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A Weapons company is the heavy weapons portion of the USMC infantry battalion, tasked with providing supporting fire for the three rifle companies that make up the balance of the battalion. The Weapons Company provides fire support coordination, medium mortars, anti-armor weapons, and heavy machine gun support. The company is often organized into four distinct elements: company headquarters, mortar platoon (utilizing 81 mm mortars), antiarmor platoon (utilizing either the dragon or javelin weapons system, SMAW bunker busters, and the TOW missileweapons system), and a heavy machine gun platoon (utilizing the M2 Browning .50 Cal and Mk19 mod3 40 mm automatic grenade launcher). Often the TOW gunners are pulled from the antiarmor platoon and combined with the heavy machine gun platoon to form a Combined Anti-Armor Team (CAAT). These CAATs are mobile with humvees and are organized into three squads with five vehicles each, the squad organization being three vehicles with machine guns (both M2 & Mk. 19) and two vehicles with the TOW IIb. The remaining antiarmor unit is often trained as an ad-hoc assault and demolitions unit furthering the organic capabilities of the battalion commander. The 81 mm mortar platoon also gives the battalion a heavier organic artillery, as it supplements the 60 mm mortars found in the rifle company weapons platoons. Company commanders can utilize 81's in half the time it would take to get a 155 mm Howitzer up. (from Wikipedia)
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