BonafideZulu wrote:Why did you guys give the AT a pistol as his only weapon? I doubt this is very realistic, but is the purpose for this balancing? Give him a M16 (or medic equivilent for all Armies) or SMG!
Yes, it is realistic, but it is also balanced with what we are trying to accomplish with PR; improved teamplay. And having to rely on your fellow Soldiers/Sailors/Airmen/Marines for support is reality. If the anti-tank class gets a shoulder-launched, anti-tank
guided missile and a rifle that he can switch to in under a second, what incentive is there to play any other class? And since if we do that the sniper would then be the only class without an automatic weapon, should we then give them an assault rifle/carbine or machine-pistol, too? Can't wait to hear the "feedback" about that.
PR is going by this table of organization and equipment for its anti-armor class, taken from the
Intro to MOS 0351 (Anti-Tank Assaultman) student handout published by the USMC School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune, which can be found
here
c. Equipment Organic to the Assault Section. In addition to the personal equipment and mission essential load that an Assault man may have to carry, there are specific items that can also be assigned to that individual.
(1) Section Leader. The section leader is equipped with:
(a) One lensatic compass.
(b) Technical Manual number 08673A-10/1.
(c) Binoculars.
(d) M-7 or M-9 Bayonet.
(e) M16A2 rifle.
(2) Gunners. Each of the six SMAW gunners within the section will be equipped with:
(a) Telescopic sight.
(b) MK153 SMAW.
(c) Two SMAW rockets.
(d) M9 9mm pistol.
(e) K-bar.
(3) A-Gunners. Each of the six A-gunners/ammo men will be equipped with:
(a) Two SMAW rockets.
(b) M16A2 rifle.
(c) M-7 or M-9 bayonet.
Does every unit go by this TO&E? No. One Marine has told us that the assaultmen he work with have a different standard operating procedure and that both team-members carry an M16 series rifle. Prior to this, three other Marines, all infantry, stated to us and in open forums that the assaultmen they worked with carried only sidearms. Is the rifle SOP now true for the entire Marine Corps? We don't know. All of the photographs we've sifted through on the USMC's own image gallery (high-res, good references) indicate that the majority of assaultmen don't carry the M16 in addition to the SMAW, which agrees with the TM found on the USMC School of Infantry website. Once again, is the assault team SMAW gunner having only a sidearm realistic? Yes. Does every unit go by the TM TO&E? No.
As stated before by Pence, your photograph shows a rifleman carrying an M136 (AT-4), which is a single-shot, disposable anti-armor weapon carried by a few men in each rifle squad as a measure against an armored threat or other hardened-target. They're meant to be fired in volleys; several launchers at a time. And, as said, we do plan to include weapons of that type as options or random items in the rifleman classes. They are not the weapons of "full-time" anti-tank specialists.
Oh my what's that in his hand, no not the huge as javelin, what is that in his other hand!?