Combat? War? A lot of parallel, inter-related, relative stuff here.

If you are on a small scale focussed intervention - say a NEO or a Hostage Rescue effort - you may still find yourself in a punchy - event brutal and protracted - firefight, with lots of combined arms integrated activity. But are you in a war? No.

Yet in an enduring, protracted, 9 year+ multinational effort along all lines of Dip, Info, Mil, Economic effort - but against a non-state insurgency, with a much lower casualty 'density' than say Korea, or WW2 - or even the Falklands, where ships and planes were lost and battlegroups fought pitched battles - is it a war? I think so - because of the enduring nature of the Clausewitzian clash of wills.

Its been a while since I've posted. Busy bloke. But no-one's mentioneD style.

WW2 saw Glenn Miller on the Allied side (George Formby...lets not go there). The Germans had the Horst Wessel song (still catchy, for the Airborne).
In the 50s, the first Cold-War Hot-War saw the emergence of Rock and Roll. And success in Vietnam, had it been measured by music, would have been assured.

So where's the music for Generation Y at War? Hereinlies the strategic stall. Obama and Cameron (probably) listen to Coldplay. No wonder they're gloomy.

I made my Company listen to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Every man came back. When things were dark, I'd educate the young with Credence Clearwater Revival. 'What's that?' their innocent faces would ask. 'That's wisdom', I'd answer.

I think thats enough for now.