Investigation of alternative organizational structures for a digitized platoon

Linda L. M. Bossi; David W. Tack; Harold A. Angel; Paul G. S. Vilhena; John Frim

doi:10.1117/12.668250

2 May 2006 Investigation of alternative organizational structures for a digitized platoon

Linda L. M. Bossi, David W. Tack, Harold A. Angel, Paul G. S. Vilhena, John Frim

Proceedings Volume 6249, Defense Transformation and Network-Centric Systems; 62490P (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.668250
Event: Defense and Security Symposium, 2006, Orlando (Kissimmee), Florida, United States

Abstract

To evaluate the effect of digitization on platoon effectiveness and investigate the suitability of different platoon structures, a twelve-day field trial was undertaken with a Company of light infantry at Fort Benning, Georgia. Test missions were conducted in both day and night conditions, in wooded and urban terrain environments, in each of three organizational structures, with and without digitization. The three different organizational structures included our current in-service 8-man Section, a 13-man USMC squad, and a distributed model comprising six four-man teams. Results of this study confirmed that the effectiveness of a dismounted platoon is significantly enhanced by the use of select digital enhancements in the areas of navigation, situation awareness, communications, and command. During night operations, digitally-enabled capabilities were the difference between mission success and failure. None of the organizational structures tested proved to be universally better than the others at optimizing the benefits of digitally-enhanced capabilities, although each had their strengths and weaknesses. However, considerable insights were gained in the organizational structure issues of distributed small unit command and control, swarming formation tactics, and the tactics, techniques, and procedures necessary to employ small units effectively in a NCW environment.

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Linda L. M. Bossi, David W. Tack, Harold A. Angel, Paul G. S. Vilhena, and John Frim "Investigation of alternative organizational structures for a digitized platoon", Proc. SPIE 6249, Defense Transformation and Network-Centric Systems, 62490P (2 May 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.668250

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KEYWORDS

Reconnaissance

Weapons

Dismounted soldiers

Global Positioning System

Targeting Task Performance metric

Video

Data communications

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