Att_02_-_Concept_of_Operations_MCWP3_13.pdf

MCWP 3-13 w/chg 1

Employment of Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs)

U.S. Marine Corps

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

PCN 143 000103 00

stacey.coolican Typewritten Text M67854-14-R-0001 Attachment 02

To Our Readers

Changes: Readers of this publication are encouraged to submit suggestions and changes that will improve it. Recommendations may be sent directly to Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Doctrine Division (C 42), 3300 Russell Road, Suite 318A, Quantico, VA 22134-5021 or by fax to 703-784-2917 (DSN 278-2917) or by E-mail to morgann@mccdc.usmc.mil. Recommendations should include the following information:

l Location of change Publication number and title Current page number Paragraph number (if applicable) Line number Figure or table number (if applicable) l Nature of change Add, delete Proposed new text, preferably double-spaced and typewritten l Justification and/or source of change

Additional copies: A printed copy of this publication may be obtained from Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, GA 31704-5001, by following the instructions in MCBul 5600, Marine Corps Doctrinal Publications Status. An electronic copy may be obtained from the Doctrine Division, MCCDC, world wide web home page which is found at the following uni-versal reference locator: http://www.doctrine.usmc.mil.

Unless otherwise stated, whenever the masculine gender is used, both men and women are included.

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

Headquarters United States Marine Corps

Washington, DC 20380-1775

17 February 2005

CHANGE 1 to MCWP 3-13

1. Marine Corps Warfighting Publication (MCWP) 3-13, Employment of Amphibious Assault

Vehicles, should be changed as follows:

a. On page 1-7 of Chapter 1, in “Assault Amphibian Section,” delete sentences two and three and replace with, “The Rifle Platoon Commander exercises maneuver control of his platoon through the AAV Section Leader. While mounted or dismounted, the Rifle Platoon Commander coordinates AAV direct fires through the AAV Section Leader.”

b. On page 2-2 of Chapter 2, in “Assault Amphibian Platoon,” paragraph 2, delete sentences three, four and five and replace with, “The Rifle Company Commander exercises maneuver control of his company through the AA Platoon Commander.

While mounted or dismounted, the Rifle Company Commander coordinates AAV direct fires through the AAV Platoon Commander.”

c. On page 3-7 of Chapter 3, in “Planning,” delete sentence three, which currently reads, “During this period, the AA unit leader maintains TACON over the unit.”

d. On page 3-17 of Chapter 3, in “The Assault,” delete the first sentence, which currently reads, “AA unit leaders, in conjunction with the designated PCO, maintain TACON of AAVs and embarked troops during waterborne movement.”

2. Reviewed and approved this date.

BY DIRECTION OF THE COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS

J. N. MATTIS

Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps

Commanding General Marine Corps Combat Development Command

PCN: 143 000103 01

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

Headquarters United States Marine Corps

Washington, D.C. 20380-1775

10 September 2003

FOREWORD

Marine Corps Warfighting Publication (MCWP) 3-13, Employment of Amphibi-ous Assault Vehicles, provides the doctrinal basis for the use of amphibious assault vehicles (AAVs) in support of Marine air-ground task force (MAGTF) operations. This publication addresses the mechanized capability of the assault amphibian unit, section, and platoon in support of MAGTF missions. These missions include seizure and defense of naval and air bases, conduct of land operations essential to naval operations, and sustained operations ashore that support joint or combined force land operations.

The target audience for MCWP 3-13 is officers and staff noncommissioned offic-ers serving as members of MAGTF staffs and assault amphibian battalions. The publication provides information for consideration in the planning and employ-ment of AAVs in combat operations and military operations other than war.

Reviewed and approved this date.

BY DIRECTION OF THE COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS

EDWARD HANLON, JR.

Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps

Commanding General Marine Corps Combat Development Command

Publication Control Number: 143 000103 00

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1. Fundamentals AAV Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Armor Protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 Land Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 Water Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Types of AAVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 AAVP7A1 and AAV7A1 Reliability, Availability, and

Maintainability/Rebuild to Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 AAVC7A1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 AAVR7A1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4 Assault Amphibian Battalion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4 Assault Amphibian Battalion, Headquarters and Service Company. . . 1-4 Assault Amphibian Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6 Assault Amphibian Platoon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7 Assault Amphibian Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7 Assault Amphibian Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7

Chapter 2. Operational Principles Command Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Operational Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 Administrative Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 Assault Amphibian Battalion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 Assault Amphibian Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2 Assault Amphibian Platoon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2 Assault Amphibian Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Task Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2 Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 Cross Attachment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 Combat Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 AAV Allocations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7 Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7 Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7 iv _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MCWP 3-13

Chapter 3. Amphibious Operations Types of Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 Raid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 Demonstration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 Withdrawal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 Military Operations Other Than War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Intelligence Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 Hydrography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 Enemy Defenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 Sources of Hydrographic Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7 Assault Amphibian Unit Special Staff Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7 Organization for Amphibious Assaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 Landing Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 Preparation of Landing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 Organization of the Amphibious Objective Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10 Launch Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12 AAV Maximum Ship-to-Shore Swim Distance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

Embarkation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12 Amphibious Shipping Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12 Embarkation Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12 Embarkation of AAVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13 Securing AAVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

Rehearsal and Movement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15 Planning Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16 Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16 Preoperational Briefing and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17 Unit Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17

The Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17 Command and Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17 Fundamentals of the Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19 Infantry Concept Determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19 Debarkation Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20 Grid Reference System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22 Quiet Landing Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22 Position Location Reporting System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22 Global Positioning System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23 Formations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23 Rate of Advance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23 Screening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25 Actions on the Beach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25

Shore-to-Objective Maneuver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25 Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25 Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25 Operations in Navigable Waters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25

Employment of Amphibious Assault Vehicles __________________________________________________________________ v

Night and Low Visibility Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26 Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26 Night Launches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26 Formations and Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26 Beach Markings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27

Chapter 4. Offensive Operations

Section I. Forms of Offensive Maneuver Frontal Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 Flanking Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 Envelopment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 Turning Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 Penetration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 Infiltration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Section II. Types of Operations Movement to Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Security Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 Main Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3 Actions on Contact in Meeting Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3 Actions on Contact in a Bypass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3

Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3 Deliberate Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3 Hasty Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10 Reconnaissance in Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10 Feint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10 Demonstration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11 Raid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11 Spoiling Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11 Counterattack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11

Exploitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11 Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11 Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11

Pursuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11

Section III. Mechanized Operations Mutual Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12 Employment Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12

Tanks and Mechanized Infantry Attack Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13 Tanks and AAVs Support by Fire Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13 Multiaxis Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14

Mechanized Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14 vi _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MCWP 3-13

Maneuver Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15 Tanks Lead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15 Infantry Mounted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15 Infantry Dismounted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15

Dismount Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16 Short of the Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16 On the Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16 After Passing Through the Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17

Base of Fire and Maneuver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17 Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17 Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17

Assault. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18 Mounted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18 Dismounted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18

Consolidation and Reorganization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-19

Section IV. Role of the Reserve

Section V. Conduct of Passage of Lines Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20 Unit Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20 Command and Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20 Rearward Passage of Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20

Chapter 5. Defensive Operations Defense Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Maneuver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 Concentration of Combat Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 Offensive Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 Use of Terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1 Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 Mutual Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 Defense in Depth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 Fire Support and Obstacle Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Defensive Position Variations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 Reverse-Slope Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 Perimeter Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Organization of the Battlespace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Employment of Amphibious Assault Vehicles ________________________________________________________________ vii

Organization of the Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 Security Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Main Battle Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Rear Area Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Types of Missions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Defend in Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Defend a Battle Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Defend a Strong Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4 Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5 Counterattacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6

Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6 Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6 Maneuver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7 Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7 Direct fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7 Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7 Methods of Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8 Fire Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8 Preparations for the Defense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10 Engineering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11 Logistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12 Command and Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12

Types of Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12 Mobile and Position Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12 Deployment Methods in Position Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12

Chapter 6. Logistics Operations Logistic Trains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

Types of Trains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1 Command and Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2 Battalion Support Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 Replenishment Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 Recovery and Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5

AA Battalion Organic Logistic Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6 Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6 Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 Transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 Engineering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 Health Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8

Logistic Support Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9 Transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9 viii ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MCWP 3-13

AAV-Unique Planning Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10 Refueling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10 Preventive Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10 Environmental Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10

Chapter 7. Special Operations Marine Expeditionary Unit Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1 Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1 Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2 Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2 Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Environmental Effects . . . . . . . . . 7-3 Nuclear Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3 Chemical/Biological Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4 Decontamination Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4

Road March Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9 Military Operations Other Than War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9

Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10 Employment Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10 Employment Disadvantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10

Breaching Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10 MK-154 Linear Mine Clearing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11 Organization of Mobility, Countermobility Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12 Mobility, Countermobility Precepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13 Preparations for Amphibious Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13

Chapter 8. AAV Gunnery and Fire Control Weapons System Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1

Fire Control Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1 Classes of Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2 Weapons Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2 Water Gunnery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4 Range Determination Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4 Principles of Fire Distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5 Fire Control Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6 Range Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7 Fire Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Infantry Calls for Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10 Antiaircraft Gunnery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10

Employment of Amphibious Assault Vehicles _________________________________________________________________ ix

Smoke Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10 Engine Generating System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10 M-257 Smoke Grenade Launcher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11

Chapter 9. Operations in Special Terrain Jungle Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1

Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1 Combat Service Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1 Tactical Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2 Fire Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2 Engineer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2 Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2

Riverine Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3 Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3 Concept of Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6 Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7 Command Relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7 Organization Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8 Plan of Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8 Control Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8 Movement Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9 Tactics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9 Combat Service Support Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9

River Crossing Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11 Planning Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12 Types of Crossings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-14

Urbanized Terrain Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16 Types of Urbanized Terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-16 Hub Phenomenon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-17 Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-17 Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-17

Desert Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-18 Maintenance Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-18 Tactical Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19

Mountain and Cold Weather Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19 Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19 Logistic Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21 Vehicular Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21 Tactical Employment Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22 Individual Equipment Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23 x ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ MCWP 3-13

Chapter 10. Communications Forms of Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1

Visual Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1 Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1 Wire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2 Messenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2

AAV Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2 AAVP7A1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2 AAVC7A1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3

Chapter 11. Safety Guidelines General Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1

Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1 Vehicle Employment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1 Preventive Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2 Operational Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2 Passenger Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2

Waterborne Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2 Required Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2 Operational Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-3 Rescue Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-4 Safety Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-4 Water Operating Speeds and Distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-4 Emergency Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-4 Embarked Troops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-4

Land Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-4 Crew Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-5 Operating Speeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-5 Operating Distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-5 Road Crossings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-5 Operational Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-5

Other Safety Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6 Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6 Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6 Medical Evacuation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6 Lasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6 Up-Gunned Weapon Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6 Linear Mine Clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7 Onboard Vehicle Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7

Employment of Amphibious Assault Vehicles _________________________________________________________________ xi

Appendices A. AAVP7A1 Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1 B. AAVP7A1 (RAM/RS) Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1 C. AAVC7A1 Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1 D. AAVR7A1 Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1 E. Rescue Procedures for Disabled AAVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-1 F. Landing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-1 G. Grid Reference System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G-1 H. Amphibious Ship AAV Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H-1 I. Embarkation and Debarkation Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-1 J. Standard Flags, Lights, and Markers Used to Control AAVs. . . . . . . . . . J-1 K. Hand and Arm Signals for Control of AAVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K-1 L. Sample Time Schedule for Ship-to-Shore Movement of AAVs . . . . . . . L-1 M. Amphibious Ship Launch Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M-1 N. Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N-1 O. References and Related Publications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O-1

Tables 2-1. AAV Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

3-1. Sea State Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3 3-2. Safe Breaker Heights and Breaker Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 3-3. Notional Boat Team for an AAVP7A1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9 3-4. AAV Launch Intervals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21 3-5. RPM/Speed Conversions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25

7-1. M/CM Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12

8-1. MK-19 Time of Flight Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3 8-2. Grenades for the AAV M-257 Grenade Launcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11

9-1 Freshwater Ice Crossing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21

Figures 1-1. H&S Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5 1-2. AA Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

2-1. Tank-Heavy Force. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 2-2. Mech-Heavy Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

3-1. Amphibious Operations Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11 3-2. Tactical Launch Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14 3-3. Single Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15 3-4. Double Grip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16 3-5. AAV Formations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24 xii _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MCWP 3-13

Figures (Continued) 5-1. Defense-in-Sector Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

6-1. Service Station Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4 6-2. Tailgate Issue Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5

7-1. M11 DAP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5 7-2. M13 DAP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5 7-3. M17 LDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6 7-4. M100 SDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7 7-5. Thorough Decontamination Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9 7-6. MK-154 LMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11

8-1. Range Card Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8

9-1. AAVs Moving on Opposite Shorelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10

10-1. AAVC7A1 Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3

CHAPTER 1. FUNDAMENTALS

The amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) is employed to conduct mechanized (mech) opera-tions and related combat support in subsequent operations ashore. A fully-tracked amphibian, the AAV is used by the assault amphibian (AA) bat-talion to accomplish its mission to land the sur-face assault elements of the landing force (LF) and their equipment in a single lift from assault shipping during amphibious operations to inland objectives. The AA battalion and subordinate units perform the following tasks:

Transport assault elements, selected equipment, and supplies ashore in mech ship-to-shore move-ment, and other combat support operations.

Participate in the planning, coordination, and execution of mech, linkup, riverine, landing, and other operations as directed.

Use organic weapon systems to provide fire support during amphibious operations.

Provide support by clearing lanes through mine-fields and other obstacles during amphibious operations and subsequent operations ashore.

Execute the missions associated with AAV special mission kits.

AAV Capabilities

Understanding the capabilities and limitations of the AAV are important to maximizing its opera-tional utility on the battlefield. An amphibious armored personnel carrier (APC), the AAV is capable of open ocean operation from offshore shipping through rough seas and plunging surf;

and without modification, it is capable of travers-ing beaches, crossing rough terrain, and perform-ing high speed operations on improved roads.

AAVs provide the ground combat element (GCE) with armor protection as well as land and water operation capabilities.

Armor Protection

The AAV provides armor-protected mobility to the embarked infantry who will dismount to carry the fight to the enemy, while the AAV crew fights from overwatch. The hull of the AAV is con-structed from welded plates of ballistic aluminum and will provide a high degree of protection against small arms fire, up to .30 caliber at 300 meters and 105-millimeter high explosive (HE) (variable time) fragmentation at 15 meters.

Land Operation

The AAV is capable of worldwide operation in nearly any terrain. Possessing a ground pressure of roughly 9.1 pounds per square inch, the AAV is capable of operating in soft soil that is inac-cessible to the M1A1 tank or light armored vehicle-25 (LAV-25). The AAV has a 300-mile operating range at a cruising speed of 25 miles per hour on a flat, hard surface road with a max-imum land speed of 45 miles per hour. The vehicle can operate on forward slopes of 60 per-cent and side slopes of 40 percent. It can cross an 8-foot trench and a 3-foot vertical obstacle.

Water Operation

The AAV is the most seaworthy personnel land-ing craft in military service. It is capable of operat-ing in calm to moderate seas. Depending on the cargo load, the AAV can negotiate up to 10-feet plunging surf and can self-right from a 180-degree roll. Powered by two 21-inch water-jets, the AAV has a maximum water speed of 8.2 miles per hour and is capable of a waterborne range in excess of 45 miles in calm seas. Although relatively slow in the water, the vehicle is capable of safe, long dis-tance water marches that are limited only by

1-2 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ MCWP 3-13 extremely rough seas and associated effects of motion sickness on embarked personnel.

Types of AAVs

Three AAV7A1 family variants provide person-nel transport, command, and recovery functions.

AAVP7A1 and AAV7A1 Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability/Rebuild to Standard

The AAVP7A1 and the AAV7A1 reliability, avail-ability, and maintainability/rebuild to standard (RAM/RS) are designed to provide combat sup-port and armor-protected mobility for a reinforced rifle squad and associated combat equipment for operation on land or sea. Although the vehicles are principally personnel carriers, they may be employed to transport cargo in support of combat service support (CSS) operations. Appendices A and B provide additional data and specifications.

Load Capabilities

The maximum troop load (TL) for both vehicles consists of 3 crewmen and 21 combat-loaded infantrymen. The maximum cargo payload for the AAVP7A1 is 10,000 pounds and the AAV RAM/ RS is 8,000 pounds. Typical cargo loads include—

17, 55-gallon drums.

400 cases of meals, ready to eat.

138 cases of .50-caliber machine gun ammuni-tion.

2, 500-gallon fuel bladders.

Special Mission Kits Five special mission kits add to the capabilities of the vehicle.

Enhanced Appliqué Armor Kit. The enhanced appliqué armor kit (EAAK) consists of a series of bolt-on armor panels that provide additional armor protection to the vehicle. With the EAAK mounted, the vehicle receives a substantial increase in ballistic protection. The EAAK adds 4,400 pounds to the vehicle. The EAAK also mounts to the AAVC7A1 but not the AAVR7A1.

The following EAAK data applies:

No penetration for 7.62-millimeter and smaller weapons at muzzle velocity.

95 percent probability of no penetration for 12.7-millimeter armor piercing at muzzle velocity.

95 percent probability of no penetration for

14.5 millimeters at 300 meters.

99 percent probability of no penetration for 155-millimeter HE at 50 feet.

Substantially decreases the effectiveness of shape charge weapons by reducing the fragmentation debris cone from 110 degrees to 35 degrees.

Litter Kit. The litter kit provides space for up to six litters and is installed by the vehicle crew when the vehicle is to be used by medical support personnel as a mobile aid station and/or medical evacuation vehicle. For use only with the AAVP7A1 and AAV RAM/RS, the litter kit is installed using straps and is secured to existing hull brackets and deck plate slots.

MK-154 Linear Mine Clearing Kit. The MK-154 linear mine clearing (LMC) kit is a three-shot system designed for use in breaching operations.

The kit functions as a rocket launcher, and an ini-tial ammunition issue and subsequent reload is required to permit the kit to operate. Each of the three rockets, when launched, pulls a series of tubing from the cargo/personnel area of the AAVP7A1 and AAV RAM/RS; each series of tubing contains 1,750 pounds of C-4 explosive.

CAUTION

The AAV was not designed as an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and should not be employed as such. It lacks the armor protec-tion, stabilized weapons station, low silhou-ette, and means for the infantry to fight from the vehicle without exposing themselves to direct fire.

Employment of Amphibious Assault Vehicles ________________________________________________________________ 1-3

Upon detonation, the system is capable of open-ing a 100-meter long, 16-meter wide lane, at 95-percent proof, through the minefield.

Winterization Kit. The winterization kit helps the vehicle operate in temperatures to -45 degrees Fahrenheit. The kit consists of an engine coolant heater, winterization personnel heater, and battery box heat exchanger.

Visor Kit. Used when the AAV is operated under extreme cold weather conditions, the visor kit pro-tects the driver from the elements and provides a greater field of vision. The kit consists of a visor, windshield wiper and motor, defroster hose, and attaching hardware. The visor kit may be installed on the driver’s hatch opening of AAV7A1 and AAV RAM/RS variants.

Communications The AAVP7A1 and AAV RAM/RS are equipped with single-channel ground and airborne radio systems (SINCGARSs) for use by the crew and embarked infantry commander. A vehicle inter-communications system provides the capability for the crew and infantry commander to pass information while the vehicle is in operation.

Firepower AAVP7A1 and AAV RAM/RS vehicles are equipped with the up-gunned weapons station (UGWS) that mounts an M2, .50-caliber, heavy-barreled (HB) machine gun and an MK-19, 40-millimeter grenade launcher. The UGWS pro-vides an effective mix of firepower for offensive and defensive requirements.

AAVC7A1

As the command and control (C2) variant of the AAV7A1 family, the AAVC7A1 is employed by the supported unit at the battalion and regimental headquarters level as a mobile command echelon/ fire support coordination center (FSCC). The

AAVC7A1 is not configured for the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System.

Communications The AAVC7A1 is equipped with six very high fre-quency (VHF), one ultrahigh frequency (UHF), and one high frequency (HF) radio transmitters and receivers to allow secure communications with sub-ordinate, adjacent, and higher units, as well as with supporting arms and logistic agencies.