How Close is 'Close Combat'?

[William F. Owen]

How Close is 'Close Combat'?
And do we still need to do it?

Close is 1m-25m in my book, and yes we still need to do it, but training soldiers to close with the bayonet is catastrophically stupid. The ability to post/throw a grenade into a trench/bunker or throw it into a room is also a required skill.

So, how close is 'close combat' nowadays and how important is that we should get closer?

Extremely - but unless the enemy has been effectively fixed, (FIND FIX STRIKE EXPLOIT) he will simply avoid being struck.
The whole art of platoon tactics is movement to gain greater proximity to the enemy, so as your fire is more effective. Done well, the enemy should be unable to run away, and be all dead or have given up, once you are within grenade range. Worked on the Imperial Japanese Army and Waffen-SS, and it will certainly work on the Taliban.