Mechanization hurts COIN forces

[flagg]

My background includes only one brief trip in a fairly permissive peacekeeping/peace enforcement environment in a light infantry role with a balance of foot and light vehicle mobility patrols.

One thing I noticed was the often negative attitudes by locals towards a coalition partner's forces which might have been strongly correlated with their quite infrequent debus-ing and lack of direct interaction with the locals...their vehicles seemed to create a significant barrier at times.

In my mind, I wonder if mechanized versus light infantry in COIN might be VERY ROUGHLY analagous to the squad car based versus beat cops on foot argument in crime ridden urban environments that comes up now and again?

While I understand the threat environment can be, and often is, quite high in the AOs in question...far higher than I've personally experienced.....and can warrant the real need for mechanization and the benefits it provides......but I wonder if the mechanization(when not actually necessary or warranted) creates some significant barriers along the same lines as I perceive things in this linked photo:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3167/...462a20f862.jpg

Sorry if my post might come across as too remedial/intro 101 COIN...just trying to learn!

[Shek]

My background includes only one brief trip in a fairly permissive peacekeeping/peace enforcement environment in a light infantry role with a balance of foot and light vehicle mobility patrols.

One thing I noticed was the often negative attitudes by locals towards a coalition partner's forces which might have been strongly correlated with their quite infrequent debus-ing and lack of direct interaction with the locals...their vehicles seemed to create a significant barrier at times.

In my mind, I wonder if mechanized versus light infantry in COIN might be VERY ROUGHLY analagous to the squad car based versus beat cops on foot argument in crime ridden urban environments that comes up now and again?

While I understand the threat environment can be, and often is, quite high in the AOs in question...far higher than I've personally experienced.....and can warrant the real need for mechanization and the benefits it provides......but I wonder if the mechanization(when not actually necessary or warranted) creates some significant barriers along the same lines as I perceive things in this linked photo:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3167/...462a20f862.jpg

Sorry if my post might come across as too remedial/intro 101 COIN...just trying to learn!

Flagg,

The beat cop vs. squad car is a great analogy. Perception is reality, and this classic piece by James Q Wilson about broken windows I think cuts to the heart of what you're after.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...-windows/4465/

Additionally, another name for COIN that was used by the Brits back in the day was Imperial Policing.

[jwater]

My background includes only one brief trip in a fairly permissive peacekeeping/peace enforcement environment in a light infantry role with a balance of foot and light vehicle mobility patrols.

One thing I noticed was the often negative attitudes by locals towards a coalition partner's forces which might have been strongly correlated with their quite infrequent debus-ing and lack of direct interaction with the locals...their vehicles seemed to create a significant barrier at times.

In my mind, I wonder if mechanized versus light infantry in COIN might be VERY ROUGHLY analagous to the squad car based versus beat cops on foot argument in crime ridden urban environments that comes up now and again?

While I understand the threat environment can be, and often is, quite high in the AOs in question...far higher than I've personally experienced.....and can warrant the real need for mechanization and the benefits it provides......but I wonder if the mechanization(when not actually necessary or warranted) creates some significant barriers along the same lines as I perceive things in this linked photo:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3167/...462a20f862.jpg

Sorry if my post might come across as too remedial/intro 101 COIN...just trying to learn!

Don't worry about being "too remedial", certainly people like me appreciate the context - I'm constantly looking up acronyms when I read posts on SWJ.

The analogy you propose makes a lot of sense to me, and my gut feeling originally would have been to agree, but the point that a lot of guys are making in this thread (one I'm starting to see as the reality), is that the cop car is not a barrier in and of itself - nothing is stopping the cops from parking their cars and doing a little community outreach on foot. In fact, they should, and good leadership would encourage that kind of behavior.