U.S. Alamo Scouts Platoon (10)
General MacArthur was dissatisfied with the intelligence he was receiving from Naval Intelligence. He ordered General Krueger, Commander of the U.S. Sixth Army "Alamo Force," to create an all-volunteer elite unit consisting of small teams which could operate deep behind enemy lines. Their primary mission was to gather intelligence on the enemy's troop numbers, unit types, and locations.
Volunteers were recruited from within the 6th Army and training comprised a rigorous six-week program including: Rubber Boat Handling, Intelligence Gathering, Scouting & Patrolling, Navigation, Communications, Weapons, and Physical Conditioning. Approximately 30 percent of the graduates were retained as Alamo Scouts.
The Alamo Scouts evolved from a simple reconnaissance unit in New Guinea to a sophisticated intelligence collection group to include freeing Allied prisoners, rescuing downed pilots, and support and coordination with native guerillas in both New Guinea and the Philippines. The Alamo Scouts liberated 197 Allied prisoners in New Guinea, and provided forward reconnaissance and tactical support in the liberation of the Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Camp on Luzon, in February 1945, freeing 511 Allied prisoners. In addition, the Alamo Scouts captured 84 Japanese prisoners of war.
The Alamo Scouts have the finest record of any elite unit of World War II and, arguably, one of the finest in the history of the United States military.
The Alamo Scouts used no specific weapons load-out. Instead, each team member chose a package that was mission-specific. Carbines were the most popular but some chose the Thompson SMG, the M1 Garand, or even a shotgun. They each carried the .45 pistol, multiple hand grenades, knives, and a triple load of ammo.
They usually operated in seven-man teams, with six on the active patrol and the 7th coordinating the insertion and extraction from offshore naval vessels.
Unpainted 28mm metal
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