If a section consists of just rifle and MST bricks put together, who then leads the section?

Are some bricks led by corporals and some by lance corporals? Because then it would make sense if the senior NCO from all the bricks put together runs the show.

Or is it just a case of an unattached NCO taking a couple of bricks under his command, taking the number for a section up to 9?

Yeah correct- lance jacks will run a brick, corporals will run multiples as 'section leader' along with having his own brick. They will all be from the same platoon (excepting attachments from other Corps etc).

Excellent. It's nice to be sure about the basics, even though the organisation in the field will be very different.

Do you know if australian models exist in 15mm ?
I am also looking for good web references about uniformlogy ?

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Unfortunately I'm not aware of anyone doing moderns. You can get Vietnam era or earlier, but after the SLR was phased out for the Steyr I can't find anything.

What exactly do you mean here?
A good source for images of current Australian troops (if that's what you're looking for) is : http://www.defence.gov.au/media/download
Step back through the archive

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I should add that there has been an entry in Eureka's 300 Club for modern australians for some time. I registered my interest when I saw it, but it looks like no-one else is keen.
Here's the link : http://eurekamin.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=87_194_728&products_id=9883
Maybe if others are looking for these figures we can push the numbers up?

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An australian company is molding 20mm modern aussies, look in the sticky under figure suppliers. Eureka also has modern spec ops in the 100 club. Under eureka kriegspiel there are modern aussies but these are 25mm realy. Should go well with mongoose prepaints.

We've probably strayed a bit far from the orbat discussion.
I've started a new figure thread here: http://www.ambushalleygames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1209

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Thanks for your links
I will try to find the best proxies for Aussies

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Just to add my 2c worth, Leigh is spot on.

Not sure if you know Leigh, but SF ORBAT? and if Commando ORBAT is different to Regiment?

ARES commando company is about to be raised in Brisbane. 160 members + 27 ex regiment cadre staff. penciled in for a tour Christmas next year! Got some work ahead of them.

Whats this ARES commando company suppoused to be then?

They are essentially a reserve version of 4 RAR, our regular Commando Battalion. You generally hear about the Australian SAS in Afghanistan, but for some reason the Commandos do not get much of a mention. Where do they differ in role? well ask a regiment fella and he would say heaps. By definition they do large scale raids, amphib assaults, that sort of thing. In Afghanistan they would be involved in the SF type raids and hunting Taliban. They operate within the SF Group along with the SAS.

The GRES/Regular army thing here is meshing a bit especially within SF. The reserve guys are expected to do basically the same selection and training process as the regulars. because at the end of the day they are going to war and serving side by side with their regular counterparts.

While digressing from the thread, it is quite an interesting area overall. The Australian Military has finally come to the conclusion that they can only really defeat the Taliban by killing them. After years of being tied down in deployments by Politically Correct Rules of Engagement, they are finally going out (proactively) hunting and killing the bad guys. When one of the last SF guys were killed, they went and hunted down the culprits and killed them. Defence claimed it was not a revenge thing, but i am sure we can see through that. They are becoming very good at the pure SF raid/hit (call it what you may). from the accounts and results i have heard, very, very good.

I will continue with a general precis of Australian Operations in Afghanistan. I know this digresses off topic, but i am not sure where this should go so please split as required along with my previous post.

I am sure Leigh will be able to offer specifics and clean up any mistakes i make.

Australia currently has over 1000 troops there, with a build up over the next months to some 1500 or so. There is the reconstruction task force consisting of an engineer element supported by a regular infantry company for protection.

Then there is the Special Forces Group made up of SAS, Commandos and probably even some navy Clearance Divers? They do the small team recon, surveillance, patrolling and targeting of Taliban. They also come together in platoon + sized groups for large scale raids and attacks (traditionally a commando specialty). These occur regularly.

Australia is also building up what are being called "Omelettes". they are teams embedded with Afghan Army units. this will include down to the corporal/section leader level. they are called Omelettes as they will be a variety of personnel and capabilities embedded within the Afghan units. A similar thing we did in Vietnam. These Omelettes will also have a section (or more) of infantry in a Bushmaster as protection/ready reaction.

As i mentioned at the start, i am sure Leigh may be able to provide more info and clear up and mistakes of fact i may have made.

One thing is for sure. with the great variation of roles Australia is undertaking in Afghanistan, there is a heap of opportunities to game with.

regards
Mathew

Good stuff Mathew. I had heard before that the Australians are taking a more direct and aggressive approach, while the Dutch supposedly are much more hesitant about using force and rely more on a peaceful civilian approach to pacify the area. Can you enlighten on this (its very hard to get stuff like that in the Netherlands for a layman such as myself)?

Very interesting that you said the ADF has come to the conclusion that the only way to defeat the Taliban is to kill them in a time when your own world famous COIN expert David Kilcullen has come to the conclusion that the only way to defeat them is to make them irrelevant. Just ignore them, focus on protecting the population and pay no attention to the wolves howling around the safe zones. The enemy will be forced to act and come out into the open, where he will be killed, but at that point has actually already been defeated.

Arent they worried that their direct approach will lead to more civilian casualties and loss of support from the population? You can kill a lot of Taliban but it is doubtful you can ever kill enough. What is their opinion on that problem?

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My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old lie; dulce et decorum est
pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen

Not sure what you want me to enlighten?

I do not think that the Kilcullens concept is exclusive to other means. in many ways he is right, but each has a place as the circumstances dictate.

Civilian casualties? I do not think that is a major issue for them. They are specific in their targeting and not prone to wide spread destruction of an area. Not saying there have not been civilians casualties, but i know their MO minimises the chances.