These grunts recommended a 15-Marine rifle squad ‘at a minimum.’ The top Marine went with 12.
By: Shawn Snow  
Marines with Kilo Company, Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, wait to begin a combined arms range during a predeployment training exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, Nov. 11. (Lance Cpl. Dalton S. Swanbeck/Marine Corps)
Marines participating in the first phase of an experimental series of exercises known as Sea Dragon 2025 had recommended a 15-Marine rifle squad model roughly a year before the top Marine decided to make it smaller.
In an article published in the Marine Corps Gazette, some of the leadership within 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines had characterized the 15-Marine rifle squad as being “at a minimum, the way to go†for Marine infantry operating on the future battlefield.
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/11/28/darkhorse-marines-had-recommended-a-15-marine-rifle-squad-following-experimental-exercises/
