Suprised this novice started such a long thread. Im an armchair historian and I cant help but think that in 10-20 years, people are going to be studying the question of losses due to the IED and mistakes overzealous, hardcharging glory hounds ran their men into bombs instead of methodical painstaking recon and more ways to lower the body count.

Booby traps in vietnam caused a ton of casualties but I see that in a different light of the jungle vs more open terrain. Instead of trying more soldiering skills and intelligence, it seems that America just tries to build bigger more expensive vehicles. Like I said, it just aches to hear of another casualty due to IED. Didnt even get a chance to fire at the enemy. I know its a painful reality of controlling the AO to be mobile and presence on the ground but There has to be an answer.