Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
I was playing with Shape Charges in the late 70's, now they're called EFPs. Of course they evolved the principle remains the same. No one really put two and two together that someday an irregular force would actually being using these against our vehicles...
Demo training on SBH in the early 60s taught and we used EFPs. Many would be amazed at what 12 pounds of C4 and a Manhole cover will do to a steel door to an Ammo Bunker. The VC used EFPs all through the Viet Nam war in addition to dozens of other IEDs -- a 250 pound bomb will do amazing things to human bodies. We knew all that. We just buried it because it wasn't in line with the power structures ideas.

As an aside, I've been advocating putting a giant Earmuff charge on the Hoffman Building since 1961...

We got introduced to Islamist international terrorism in 1972. Nixon convened a cabinet level commission to study the problem and over the next five years, they predicted much that has happened since. Those in power did not want to hear it. Been dozens of studies and commissions since, many had some good ideas -- all diligently ignored.

Every incident since then has been a pointer; there were people who saw and raised flags. Those in power did not want to hear it.

Aside from that, there are many recorded cases of the intel being available and not wanted by higher echelons. I'm a little jaded on that; 1st MarDiv was capturing Chinese PWs in Korea in early November 1950 -- and G2, FECOM, MG Charles Willoughby himself responded sharply that we were mistaken, there were no Chinese in Korea because MacArthur had already assured the President there were none.

Said Chinese, BTW, were also using IEDs in the early 50s, a technique they learned from the USSR -- who, surprisingly enough, spent a great deal of time teaching people throughout the ME and South Asia how to fight evil capitalists.

In the 70s that you mentioned, Joe Cincotti and a bunch of other folks were working on SBH to rebuild UW capability; a lot of people were pointing right where we are today -- and the upper echelons of the Army didn't want to hear it. In the 90s, in spite of all evidence, we made a number of really poor command and organizational decisions -- that includes all the services and SOCOM -- and we're paying for them today.
We adapted over time with better armor and new vehicles. The enemy has adapted with new TTPs to mitigate our progress...
The 'new' armor was developed in the 70s. We didn't buy it then. Other nations did. The 'new' vehicles were also being bought by others ten, fifteen years before us. We didn't adapt, we, as usual, were simply forced to cobble together some half assed fixes and come late to the party because we refused to anticipate and look ahead. There's nothing wrong with leaning forward in the foxhole -- except that these armed forces of ours are pretty much opposed to it.

We do do that quick fix thing -- and we do it well sometimes, not so well others. The MRAP purchase being an example of not so well (dumb vehicle) and, at the same time, one of doing it okay (keeps people alive). We can cobble stuff together pretty good...
What has changed and it can't be denied is the speed of change.
The change has not been that speedy -- our failure to pay attention and adapt has simply made it seem so. There's nothing around today that wasn't known or seen 15 to 20 years or more ago. Just that no one in charge wanted to hear it.

All that is an answer to your question:
Will be able to adapt quick enough in the future?
Probably not.