Near-future US Ranger loadout

[Maz]

Hi, I'm going to run a scenario where the players are going to be US Rangers, but I'm a bit unsure about their loadout, especially amount of ammo, grenades, food and water and so on. I'm not even sure about how many rangers they should be, logically or what a squad consists of. Having no experience with any of this myself I call for help here as I know many on here are experts on this :)


Set setup is near future 10-20 years into the future, that assumes that the Future Force Warrior-project has been implemented. Its early TL:9.

Civil war has broken out in Cambodia with a resurface of the Red Khmers and is spilling out into nabouring countries and with an attack on an American base near the Cambodia/Vietnam border is is decided to send "do something" and the war has been going on for some years now. A military factory has been discovered deep inside enemy lines, and it's suspected that its going to produce chemical weapons of mass destruction. Tactical strikes won't work as it's build into (or under) a mountain.

The mission is a short one. Drop down, form up, assault and destroy the facility, lift out again. They are expected to be dropped down a few hours march from the facility and be lifted out again within (maybe?) 12 hours.

So far I have planned the following:
Interceptor BA12 (TL:9 tactical vest) with Traumaplates.
M12 helmet (TL:9 helmet), with HUD, nightshades and headset com-link.
M9 knife-bajonet (fine, large knife)
MR-C 6.8mmCL (TL:9 assault carbine) [x5 mags]
-Built-in 40mm grenadelauncher [X3 grenades]
Fragmentation grenade (TL:9 64mm) [x3]
Smoke grenades [x1]
Basic first aid kit (incl. one shot of morfine)
Gasmask.
Small Backpack including personal basics, compass, matches, small lighter, pocket knife, notebook, pen, bug-spary, signal mirror, water purification tablets.


How much water, food would be included, what else?
They are going to blow up the base how much explosive would they bring?
What would a unit consist of? How many rangers would be send?
Any help is appreciated.

[pieclone]

First of all Rangers go big. You would not normally see 10 Rangers, more like a Company sized unit. Realistically you're looking at the future version of Delta/CAG/DEVGRU/SAD/SOG/whoever.

A Vietnam-era MACV-SOG RT would consist of anything from between 4-12 men depending on the task - realistically the insertion and extraction vehicle will place a limit on the number of men. If one helicopter can carry 6 guys plus supplies then take either take one chopper with four or five or two choppers with a total of ten to twelve men. Whatever you have at insertion best be doubled (i.e. if you are inserting 10 guys you want four transports just in case, never mind gunship support and fixed-wing CAP/ground attack support).

Your other option is parachute insertion but that changes the scenario quite significantly.

My initial impression is that 5 magazines is not enough and not everyone is going to have a Grenade Launcher. I'd recommend at least 10 magazines and maybe 2 GLs per 3-4 men. I'd also recommend at least one LMG per 3-4 men.

You'll probably also want more smoke grenades for signalling and breaking contact (preferably WP rather than smoke), possibly claymores too.

I'd suggest having a look at the historical loadout of a MACV-SOG team or, if you have access to GURPS SEALS in Vietnam, base it on that and extrapolate from there. If you've seen the movie Tears of the Sun - think about the amount of kit they carried (one sniper rifle, one DMR, one SAW, one GPMG, a bunch of carbines and GLs, LAW rockets, claymores, grenades etc) and how much of it they used during the scene when they were ambushed at the end.

They would probably bring a radio and a designator and the base would be blown up by a cruise missile or air-launched weapon rather than a bunch of lads carrying explosives. A 10 man team carrying 10lbs apiece (an unreasonably large amount) would be 100lbs. That's nothing compared to even a single bomb/missile warhead.

(edit) Just noticed you mentioned it's in a mountain. There it becomes a bit harder. There is no way a small infil team will be able to carry enough to destroy it obviously, you can bury the entrance or just destroy the biological/chemical weapon. For this you want something hot - perhaps WP/Thermite or a thermobaric warhead of some sort and you are also going to need NBC kit for the troops. This would not be an easy scenario, particularly if there was anyone willing to let loose the weapons if an attack was detected.

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by pieclone

They would probably bring a radio and a designator and the base would be blown up by a cruise missile or air-launched weapon rather than a bunch of lads carrying explosives.

They would definitely have RADIOS (multiple) because without them there is no way to call for support, for medvac, for extraction. Without radios the only way you will survive in above scenario would be if every single thing went exactly according to the plan.

If I were given this mission and not assigned the radios I needed I would steal them.

[Sarge]

U.S. Army Rangers are not Navy SEALs. They do not operate in small teams, ever. Rangers operate only in company strength, 100 - 150 soldiers. Additionally, most Ranger units are no longer Airborne, they're usually Air Assault. Meaning that instead of parachuting in, they ride to the LZ in choppers. The choppers land briefly. The Rangers debark (read: jump out), then the helicopter takes back off, usually within 15 seconds of landing.

Rangers travel fast despite the heavy packs they carry. Each Ranger will carry at least twice the spare mags and grenades that you have listed, probably more like three times that amount. How much food they bring will depend on how long they expect the mission to last. Add a day of rations to the projected mission duration and that's how much food they'll carry.

Each squad will also have an LMG/SAW gunner. Every man in his squad will carry a belt or assault pack of ammo for the LMG/SAW. Yes, this means that almost every Ranger in the company will be carrying one of these. If they expect to face armor then a third of the men will have a light anti-tank weapon. If they don't believe that the enemy has armor the company will still have a couple of them just in case.

Additionally, the company will have a mortar, or perhaps a light artillery piece if something like that exists in your game universe. This weapon will be broken down and its pieces distributed amongst the members of the squad designated to operate it. This is the only squad in the company that won't have an LMG/SAW or LAWs. Every Ranger that isn't carrying a LAW will carry two mortar rounds, or perhaps only one round of ammo for the artillery piece depending on how heavy the round is.

Additional mission specific items, like blocks of Semtex, will be distributed among the Rangers that aren't carrying LMG/SAWs or the mortar. Every Ranger is part of the team and as you can see their load-out reflects this.

Yes, Rangers travel very heavy compared to straight legs. They're not front-line soldiers. They go in fast, assault a target (usually an airport), and then hold it just long enough for regular infantry to land or for them to be extracted. Once again, Rangers are not SEALs. They do not sneak in and silently take their objective. They're shock troops. They expect to move in hard and fast, to be outnumbered, to shock the enemy with their sudden appearance and overwhelming firepower.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Sarge

Yes, Rangers travel very heavy compared to straight legs. They're not front-line soldiers. They go in fast, assault a target (usually an airport), and then hold it just long enough for regular infantry to land or for them to be extracted. Once again, Rangers are not SEALs. They do not sneak in and silently take their objective. They're shock troops. They expect to move in hard and fast, to be outnumbered, to shock the enemy with their sudden appearance and overwhelming firepower.

Sounds like Rangers would benefit greatly from load-bearing Lower Body Exoskeletons. These are TL9, but in development right now so may be available within the 10-20 year span Maz is looking at. Going by the UT stats, this would give each soldier 70 pounds of Payload. The question is, would they use this to lighten their burden, or simply carry that much more gear?

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Maz

Hi, I'm going to run a scenario where the players are going to be US Rangers, but I'm a bit unsure about their loadout, especially amount of ammo, grenades, food and water and so on. ed.

See tactical Shooting p.79 for the loadout (weapons and armor at least) of a US sirborne soldier of 1994-forward.

However, we've already pretty well established that this is a SEAL mkission rather than a Ranger one.

Your problem then becomes one that SEAL tesms have Evil Sekrit Powerz over weapons procurement and standards. They appear able to order up whatever sort of weapon they want. They get custom .45s when line troops are using lowest bidder 9mms as a _simple_ example.

I don't believe there is such a thing as a standard loadout for a SEAL tesm. They seem to carry whatever they think is right for the mission and don't get second-guessed by bureaucrats who probably aren't cleared to know they exist.

You could simulate this by letting your players pick out whatever weaposn and gear _they_ wamt. :)

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Sounds like Rangers would benefit greatly from load-bearing Lower Body Exoskeletons. These are TL9, but in development right now so may be available within the 10-20 year span Maz is looking at. Going by the UT stats, this would give each soldier 70 pounds of Payload. The question is, would they use this to lighten their burden, or simply carry that much more gear?

More Gear...

[Sarge]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Sounds like Rangers would benefit greatly from load-bearing Lower Body Exoskeletons.

My understanding is that a civilian company has a working prototype and that the Army Rangers are highly interested in purchasing these once certain bugs are worked out.

EDIT: Here we go, I knew I'd find it.

XOS Exoskeleton being developed by Raytheon for the US Army

Raytheon XOS 2

Last I heard they believe these will hit the field in under 10 years.

[Maz]

Thanks for the fast replies :)

Just to clarify a few things.

Re. rangers vs. Seal
I choose the rangers after reading on them (and because it's always the Seals who gets all the RP and movire-action). This mission is indeed being carried out by some 100 men. The game however is about a small group that is shot down and have to find their way back to the others, to the mission objective and hopefully to the extraction point in time. It's a race through hostile land.
They are flying in low using Ospreys. It's the near future; just assume that any reasons not to use ospreys has been worked out... ospreys look cool. So yeah the plan is indeed fly in, land, then fly out again and return to pick up at designated time.

Re. Radios, LMG,s snipers, mortars and so on.
Thanks for the info. :D I had already plans to include all of this so that's good. Not all of it will be with the PCs though but they might be able to find them... or desperately look for them. ;)

Re. the chemical weapons
Intel say that the factory isn't operational. That's why they have to hit so fast and hard, before it is. As far as thy have heard China is helping out the Red Khmere (who have resurfaced) with high-tech gear. It is this gear they have to find and destroy, so I think thermite would probably make the most sense. They do not need to blow up the entire facility, just the crucial stuff.

Re. Ammo and food.
this is really where I was at a loss, so thanks for that. 15 clips possibly? OK.
I hadn't think to look in Tactical Shooting. I need that book anyway, since, you know, it is awesome. Have heard multiple different rules referenced from it that I have started using.

Re. Exoskeletons
It doesn't really look that practical at all, even in 10 years time. Even if it was made more practical, would they really outfit an entire company with it? It sounds expensive.
Anyway, I'm not against the idea it just have to be somewhat believable. Would they be able to resist armouring the thing? How would it work in GURPS? How would it looks and feel to the soldier?

[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by Maz

So far I have planned the following:
Interceptor BA12 (TL:9 tactical vest) with Traumaplates.
M12 helmet (TL:9 helmet), with HUD, nightshades and headset com-link.
M9 knife-bajonet (fine, large knife)
MR-C 6.8mmCL (TL:9 assault carbine) [x5 mags]
-Built-in 40mm grenadelauncher [X3 grenades]
Fragmentation grenade (TL:9 64mm) [x3]
Smoke grenades [x1]
Basic first aid kit (incl. one shot of morfine)
Gasmask.
Small Backpack including personal basics, compass, matches, small lighter, pocket knife, notebook, pen, bug-spary, signal mirror, water purification tablets.

There have been many good comments on this list already, but just to weigh in more...

Individual gear: 10-12 mags on a vest or web-gear is pretty standard, and maybe twice as much carried stowed in a pack for replenishment during lulls in fighting. Special ops units (SEALs, Special Forces, etc) usually carry a pistol as well, typically with 4-6 mags ready, but line infantry and Rangers do not. You might want an extra smoke grenade at the expense of a frag - you will use them for concealment AND for marking, so have a few different colors and some extras in your pack. NBC gear will depend on the mission. Expect basic food and water for the duration of the mission and a little beyond - a couple of canteens seems reasonable in this case, some guys might grab an MRE but a half-day without food is no hardship to these guys. You will want a small "survival pack" with matches and such, but it will be very small - your expectation for this kind of mission is to be extracted, captured, or killed, and you don't want to waste weight on the slim chance of having to cross some vast wilderness. With a 12-hour mission expectation, night vision gear seems like a good choice - remember that you have to plan for the mission to go long!

Squad gear: Grenade launchers, if carried at all, will be one or two per squad with a standard load of 12-18 grenades. Machineguns, if carried at all, will also be one or two per squad with a standard load of 2-4 belts/drums. Additional ammo for the support weapons, along with disposable anti-armor rockets and any needed demolitions gear will be distributed among the squad. Comms gear will generally include one or more "large" radios to communicate with distant support units and sufficient "small" radios to coordinate between squad elements out of line-of-sight - this might be one per person for some missions, other missions might not carry them at all if the squad is meant to stay together at all times. Remember that any real-world mission will involve splitting the group up into at least 2 elements, often 3-4, so you WILL need some type of intra-unit comms. You will want to figure a medic or two with their attendent gear, and may have one or more snipers carrying either specialized sniping weapons (rare for squad deployment) or some type of accurized infantry rifle (a DMR).

Demo gear: Will depend on the scale of the facility. A few thermal grenades or bricks of C4 could handle the important components of a small facility, several large satchel charges might be needed for a larger facility.

Originally Posted by Maz

What would a unit consist of? How many rangers would be send?

It depends on the scope of the mission and the unit.

For the missions, it depends on the size of the facility to be destroyed, the scale of the opposing force, and the resources available. Audacity, planning, and skill count for a lot, but you don't want to send a squad to assault a large facility held by a platoon.

The unit gets more complicated. Rangers, as others have noted, don't deploy individual squads - they aren't set up for that type of operation, and I would be surprise to see anything smaller than a platoon (28-40 men) and even that would be a rarity. Special Forces has a 12-man A-team as their base unit, SEALs use an 8-man boat crew as their "standard" minimum and prefer at least a full 16-man platoon, and both units will usually only go smaller for recon missions where no combat is desired or for sniper-type missions. Sniper and recon teams can be as small as 1-2 men and are often as large as 5-6 these days, but are not designed for demo or assault work. Top-level teams like DELTA and DEVGRU don't share their tactics or organization, so guess what you will. Regardless, any given mission might be assigned to whoever is available if it is urgent and given a sufficient probability of success.

For a 6-8 man team assaulting a small facility you might want to consider the following arrangement (forgive the acronyms, this is already a long post):

Assignments: 1 Team Leader, 1 Comms, 1 Medic, 1 Machinegunner, 1 Grenadier, 1-2 Demolitions, 0-1 Sniper/Intel, 0+ Riflemen. Some of these may be combined, some may not be discretely necessary - for example, SEALs are all well trained in demolitions (so no special demo guys), and often combine skill positions (like comms and medic) with weapon assignments (like sniper, machinegunner, and grenadier).

Primary Weapons: 1 LMG or SAW, 1 URGL, 1 DMR, the rest with assault rifles. 2 disposable LAW rockets, 2-3 satchel demolitions packs (this being a demo mission).

Additional gear: 1 manpack radio, 2-3 small radios, 1-2 cameras (every mission is an intelligence mission), 1 large medic kit for your team medic.

Note that all of this depends on the mission, but this being a game it is probably best to pick the team that you want and then design a mission suitable to their numbers and skills.