Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

[7.62]

Mike,
I can not talk for the behemoth that is the US military but for most modern Western forces there does seem to be a trend.
Most rotary aviation units now tend to be co-located with a combined arms Brigade or Division but come under the adim authority of a higher aviation corp or even joint service helicopter commands.
This basically comes down to what it takes to operate a modern helicopter in the field in the long run, people and cost!

(A very rough support requirement may look like)
1st line.
Day to day flight line/before and after flight inspections, POL, simple repairs and basic box swapping.
Can be done just about anywhere, out in the boonies etc. This is your front line deploy-able units.

2nd line.
After so many flight hours extra inspections and preventative maintenance will be needed, this takes longer to do. Also things will break and go U/S. More complex repair work needs to be covered. A main gear box might need to be pulled off or an engine swapped out.
In theory this too can all still be done in the field by most front line units.
However, in reality this would tie up your front line manpower, so often some kind of Forward Repair Team (FRT) is called up and sent forward. Also the number of spare parts that a forward deployed unit can haul around with them is limited. The high cost also means for most nations the aviation logistics quickly points to a main single national source.
Hence the aviation units having a separate admin chain to your self contained CA Brigades and Divisions.

3rd line (depot).
At some point all those helicopters that have been ridden hard and put away wet will require major deep maintenance. So too the growing pile of broken engines, gearbox and other components will need to be fixed. This will really need workshops, engine test cells, local industry support, special equipment and most importantly people.
Even major NATO members struggle to keep all this in house to their aviation corp level.
Many Western nation military's have now lost this depot level of repair, either by loss of knowledge, lack of funds or design and depot level is now at the mercy of the aircraft manufacturer.

Many Western military aviation forces are at the forefront of the widespread "manpower problem", a lot of this is self inflicted too.
The dependence on civilian and contractor support has become a weakness for many.

[redleg]

Thanks for the insight Mick! I was originally just looking into this for the ROD, but I'm doing more research and getting more interested in aviation organization. I'm going to throw this out onto another thread too to see what other opinions there are beyond the imagi-nation world.

[MechCommander]

I think the best example of what your talking about Mike is when my POP troops attacked the EE positions in Syria during the Global War last year. As Helicopters from NC and Feline Airforces, literally had to do a series of desert hops from one location to another just too keep up with the ground forces since they did not have the range to stay around for long. it mostly boils down to logistics.

[redleg]

The helicopters will have to hop from location to location either way. I'm mostly interested in who owns the hopping. In my day the direct support aviation was controlled by the division and I'm wondering if that should be owned by corps instead.

[redleg]

The ROD Ministry of Defense is pleased to announce that Grunt Week is a go! The year’s third international event is dedicated to the poor bloody infantry, and it is open to all members of the imagi-nations community. The event will be held from Sunday September 15th through Saturday September 21st at Kurth Barracks, home of the ROD Army’s Infantry School.

Unlike the Fighter Rodeo and the Tanker’s Ball held earlier this year, Infantry Week is not just a competition. For this event, each nation is welcome to send up to 250 personnel to participate in infantry-based events that will promote camaraderie among infantrymen and foster an exchange of ideas and information. Participants will conduct road marches, shoot a plethora of weapons, run through bayonet and obstacle courses, and train in combatives and field craft. At the end of the week, ROD Infantry School instructors will also administer the tests to qualify for ROD Airborne Wings, and the coveted ROD Expert Warrior Badge.

What, no competition? WRONG! While the Grunt Week participants are honing their infantry skills, there will indeed be a competition. Each nation and service are invited to send a 10-man rifle squad to compete for the titles of Best Grunt and Best Squad. Each service may send a squad – so, for example, the ROD Army and the ROD Marine Corps will each send a squad to compete.

Each competing rifle squad will consist of 10 soldiers (with no rank restrictions). They will be equipped with tactical equipment appropriate for field operations and patrolling, 10 x helmets, 10 x bayonets, 9 x rifles, 10 x pistols, and 1 x belt-fed machine gun.

The ROD will provide each rifle squad a secure squad bay and arms room. We will also provide housing and meals for all participants, dignitaries, and media during the event. Heads up: you will be sleeping in open bay barracks used for basic training recruits.

Please let the Ministry of Defense know if your imagi-nation would like to send participants and/or competitors to the 2021 Grunt Week. If sending competitors, please let us know your squad names. Hollywood names are encouraged.

ROD Army Squad: Chicken Hawks
ROD Marine Squad: Sea Dogs

[redleg]

2024 Grunt Week Schedule of Events

There are two parallel timelines: one for the competition, and one for the general event.

[MechCommander]

For the POP they will bring in the following Squads to participate.

For New Canada
A Squad, Princess Patricia's Light infantry.
B Squad, Canadian Airborne Regiment.
C Squad, Royal 22e Régiment.

Feline Confederation
1. Gruppe/1st Royal Mech Infantry Brigade.
2. Gruppe/3rd Royal Mech Infantry Brigade.
3. Gruppe/4th Royal Mech Infantry Brigade.

Kingdom of Da Vinci
1. Squadra fucilieri, 1. Arditi Rifle Brigade.
2. Squadra fucilieri, 183 Paratrooper regiment.
3. Squadra fucilieri, 91. Mech Brigade.

[redleg]

The following squads have been approved to compete:

For New Canada
A Squad, Princess Patricia's Light infantry.
B Squad, Canadian Airborne Regiment

The rest may come and participate in Grunt Week, but not as competitors.

[7.62]

Karmanaskis will send our Military Attache in Erinsburg to represent the KDF but will not be sending any teams to this years Grunt week.
The attache will be available for the opening, final ceremonies and maybe a few days in the week. It is intended to help foster clear liaison and communication with our hosts in the ROD.
No reason for the absence of any teams was given but several large military exercises are under way across Karma at the moment.
An even larger national exercise, Ex Octobre rouge is due for next Month.

[chrisswim]

Due to some political interference from the opposition party, a late application is being submitted.
Squad of 1st Moroccan Rifles BDE, A/K/A the ‘14thTrekkers’ from Moroccodom,
Recon Squad from the 167th Infantry Rgmt, known as ‘Recon D’.

[redleg]

We look forward to the arrival of the 14th Trekkers and Recon D teams! And we are also looking forward to the KDF delegation. Please feel free to observe and engage the other attendees. The ROD is eager to build a strong relationship with our Pacific neighbors!

Also sending delegations but not participating in the competition are France, Germany, Mexico, and the Vatican Swiss Guard.

[chrisswim]

Flying over the North Pole in a few hours.
A couple of participating teams when suitable to the host:
COC, Long Range Recon Patrol- 3rd LRRP Team B
CoC, Special Air Service, 1st SAS Rgmt, Team C

Avatar Beer will support Grunt Week Flying in a few hours after the flights of competitors and participants.

[redleg]

Welcome Grunts, to the 2024 Grunt Week! Enjoy yourselves tonight at the barbecue, and have fun with a concert by country music star Lonesome Joe. Tomorrow the fun begins!

The ROD Infantry School cadre will assist all attendees in getting settled into their accommodations for the week. We hope no one minds open-bay barracks!



Enjoy a healthy DFAC breakfast in the morning and then join us for static displays and some time on the small arms range. Unless of course you are one of the squads in the competition.

The six competition quads will be awakened early in the morning. How early? That is for the evaluators to know and the squads to find out!

Transportation tomorrow will be by Leather Personnel Carrier, or by the Infantry Schools efficient motor transport.

[chrisswim]

Love the hospitality! Looks like an old horse trailer that has been updated.

[redleg]

Ah yes, the much-maligned Cattle Car! It wouldn’t be a true grunt experience without a ride in one of those!

The first day of Grunt Week is winding down for most. It was a great day of visiting and collaboration between infantrymen of various nations. There were static displays of infantry vehicles and equipment, and Participants had an opportunity to hit the various small arms ranges to shoot pistols and rifles. Everything from M16 to AK to FAL to Uzi and more. If you are enjoying your range time, take a break to grab some dinner at Iron Mike Hall, and then come back for a night shoot. Range time is always more fun in the dark!

For the competing squads, the fun is just starting! The grunts spent all morning on the range firing rifles, then sidearms, and then machine guns. The marksmanship portion of the competition is not over yet, but after a quick bite to eat while walking, all 6 squads hit the grenade assault course. A diabolical obstacle course with bunkers and windows for grenade targets, and the winners were based on both time and accuracy. The winners are as follows:

Best squad for grenade assault course: NC B Squad from the Canadian Airborne Regiment

Best grunt for grenade assault course: ROD Army Chickenhawks, infantryman #7 (SGT Fraizer)

The competition will be back to the ranges for night shooting, but the grunts will actually get to go back to the barracks tonight to sleep. What a treat!

Static Displays: