Team Smith OOB

Hi all,

Welcome back to the next installment of my on-going effort to bring WWIII back to my gaming table.

When we last spoke I was filling you in on where I was taking my American collection: that I was going to use the real-life 31st Armored Brigade of the Alabama National Guard as the parent organization for my collection.

This week I'm zooming in to view the company team that I'll be putting on the board that is from the 31st: Team Smith!  I'll give you a starting order of battle for this ad hoc force that will be spearheading my force.  They'll be the first to face the full fury of my ever-growing Soviet hoard!  So here's an OOB and the background fluff for this group of weekend heroes who've been yanked into the most terrible war of modern times. 

Team Smith is a fairly typical company team from the 31st Armored Brigade.  It is built around C Company, 1st Battalion, 167th Infantry and elements from A Company, 1st Battalion, 131st Armored Regiment.  A 1/131 Armor was exchanged for A 1/167 Infantry, so now the crunchies of the "4th Alabama" have found themselves in the infantryman's version of hell... assigned to an armored unit! While Charlie Company remained with the battalion poor 1st Platoon has been swapped out for the 1st Platoon (tank) from Alpha Company,   All of this platoon cross attaching has left 1/167 Infantry looking something like this:

Task Force 1/167 Infantry (4th Alabama)

HHC (Hq and Hq Company)
Able Team (Tank Heavy Team with 2 tank platoons and 1 mech platoon)
Baker Company (Mech pure team with 3 mech platoons)
Charlie Team (aka Team Smith with 1 tank platoon and 2 mech platoons)
SSC (Service and Support Company)

In addition to the battalion's organic and cross-attached element the 4th Alabama has picked up other attachments:

1 ADA Platoon (M163 Flyswatters)
1 Combat Engineer Company (to support the task force's maneuvering).

Team Smith's current OOB looks something like this:

Company HQ with 1 (11 man) AR squad, 1 Jeep, 1 2 1/2 Truck, 2x M113A1, 1 M60 GPMG, 2x M203 

Company Maintenance Section with 12 men, 1 Jeep, 1 2 1/2, 1x M113A1, 1x M578, 1x M203. 1 M88 ARV with a heavy maintenance team (4 men) from 1/131 Armor.

2 Mech platoons with a five man platoon command team, 4x M113A1, 3 (10 man) AR squads armed with 6x M203, 3 GPMG, 3x 90mm M67 or M47 Dragon (M67s in Alabama, M47 in Germany- however some of these weapons were brought with the company to Germany)

Heavy Weapons platoon with Platoon HQ: 1 Jeep and command team (5 men)
1 Medium Mortar Section: 3x 81mm M125A1, 1x M113A1 with MFC, 4x M203 (14 men)
1 ATGW Section: 2x M150 (TOW) (6 men)

1 Tank Platoon with 5x M60A1 (20 men)

1 M163 ADA platform with 1 Redeye MANPAD SAM team (4 men).

Company Personalities:
As war breaks out in Germany Team Smith can count on the efforts of about 143 souls. 



CO: Captain Daniel Smith. Dan Smith is one of first African American officers in 31st Armored Brigade, A 1977 graduate of the University of Alabama, Smith played football under head coach Paul "Bear" Bryan.  He was suppose to be a first round NFL draft choice however he badly fractured his leg while playing during his senior season.  He's now a football coach at a Birmingham high-                                                        school.

XO: 1st Lieutenant Justin Jacks. Jacks is an oddity in the company.  He's a former marine and a veteran of the Battle of Hue.  No one really knows how he found himself in the National Guard, or even what he does in civilian life, and he's not answering questions.  He drills the men mercilessly and is a stickler for marksmanship  weapon PMCS.  He still calls his soldiers "doggies".  His preferred weapon is the M1911.


1st Sergeant Kevin Leary. "Top" Leary, according to the GIs of Charlie Company, is the world's meanest Kindergarten teacher.  He's also the oldest man in the company at 39.  Leary was drafted into the Army in '65 and served two tours in 'Nam with the 11th ACR where he was the driver for Captain David Drake.  Even though Leary knows the "Track" (M113) like the back of hand he swears that he'll buy it in one of those "death traps" one of these days.  

2nd Lieutenant Stuart Kyote. Kyote is the 1st Platoon leader.  He and his bunch of M60 tankers were cross-attached to Team Smith just a month before WWIII broke out.Stuart's mom was a war-bride from the UK (his dad was a 1st ID veteran from WWII), and even though he hales from Dothan, Al he speaks with a sharp and crisp English (Public School) accent.  Kyote, and his platoon,  are still struggling to find their place in Team Smith.  It's always tough to be the cross-attached guys. 


More later.  Time now Charlie Mike.