This is excellent. Good information all around and well researched. I wrote the original operational concept in 1999 and the design was fleshed out by the Armor Center's Advanced Warfighting Working Group with the Combat Developments Directorate. This design, which GEN Shinseki introduced at the AUSA conference that same year, was even more like traditional cavalry regiment. Strykers (then just called LAVIIIs) had 25mm turrets and we were open to either 105mm or 90mm guns. 90 was fine since the idea was that operations against anything more capable than T72Ms would mean we needed a heavy armor response, not the 2 LACR and the interim light weight brigade (which is what the brigades were initially called.) One positive thing was that every LAV variant called for was already in production, which would have saved considerable $$$. CT Mayer COL USA RET
The reasoning behind a 105mm MGS never seemed clear to me. If the system won’t be primarily engaging tanks the absolute hitting power isn’t needed. The 105’s size and recoil presented huge design challenges that, from an outsider’s perspective, doomed the program. Meanwhile the French army has had good success with 90mm guns on wheeled vehicles. A 90mm round won’t have as much HE but that’s easily offset by being able to carry more of the smaller ammo. It seems like the only reason to use a 105 was that it was in existing inventory. Is there a good reason the MGS wasn’t 90mm?
@@JimmySailor Institutional bias. There was a proof of concept live-fire test that demonstrated the 90mm was every bit as good as the 105 in meeting the requirements. I have a copy of the report somewhere. It was NATO type classified and all types of ammunition were in current production. However, by the time the tests were completed and validated, the Army had already contracted for the 105. This, even though during the demonstration at Fort Knox, GMC’s prototype LAVIII with 105 was unable to load into a C-130 (although I think they eventually figured out a way). There was also experience with the USMC that said the L-68 105mm canon was just too much for the LAV chassis (although that was not for the LAV III, it should have still been a data point of concern.)
I was in 2nd Cavalry 97-02. The Cavalry Regiment set up was way better than a Brigade set up. I served in 2-14 Cav (RSTA)1st BDE (Stryker) 25th ID 02-05. I served under LtCol Sartiano of 73 Easting fame my last couple years in 2Cav
@@devilin100 Bruh ADATS are not radar-guided. So they can't be SEADed. Also means that ADATS is the worst fucking nightmare to deal with in terms of long-ranged air defense if you are playing REDFOR. They're like BLUFOR's answer to the Crotale or that Yugo Neva M1T (or MIT as a lot of people call it).
@@Nelsonwmj IRL they are FLIR, I'm somewhat of a SME. Well until we added a radar guided NLOS capability, but that's beyond the games scope. Seems to attract radar detecting warheads launched by sead assets in game. idk if its an oversight in game of the latest upgrade program before they puled them from service that, but that's what I've figured for 4-5 years after I tested it to see if I saw what I though I saw.
Fascinating! From 1974 to 78 I was a member of the USAF Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) a.k.a. Air Liaison Office (ALO) assigned to support the 2nd ACR in Germany. My particular duty was the TACP supporting the 1st Squadron. At the time, we were still under the reduced manning caused by the Vietnam War so there were only 5 of us: 1 Capt/Major and 4 NCOs but we would be augmented with 3 fighter pilots to be Forward Air Controllers. That was the BEST assignment of my 22 year career. In 1979 the TACPs in Europe were restored to full manning and more than doubled in size. I PCSed back to CONUS in mid-1978 but less than a year later was sent back to Germany to the 2nd AD(F) as part of the restoration.
Back around 1982-ish the U.S. Army and Marines were partners in the LAV program which produced the LAV-25 and variants for the USMC on the then-MOWAG Piranha II 8x8 chassis. The Army was looking at a scout version of the vehicle to equip a lighter ACR - a Bradley light on wheels - and were planning to procure more than a thousand of the things. That never happened obviously, but at least a Piranha II could be realistically carried in a C-130.
Churchill was saying this in regard to America as a whole, but it suffices for the Army. “They can always be counted on to do the right thing… after they’ve tried everything else.”
Apparently the Army got as far as type-classifying the LAV-25 the M1047 8x8 armored car, though it was budget considerations and the priority Bradley and Abrams had meant their orders were cancelled. That didn’t stop the U.S. Army from using LAV-25s on occasion, such as 3-73 Cav during Desert Storm and later a reactivated 68th Armored with LAV-25A2 between 2018-2020. In the former’s case, the Army traded some MLRS systems for the LAVs. Which makes it really funny that in the October 1991 issue of Armor, they were like “the Bradley is too fat, the Humvee is too weak, we should look into an entirely new Future Scout Vehicle!” And then you go a bit further in and someone else is like “man, the LAV-25 is strong and speedy enough for scouting.”
I find it weird that they had MGS involved so heavily when it is essentially and doctrinally an assault gun platform. When I left the Stryker brigades back in 2013 we were moving all the TOWs into the CAV Squadron. It would make more sense to replace the TOW HMMWV with the TOW Stryker. I always engaged higher leadership as to why we didn't have the Canadian version with the 25mm. It only took almost 20 years for them to catch up.
Couldn’t really say because I’ve only seen the TOEs but not doctrine for a hypothetical Stryker ACR. I will say that the TOW HMMWVs in the 2d ACR(L) were originally a stopgap in the 90s. They were supposed to be replaced by the M8 AGS starting in 1999, but that program was of course cancelled. Stryker MGS would’ve been doing the same thing notionally. But the lack of a TOW Stryker in the entire regiments’ TOE seems kind of weird to me as well. Mightve just been because it was early days
Perhaps, with every Stryker-Recon carrying a dismounted Javelin, and access to organic AH-64, it was felt that the Cavalry Troop already had sufficient ATGM support? You're looking at 8 ATGMs + 4 MGS in a Company-size element, with Hellfires on-call sometimes. I suppose the other possible TOEs would have been: A: 4 MGS and 4 Stryker-TOW in the Troop B: 2 MGS and 2 Stryker-TOW in the troop C: 4 Stryker-TOW in the troop. Maybe A seemed too vehicle heavy, B too logistically complex, and C too weak in assault guns. But probably Stryker-TOW would make sense in a higher echelon, but I don't know so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@aaronclair4489There was a program in 2002 to create a fire and forget variant of the TOW, but the javelin already existed. The army is currently developing the CROWS-J, basically a single mounted Javelin added on to the current CROWS remote weapon system. CROWS-J can also be mounted on other light vehicles like humvee/jltv, mrap, etc. The benefit of a ATGM RWS is that you don't have to waste time to dismount, you can fire on the move, faster and better target acquisition (better optics), and increased range. Neither mounted or dismounted Javelin will replace either role, but rather will compliment each other and increase the lethality of a Stryker formation. The Army plans to increase the lethality of Stryker ICVs by having half equipped with a 30 mm cannon and the other half given a Javelin anti-tank missile (+ traditional rws such as m2, m249, mk19) on the existing RWS in each brigade.
@f4u5tus in Baqubah we pulled our MGS off mission because they didn't bring anything to our fight and we're consistently targeted with those anti-tank grenades.
>2nd and 3rd Cavalry Regiments are actually Brigades >10th Mountain has no mountain training >101st Airborne is AASLT and has no airborne training But wOrDs MeAn ThInGs according to Army leaders
Regiment is one of those echelon names that every country uses in like a hundred different ways. 2CR is technically a "regiment" because all the battalions are from the same regiment (2CR), which is more of a culture thing, but it's structured exactly like any other Stryker BCT tactically
@@BattleOrder ironic that the only echelons called ‘regiments’ in the US Army that in any way resemble ‘regiments’ at the doctrinal level are within Special Operations, where it doesn’t even matter
So 10th Mountain is actually standing up it's own mountain warfare school with it's own badge currently sitting at the Secretary of the Army's desk. Similar to the 101st, 10MTN will require at least 80% of each formation to be qualified for mountain warfare either by the Division ran school or by BMMC. Was just at Drum for Alpine training last December, and the division will be doing interesting re-alignments at the BDE level. Moving forward, each IN BN will be aligned to a different part of mountain warfare, e.g. one BN will be focused on level 1-2 (rolling hills, valleys, these will also be aligned as an AASLT BN if I remember correctly), level 2-3 (more steep terrain and may require ropes for movement) and level 4-5 (near or vertical terrain/movement). Source: Currently serving in 10MTN.
At least when I was in, all cavalry designated units used traditional naming in the MTOE. Troop=Company, Squadron=Battalion, Regiment=Brigade. This trickled down even within traditional units. For instance I was in the 82nd ABN Divisional reconnaissance and we were designated as Atrp 1/17 CAV underneath the 82nd Aviation BDE which had traditional attack and lift battalions of 1-82 AVN, 2-82 AVN etc…
The ACRs back in the 80s were pretty neat. They would have been super buffed up in wartime, here is 11ACR (Fulda Gap) 1980-1985ish -11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (11 ACR) -1/11 CAV +B/3/12 CAV -2/11 CAV +C/5/68 ARM -3/11 CAV -TF 2/32 -2/32 ARM -B Co +B/2/36 INF -TF 3/32 -3/32 ARM +B/2/32 ARM +A/1/48 INF -TF 1/68 -1/68 ARM +A/2/22 INF -3/12 CAV -B Sqn -3/8 CAV Would be cool to see you cover the wartime ORBAT if the cold war had gone hot back in the 80s.
I was with 3ACR in OIF1. We ballooned from 5000 troops to 10,000. We were almost as big as 10th Mountain and still under command of a Colonel. We were referred to then as the 3d Cavalry Regimental Combat Team.
We essentially had all 5 organic cav squadrons (1/3, 2/3, 3/3, 4/3, Spt/3), but added an additional FA Bn, a FLARNG light infantry Bn, 4 more air cav troops (IIRC 2 attack, 1 medium lift and 1 heavy lift), and a smattering of additional support companies. We had the conservation of forces' mission in Anbar Province.
so, not sure if anyone said this, but before 2nd ACR moved to Germany, there was some reflagging of units. I was in 2nd acr in Fort Lewis (05 - 06) where it was already SBCT ( technically losing the armored "A" in ACR) but then the army reflagged my unit to 4th Brigade 2nd ID and reflagged a brigade of the 25th ID to 2nd CR and moved them to Germany. We stayed a SBCT and my battalion ( 4/9 INF) tested the Land warrior system in Iraq in 07. Fun fact, 4th battalion of the 9th Inf Regiment was disbanded right after Vietnam, so when we unfurled Regimental flag, we were honored with the presence of some of the surviving Vietnam vets who served in that unit. They were also finally able to attach the battle streamers they earned in Vietnam.
A little bit of errors for 11th ACR. In 1994 when it was moved from Germany to Fort Irwin and took over the OPFOR role from the 177th Armored BDE, it essentially just reflagged the units within the 177th to the 11th ACR, the 1-63 Armor reflagging to 1st Squadron 11th ACR, 1-52 Infantry reflagging to 2nd Squadron and the 177th Spt BN, 177th MI CO and 164th Chem Co reflagging to RSS. The 87th Engineer Company reflagged to 58th EN CO (the EN Company with the 11th ACR from Germany). After the 2004-05 Iraq deployment, the 11th was formed under the first version of the HBCT, so 1st and 2nd Squadron had 2 In CO and 2 Tank Companies. Even after the HBCT TOE was changed to an ABCT (K-series TOE) the 11th being not available for the force pool stayed as a J-series HBCT (-). Except for the 15st Translator CO, it has not changed since 2005. That said the Regiment has kept the traditions alive along with the OPFOR mission. Pile -on-the-Bastards!! Allons!
The forefather's of the Stryker Cavalry units was 9th Infantry's Divisions 3rd brigade, with 2/1 INF, 2/60 INF, and 3/47 INF whom in '84 - '87 had dune bugy's (structurally unsound for the equipment or gun systems attached) then transitioned to various models of the Humvee's by '88. Also, was he first brigade to be de-activated in '88. This was an early attempt by the US Army to meet the airlift weight and distance requirements, coupled with the more significant anti-armor capabilities lacked by the light infantry divisions of the time. The follow-on was the 199th SIB (pocket division) which was a brigade+ strength with organic divisional capabilities around air defense (A/1/44 ADA), NBC company, Aviation, MP's, MI, etc., and zero armor. It was realized the capability/combat power was not distinct enough in terms of combat capability and transportability relative to a mechanized brigade.
It was the "HTTB", and it was designated "motorized". Didn't last long though, big Army decided to go with the Light Infantry Divisions which would be scrapped in about 5-6 years later. Now the war in eastern Europe has digressed back to 1917 trench warfare, along with missles and drones.
I'm wondering: how many advanced US military projects the (requisite of trasportability on) C-130 has actually killed between end of Cold war's end and the GWOTs own one?
@@olgagaming5544 because one of the requisites for much of the Army's own advanced projects was not only that they should have to be transportable in a C-130 but that they should be so while already in fighting order so to be unloaded directly in advanced location and entering directly into battle. Naturally , a such thing NEVER happened during the whole GWOT a.t.c. they were extremely prudent about moving thing at all outside major air bases.
I was in 2nd Cavalry 97-02 and we were all humvees, 3 Squadrons of Scouts. We had .50s, Mk19s and TOWs. 1st BDE 25th ID at Ft Lewis was the unit that was reflagged in 06 to 2 Cav. I was in 2-14 Cav 1st BDE 25th ID 02-05. We had just returned from a tour in Iraq in October 05.
We should bring back the true ACR. There was no formation more capable, flexible, or lethal. It should also be sized between Brigade and Battalion sizes. Oh, by the way, 278ACR is still there but yes we are an ABCT with Cavalry traditions now.
@@copter2000Look at that brigade organization. That subtle combined arms nature, the triangular organization. Oh my god, it even has numbered battalions.
I was in 3d ACR from 2001 to 2009 my dad served in 3d ACR as well as brother in law. I was so sad to see it go, people have no idea how capable the ACR was compleatly capable of operating all by itself with little to no support from outside the regiment.
@bpdp379 I was in Killer 3/3 it was a sad day when I heard it. They got rid of all the scouts and tanker back filled with 11Bs and they only had 1 troop of 19Ds in 4th squadron
11TH ACR had a Howitzer Btry per squadron (1-3) and the 4TH Squadron was Kiowa, Apache, and BlackHawks. The change with dropping the HOW Btry and Air Squadron only came when they were relocated from Fulda to California. I was with the 1/11 How battery from 1986-1988 and moved to S-3 HHT 1/11 from 1988-1990. And had an Engineer attachment. That can all change with the new global situation and I wouldn't doubt that 11th is already under consideration for reinstating its full compliment with a new duty station assignment. ALLONS!
Aww yeah the Stryker is such an interesting capability, loved seeing the differences with the ABCT recon platoons. Great graphics! Intrigued why the scout platoons are now 6x stryker in SBCTs cav sqdns, but are 4x in the HHT, and again 4x were in the ACR troops.
They redid the Scout Platoon designs for Cav Troops in 2016, partially so all would have 36 scouts on par with the ABCT design. ABCT cav troop scout platoons went from 3 Bradleys and 5 HMMWVs to just 6 Bradleys so they'd be more capable in offensive tasks and be able to generate more dismount scouts from their 36 scouts, while Stryker platoons went from 4 to 6 Strykers
@@BattleOrderAhh that makes sense for the BCTs. I guess fewer scouts per platoon wasn't such a problem for the ACR when nearly the entire regiment is scouts 😅
@@BlindMonk93 for the stryker CR they would’ve actually had more scouts per Stryker notionally, so even though both the SCR and SBCT scout platoons had 4 vehicles the cav regiment version had double the dismount scouts
I was in there from the beginning of the Stryker introduction, started in Washington as 2nd CR before it was reflagged into 2 Infantry Division, Combat Medic in the Recon RSTA element of the Unit (4/2 ID). It was a mix of infantry and recon guys on the Recon Strykers at a squad level... We were fast. Loved the Stryker but didn't stand a chance against the EFPs and advanced IED that were waiting for us. Started with 4 Strykers, left with 3. Lost about 50 guys on our 2007 deployment tp Iraq . If they would have made it v shaped and higher off the ground, would have been better design.
I was there as well at Lewis in 2003, did you go to that back to back NTC/JRTC rotation in '03? I did, man what a disaster that was lol. Also went on the second rotation when 25th ID did their cert in Late 2003 and early 2004, what a couple of long ass missions lol. Sorry to hear about the guys that didnt make it back from Iraq brother. I was there mid 2004 to mid 2005 and Afghanistan from 2006-2007. Glad you made it home.
Which squadron? I deployed with Saber for '07-09 and '10-New Dawn. Spent some time on loan to Tiger both times. The regiment was a whole other beast back then.
Interesting video. I was in the Special Service Force Brigade in Petawawa Canada in the mid 90's and we flew down to Fort Drum in the Canadian C-130's. 1 Cougar per plane plus crew and logistics. Very easily done with no mods or alterations involved. Simply drive on and off. The Cougar, while a stop gap training vehicle for tanks turned out to be a cheap and effective vehicle with a 76L47 main gun which can spall a T-55's turret at 500-1000m. I had heard about the 105 version while serving however it was not explored as an option for TOE in Canada due to its inability to fire the main gun accurately on the move. Not a really good argument at the time as neither could the Cougar. lol I would be interested if anyone served on the 105 version 8 wheeled LAV hull to get their perspective. I am not a fan of any wheeled pretend tank and certainly not a fan of governmental monetary policies that keep real soldiers out of real combat vehicles but it was what we had and what we had to use.
I was in 3rd Battalion 21st Infantry Regiment HHC Battalion RECON Platoon. Our Platoon Strykers were RV(Reconnaissance Vehicles) Variant. It had a Coupla System(Rotating Turet), A Big Box Sight with FLIR and a M2 50 Cal Free Gun Mounted. Which coming from an ICV(Infantry Carrier Vehicle) to the RV. I much Prefer the Free Gun 50 Cal. There is something Primal about operating a M2, on top of a Truck, Firing into Taliban Positions. Made me feel likr Audie Murphy
You're missing a bit of context and history with 2 CR. In 2004-2005 it was moved from (then) Fort Polk, LA, to (then) Fort Lewis, and stood up as a Stryker unit, with elements of the air squadron being attached to the units already at Lewis. When 1/25 INF BDE returned from deployment in 2006, the Army decided to fully scrap the plan for the ACR (Stryker) concept, reflagged 2 CR to 4/2 INF DIV and reflagged 1/25 to 2 CR and transfered that unit from Lewis to Germany along with all of the changes to solidify the SBCT concept.
Battleorder, can you make a video about what's currently going on in the U.S. Army Armor Branch? Like what's happening with Scout Squadrons / future of Scouts and if it's basicly going back to pre-911 formations?
I wonder what would be the utility on modern day warfare of these very specialised regiments or brigades. It honestly feels like that if a drone sees ur approach, it really doesn't matter how your army is organised, you just get pushed back by artillery fire. I pity for all the desk generals and tacticians that spend their days thinking about these little details that seem to not matter any more. Unless a manouver regiment or brigade is created with the guarantee of not be seen (plenty of antidrone assets?), they just seem useless.
The point is to take contact as fast as possible at the battalion to the regimental level. Basically fixing the enemy in place so that the heavier armor brigades can follow up and destroy them. The drones are what allows the initial engagement too, the one with more and better drones gets to maneuver better and even be the start of shaping ops but the grand strategy stays the same. Find fix and destroy faster than your enemy can.
In Ukraine Russia has recently began to use electronic warfare assets to jam drones during offensives although again drones going dark on a map in a grid section is enough to blanket an area with artillery fire and grad barrages it would not have nearly the same effectiveness and if an offensive or brigade sized assault could be launched with surprise , speed and violence of action it has still proven to be effective even in a drone saturated environment as long ECW assets are on hand
not many games allow you to put this in play regardless of era, man good chit as usual my goodness u are consistent as heck, flipping gold standard on TO and E regardless of era whoosh. Theatre of War, Commands Ops 2, and Red Dragon are the only games I know that let you get close to deploying numbers at least in part of a complete element. ToW is the only game you can actually put units in play in complete company form and perhaps battalion strength, even then the game could crash - though the whole series lets u put in play something close to the numbers my man here shares with us though u cant play with new stuff ;(. See if Call to Arms gave you freedom to put companies in play that you can build to match TOE would be grand without having to editor the heck out of it. Good stuff as always
The "Airmobile" concept was developed in Vietnam. Fast insertion and evacuation of ground infantry along with 11D's (Aero Rifleman), by helicopter assault. All pioneered by 1st CAV and a BDE of the 101st. Airmobile was sexy enough, so it was changed to Air Assault. The 101st would lose its jump status, but got their own badge. 1st CAV would become what it is today.
In todays modern military most of your infantry units might as well be classified as dragoons Most of them ride mounted in some way shape or form and then dismount to fight.
As the former fire captain for 223rd avation battalion 25th aviation company out of Stuttgart Army airfield your TOE is great but you forgot about me. Where is my fire department??? while based in West Germany I spent about 6 months in the field each year.
How many casualties and combat losses of vehicles can it sustain before it became combat ineffective?? From the sounds of it if you engaged there initial force it will do significant damage to the ACR to the point it won’t be able to continue its mission role after the first major engagement
If you are asking about a screen or cover, the mission is to withdraw and trade space/time for causing casualties with standoff weapons. The ACR is not an infantry/armor organization and must fight in a different way. Hope that answers your question
11th ACR when they went to Iraq didn't have many tanks. And they were elderly M1A1as, I'm not sure they took them. A few years ago they started to replace the M1A1s in the CABs of the 11th ACR with M1A2Sep3.
After OIF1, there really wasn't much need for tanks or artillery. What WAS needed was a lot of mounted infantry. Which is why the Stryker was pushed through
...Except that the 105mm cannon made them extremely unstable. Firing to the left or right could, in some circumstances, roll them over. THey're getting rid of them for a reason. The turret shifts the center of gravity up by a couple of feet and it's enough to flip it over. It also has poor gun stability can't can't fire accurately on the move, not to mention it makes the likelihood of a rollover even higher. My dad was with 2nd ACR as a flight surgeon at Polk back in the early 90s.
The MGS flipping is an old myth. The vehicle also had excellent stabilization and fire control system. It did have “trigger delay” in its fire control system, but you would have to be a 19k to understand
@@americanheritagegirls5639 Excellent fire control? HA. Yeah... if you don't mind waiting for it to reboot in the middle of battle. And it's the only variant that isn't mine resistant, because the turret needed more space.
Since Stryker brigades are going to be assigned to US armored division, with 2 heavy brigade and 1 stryker brigade, they are supposed to be get wheeled self propelled howitzer.
This proposed "Regiment" would have been a reinforced Brigade in strength. Almost a Division. I cannot even comprehend the size, flexibility and power of this organization. A true combined arms option integrated. Interesting yet lacking in tracked mobility and tank firepower. To train this organization would have been beyond the ability of the US Military personal. It would have been too big. imho but frig just imagine!
So what's the difference between the Reconnaissance (M1127) and the Fire Support (M1131)? They both look like they have the LRAS recon device on the turret ring? What is the difference?
Ok i have to get it off my chest. The stryker in combat mission shockforce 2 is god tier, in combat mission games are really deadly if a tank hit you that means you are dead or disabled. This means styrkers are this glass canons that are really great at killing tanks and supporting inf with basically no downside.
Since the Stryker was derived from the LAV III armed with the 25-mm M242 Bushmaster and the RSTA cavalry squadrons did not carry as much dismounts as their motorized / mechanized infantry counterparts, why did the SBCTs or the Stryker Cavalry Regiment never considered using the more heavily-armed LAV III or LAV-25?
Because the Styker was never meant to be an infantry fighting vehicle. It was meant to be an APC, like the M113. It was forced into the role of IFV during the war on terror due to the nature of the fighting and alot of stupid decisions. Now over 20 years later they are finally giving them 25mm and 30mm cannons because they realize that the Stryker is just a wheeled IFV. Waiting for it to be fully replaced by the AMPV here in another 5-6 years.
Horrible Stupid Semantic Mismanagement Pretty Cool Units So Sad Seeing All The Obvious Flaws in These Structures I Love Your Improvements Even for All Their Problems, These Videos Are Incredible for Their Immense Public Service Thank You Great Man
Could still add NEMO Strykers to replace retiring MGS and the older M1129 mortar carriers. V hull M1152s could be modified by removal of mortar equipment and conversion into small drone carriers.
The army really needs to rethink it’s unit naming system. You’ve got Cavalry regiments that are actually infantry brigades, squadrons the size of batallions whereas in the rest of the english speaking world squadrons are company sized; and three 1st Divisions, Infantry Armoured and Cavalry… all of which are Armoured divisions.
@@SirCheezersIII in the english system which far predates the american system and which the american system is based on, troops were platoon sized elements. Squadrons are company sized sub units of a regiment which consists of 1 or more battalions.
@@MaxwellAerialPhotography@MaxwellAerialPhotography Except in those units where platoons are still called platoons, squadrons are called companies unless it is the artillery, then they're batteries, and perhaps they're all part of a regiment with multiple battalions instead of one. Predate or no, it's still a mess too.
In summary they adopted the fleur-de-lis for action in France and Belgium in WWI and WWII, and the mottto “always ready” was translated over as well. Lots of US units have either French or Latin unit mottos.
Question: Was the upgraded version of the ACR cancelled in order to “fight the war we’ve got” (insurgencies)? Will it be reconsidered due to probable future near peer conflicts?
Outside of MP units HUMINT specialist just feels like a gross mismanagement of the Army. But the US is just bad at dealing with insurancies. Simply the public can't accept even the slightest losses anymore and there's a mistaken idea that soldiers of an occupying army can win over the civilian population.
love how we germans are trying to copy this with the gtk boxer while it weighs the same or even higher than a bradley while not even having the same firepower
Don't care what this vid says. I was in, mechanized cav isn't just cool as duck, they are badass, hard charging, mana jamma's. Crazy and fearless. You don't ever want to face any kind of US cav in combat.
If only the styker mgs didn't snap your neck off every time it fired, this would have been a reality, ngl it still can, just replace the mgs with the m10 booker
I don’t get American nomenclature. You’ve got armored and cavalry divisions which seems to be the same thing. Within 1st armored division you’ve got cavalry squadrons which are more scout organizations. But within 1st Cav the cavalry squadrons are tanks. Also you’ve got cavalry brigades that are purely aviation. And what’s up with Armored Cavalry? I mean, armored = tanks and cavalry could be tanks, aviation and scouts right?
There is a split between what is "cavalry" purely for tradition sake (1st Cavalry Division, 2d Cavalry Regiment, etc) and what is "cavalry" in a tactical sense (the Cav Squadrons under every brigade combat team and the Air Cavalry Squadron under the Combat Aviation Brigade, which do recon and security) In the 1st Cavalry Division, 1-7 Cav (DIVCAV) and 4-9 CAV, 6-9 CAV, C/10 Cav (Brigade CAV) and 7-17 Cav (Air Cavalry) are the units that do recon and security. The rest of the "cavalry" untis in there are part of a Cavalry Regiment, but are actually maneuver battalions (tanks and mechanized infantry). Talking about them in a general sense you'd just say they're a combined arms battalion like in other Armored BCTs. I guess different people could mean different things when they say "armored cavalry". Some people could include the armored maneuver battalions under 1st Cavalry Division that are "cavalry" for traditions sake, but when I say "armored cavalry" I normally mean the recon and security units that are mounted in Bradleys and (at various periods) include tanks
It goes back in history a bit. In 1939 the US Army had horse cavalry units. Only one unit of those saw combat in the Philippines. The rest switched to jeeps and M8 scout cars supplement by M8 howitzers and M3/M5 light tanks. Often by 1944 with M18 GMC attached. By the late 1960's jeeps were replaced by M114 and M114A1E2 scout vehicles - one of the Armies bad choices. The missions had never changed. But now no horses, no wheeled combat vehicles. 6 x M114's augmented by 3 x M551 with 1 x M113 for the infantry and 1 x M106 4.2" mortar carrier. That was an ACR Squadron Cav Troop Cav Platoon. Three of those made up a Troop. Three Troops plus a M109 How battery, a M60A1 company, and a Squadron HQ and HQ Company made a Cavalry Squadron. I was in 2nd ACR from 1971 to 1974. Except for the excitement of the '73 Arab/Israel war and a lack of fuel, personnel, training facilities, training ammunition, and spare parts it was pretty much like it is now. Our main mission was to screen the NATO main defensive line. My troop vs. four Soviet divisions. Our Squadron vs 12. Our second main mission was to watch the border with East Germany. Oh, how things have changed, and how they have remained the same. Same mission with different equipment. Equipment must have changed 4 or 5 times since then. M551 replaced the M114A1E2 - version with a 20mm cannon. M113 and M150 replaced the M551. FISTs were added. Different TOW M113 version. 107mm replaced by 120mm. M60 replaced by Abrams. M3 replaces the M113 and TOW M113. Then instead of Russians we end up in Iraq. After that, HUMVEE replaces about everything. Now Strykers. Scouts Out.
This week's featured Patrons are:
Jacob Hausdorf (41 months)
Kyle Swartz (41 months)
Dennis van Santen (2 months)
You should do a vid on the mbt70
This is excellent. Good information all around and well researched. I wrote the original operational concept in 1999 and the design was fleshed out by the Armor Center's Advanced Warfighting Working Group with the Combat Developments Directorate. This design, which GEN Shinseki introduced at the AUSA conference that same year, was even more like traditional cavalry regiment. Strykers (then just called LAVIIIs) had 25mm turrets and we were open to either 105mm or 90mm guns. 90 was fine since the idea was that operations against anything more capable than T72Ms would mean we needed a heavy armor response, not the 2 LACR and the interim light weight brigade (which is what the brigades were initially called.) One positive thing was that every LAV variant called for was already in production, which would have saved considerable $$$. CT Mayer COL USA RET
The reasoning behind a 105mm MGS never seemed clear to me. If the system won’t be primarily engaging tanks the absolute hitting power isn’t needed. The 105’s size and recoil presented huge design challenges that, from an outsider’s perspective, doomed the program.
Meanwhile the French army has had good success with 90mm guns on wheeled vehicles. A 90mm round won’t have as much HE but that’s easily offset by being able to carry more of the smaller ammo.
It seems like the only reason to use a 105 was that it was in existing inventory.
Is there a good reason the MGS wasn’t 90mm?
@@JimmySailor Institutional bias. There was a proof of concept live-fire test that demonstrated the 90mm was every bit as good as the 105 in meeting the requirements. I have a copy of the report somewhere. It was NATO type classified and all types of ammunition were in current production. However, by the time the tests were completed and validated, the Army had already contracted for the 105. This, even though during the demonstration at Fort Knox, GMC’s prototype LAVIII with 105 was unable to load into a C-130 (although I think they eventually figured out a way). There was also experience with the USMC that said the L-68 105mm canon was just too much for the LAV chassis (although that was not for the LAV III, it should have still been a data point of concern.)
I'm still amazed that the Rube Goldberg suspension/power/steering of the Stryker chassis ended up as reliable as it seems to have turned out.
I appreciate your insight and experience on this.
I was in 2nd Cavalry 97-02. The Cavalry Regiment set up was way better than a Brigade set up. I served in 2-14 Cav (RSTA)1st BDE (Stryker) 25th ID 02-05. I served under LtCol Sartiano of 73 Easting fame my last couple years in 2Cav
What I'm hearing is that when I play Wargame Red Dragon my US Decks are basically a 90s ACR with air support. Cool!
🤣 I have a US deck named 11th ACR
@@syjiang Mostly play norad so I can lose my adats to the first sead sortie.
@@devilin100 Bruh ADATS are not radar-guided. So they can't be SEADed. Also means that ADATS is the worst fucking nightmare to deal with in terms of long-ranged air defense if you are playing REDFOR. They're like BLUFOR's answer to the Crotale or that Yugo Neva M1T (or MIT as a lot of people call it).
@@Nelsonwmj IRL they are FLIR, I'm somewhat of a SME. Well until we added a radar guided NLOS capability, but that's beyond the games scope.
Seems to attract radar detecting warheads launched by sead assets in game. idk if its an oversight in game of the latest upgrade program before they puled them from service that, but that's what I've figured for 4-5 years after I tested it to see if I saw what I though I saw.
@@devilin100 Bruh, your ADATS shouldn't get SEADed. Shaming us Canadians.
17:07 So that is where the RAH-66 Comanche would have slotted in to replace the OH-58 Kiowa. RIP Comanche my beloved.
"F" 🫡
F
Childhood me weeps for the fun potential I might be having right now flying around in sims if that thing had made it to service life.
Who knew about RAH66 in 1992 game Jungle Strike?
@@111222333daniel A person of great taste, I see.
Fascinating! From 1974 to 78 I was a member of the USAF Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) a.k.a. Air Liaison Office (ALO) assigned to support the 2nd ACR in Germany. My particular duty was the TACP supporting the 1st Squadron. At the time, we were still under the reduced manning caused by the Vietnam War so there were only 5 of us: 1 Capt/Major and 4 NCOs but we would be augmented with 3 fighter pilots to be Forward Air Controllers. That was the BEST assignment of my 22 year career. In 1979 the TACPs in Europe were restored to full manning and more than doubled in size. I PCSed back to CONUS in mid-1978 but less than a year later was sent back to Germany to the 2nd AD(F) as part of the restoration.
Back around 1982-ish the U.S. Army and Marines were partners in the LAV program which produced the LAV-25 and variants for the USMC on the then-MOWAG Piranha II 8x8 chassis. The Army was looking at a scout version of the vehicle to equip a lighter ACR - a Bradley light on wheels - and were planning to procure more than a thousand of the things. That never happened obviously, but at least a Piranha II could be realistically carried in a C-130.
Churchill was saying this in regard to America as a whole, but it suffices for the Army. “They can always be counted on to do the right thing… after they’ve tried everything else.”
@@Thrainite lol so true. round peg square hole solutions. but we'll keep try ramming it in!
Apparently the Army got as far as type-classifying the LAV-25 the M1047 8x8 armored car, though it was budget considerations and the priority Bradley and Abrams had meant their orders were cancelled.
That didn’t stop the U.S. Army from using LAV-25s on occasion, such as 3-73 Cav during Desert Storm and later a reactivated 68th Armored with LAV-25A2 between 2018-2020. In the former’s case, the Army traded some MLRS systems for the LAVs.
Which makes it really funny that in the October 1991 issue of Armor, they were like “the Bradley is too fat, the Humvee is too weak, we should look into an entirely new Future Scout Vehicle!” And then you go a bit further in and someone else is like “man, the LAV-25 is strong and speedy enough for scouting.”
I find it weird that they had MGS involved so heavily when it is essentially and doctrinally an assault gun platform. When I left the Stryker brigades back in 2013 we were moving all the TOWs into the CAV Squadron. It would make more sense to replace the TOW HMMWV with the TOW Stryker. I always engaged higher leadership as to why we didn't have the Canadian version with the 25mm. It only took almost 20 years for them to catch up.
Couldn’t really say because I’ve only seen the TOEs but not doctrine for a hypothetical Stryker ACR. I will say that the TOW HMMWVs in the 2d ACR(L) were originally a stopgap in the 90s. They were supposed to be replaced by the M8 AGS starting in 1999, but that program was of course cancelled. Stryker MGS would’ve been doing the same thing notionally. But the lack of a TOW Stryker in the entire regiments’ TOE seems kind of weird to me as well. Mightve just been because it was early days
Perhaps, with every Stryker-Recon carrying a dismounted Javelin, and access to organic AH-64, it was felt that the Cavalry Troop already had sufficient ATGM support? You're looking at 8 ATGMs + 4 MGS in a Company-size element, with Hellfires on-call sometimes.
I suppose the other possible TOEs would have been:
A: 4 MGS and 4 Stryker-TOW in the Troop
B: 2 MGS and 2 Stryker-TOW in the troop
C: 4 Stryker-TOW in the troop.
Maybe A seemed too vehicle heavy, B too logistically complex, and C too weak in assault guns.
But probably Stryker-TOW would make sense in a higher echelon, but I don't know so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@aaronclair4489There was a program in 2002 to create a fire and forget variant of the TOW, but the javelin already existed. The army is currently developing the CROWS-J, basically a single mounted Javelin added on to the current CROWS remote weapon system. CROWS-J can also be mounted on other light vehicles like humvee/jltv, mrap, etc.
The benefit of a ATGM RWS is that you don't have to waste time to dismount, you can fire on the move, faster and better target acquisition (better optics), and increased range. Neither mounted or dismounted Javelin will replace either role, but rather will compliment each other and increase the lethality of a Stryker formation. The Army plans to increase the lethality of Stryker ICVs by having half equipped with a 30 mm cannon and the other half given a Javelin anti-tank missile (+ traditional rws such as m2, m249, mk19) on the existing RWS in each brigade.
in baghdad we were more worried about shaped ied's than any enemy armor
@f4u5tus in Baqubah we pulled our MGS off mission because they didn't bring anything to our fight and we're consistently targeted with those anti-tank grenades.
>2nd and 3rd Cavalry Regiments are actually Brigades
>10th Mountain has no mountain training
>101st Airborne is AASLT and has no airborne training
But wOrDs MeAn ThInGs according to Army leaders
Regiment is one of those echelon names that every country uses in like a hundred different ways. 2CR is technically a "regiment" because all the battalions are from the same regiment (2CR), which is more of a culture thing, but it's structured exactly like any other Stryker BCT tactically
@@BattleOrder ironic that the only echelons called ‘regiments’ in the US Army that in any way resemble ‘regiments’ at the doctrinal level are within Special Operations, where it doesn’t even matter
If we're this confused, imagine what goes through the enemy commander when he reads the intel report.
So 10th Mountain is actually standing up it's own mountain warfare school with it's own badge currently sitting at the Secretary of the Army's desk. Similar to the 101st, 10MTN will require at least 80% of each formation to be qualified for mountain warfare either by the Division ran school or by BMMC.
Was just at Drum for Alpine training last December, and the division will be doing interesting re-alignments at the BDE level. Moving forward, each IN BN will be aligned to a different part of mountain warfare, e.g. one BN will be focused on level 1-2 (rolling hills, valleys, these will also be aligned as an AASLT BN if I remember correctly), level 2-3 (more steep terrain and may require ropes for movement) and level 4-5 (near or vertical terrain/movement).
Source: Currently serving in 10MTN.
At least when I was in, all cavalry designated units used traditional naming in the MTOE. Troop=Company, Squadron=Battalion, Regiment=Brigade. This trickled down even within traditional units. For instance I was in the 82nd ABN Divisional reconnaissance and we were designated as Atrp 1/17 CAV underneath the 82nd Aviation BDE which had traditional attack and lift battalions of 1-82 AVN, 2-82 AVN etc…
The ACRs back in the 80s were pretty neat. They would have been super buffed up in wartime, here is 11ACR (Fulda Gap) 1980-1985ish
-11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (11 ACR)
-1/11 CAV +B/3/12 CAV
-2/11 CAV +C/5/68 ARM
-3/11 CAV
-TF 2/32
-2/32 ARM -B Co +B/2/36 INF
-TF 3/32
-3/32 ARM +B/2/32 ARM +A/1/48 INF
-TF 1/68
-1/68 ARM +A/2/22 INF
-3/12 CAV -B Sqn
-3/8 CAV
Would be cool to see you cover the wartime ORBAT if the cold war had gone hot back in the 80s.
I was with 3ACR in OIF1. We ballooned from 5000 troops to 10,000. We were almost as big as 10th Mountain and still under command of a Colonel. We were referred to then as the 3d Cavalry Regimental Combat Team.
My old unit
We essentially had all 5 organic cav squadrons (1/3, 2/3, 3/3, 4/3, Spt/3), but added an additional FA Bn, a FLARNG light infantry Bn, 4 more air cav troops (IIRC 2 attack, 1 medium lift and 1 heavy lift), and a smattering of additional support companies. We had the conservation of forces' mission in Anbar Province.
so, not sure if anyone said this, but before 2nd ACR moved to Germany, there was some reflagging of units. I was in 2nd acr in Fort Lewis (05 - 06) where it was already SBCT ( technically losing the armored "A" in ACR) but then the army reflagged my unit to 4th Brigade 2nd ID and reflagged a brigade of the 25th ID to 2nd CR and moved them to Germany. We stayed a SBCT and my battalion ( 4/9 INF) tested the Land warrior system in Iraq in 07. Fun fact, 4th battalion of the 9th Inf Regiment was disbanded right after Vietnam, so when we unfurled Regimental flag, we were honored with the presence of some of the surviving Vietnam vets who served in that unit. They were also finally able to attach the battle streamers they earned in Vietnam.
Now let’s look at Paul Allen’s armoured cavalry brigade.
A little bit of errors for 11th ACR. In 1994 when it was moved from Germany to Fort Irwin and took over the OPFOR role from the 177th Armored BDE, it essentially just reflagged the units within the 177th to the 11th ACR, the 1-63 Armor reflagging to 1st Squadron 11th ACR, 1-52 Infantry reflagging to 2nd Squadron and the 177th Spt BN, 177th MI CO and 164th Chem Co reflagging to RSS. The 87th Engineer Company reflagged to 58th EN CO (the EN Company with the 11th ACR from Germany). After the 2004-05 Iraq deployment, the 11th was formed under the first version of the HBCT, so 1st and 2nd Squadron had 2 In CO and 2 Tank Companies. Even after the HBCT TOE was changed to an ABCT (K-series TOE) the 11th being not available for the force pool stayed as a J-series HBCT (-). Except for the 15st Translator CO, it has not changed since 2005. That said the Regiment has kept the traditions alive along with the OPFOR mission. Pile -on-the-Bastards!! Allons!
The forefather's of the Stryker Cavalry units was 9th Infantry's Divisions 3rd brigade, with 2/1 INF, 2/60 INF, and 3/47 INF whom in '84 - '87 had dune bugy's (structurally unsound for the equipment or gun systems attached) then transitioned to various models of the Humvee's by '88. Also, was he first brigade to be de-activated in '88. This was an early attempt by the US Army to meet the airlift weight and distance requirements, coupled with the more significant anti-armor capabilities lacked by the light infantry divisions of the time. The follow-on was the 199th SIB (pocket division) which was a brigade+ strength with organic divisional capabilities around air defense (A/1/44 ADA), NBC company, Aviation, MP's, MI, etc., and zero armor. It was realized the capability/combat power was not distinct enough in terms of combat capability and transportability relative to a mechanized brigade.
It was the "HTTB", and it was designated "motorized". Didn't last long though, big Army decided to go with the Light Infantry Divisions which would be scrapped in about 5-6 years later. Now the war in eastern Europe has digressed back to 1917 trench warfare, along with missles and drones.
I'm wondering: how many advanced US military projects the (requisite of trasportability on) C-130 has actually killed between end of Cold war's end and the GWOTs own one?
a lot
Why C-130?
@@olgagaming5544 because one of the requisites for much of the Army's own advanced projects was not only that they should have to be transportable in a C-130 but that they should be so while already in fighting order so to be unloaded directly in advanced location and entering directly into battle.
Naturally , a such thing NEVER happened during the whole GWOT a.t.c. they were extremely prudent about moving thing at all outside major air bases.
I was in 2nd Cavalry 97-02 and we were all humvees, 3 Squadrons of Scouts. We had .50s, Mk19s and TOWs. 1st BDE 25th ID at Ft Lewis was the unit that was reflagged in 06 to 2 Cav. I was in 2-14 Cav 1st BDE 25th ID 02-05. We had just returned from a tour in Iraq in October 05.
14:40 and 15:12: I like the representation of the vehicles at regimental level
We should bring back the true ACR. There was no formation more capable, flexible, or lethal. It should also be sized between Brigade and Battalion sizes. Oh, by the way, 278ACR is still there but yes we are an ABCT with Cavalry traditions now.
😡are you insane?! in current technological "achievements" old ACR means death for their personal.
Thumbnail, excuse my language, f*ckin mint. 🤌🏻
Let's see Paul Allen's organisation.
@@copter2000Look at that brigade organization. That subtle combined arms nature, the triangular organization. Oh my god, it even has numbered battalions.
He was incorrect in many assumptions. M1134 exists. And is not subd by the mgs
I was in 3d ACR from 2001 to 2009 my dad served in 3d ACR as well as brother in law. I was so sad to see it go, people have no idea how capable the ACR was compleatly capable of operating all by itself with little to no support from outside the regiment.
Apache Troop, 1/3 ACR was my last duty station at Carson in 99. Had no idea they no longer had M3s or were even an ACR…😢
@bpdp379 I was in Killer 3/3 it was a sad day when I heard it. They got rid of all the scouts and tanker back filled with 11Bs and they only had 1 troop of 19Ds in 4th squadron
@@jamesolbrisch2582 let's raise a glass! Good times and bad times, made me who I am today...
I was with Med Troop 01-04. Brave Rifles!
I heard the Army is actually thinking about bringing back the ACR concept.
HWB 2/3ACR '06-'10. That was an awesome regiment. Everything went downhill after PCS.
cool video man. would you ever make a full video about the motor rifle brigade
11TH ACR had a Howitzer Btry per squadron (1-3) and the 4TH Squadron was Kiowa, Apache, and BlackHawks. The change with dropping the HOW Btry and Air Squadron only came when they were relocated from Fulda to California. I was with the 1/11 How battery from 1986-1988 and moved to S-3 HHT 1/11 from 1988-1990. And had an Engineer attachment. That can all change with the new global situation and I wouldn't doubt that 11th is already under consideration for reinstating its full compliment with a new duty station assignment.
ALLONS!
I'd bet your HOW Batts and Air Cav were designated as ARNG units.
In GDP, the How Btry was controlled by Regiment, not the Squadron.
Aww yeah the Stryker is such an interesting capability, loved seeing the differences with the ABCT recon platoons. Great graphics!
Intrigued why the scout platoons are now 6x stryker in SBCTs cav sqdns, but are 4x in the HHT, and again 4x were in the ACR troops.
They redid the Scout Platoon designs for Cav Troops in 2016, partially so all would have 36 scouts on par with the ABCT design. ABCT cav troop scout platoons went from 3 Bradleys and 5 HMMWVs to just 6 Bradleys so they'd be more capable in offensive tasks and be able to generate more dismount scouts from their 36 scouts, while Stryker platoons went from 4 to 6 Strykers
@@BattleOrderAhh that makes sense for the BCTs. I guess fewer scouts per platoon wasn't such a problem for the ACR when nearly the entire regiment is scouts 😅
@@BlindMonk93 for the stryker CR they would’ve actually had more scouts per Stryker notionally, so even though both the SCR and SBCT scout platoons had 4 vehicles the cav regiment version had double the dismount scouts
Excellent video on the Cav OOB and mission. (2ACR 1982 - 1985)
I was in there from the beginning of the Stryker introduction, started in Washington as 2nd CR before it was reflagged into 2 Infantry Division, Combat Medic in the Recon RSTA element of the Unit (4/2 ID). It was a mix of infantry and recon guys on the Recon Strykers at a squad level... We were fast. Loved the Stryker but didn't stand a chance against the EFPs and advanced IED that were waiting for us. Started with 4 Strykers, left with 3. Lost about 50 guys on our 2007 deployment tp Iraq . If they would have made it v shaped and higher off the ground, would have been better design.
I was there as well at Lewis in 2003, did you go to that back to back NTC/JRTC rotation in '03? I did, man what a disaster that was lol. Also went on the second rotation when 25th ID did their cert in Late 2003 and early 2004, what a couple of long ass missions lol. Sorry to hear about the guys that didnt make it back from Iraq brother. I was there mid 2004 to mid 2005 and Afghanistan from 2006-2007. Glad you made it home.
The 3rd ACR sent scout companies to GTMO for outer security about a decade ago. That was weird.
Ope, they're called troops
Every time I see the up-armored M8 AGS, I shed a tear.
Great video. I like the deep dives into regimental structures of units like this.
I served with 2nd ACR from 1990-1992. That unit was an awesome force of nature.
Thanks for the information, would love to know more of this!
Incredible !
Are you thinking about making videos like that for arma 3 factions ?
Let’s see Paul Allen’s Stryker Calvary regiment
2nd cr was a infantry stryker unit in ft lewis in 2005. then got reflagged to 4/2ID and a unit in 25th ID got reflagged 2CR and sent to germany.
2:42 the spurs changing from gold to blue was sick!! Hell yea dude
Deployed with 3cr in 2018 loved it
Which squadron? I deployed with Saber for '07-09 and '10-New Dawn. Spent some time on loan to Tiger both times. The regiment was a whole other beast back then.
Great video man! Think you can do one about the organization of russian SAM regiments, and how they (are supposed to) integrate with other SAM?
Russian army (ground forces) or russian aerospace force ones?
@@lukejohnston4666Why not both?
Damned right.
Heavy DIVCAV and ACR were frikin' AWESOME units.
When I was with the 3rd AD, 3/12 CAV was equipped with Sheridans.
*_"Military Ideas That Went Nowhere"_* ... its own PlayList?
^5
Interesting video. I was in the Special Service Force Brigade in Petawawa Canada in the mid 90's and we flew down to Fort Drum in the Canadian C-130's. 1 Cougar per plane plus crew and logistics. Very easily done with no mods or alterations involved. Simply drive on and off. The Cougar, while a stop gap training vehicle for tanks turned out to be a cheap and effective vehicle with a 76L47 main gun which can spall a T-55's turret at 500-1000m. I had heard about the 105 version while serving however it was not explored as an option for TOE in Canada due to its inability to fire the main gun accurately on the move. Not a really good argument at the time as neither could the Cougar. lol I would be interested if anyone served on the 105 version 8 wheeled LAV hull to get their perspective. I am not a fan of any wheeled pretend tank and certainly not a fan of governmental monetary policies that keep real soldiers out of real combat vehicles but it was what we had and what we had to use.
I was in 3rd Battalion 21st Infantry Regiment HHC Battalion RECON Platoon. Our Platoon Strykers were RV(Reconnaissance Vehicles) Variant. It had a Coupla System(Rotating Turet), A Big Box Sight with FLIR and a M2 50 Cal Free Gun Mounted. Which coming from an ICV(Infantry Carrier Vehicle) to the RV. I much Prefer the Free Gun 50 Cal. There is something Primal about operating a M2, on top of a Truck, Firing into Taliban Positions. Made me feel likr Audie Murphy
You're missing a bit of context and history with 2 CR.
In 2004-2005 it was moved from (then) Fort Polk, LA, to (then) Fort Lewis, and stood up as a Stryker unit, with elements of the air squadron being attached to the units already at Lewis.
When 1/25 INF BDE returned from deployment in 2006, the Army decided to fully scrap the plan for the ACR (Stryker) concept, reflagged 2 CR to 4/2 INF DIV and reflagged 1/25 to 2 CR and transfered that unit from Lewis to Germany along with all of the changes to solidify the SBCT concept.
this just makes me want to play broken arrow so much
Battleorder, can you make a video about what's currently going on in the U.S. Army Armor Branch? Like what's happening with Scout Squadrons / future of Scouts and if it's basicly going back to pre-911 formations?
Was with 2-1 and then 1-12. Did some Stryker tomfoolery
I wonder what would be the utility on modern day warfare of these very specialised regiments or brigades. It honestly feels like that if a drone sees ur approach, it really doesn't matter how your army is organised, you just get pushed back by artillery fire. I pity for all the desk generals and tacticians that spend their days thinking about these little details that seem to not matter any more. Unless a manouver regiment or brigade is created with the guarantee of not be seen (plenty of antidrone assets?), they just seem useless.
A future ACR should be Drone and UGV heavy I suppose?
The point is to take contact as fast as possible at the battalion to the regimental level. Basically fixing the enemy in place so that the heavier armor brigades can follow up and destroy them. The drones are what allows the initial engagement too, the one with more and better drones gets to maneuver better and even be the start of shaping ops but the grand strategy stays the same. Find fix and destroy faster than your enemy can.
In Ukraine Russia has recently began to use electronic warfare assets to jam drones during offensives although again drones going dark on a map in a grid section is enough to blanket an area with artillery fire and grad barrages it would not have nearly the same effectiveness and if an offensive or brigade sized assault could be launched with surprise , speed and violence of action it has still proven to be effective even in a drone saturated environment as long ECW assets are on hand
A tech savvy person can make a drone jammer with off the shelf components, drones aren't the end all be all of modern warfare.
Artillery holds on king of warfare remains firm.
When one covering how instead the regiments equipped with B-1 Centauro organized in Italy and Spain?
You know, just to look to a cannon armed Blindo that actually work...
Could you do a video on how US Army units replace lost personnel/equipment during combat?
AR 735-1 covers property lost damaged or destroyed. AR 600-8-111 covers replacement personnel.
Great breakdown of the difference between screen and covering forces.
Now in 3cr we are basically dragoons and mounted heavies(.50cal or mark19) are just support by fire
not many games allow you to put this in play regardless of era, man good chit as usual my goodness u are consistent as heck, flipping gold standard on TO and E regardless of era whoosh.
Theatre of War, Commands Ops 2, and Red Dragon are the only games I know that let you get close
to deploying numbers at least in part of a complete element.
ToW is the only game you can actually put units in play in complete company form and perhaps battalion strength, even then the game could crash - though the whole series lets u put in play something close to the numbers my man here shares with us though u cant play with new stuff ;(.
See if Call to Arms gave you freedom to put companies in play that you can build to match TOE would be grand without having to editor the heck out of it.
Good stuff as always
No anti-air defenses or TOW anti-armor vehicles seems like a huge gap in the capabilities of this proposed unit formation.
There are two types of Strykers, those that are still in service and the MGS.
That's insane considering the cool factor for Stryker Cav was already reaching Fonzi levels of cool.
Please do a video on veitnam war/koren war era militarys, we know the cold war nuclear army, what about other time periods and branches
The "Airmobile" concept was developed in Vietnam. Fast insertion and evacuation of ground infantry along with 11D's (Aero Rifleman), by helicopter assault. All pioneered by 1st CAV and a BDE of the 101st. Airmobile was sexy enough, so it was changed to Air Assault. The 101st would lose its jump status, but got their own badge. 1st CAV would become what it is today.
@@dw7094 intresting
Finally Cavalry🤌🏻
I'm interested in learning more about the modern Airborne BCT and how it operates. Could that be a video in the future?
It's wild how much the Stryker moves when it shoots it's cannon. That gun is way too big for that chassis, I feel like. Haha
In todays modern military most of your infantry units might as well be classified as dragoons Most of them ride mounted in some way shape or form and then dismount to fight.
As the former fire captain for 223rd avation battalion 25th aviation company out of Stuttgart Army airfield your TOE is great but you forgot about me. Where is my fire department??? while based in West Germany I spent about 6 months in the field each year.
How many casualties and combat losses of vehicles can it sustain before it became combat ineffective??
From the sounds of it if you engaged there initial force it will do significant damage to the ACR to the point it won’t be able to continue its mission role after the first major engagement
If you are asking about a screen or cover, the mission is to withdraw and trade space/time for causing casualties with standoff weapons. The ACR is not an infantry/armor organization and must fight in a different way. Hope that answers your question
@@bpdp379 it does, thank you!
11th ACR when they went to Iraq didn't have many tanks. And they were elderly M1A1as, I'm not sure they took them. A few years ago they started to replace the M1A1s in the CABs of the 11th ACR with M1A2Sep3.
After OIF1, there really wasn't much need for tanks or artillery. What WAS needed was a lot of mounted infantry. Which is why the Stryker was pushed through
19Delta baby…. 👌👍🤙
I’m thinking of heading to Ukraine to join the UFL.
Fuck it. Give em horses on the next update
I remember how very few of us 11B in ‘03 on, no one wanted to be inside a Stryker
...Except that the 105mm cannon made them extremely unstable. Firing to the left or right could, in some circumstances, roll them over. THey're getting rid of them for a reason. The turret shifts the center of gravity up by a couple of feet and it's enough to flip it over. It also has poor gun stability can't can't fire accurately on the move, not to mention it makes the likelihood of a rollover even higher. My dad was with 2nd ACR as a flight surgeon at Polk back in the early 90s.
That just a blatant myth about the MGS
The MGS flipping is an old myth. The vehicle also had excellent stabilization and fire control system. It did have “trigger delay” in its fire control system, but you would have to be a 19k to understand
@@americanheritagegirls5639 Excellent fire control? HA. Yeah... if you don't mind waiting for it to reboot in the middle of battle. And it's the only variant that isn't mine resistant, because the turret needed more space.
Since Stryker brigades are going to be assigned to US armored division, with 2 heavy brigade and 1 stryker brigade, they are supposed to be get wheeled self propelled howitzer.
Back in 2010, when I saw M1129 mortar I was like: wow
Now I'm like: Bruh
From the trusty steeds of the horse to the most modern fighting vehicles look how much the cavalry evolved
10:49 Should be spelled "Stryker Dryver"
This proposed "Regiment" would have been a reinforced Brigade in strength. Almost a Division. I cannot even comprehend the size, flexibility and power of this organization. A true combined arms option integrated. Interesting yet lacking in tracked mobility and tank firepower. To train this organization would have been beyond the ability of the US Military personal. It would have been too big. imho but frig just imagine!
The Stryker Cavalry squadrons are all getting disbanded this year. 😂
A Troop 1/4 Cav, 3rd Brigade Scoot platoon here. Big Red One, Duty first
Hey the 278th is my old unit!
This is how the British Army Strike Brigade should have been constructed, using Boxer as the primary platform.
I am sad the Land Warrior failed. Looked so damn cool on Future Weapons.
So what's the difference between the Reconnaissance (M1127) and the Fire Support (M1131)? They both look like they have the LRAS recon device on the turret ring? What is the difference?
Ok i have to get it off my chest. The stryker in combat mission shockforce 2 is god tier, in combat mission games are really deadly if a tank hit you that means you are dead or disabled. This means styrkers are this glass canons that are really great at killing tanks and supporting inf with basically no downside.
Since the Stryker was derived from the LAV III armed with the 25-mm M242 Bushmaster and the RSTA cavalry squadrons did not carry as much dismounts as their motorized / mechanized infantry counterparts, why did the SBCTs or the Stryker Cavalry Regiment never considered using the more heavily-armed LAV III or LAV-25?
Because the Styker was never meant to be an infantry fighting vehicle. It was meant to be an APC, like the M113. It was forced into the role of IFV during the war on terror due to the nature of the fighting and alot of stupid decisions. Now over 20 years later they are finally giving them 25mm and 30mm cannons because they realize that the Stryker is just a wheeled IFV. Waiting for it to be fully replaced by the AMPV here in another 5-6 years.
Like the other dude saidn Strykers are ICVs not IFVs
Thing can barely take hits from 7.62, anything more will kill it
Horrible Stupid Semantic Mismanagement
Pretty Cool Units
So Sad Seeing All The Obvious Flaws in These Structures
I Love Your Improvements
Even for All Their Problems, These Videos Are Incredible for Their Immense Public Service
Thank You Great Man
Missed old 116th ACR in ID/OR, now known as 116th CBCT.
For the time period being covered the 116th was organized as a heavy separate brigade rather than as an ACR
5:56 I want to see an AAR for the Battle of Fort Morgan
Should have added Stryker with NEMO 120mm mortar guns in a turret instead of the 105mm MGS and flip open top mortar carriers.
Could still add NEMO Strykers to replace retiring MGS and the older M1129 mortar carriers. V hull M1152s could be modified by removal of mortar equipment and conversion into small drone carriers.
Another great video. Thanks
The army really needs to rethink it’s unit naming system. You’ve got Cavalry regiments that are actually infantry brigades, squadrons the size of batallions whereas in the rest of the english speaking world squadrons are company sized; and three 1st Divisions, Infantry Armoured and Cavalry… all of which are Armoured divisions.
No, we don't.
And the Brits have armored "regiments" the size of battalions and "troops" the size of platoons. Your point being?
@@SirCheezersIII in the english system which far predates the american system and which the american system is based on, troops were platoon sized elements. Squadrons are company sized sub units of a regiment which consists of 1 or more battalions.
@@MaxwellAerialPhotography@MaxwellAerialPhotography Except in those units where platoons are still called platoons, squadrons are called companies unless it is the artillery, then they're batteries, and perhaps they're all part of a regiment with multiple battalions instead of one. Predate or no, it's still a mess too.
We don't care how the rest of the "English Speaking World" does it and hadn't since 1776. They can do their own thing. We'll do ours.
kinda funny to see some american regiment with french motto, would love to know why they have does tbh
In summary they adopted the fleur-de-lis for action in France and Belgium in WWI and WWII, and the mottto “always ready” was translated over as well. Lots of US units have either French or Latin unit mottos.
Question: Was the upgraded version of the ACR cancelled in order to “fight the war we’ve got” (insurgencies)? Will it be reconsidered due to probable future near peer conflicts?
I haven’t heard any plans to reconstitute the ACRs for corps level recon and security so far. Currently theyd use a maneuever brigade ad hoc to do it
Cold War era ACR's would eat their lunch.
Outside of MP units HUMINT specialist just feels like a gross mismanagement of the Army. But the US is just bad at dealing with insurancies. Simply the public can't accept even the slightest losses anymore and there's a mistaken idea that soldiers of an occupying army can win over the civilian population.
I was on Stykers with 4 different Divisions thought my career.
@5:45 is that a BMD-2 being operated by 11 ACR in OPFOR mode or relevant footage of the Russians (or other users)?
Just a guess but looked like actual RUS unit to me.
Russian footage
Brave Rifles!
Danke!
love how we germans are trying to copy this with the gtk boxer while it weighs the same or even higher than a bradley while not even having the same firepower
c-130'S ARE INTRATHEATER LIFT. DESIGNED AS A C-47 REPLACEMENT. Not strategic airlift for 1000's of miles.
Don't feed into 19D's delusions of granduer
Fucken Banger to wake up to today
Don't care what this vid says. I was in, mechanized cav isn't just cool as duck, they are badass, hard charging, mana jamma's. Crazy and fearless.
You don't ever want to face any kind of US cav in combat.
If only the styker mgs didn't snap your neck off every time it fired, this would have been a reality, ngl it still can, just replace the mgs with the m10 booker
When are we getting a video on Russian Black Sea marines? Morskaya pekhota have always seemed cool
Never unless he can shit on them.
I don’t get American nomenclature. You’ve got armored and cavalry divisions which seems to be the same thing. Within 1st armored division you’ve got cavalry squadrons which are more scout organizations. But within 1st Cav the cavalry squadrons are tanks. Also you’ve got cavalry brigades that are purely aviation. And what’s up with Armored Cavalry? I mean, armored = tanks and cavalry could be tanks, aviation and scouts right?
There is a split between what is "cavalry" purely for tradition sake (1st Cavalry Division, 2d Cavalry Regiment, etc) and what is "cavalry" in a tactical sense (the Cav Squadrons under every brigade combat team and the Air Cavalry Squadron under the Combat Aviation Brigade, which do recon and security)
In the 1st Cavalry Division, 1-7 Cav (DIVCAV) and 4-9 CAV, 6-9 CAV, C/10 Cav (Brigade CAV) and 7-17 Cav (Air Cavalry) are the units that do recon and security. The rest of the "cavalry" untis in there are part of a Cavalry Regiment, but are actually maneuver battalions (tanks and mechanized infantry). Talking about them in a general sense you'd just say they're a combined arms battalion like in other Armored BCTs.
I guess different people could mean different things when they say "armored cavalry". Some people could include the armored maneuver battalions under 1st Cavalry Division that are "cavalry" for traditions sake, but when I say "armored cavalry" I normally mean the recon and security units that are mounted in Bradleys and (at various periods) include tanks
@@BattleOrder yup, Cav in name or Cav in mission.....
It goes back in history a bit. In 1939 the US Army had horse cavalry units. Only one unit of those saw combat in the Philippines. The rest switched to jeeps and M8 scout cars supplement by M8 howitzers and M3/M5 light tanks. Often by 1944 with M18 GMC attached.
By the late 1960's jeeps were replaced by M114 and M114A1E2 scout vehicles - one of the Armies bad choices. The missions had never changed. But now no horses, no wheeled combat vehicles. 6 x M114's augmented by 3 x M551 with 1 x M113 for the infantry and 1 x M106 4.2" mortar carrier. That was an ACR Squadron Cav Troop Cav Platoon. Three of those made up a Troop. Three Troops plus a M109 How battery, a M60A1 company, and a Squadron HQ and HQ Company made a Cavalry Squadron.
I was in 2nd ACR from 1971 to 1974. Except for the excitement of the '73 Arab/Israel war and a lack of fuel, personnel, training facilities, training ammunition, and spare parts it was pretty much like it is now. Our main mission was to screen the NATO main defensive line. My troop vs. four Soviet divisions. Our Squadron vs 12. Our second main mission was to watch the border with East Germany.
Oh, how things have changed, and how they have remained the same. Same mission with different equipment. Equipment must have changed 4 or 5 times since then. M551 replaced the M114A1E2 - version with a 20mm cannon. M113 and M150 replaced the M551. FISTs were added. Different TOW M113 version. 107mm replaced by 120mm. M60 replaced by Abrams. M3 replaces the M113 and TOW M113. Then instead of Russians we end up in Iraq. After that, HUMVEE replaces about everything. Now Strykers.
Scouts Out.
3:50 - what happens?! the cut seems a bit weird.