It is important that the war gamer know the differences between the organization of Marine Corp and Army units when attempting to recreate small unit operations in the Vietnam War. Another factor that is often overlooked in wargames is the two types of formations within the same platoon or company. In this article, I will first list the “On Paper” organization and the second give examples of “In The Field” as described to me by veterans. The United States Marine Corp maintained a standard squad and platoon organization while deployed to South East Asia during the Vietnam War. There were several changes to the equipment and weapons during the conflict, but small unit structure remain the same as had been used in the previous conflicts of World War II and Korea. ON PAPER The building block for a rifle company was the fire team. This is the smallest maneuver element in the Marine Corp. It was a 4 man element. FIRE TEAM Fire Team Leader Corporal Automatic Rifleman Lance Corporal Asst. Auto Rifleman PFC Rifleman PFC The standard Marine Corp personal weapon for the Marine Rifleman when first entering Vietnam in 1965 was the semi-automatic M-14 rifle. A full automatic version of the M-14 was the weapon used by the above listed “Automatic Rifleman”. When the Marine Corp changed over to the M-16, between March and April, 1967, the position of “Automatic Rifleman” became redundant due to all M-16’s having the capability of automatic fire. RIFLE SQUAD Squad Leader Sergeant Asst. Squad Leader Corporal 3 x Fire Teams The Asst. Squad Leader would be armed with the M-79 40mm Grenade Launcher. This organization gives the Marine Corp a 14 man squad. RIFLE PLATOON Platoon Leader Lieutenant Platoon Sergeant Staff Sergeant Platoon Guide Sergeant Corpsman Navy Medical Specialist 3 x Rifle Squads WEAPONS PLATOON Platoon Leader Lieutenant Platoon Sergeant Gunnery Sergeant Included in the organization for a weapons platoon would be crewman to man the following weapons: 6 x M-60 machine guns 6 x 3.5” rocket launcher (bazooka) 3 x 60mm mortars The 3.5” rocket launcher was phased out during the war in favor of the LAW rocket. The LAW rocket is a one shot 66mm weapon fired from a tube. The LAW rocket is a light weight weapon and an individual could carry several. In February, 1968, while fighting in Hue, the Marines made use of both the 3.5” rocket launcher and the LAW rocket. RIFLE COMPANY Company Leader Captain Executive Leader Lieutenant First Sergeant First Sergeant Gunnery Sergeant Gunnery Sergeant Corpsman Navy Medical Specialist 3 x Rifle Platoons 1 x Weapons Platoon A Marine Corp battalion would then be made up of 4 rifle companies and a Headquarters and Service company. This moves beyond the scope of this article, but it should be noted that additional assets were available to any size unit for a specific operation. Those could include armor (M-48’s), Ontos (6 barreled 106mm SP vehicle), engineers, snipers, 106 recoilless rifles, artillery, forward observers, etc. IN THE FIELD The above organization is for a full strength company. Marine Corp rifle companies in Vietnam were never up to full strength. The weapon and equipment assigned would change also vary from official allotments. Rifle Squads The Marine Corp rifle squad was always under strength. This could be due to many factors, combat losses not the least cause. Terry Dixon, a veteran of the 5th Marines (’67 –’68) told me, “In a perfect squad we would have had 14 men. We were lucky to have 10”. As my uncle (’65 – ‘66) put it “there were always too many ‘jerks’ around when you didn’t need ‘em and not enough when you did”, only he didn’t use the word “jerks”. The gamer should also take in effect combat losses and that the above rank of individuals could change down up to 2 levels, i.e.: Lance Corporal commanding a rifle squad because he’s all that’s left. Radios When the Marines first landed in Vietnam, there was one radio at the platoon level and two radios at company level. This was discovered to be inadequate for communications within the company. When Bill Schroeder served in Vietnam (’66 – ’67) the “RTO was at Platoon level (2)- Platoon leader had one and platoon sergeant had one.” In April and May, 1967 the change took place that each squad would have a radio, platoon would have one or two and company would have two or three. When the radios were first issued to the rifle squads, they were just given to a squad member who received little training in its operation. Terry Dixon stated “Each squad had a radio, we tried to keep the same operator but he was a grunt and not an RTO by MOS”. Later trained radio operators (RTO) were sent to the squads. Jim Wolter, a Marine veteran, stated “I was originally an RTO but got tire of being a target”. He later transferred into 1st Force Recon as a sniper. I don’t know if that posting was any less dangerous. M-79 Grenade Launcher This appears to be a well respected and sought after weapon. All veterans that I have spoken with give it high marks. Mr. Schroeder remembered “we did use the M-79 grenade lauchers. That was the fourteenth man. As attrition thinned our ranks, the squad leader, eventually, was the squad thump gunner. Excellent weapon. Ammo was 1/2 lb per round so they were heavy, but worth it”. Another veteran stated “M-79, .. absolutely .. usually carried by the worst shot in the squad. He could not miss with that”. M-14 to M-16 The Marine Corp changed the standard small arms of its riflemen from the M-14 to the M-16 during March and April, 1967. Bill Schroeder’s tour in Vietnam ended in February, ’67. He stated the “M-14 was still with our regiment when I left. Gradual replacement in the spring of 1967”. Although some Marines would “locate” and carry the older M-14 after those dates, the M-16 was the most widely carried weapon. M-60 Machine Gun It was common practice for the weapons platoon to be broken up and sent to the rifle platoons. One of the most common events would be to give each rifle platoon two M-60 machines guns (and crew). Bill Schreoder stated the “M-60 machine gun frequently worked with but were not part of squads. Six machine guns in company weapons platoon, two op con to each of three rifle platoons”. It appears at that point that the Platoon Leader would either assign one M-60 to the squad he felt would most likely be in need (usually the lead squad) and maintain one under his direct control or assign both to rifle squads. It was common to attempt to “procure” a third M-60 machine gun so that each squad could be assigned one. It appears that this weapon was viewed as “pure gold” by the grunts in the bush. 60mm Mortars The 60mm mortars of the weapons platoon were replaced by the more powerful 81mm mortars very soon after arrival in Vietnam. Those weapons were almost never taken into the field with the rifle company, but would remain in fixed positions at the base camp. As can be seen, it was common for the weapons platoon to be broken up with its personnel and equipment directed to fill holes in the rifle platoons or remain in secured areas to provide support fire. Field TO&E With this change from “On Paper” to “In The Field”, a rifle platoon could have the following TO&E: FIRE TEAM Fire Team Leader Lance Corporal 2 x Rifleman PFC (The weapon could be either M-14 or M-16 depending on the date). RIFLE SQUAD Squad Leader Sergeant 3 x Fire Teams (within the squad one Marine would carry the M-79 and another would be the RTO, radioman, again depending upon the date). 1 x M-60 machine gun (w/ a 2 man crew and only in one squad at Plt. Leaders choice). RIFLE PLATOON Platoon Leader Lieutenant Platoon Sergeant Gunnery Sergeant 1 or 2 x RTO PFC 1 M-60 machine gun (w/ a 2 man crew) Corpsman Navy Medical Specialist 3 x Rifle Squads RIFLE COMPANY HQ Company Leader Captain XO Leader Lieutenant Forward Observer Lieutenant (poss. weapons Plt. Leader, 3 x 81mm on call) First Sergeant First Sergeant 2 or 3 RTO PFC Corpsman Navy Medical Specialist Additional support can be provided by any of the previous listed elements (i.e.: armor, artillery, engineers, etc. Also take into account that the strengths of your fire teams and rifle squads could vary (one has 9 men, another 11). Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #86 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com