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platoon
(redirected from Rifle platoon)

   Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.

platoon

Principal subdivision of a military company, battery, or troop. Usually commanded by a lieutenant, it consists of 25–50 soldiers organized into two or more squads led by noncommissioned officers. The term was first used in the 17th century to refer to a small body of musketeers who fired together in a volley alternately with another platoon. It has been used in U.S. military manuals since 1779, and throughout the 19th century it meant half a company. It was reintroduced into the British army in 1913. See also military unit.



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Rene was a runner (messenger) in a rifle platoon, one of fifty-plus marines who carried an M-1 rifle.
After all, a motorized rifle platoon will often have to perform an independent mission: man a checkpoint, a reconnaissance or a lookout post, a guard or screening force, or act as part of an assault group.
He was a rifle platoon commander in South Vietnam where he was seriously wounded and subsequently awarded the Military Cross for gallantry.
 
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