aj0200@usma2.usma.edu (Cummings James CPT) > It is true that all of the Army's Armored Divisions are deployed to Saudi > Arabia, however, almost half of the maneuver battalions in an Infantry > Division are tank battalions. Doctrinally, the only difference between a mechanized division and an armor division is one battalion. An armor division consists of 6 armor battalions and 5 infantry battalions. A mechanized div consists of 6 infantry battalions and 5 armor battalions. This is by 'standard TO&E' whats actually 'on the ground' may be different. > Regarding the Army units left to put out any other brush fires, the 194th > Brigade at Fort Knox is in the process of shutting down to become solely a > school support unit and will not be capable of handling too much action. I receive this info with mixed feelings. My 'hip pocket orders' send me to Ft Knox upon 'full mobilization' - so this would probably assign me to garrison/school rather than the Brigade......... oh well. mike schmitt