Vietnam War – Rifle Platoon (Airmobile)
The airmobile company fields three rifle platoons under a captain, supported by a mortar section in the company headquarters; all transported and supplied by helicopter.
Rifle platoons in Vietnam were never up to strength. Between soldiers off sick, those on leave, and casualties waiting to be replaced, a ten-man squad was lucky to have eight men available on any given day. Each squad had two teams, each with an M79 ‘Blooper’ grenade launcher for additional firepower. Although the riflemen were armed with the new M16E1 automatic rifle when they arrived in 1965, they were trained to fire single shots except in emergencies.
In Flames of War:
Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore and Sergeant Major Plumley are based together. They
are Warriors and a Higher Command M16 Rifle team rated Fearless Veteran. They
are an Independent Team.
The Medic Team in Flames Of War Vietnam: The company medics treat the wounded and prepare them for medevac, freeing the combat troops from needing to care for their wounded. They tend to be unusually brave as the wounded are relying on them to keep working, no matter how dangerous the situation.
Saving the Wounded: Every company has a small medical detachment to care for its wounded. Unfortunately, in an intense battle, they receive far more casualties than they can adequately treat.
M16 Rifle Teams: The fully-automatic M16 rifle replaced the older semiautomatic M14 giving the riflemen more firepower.
Contents:
- 1× Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore with Sergeant Major Plumley
- 1× Medic team
- 1× Rifle Platoon (Airmobile) with three Rifle Squads each with two M16 Rifle teams & one Weapons Squad with two M60 LMG teams
- 1× Small two-hole base
- 2× Small three-hole bases
- 9× Medium four-hole bases
