Platoon - Australian Organization

Australian Organization

In the Australian Army, a platoon has twenty-four soldiers organized into three eight-man sections plus a lieutenant as platoon commander and a sergeant as platoon second in command, accompanied by a platoon radioman and medic (full strength of twenty-eight men).

A section comprises eight men led by a corporal with a lance corporal as second in command, similar to the British Army platoon. Each section has two fireteams of four men, one led by the corporal and the other by the lance corporal. Each fireteam (also called a "brick" by Australian soldiers) has one soldier with a F89A1 light machine gun and the other three armed with F88 assault rifles. One rifle is equipped with an attached M203 grenade launcher for the grenadier's role while another has a C79 optical sight for the designated marksman role.

The platoon may also have three MAG 58 general-purpose machine guns, one M2 Browning heavy machine gun or a Mk 19 grenade launcher at its disposal.

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