Results 1 to 20 of 20

Thread: The M1 Abrams: The Army Tank That Could Not Be Stopped

Threaded View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Council Member gute's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    322

    Default The M1 Abrams: The Army Tank That Could Not Be Stopped

    http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news...e-stopped?lite

    The above is a link to an article about the fight on Capital Hill regarding refurbishment of M1 Abrams tanks or possible lack there of. There are a couple of quotes in the article - one by a retired general and another by General Ordinero that I kind of bothered me.

    Paul D. Eaton, a retired Army major general now with the nonprofit National Security Network, said in an interview:
    The M1 is an extraordinary vehicle, the best tank on the planet..Since the primary purpose of tanks is to kill other tanks, however, their utility in modern counterinsurgency warfare is limited..
    Everything I've read about the M1 in Iraq was positive. The bad guys feared the tanks and our guys loved having em around. Game changers.

    Warfare has changed, Odierno explained while discussing the Army’s new strategy at the February hearing:
    We don’t believe we’ll ever see a straight conventional conflict again in the future.
    This kind of thinking bothers me. We never seem to guess the future right, but here we go trying again. I'd would much rather have and not use them than need them and "oh crap". To me it seems more sensible to not be involved in counterinsurgency warfare whenever possible. If one looks at history so many of the lands that we or our allies that have fought counterinsurgencies, where they really worth it? I don't know what is easier (probably not the right word), taking troops trained for full spectrum operations and shifting gears to a counterinsurgency or taking a force trained to fight insurgencies, but having to shift to conventional war - after we build more tanks and train the crews.
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 07-30-2012 at 04:19 PM. Reason: Citations in quotes

Similar Threads

  1. Pakistani Army commentary
    By wm in forum South Asia
    Replies: 145
    Last Post: 06-10-2018, 09:26 AM
  2. US Army Irregular Warfare Fusion Cell
    By SWJ Blog in forum Doctrine & TTPs
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 08-31-2017, 12:02 PM
  3. Towards a U.S. Army Officer Corps Strategy for Success
    By Shek in forum Training & Education
    Replies: 50
    Last Post: 05-16-2010, 06:27 AM
  4. Army Training Network
    By SWJED in forum TRADOC Senior Leaders Conference
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-20-2009, 03:45 PM
  5. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 02-05-2006, 02:06 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •