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  1. Replies
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    Fiasco.

    In reading Tom Rick's Fiasco, he made the analogy that when dealing with "human terrain", that individual opinion is the tactical level, and that mass public opinion would be analogous to strategic...
  2. Cliche, I know...

    I'll take the bait. I led some non-grunt types in two deployments, and relentlessly focused on small arms training. The most dificult part was getting the ammo. Nonetheless there was plenty of...
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    Awol

    Has anybody read the book "AWOL: The Unexcused Absense of America's Upper Classes from Military Service", by Schaeffer and Douquette.

    I read it some time ago, and found it quite enlightening on...
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    Since we're talking about generalship, why limit...

    Since we're talking about generalship, why limit ourselves to the actual historical figures? We can learn as much about generalship from history as from fiction, poetry, etc...

    So, to the running...
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    I'm not so critical of the idea of using some...

    I'm not so critical of the idea of using some sort of training aircraft as a COIN aircraft. The Argentine navy uses Beechcraft T-34 Mentors with guns strapped on as a combat aircraft. Granted, the...
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    I think Proceedings is fine. I've been getting...

    I think Proceedings is fine. I've been getting the magazine since I was commissioned some years ago, and have always thought it worth getting. Back in the day it was devoted entirely to naval...
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    Once an Eagle is the best piece of military...

    Once an Eagle is the best piece of military fiction written. I read it during a CAX a few years back and had that been the only thing I accomplished in the entire exercise, it would still have been...
  8. My personal take on this specialization and...

    My personal take on this specialization and "missionizing" the forces (as opposed to missionizing the crews and equipment), is that the advantages primarely accrue to the crews because of transfer of...
  9. GP vs. Specialized Capabilities -- COIN & Beyond

    fm SWC Admin -- this discussion spawned from this thread after this post. Definitely on to something, just not "Non Cents"...
    ----------------



    Pardon me for moving this discussion almost...
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    I think there is probably something to this...

    I think there is probably something to this argument.

    Already, the agreement which determined the role of aviation in each of the armed service (was it the Key West Agreement?), is coming apart...
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    I'm opposed to selling the idea that we can...

    I'm opposed to selling the idea that we can merely "avoid exposing thousands of young Americans to the hazards of combat" precisely because to do so is will only bloody them more. COIN fighting means...
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    In terms of optimizing loiter time vs. payload...

    In terms of optimizing loiter time vs. payload (both sensor and weapons), I'm starting to think that UAVs and UCAVs are far superior to virtually any TACAIR out there.

    Their sensors are just as...
  13. Thanks, gents. Much appreciated.

    Thanks, gents. Much appreciated.
  14. Good-to-go Resident PME programs for Capts

    Greetings, all. It's getting to be about that time where I really need to buckle down and start dealing with this resident PME issue.

    I know that the EWS Course is probably pretty good to go as...
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    I deployed with a couple (Marine) Harrier pilots...

    I deployed with a couple (Marine) Harrier pilots in 2005 to IZ. Good dudes and great guys they are, but even as Marines they lacked the understanding of what a hinderance CAS can be to a long-term...
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    alibris.com isn't bad either. I ususally go to...

    alibris.com isn't bad either. I ususally go to them for hard-to-find books. Also, most of these bookstores can get you in-print and just-released books for significantly less than you'd pay in a...
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    Actually, LtGen Newbold's thoughts on the...

    Actually, LtGen Newbold's thoughts on the planning for OIF I are aired in Cobra II. He had some significant reservations and regrets not having aired them with enough volume during the planning...
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    Ironhorse is right on. During an out-brief...

    Ironhorse is right on.

    During an out-brief with my last group CO, we talked about how vital the MAW was. He cited a figure that something like 85% of all the combat power of the MEF was carried...
  19. Doctrine supports equipment or Equipment support doctrine?

    It seems to me that there are specific lobbies involved in producing certain pieces of equipment, namely the Army's FCS and for the Marines, the EFV. Both programs are for building ground combat...
  20. From a distance, it seems like this Legacy/Heavy...

    From a distance, it seems like this Legacy/Heavy vs. Future/Light debate is much like the bifurcation described by Tom PM Barnett (Leviathan vs. SysAdmin). Thoughts on this?

    I question the whole...
  21. Perhaps another route is to go the John Nagl...

    Perhaps another route is to go the John Nagl route: become a serving military officer. There would certainly be a delay in returns on the investment, but you could work yourself into some good COIN...
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    Indeed, their odyssey of thought on Opium has...

    Indeed, their odyssey of thought on Opium has shifted even more, given their history before the US even became involved in that wretched country.
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    One thing that has interested me in the past is...

    One thing that has interested me in the past is the rise in suicide bombing among the Taliban. I seem to recall that in Rashid's book ("Taliban"), that, at the time of the book's publication, the...
  24. An enlistment of 20 years seems excessive. I...

    An enlistment of 20 years seems excessive.

    I could see an increase of enlistment lengths from 4 years of active and 4 years in the IRR (a typical enlisted contract) to perhaps 6 active/2 IRR or...
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    As some folks who posted earlier on this thread,...

    As some folks who posted earlier on this thread, I have a somewhat postitive view of HRW, vis-a-vis their other NGO brethren.

    In the short term, it seems that the military's and HRWs agendas are...
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