ErikModi
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Posts: 34
Joined: Wed 08 Dec 2021, 16:27

Colonial Marine Company math

Wed 15 Dec 2021, 00:29

Since this is relevant to something else I'm working on, it was nice to see a breakdown of a Colonial Marine unit in the Ops Manual. But something struck me as off:
Should the battalion commander want all of
the infantry companies dropped into a combat
zone along with their APCs, in a single assault,
nine of the dropships will be needed.
A company made up of three platoons. A platoon is divided into two sections. The Marines we saw operating in Aliens were one such section.

An M577 APC is designed to deploy one section, and a Cheyenne dropship holds one APC.

So you need two dropships and APCs to deploy a platoon.

Six APCs and dropships to deploy a company.

Eighteen dropships and APCs for three companies, or one battalion.

Did I misread or misremember and an APC can field a full platoon, not just a section? That would make the book's math right.
 
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Vader
Posts: 944
Joined: Fri 15 Nov 2019, 14:11
Location: The Frozen North

Re: Colonial Marine Company math

Wed 15 Dec 2021, 11:17

Nope. The APC in the movie is jam-packed — with a bit of TARDIS effect needed to actually fit everybody, even — so your math is right.

Seems Andrew missed a 2x somewhere when writing that bit.
Before you use the word "XENOMORPH" again, you should read this article through:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aliens-throwaway-line-confusion
 
ErikModi
Topic Author
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed 08 Dec 2021, 16:27

Re: Colonial Marine Company math

Wed 15 Dec 2021, 20:54

Yeah, I was aware the APC couldn't actually fit inside the APC in the film, and it was pretty cramped in there, but "space off-camera that you never really saw!" has excused a great many things in other licensed games in the past.

Further reading had lots of references to a single dropship and APC being enough for one section, a platoon takes two, so yeah.

Unless the implication is that, on an average basis, a platoon is only equipped to drop one section at a time, i.e., each platoon has half as many dropships as it needs, with the difference to be made up by the aerospace squadron's dropships.

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