[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Nancy Fulda

For story purposes, I'm going to assume that brain-jacking, signal jamming and cyberwarfare makes drones unreliable at best. If I can pull it off, I may invent ways of nullifying most non-lethal projectiles so that combat strategy comes full circle and we end up with lots of hand-to-hand fighting. (Love the direct-contact shock sticks...)

In Lensmen, shipboard combat devolved to swords and axes. And muscle power, which favored the heavy-worlders. If you're going for drama, hand-to-hand melee is a lot more visceral than shoot-n-duck free-for-alls. Especially in enclosed spaces where you care about the bystanders or the facility.

As to your unit organization, this might offer up an idea of how the US Navy seals do it:

Each SEAL Team is commanded by a Navy Commander (O-5), and has a number of operational SEAL platoons and a headquarters element.

A SEAL Team has a Staff Headquarters element and three 40-man Troops. Each Troop consist of a Headquarters element consisting of a Troop Commander, typically a Lieutenant Commander (O-4), a Troop Senior Enlisted (E-8), a Targeting/Operations Officer (O-2/3) and a Targeting/Operations Leading/Chief Petty Officer (E-6/7). Under the HQ element are two SEAL platoons of 16–20 men (two officers, 14–16 enlisted SEALs, and sometimes assigned non-NSW support personnel); a company-sized Combat Service Support (CSS) and/or Combat Support (CS) consisting of staff N-codes (the Army and Marine Corps use S-codes); N1 Administrative support, N2 Intelligence, N3 Operations, N4 Logistics, N5 Plans and Targeting, N6 Communications, N7 Training, and N8 Air/Medical.

Each Troop can be easily task organized into four squads of eight 4–5 man fire teams for operational purposes. The size of each SEAL “Team” with Troops and support staff is approximately 300 personnel. The typical SEAL platoon has an OIC (Officer in Charge, usually a Lieutenant (O-3), an AOIC (Assistant Officer in Charge, usually a Lieutenant (junior grade), O-2), a platoon chief (E-7), an Operations NCO/LPO (Leading Petty Officer, E-6) and other operators E-4 to E-6. The core leadership in the Troop and Platoon are the Commander/OIC and the Senior Enlisted NCO (Senior Chief/Chief).

Troop core skills consist of: Sniper, Breacher, Communicator, Maritime/Engineering, Close Air Support, Corpsman, Point-man/Navigator, Primary Driver/Navigator (Rural/Urban/Protective Security), Heavy Weapons Operator, Sensitive Site Exploitation, Air Operations Master, Lead Climber, Lead Diver/Navigator, Interrogator, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Technical Surveillance, and Advanced Special Operations.

The USMC Force Recon teams are organized like this:
http://forcerecon.americanspecialops.com/

Force Recon Marines will typically deploy attached to a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) as a Force Reconnaissance Platoon (FRP). The FRP provides the direct action element for the MEU's Maritime Raid Force. A Force Reconnaissance Platoon typically comprises:

Platoon Headquarters
Platoon Commander
Platoon Sergeant
Platoon Radio Operator
Navy Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman (SARC)
(SARCs are Navy medics that are trained to the same standard as the rest of the Recon Platoon.)
Platoon Equipment NCO (Rigger/ Armorer)
3 x 6-man Reconnaissance teams
A Reconnaissance team is made up of:

1 x Team Leader (staff sergeant)
1 x Assistant Team Leader (seargent / staff sergeant)
1 x Radio Operator
3 x Reconnaissance Scouts
Six is the minimum number of men required to carry out the deep reconnaissance role

The russian Spetnaz do it like this:
http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/airchr...-dec/boyd.html

SPETSNAZ operate up to 1000 kilometers behind enemy lines, with emphasis on enemy nuclear delivery means, either locating them for attack by other forces or, if necessary, attacking by themselves. Typical SPETSNAZ targets include mobile missiles, command and control facilities, air defenses, airfields, port facilities, and lines of communication. In addition, specially trained SPETSNAZ elements have the missions of assassinating or kidnapping enemy military and civilian leaders.

The basic SPETSNAZ unit is a team of eight to ten men. The team is commanded by an officer, may have a warrant officer or senior sergeant as deputy, and includes a radio operator, demolitions experts, snipers, and reconnaissance specialists. Team members have some degree of cross-training so a mission can continue if a specialist is lost.

Have fun!