Quote Originally Posted by JMA View Post
That is the way the US knows how to fight... by applying overwhelming force to a lesser (in all respects) force. The key here is that at division and maybe brigade level is where the US operates best. Below that all bets are off - as seen by outsiders. US special forces are obviously world class and that offers a ray of hope. But the competence gap between small teams of SF and a convention bde or div is just too great in any form of insurgency war.
While you are absolutely correct in the main, that isn't totally true; there are varied and changing units (due to the vagaries of personnel rotations) that operate competently. There are just far too few of them and the pattern of change and competence is essentially unpredictable.

While that variance has always been true to an extent -- and will always be -- the percentage of less competent units is now several orders of magnitude larger than it has historically been. That is due almost totally to the terribly flawed BTMS -- Task, condition and Standard -- individual training model. The troops learn to do some tasks quite well but other important tasks are not well taught (many due to having a low initial pass rate, thus making the trainers look bad) and the troops do not learn how to integrate and combine those tasks for combat. A flawed and excessive rotation of individuals dependent personnel system does not help -- though it does provide jobs for a lot of personnel folks...

There are Officer and NCO competence problems as well but they mostly result from the same training process flaw with an added unintended consequence of a personnel system that for them significantly over emphasizes 'fairness' and 'objectivity' in selection criteria and that seems to believe all people of like rank are equally competent. That is not true, never has been and never will be.

It should also be noted that until the early 1980s, movement of Officers and and NCOs between conventional and SOF units was quite common. As the 'new' training system took hold, the SOF guys very quickly insulated (isolated ? ) themselves in order to achieve and maintain a little 'purity.' Equally noteworthy is that they are not forced to use that flawed training model and that attempts to export elements of their training process to the broader Army in the past few years have been stoutly resisted -- by both communities...

We have major systemic flaws; little will change until the entire 'system' is revamped. Tom Ricks is right for a change, the Generals are a big part of the problem, no question -- but they are far from solely responsible; who, after all, approves their selection...