In response to the bitter fighting that resulted from the slow ship deployment of British troops to the South Atlantic which gave the Argentines time to reinforce, dig-in and lay mines, the Ministry of Defense created the 5th Airborne Brigade that can now fly to a world hot spot like the Falklands within hours. Hopefully detering aggression in the first place like the British Airborne as a full sized Division did to stop Iraq invading Kuwait in 1961.

"Britain's Airborne rapid development force, 5th Airborne Brigade was setup in its present form after the Falklands War to deal with Out of Area Operations (O.A.O.). Which could be rapid reinforce of dependent territories; the evacuation of United Kingdom nationals from overseas trouble spots; assistance to friendly governments; international peace keeping operations and rapid response to emergencies."

"Under extreme circumstances, the commander may choose to leave one of the section's mortars behind and have more ammunition carried for the remaining mortar. This could occur during operations over deep snow, requiring the mortar section to use ahkios to transport its weapons and equipment. The six-man mortar section can pull only a single ahkio, which can carry up to 200 pounds. Operations on mountainous terrain can also cause the commander to choose to leave a mortar behind. During assault climbs or infiltration attacks over rough terrain, the efforts of all six mortarmen may be needed just to get a single mortar and its ammunition into a firing position.

The section sergeant and company commander consider how much ammunition is carried and who carries it. The mortar section can carry only a limited amount of ammunition. The approach load of mortarmen must be kept to a minimum. Extra pounds of personal equipment decrease the ammunition carried by the section. In World War II, the gunner of the 60-mm mortar squads carried the mortar tube and six rounds. Two other members of the squad carried 12 rounds each. This represents only one minute of fire at the maximum rate for the 60-mm mortar. The company commander's options for carrying more mortar rounds are limited.

Each member of the rifle platoons and company headquarters can carry one or two mortar rounds. This adds weight to the already heavy load of the riflemen and machine gunners, but it does ensure that mortar ammunition is available. This method is hard to control if the enemy opposition is intermittent but can be effective during a deliberate attack. As the rifle platoons pass through or near the proposed mortar firing position, they can drop their mortar rounds. A modification of this method was used in the Korean War when attacks were being made along or up steep ridge lines. The lead rifle platoons did not carry any mortar rounds. The mortar section moved second in the line of march, carrying as much ammunition as it could. The second and third rifle platoons, moving behind the mortars, carried one or two rounds on each man. When enemy contact was made, the leading platoon immediately began the assault, supported by the mortar section firing the ammunition it carried. As each succeeding rifle platoon passed the mortar position, it dropped its mortar rounds and joined the attack.

The rifle company can have the mortar section carry as much ammunition as possible and rely on vehicles, aircraft, or battalion-carrying parties to resupply ammunition. This method works best when the advance is along a road net or over trafficable terrain. Organic vehicles may be used, or captured enemy equipment may be pressed into service. A method that saves time and effort is to have mortar ammunition broken out of its boxes either at the ammunition transfer point or unit trains. The individual canisters can then be placed into color-coded aviator kit bags and stockpiled for movement forward by the available transportation means. Using the kit bag eases loading, unloading, and transferring the ammunition. About 15 rounds of ammunition can be carried in each kit bag, making a load that can be handled easily by two men, or by one man in an emergency. In some areas of the world, labor service units provided by our allies can carry ammunition. In the lesser developed countries, indigenous pack animals may be available. If carrying parties or pack animals are used, the company XO and first sergeant must coordinate to ensure that guides and drivers/handlers are available and supervised.

The rapidly employable, lightweight litter referred to as the SKEDS litter can also be used to move mortar ammunition and equipment. One man can pull a fully loaded SKEDS litter out of a helicopter and over most types of terrain for short distances."

FM 7-90 Mortars Chapter 8 Light Mortars

BG William O. Darby wrote in, We Lead the Way pages 130-131:

"If it hadn't been for our standard operating procedure of carrying extra mortar shells ashore in the assault boats, we might have lost our hold on the Sorrento Peninsula...

For the Sorrento Peninsula and its mountain fighting, there was an evident need for extra mortar ammunition, so each Ranger carried one round of 60-mm ashore with him on the landing. The first men to leave the boats were unencumbered with heavy equipment. Each carried one extra bandolier of ammunition around his neck; as soon as he hit the beach he threw it off above the high watermark. The last four men out of the boat carried the cases of mortar and small arms ammunition. When they passed the high watermark on the beach, they simply dropped their loads and kept going. The beach naturally looked like a junk yard when morning came, but the second wave's supply officer straightened it out...

Operating in high mountains that rose sharply as high as several thousand feet, the mortar battalion had to improvise or find means of carrying their ammunition. The Chemical Warfare Service had built a small cart exactly fitting the ramp on the LCI. These carts, loaded with ammunition, were pulled ashore down the ramps of the boats..."

Colonel David Hackworth (Ret.) writes in:

"Back when the 60 was gone and replaced by the 81, I had each trooper carry one round with a como wire sling. When they got into a fight they dropped the rds. It always found its way back to the guns or its carrier. It worked. Did the same thing with a box of 30 cal ammo in korea. My outfit was always ready for bear."

ITS TIME FOR A SOLUTION: ATACS

First off get mortar rounds out of the individual Paratrooper's rucksacks. If they ever carry mortar rounds they need to be rapidly accessible without need of a sling that has to be turned into supply--use commo wire as Col. Hackworth suggests. The 2 mortars sections jump their M224 60mm mortar components inside M1950 weapons cases or the new AirPack weapons case with simultaneous quick release of ruck and case for extreme low-level jumping. Details covered in the 1996 FM 57-220 Military Static-line parachuting manual here. They carry in their rucks a minimum load of 60mm ammo for immediate return fire capability. The rest of the Infantry Company will be spread too far out in an immediate firefight from the DZ to get their mortar rounds in their rucks to the 60mm mortar sections, so all they do is hinder the mobility of those that need to maneuver to get killing direct fire on the enemy.

Before each mortar section jumps, a A-21 door bundle with a piece of truck bed liner plastic on the bottom is pushed out with a T-10 cargo parachute to match the descent profile of the jumpers. The directional ribs on the truck bed liner plastic insure the bundle slides out the door but not back against the trailing edge and get stuck. Truck bed liner plastic has been donated by the efforts of the 1st TSG (A) to the U.S. Army Airborne Special Operations Test Directorette at Fort Bragg, NC. The mortar Paratroopers jump immediately afterwards.

The mortar Paras get out of their parachutes, ruck up and move to their door bundles. Inside are 50 rounds of 60mm ammo and an All-Terrain All-Purpose Cart or ATAC. They assemble the ATAC with the wheels placed in the center for center of balance and load the mortar rounds inside. One Para tows the ATAC hands-free to aim and fire a weapon with a waist belt. Upon enemy contact a quick release frees him to return fire and IMT. This cart should be the field-proven UT 2000 system in use by dozens of Allied Armies worldwide with fat tires for low ground pressure. If the mortar section encounters terrain not passable by the ATAC, they can disassembled it into two pack frames and spread the ammo out into man-sized loads, though the UT 2000 will roll or slide over anywhere. Without wheels, the UT 2000 is a snow sled. But unlike an Akhio, only one man needs to tow it, so each section can have one. In fact, its possible with ATACs to upgrade the light mortar section to 81mm or even 120mm mortars though both should be moved by either John Deere Para-Gator or HMMWV 4x4 vehicles. Light tanks like the M8 Ridgway Armored Gun System should have a M224 60mm mortar (can be trigger-fired, point-aimed) on their turret sides like the IDF Merkava I tanks have to give indirect fire support in situations where direct fire from its main gun is not possible. Its quite easy for a tracked AFV to carry several cases of mortar ammo in its turret bustle rack that would require immense toil to man-carry. Mortar tubes should be carried "back-pack-style" using double-slings to keep them away from the legs for better foot mobility. ATACs could carry the new generation of "smart" guided mortars that can kill tanks.

The use of carts dates back to even the Civil War--but is marred by the narrow tires being used that sunk into the ground and the inability to balance the load over the axles so the weight doesn't press down on the Soldier towing the cart. Today's ATACs solve this dilemma. The German Airborne used carts that were their airdropped equipment containers extensively in WWII, expecially the Battle for Crete and we had the M3A3 Cole cart used by Darby's Rangers to "speed march" across the ETO at 4-7 mph! In the late 1980s, Cpt Franz Gayl, a friend of the author's came up with a bicycle wheel cart to roll of the rear ramp of helicopters in order to carry Heavy Machine Guns allocated to marine infantry units with HMMWVs that are unable to fit inside even CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters. U.S. Army CH-47D Chinooks can fit HMMWVs, so the need for an ATAC hasn't been as acute until now, with the evaporation of fire support available to light infantry units.

The official U.S. Army Quartermaster Air-delivery web site says this about the carts they parachuted into our men in WWII:

"Similarly, two wheeled ammunition carts were found to be too bulky to load and too large to drop through the plane door.  Mechanics of the unit simply sliced the wagons into manageable sections, fitted them with bolts and braces for re-assembly by the receiving troops, and parachuted the carts over the side."

With a good ATAC with fat, not bicycle tires, that is not dead body weight--that becomes a pack frame if rolling terrain is not found, the mortar section can have its ammunition by its side for immediate use. We say a good ATAC, because the U.S. Army seems to have chosen a narrow bicycle tire cart that has its wheels in only one position instead of the UT 2000, which can also evacuate a wounded Paratrooper. Both carts are depicted in the picture below:

Carts on trial with U.S. Army Soldiers Systems Command, Natick, MA

The bottom line is that local Airborne units have the purchasing power to buy inexpensive items like ATACs at their level. We encourage them to do this. POC information is below:

The All Terrain All-purpose Cart (ATAC) is a combination of the UT2000 stretcher, used by dozens of allied armies made by Kohlbrat & Bunz of Cornelius, NC (704) 896-1999 that is actually two cargo backpack frames that join to be a helicopter evacuation Stokers litter, Snow Sled, ground litter and with All-Terrain Wheels a one-man propelled ammunition, equipment, casualty evacuation cart and the Roleez Corp., low-ground pressure tire system. There is no dead weight in this system: if it cannot be rolled, it splits into cargo backpacks to carry the mission items.

The U.S. Army Airborne and light forces in the XVIII Airborne Corps are America's "first-to-fight" since we are a strategic AIR power. Everything we can do to enhance war winning combat power to the Paratrooper is of vital urgency to our national security and the defense of freedom. In this case, the ATACs need to be obtained, rigging procedures for A-21 door bundles decided upon and field SOPs determined. The rest is VICTORY.

RESPONSES TO THIS ARTICLE:

"Mike, excellent article! I'm sending it to all my Infantry Company and Bn Cdrs. We had mortar exevals during XXXX 98, and the Airborne 81mm mortar plt from XXXX PIR won. Did an Abn mass tac with XXXX Thu (12 C130s). The 81 plt air dropped 2 tubes, with ammo bundles, and had them in action 10 minutes after their PLF. I know, because I landed 25 meters from the mortar bundles, and watched these awesome guys do their thing -- the mortar platoon sergeant, real stud, broke his ankle in the jump.

Airborne!

Keep up the great work!

COL XXXX

Want Pvt Murphy in your pocket?

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