Rules Questions: Command Teams as casualties

All of these answers are from the Flames of War official forums:

a) When determining morale tests after shooting a platoon must be at half strength to force a test. Do command stands count toward figuring this out?

b) if multiple hits are taken the defender allocates hits. Each hit must be allocated among teams does that mean command teams in the platoon as well?

c) In an artillery bombardment it says to place the template over an enemy team in the platoon. Does that mean you can put the template over the center of a command team or does that exclude command teams due to the definition of teams in the early part of the rule book?

Command teams DO INDEED count. They are a part of the unit as are vehicles when it comes to damage. If you are running a Armored Rifle Platoon with the half-tracks on the table you have to count the Platoon Leader, all rifle teams, all machine gun teams, all bazooka/atg teams, the mortar team, and the half-tracks which comes to 19. To go below 50% you have to kill 10 vehicle/teams and the PL is counted. The only exception would be if you removed the half-tracks from the board then your count would be 14 thus reducing the break point to 8 before a morale test is needed. Transport teams do not count towards a platoons numerical strength for morale purposes only to the casualty count. So a platoon of 14 infantry teams and 5 transport teams takes 5 transport casualties and 5 infantry casualties then this is a test as you have 10 casualties and 9 active teams, but if the same platoon were to take 7 infantry casualties and 1 transport casualty this would also be a test as you have 7 active teams (do not count transports for morale) and 8 destroyed.

If you mean platoon command teams, then:

a) Yes.

b) Yes, but he can be the last one allocated.

c) Yes. He can be the target of an artillery bombardment (or aircraft)

a) If you mean Company command teams then:

No, even if he joins the platoon in the shooting step he does not count towards the numerical strength of the platoon, so German PzGr platoon of 6 MG teams and a commander are shot at and lose 4 teams. This is a test as you have 4 dead and 3 active, even if an Independant Team (IT) joins them they do not count to the units strength only to its casualty count.

b) The only time IT's have to take a hit in shooting is if the enemy targets them and they are forced to join a platoon. This can then still be the last hit allocated, so everyone else in the platoon will have to take a hit first.

c) Yes. He can be the target.