My question is more of a equipment one. Wouldn't long rifles (M-16A4?) and longer barreled SAW's serve the Army or Marine Corps better in the open terrain of Afghanistan?
Yes they seemed to have fire discipline issues and the leadership didn't seem to control the fight, but OTOH, its hard to discern what is going on from this vantage point.
Why, yes. But...
(a) They aren't high speed and low drag...Originally Posted by Boot
(b) The goal of the US army, I'm firmly convinced, is to have just one uniform type, one weapon type, one radio/comm type and one vehicle type for all units, all missions, all terrains, all climatic conditions...
Oh, and to further the interests of uniformity and to finally kill all aspects of General Purpose Design (GPD. Motto: "An Army of one." No one knew that's what they were really after...) they want All Systems Synchronized.
Also, no one will be authorized ANY hair...
How about just having one type of mission, one type of terrain, one type of climate and one type of enemy? How simple would life be?The goal of the US army, I'm firmly convinced, is to have just one uniform type, one weapon type, one radio/comm type and one vehicle type for all units, all missions, all terrains, all climatic conditions...
Now that would avoid hair-raising situations....Also, no one will be authorized ANY hair...
Nothing that results in human progress is achieved with unanimous consent. (Christopher Columbus)
All great truth passes through three stages: first it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
(Arthur Schopenhauer)
ONWARD
Gaa-a-a-a-ahhh!!! Ssh. They may
be lurking. Fer gawd's sake, don't give 'em any ideas...How about just having one type of mission, one type of terrain, one type of climate and one type of enemy? How simple would life be?...Now that would avoid hair-raising situations....
Everyone knows, the most disciplined soldiers can stop facial hair growth at will. They shave every day anyway because it's the rules, and never get razor burn.be lurking. Fer gawd's sake, don't give 'em any ideas...
"The status quo is not sustainable. All of DoD needs to be placed in a large bag and thoroughly shaken. Bureaucracy and micromanagement kill."
-- Ken White
"With a plan this complex, nothing can go wrong." -- Schmedlap
"We are unlikely to usefully replicate the insights those unencumbered by a military staff college education might actually have." -- William F. Owen
Uh huh, I told you to turn in those
'Go' pills before you rotated. Windburn and chapped face indeed...
Viper Company
I know these guys pretty well. I was their O/C at NTC back in January 2008. They were a good company with a very good commander. They were definitely the cream of the crop in the battalion. However, I too was dismayed by some things in the video, particularly the M203 blind over the wall.
One thing it is hard to train at places like NTC is these sustained firefights. We really tried to do this and by the time we did the next A'stan rotation at NTC, there was a method to 'surge' the OPFOR for lengthy (over 15 minutes - usually 45-60 minutes) firefights.
Niel, the nice ambush was also conducted by these guys - just days after an IED along a trail killed a brand new replacement troop. They have taken some hard licks but they also delivered some.
The reporter, Richard Engel, has shot a lot of video with these guys. He has been embedded over the course of the year for several weeks at a time, from what I can tell. In one series, they maneuvered a platoon as bait and came into contact. While engaging the Taliban with mortars, they had a fratricide against one of their own (from the mortars). You could see the frustration/pain on the face of the commander when he got the report.
I agree that the performance wasn't the best. An interesting point may be turnover in leadership. I am pretty sure the platoon leader didn't go through the train-up at NTC. It is possible the platoon sergeant didn't either. With injuries, a 36-man Army infantry platoon can pretty quickly look like less than 2 squads of Marines. I doubt they have more than 2 full squads plus weapons squad to maneuver with at this point.
Also it didn't seem like much more than a squad was involved with this mission. What were the rest doing? Probably holding the fort back at their platoon COP. This is some amazing terrain and movement at night is pretty hazardous, especially when burdened with all the crap they are required to carry. With the enemy having fantastic ISR, it is hard to get to a vantage point over them. They know where we are and attack when they think they may have an advantage. If we put out ambushes anywhere near a village, the Taliban will probably know and just not show up.
I am not sure where the Korengal valley fits into the big picture but I am sure that Viper Company, and the rest of their battalion, is an economy-of-force. They don't have the manpower to hold all the valley, so they kick out these patrols to keep the enemy from getting established close to their COP. It isn't pretty, but it seems to be all they can manage at this point.
Tankersteve
You can see the new stuff this Friday....Delta 6 Accelerator suits(a) They aren't high speed and low drag...
(b) The goal of the US army, I'm firmly convinced, is to have just one uniform type, one weapon type, one radio/comm type and one vehicle type for all units, all missions, all terrains, all climatic conditions...
Oh, and to further the interests of uniformity and to finally kill all aspects of General Purpose Design (GPD. Motto: "An Army of one." No one knew that's what they were really after...) they want All Systems Synchronized.
Also, no one will be authorized ANY hair...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI36HkpftDc
Looked like a bunch of Tankers to me, Slap
No two of 'em in the same uniform...
No two of 'em in the same uniform...
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