Vudu - My comments are to your first post.
The 325th VFG has gone up and down in its numbers over the years. And the 325th VFG is one of the original FSO squads. We had a period of time where we were so small that every week it seemed liked we got our clocks cleaned because we ran into a larger squad. Morale plummeted and the future of the squad was in question...
I didn't complain about it - I fixed the problem internally. We recruited, and we joined forces with other squads to form into a larger squad for the FSO. In time the issue corrected itself. Today the 325th VFG has only a few remaining 325th VFG pilots. The others come and go weekly and are part of the "Ironhorsemen". G3MF and the 325th VFG use to fly together until they separated and started flying by themselves. The same was true of the 35th who also flew with the 325th VFG for awhile until they took on the responsibility of being your own squad in the FSO. Internally the indpendent squads form up into their flights and form into a larger group. So squad identifiy is kept. I'd be glad to join forces with any small squad as long as we can plan, coordinate and fight as a team. No bozo's shotting down friendlies, No drunks or druggies or kids under 17 are allowed. We come to play once a week to the best of our abilities.
Over the years I have planned and helped plan more CIC missions than I can remember. Small squads aren't as effective as the larger squads in the operations, so yes the smaller squads have to get attached to other larger squads or should be in order to give them a better chance of success and survival. I also never will put a small squad in charge of a Strike Package internal to a mission I plan. Has nothing to do with personalities just the plain fact that the larger squad owns the assists. No "gets" a turn to be fair. You have and run a large squad you get put in charge and that's how I plan. And history has shown time and time again that when planners band together 4-6 small squads into a large formation they tent not to do as well as a 1-2 squad configuration of the same size. Being small has limitations, just a fact.
That being said I will assign smaller squads to the following duties - Perked AC when I need to spread limited AC to several locations. Makes more sense than splitting up a larger squad into 2 different AC types. Scouting duties as part of larger Strike Package. Keeps them close to a larger element in case they need help, and they will. Escorting packages so that the Escort Leader can detach a smaller element as needed during the fight. This gives flexibility.
Being in a small squad has limitations, just a fact. If you don't want to be small than change it, we did. But don't ask the FSO community to change anything to accommodate.