An undeniable trend in modern warfare that has influenced how the infantry is organized and how it fights is the increasing dispersion of the battlefield. The primary source of this trend has been the evolution of technology which has resulted in increasingly decentralized operations. This led to the birth of the infantry squad as an independent maneuver element. This study traces the evolution of the infantry squad in the American Army from WW2 until the present. It analyses the lessons from combat as well as numerous studies and tests that influenced how the Army changed the make-up of the squad and explain why the squad has its present organization. The study then turns from the past to examine the nature of future conflict and the role of the infantry in it. It examines the newest technologies and how they will likely be incorporated at the infantry squad level. Finally, the study examines the triangular infantry squad organization proposed by the United States Army Infantry School. The proposal is pan of a plan to restructure the infantry force to take it into the next century. The study reveals that the proposed squad organization is not original but has been used successfully by the U.S. Marines as well as the armies of other nations in the recent past. The elements of combat power are used to compare the proposed organization with the present one. The study determines that the triangular squad is superior in all the criteria and should be tested in the field for validation.

ADA 293440 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)