I think as the DO concept translates from theory to application in the field we'll see it mature in ways well enough to decide whether or not Mr. Lind has reason to be wary. He was not alone in his negative impressions of some of the experimentation regarding what many thought was DO--notably the HUNTER WARRIOR evolution. Then Major John Schmitt--author of the venerable FMFM 1 Warfighting and a man who certainly has "rucked up"--wrote extensively of these same concerns. I'd also heard LtGen P.K. Van Riper echo these same concerns in other fora.

Regarding JCUSTIS's comment that:
As I step back and think about it, I think some of the confusion on DO may stem from the historical examples used.
I couldn't agree more. I've got a rather large PowerPoint file (with animation and speaker notes) that outlines a larger historical survey of DO if anyone is interested in getting it. Regrettably it does not contain the Long Range Desert Group, but I could easily work that in if we think the CHINDIT example doesn't do that particular facet of the concept justice.

--Eric
ericmwalters@yahoo.com
eric.m.walters@usmc.mil