I have a company of Bookers (painted desert tan), but I'm not sure how I want to use them yet. I got them because I thought they looked cool! LOL My MEU that is still under construction has a platoon of M1A2 TUSK tanks and an AAVP7 platoon. I'm building the first 2 MEUs as they were in my day, but maybe I should consider a more modern MEU with ACVs and Bookers.
Old school MEU: Grunts, HMMWVs, M1A2, AAVP7, M198, CH-46
New fancy MEU: Grunts, JLTVs, Bookers, ACV, M777, MV-22
The New Fancy … with Bookers?? Look good as you said.
But since it’s not a tank, not even a light tank, what does it do if it runs into … Type 96, Type 99, Type 98?
Fire an HE round? HEAT? Or retreat to safety, hopefully?
Bookers shouldn't be fighting tanks. A MEU already has AT weapons to deal with armor threats: Each rifle company has a weapons platoon with AT capability, plus the battalion's weapons company has an AT platoon that can fight mounted or dismounted. Plus a MEU is a MAGTF, so they have rotary and fixed wing air support.
Agree. Really a useless vehicle. NEVER let Infantry design the tanks. That's a lesson we learned before WWII. Mine are the result of what the Army was planning for Stryker brigades, just to be correct. No, it can't be a cavalry tank. I think it's just a logistical burden. In the end, I will be surprised if the Marines take them. Both Marines and Army have weapons that can do the Booker's job better. Spend the money on a vehicle that can carry more AT, AD, ammo. Make sure it floats under load. Put sensor suite on it. Robot armed with mg or 30mm.
Last edited by panzergator on Thu Apr 02, 2026 12:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
All blessings flow from a good mission statement.
Pogo was right. So was Ike.
"A Gentleman is a man who is only rude intentionally." (Churchill)
Give credit. Take responsibility.
Ok! The Stryker battalion spent the day exchanging two Strykers per platoon for two Dragoons. I don't know how accurate, but I've seen Stryker Infantry battalion chars showing each option as two Strykers and two Dragoons. The exchange freed up sufficient Strykers to form another Stryker company, albeit without the Dragoons. Maybe later. Still have some odds and ends to get - Stryker AT, engineers, REBS, recovery. Working on that.
All blessings flow from a good mission statement.
Pogo was right. So was Ike.
"A Gentleman is a man who is only rude intentionally." (Churchill)
Give credit. Take responsibility.
Just curious, how many dismounts does the Stryker Dragon carry? Do you have fewer dismounted grunts if you add the additional firepower to the vehicles?
Short answer: NO. But I feel obligated to have some for contingencies and must properly support them. The Dragoon turret does not reduce the number of dismounts carried. Stryker carries 9 dismounts, which is better than Bradley, but it ain't 11, which would be nice.
Likely, I will end up with at least two battalions, but the second one will suck resources away from other things. I also will probably diverge a bit from real-lifeTOE as I have my own thoughts about some things. Some depends on whether or not I get a 3D printer up and running, because plans can get expensive and GHQ does not always cooperate by issuing what I want. Right now, for instance, I need the second Stryker bn, a Boxer bn each for Germans and Brits, 2 155SP bns, another MLRS bn, and an M119 bn. Need more engineers and ADA as well. And I mustn't forget about Army aviation. And then there is the Marine ACV bn... plus likely a couple Ospreys and a few Vipers... It just goes on and on and on... And the Euro NATO folks are ginning up a whole new fleet of vehicles! Europe is looking to re-arm as the US takes away its umbrella protection. Big mistake for us.
Any thoughts on adding a Stryker platoon to a Bradley company to plus up the infantry dismounts? Stryker platoon to follow in support. Or a Stryker company to the CABs?
Last edited by panzergator on Thu Apr 02, 2026 8:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
All blessings flow from a good mission statement.
Pogo was right. So was Ike.
"A Gentleman is a man who is only rude intentionally." (Churchill)
Give credit. Take responsibility.
My initial reaction is to be nervous about having Strykers mixed in with Brads and tanks because of the lighter armor and the issue of wheels versus tracks. But after a little thought I would say I'm nervous about it being a permanent arrangement, but I can see situations where it could be beneficial.
In OIF it was not uncommon to see tracked vehicles rolling alongside HMMWVs in urban areas. We weren't worried about rough terrain or speed, so it was nice to have some variety of platforms.
Well, it would have some issues, certainly not an ideal fix. How about a supplemental infantry company in AMPVs? I think the solution is to put a modified Dragoon turret on Bradley, freeing up space for more dismounts, maybe two more. I remain concerned about Infantry's numbers available on the battlefield. WWII armored infantry were ALWAYS short-handed. It seems a lot worse now. Your reservations regarding Strykers keeping up with tracks goes straight to my point regarding wheeled armored personnel carriers. I've watched Strykers and Boxers both struggle on slippery grass in Germany (on Youtubes). Mud, as well. The tracks have difficulty, too, but wheels are impossible. The Germans have seen it and are developing tracked Boxers for infantry and the arty RCH. BUT! Meantime, ya gotta run watcha brung.
And I'm inclined to say it's situational. How are you going to get more infantry on the mission? Yeah, I remember METT-T.
More INFANTRY, Gridley! We MUST have MORE INFANTRY! (Never thought I'd say that when I was young and stupid)
Last edited by panzergator on Fri Apr 03, 2026 12:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
All blessings flow from a good mission statement.
Pogo was right. So was Ike.
"A Gentleman is a man who is only rude intentionally." (Churchill)
Give credit. Take responsibility.
My initial reaction is to be nervous about having Strykers mixed in with Brads and tanks because of the lighter armor and the issue of wheels versus tracks. But after a little thought I would say I'm nervous about it being a permanent arrangement, but I can see situations where it could be beneficial.
The French Army does it a lot. Our new VBCI is an 8 wheeled job, meant to accompany the MBTs
Nice work on the MLRS too. I didn't know they ware also called "Spills".
The AMPV seems like a cool vehicle. It looks like a beast. How many dismounts will it carry in the back?
Foxbat, have French armor units run into any mobility issues with the wheeled vehicles not being able to keep up with tanks over rough terrain?
I really wish I got to work with French troops more when I was in Europe. We had a French brigade attached to our division for Bright Star 2001 and they were cool as hell. I was very impressed with the officers I worked with.
How this happened, I have no idea, but AMPV seems to carry 2 crew and a whopping FOUR dismounts... WHAT THE HELL!!!?
All blessings flow from a good mission statement.
Pogo was right. So was Ike.
"A Gentleman is a man who is only rude intentionally." (Churchill)
Give credit. Take responsibility.
That's crazy. I haven't been able to find anything different about troop capacity. Maybe (big maybe) if it is intended to replace the M113, they didn't do a troop carrying version since the M113s are no longer used as troop carriers? Maybe?
