"A question about 4 CMBG recce units" Topic

I'm trying to sort out how the 4 CMBG recce units worked in the early 80's. The recce squadron of the armoured regiment became the the brigade screen, easy. These guys stayed in their lynx's and patrolled several clicks in front of the brigade, easy. Did they wear crew suits and tanker helmets or combats and beret?

Each of the two infantry regiments had a recce platoon. In a Canadian light infantry regiment that platoon would have consisted of patrol dets, observation dets and sniper teams. Were the 4 CMBG platoons organized in the same way and if so did they all use lynxs, or were the patrol dets in the lynxs and the observation dets and snipers transported in something else? I'm assuming that the recce platoon personel wore combats and berets?

Some sources indicate that there was also an extra recce troop/platoon. If so was organized as an infantry platoon or a recce troop?

Chris

I was in the RCD recce squadron (functionally, brigade recce) in 83-84. Everyone in the regiment, tank or recce, wore berets, with the exception of tank drivers, who normally wore the AFV helmet.

However, the infantry recce platoons wore the combat hat (the kind worn by Red Green, the TV comedian). So, our squadron commander got the idea that we should also wear the combat hat, so that we would be indistinguishable from the infantry battalion recce. AFAIK that only applied during the year he was in command.

The organic RCD recce troop (the "extra" you mention, probably) also had Lynx, and so did the infantry recce, and so did the engineer recce! During one exercise I spoke to an opposing force officer, and he said, "everywhere we go, there is a Lynx watching us!".

BTW, brigade recce was capable of much more than screening. They were also trained to conduct route, sector, and area recce; bridge recce, traffic control, and rear area security. The problem was to educate the brigade staff about these possibilities.

Not even a thank you?

Even the armoured defence platoon commanders in the infantry battalions (the RCR anyways) had Lynxes.

Thanks for the information. The lynx is such a great looking vehicle and so pathetically under gunned! Still interested in the organization of the infantry recce platoons. In First Clash snipers are send to the ambush at Favorite with no transport of their own or details of where they came from. As far as I know there were no snipers in the rifle companies.

The dutch version had a nastier gun

a 25mm Oerlikon Cannon

I remember the 4 CMBG were our OPFOR during REFORGER '88 … I was with a US Mech Hvy Bde of the 18th ABN Corps. Deployed to West Germany for the FTX. Good training !