Quote Originally Posted by ODB View Post
I tend to try to learn from history and view those lessons as they apply today. Many are in agreement that current force structure/force taskings are misutilizing todays forces. Many think various branchs should grow, the military should grow, and the debate goes on. My number one questions is why do we even do rotations/tours? It is my personal belief that when the order was given we should have gone with everything we own. Not half our force and relay later on units rotating out. If we would have brought the full brunt of our military from the beginning would we be in the situation we are? We would have enough SF to conduct FID/COIN operations, conventional forces to #1. Secure all borders (we can't do that here) nothing in nothing out, 2# Man damn never every city, town, village. We could lock the entire country down. Unfortunately our politicians and society has deemed war a game to be played fairly, humanely, and without true force. How many times did units rotate out of WWII? I remember reading a few years back about guys who were gone for 7 years straight. I look at it like this, we do it the right way over a period of five years straight or do we play this game for 10-15 years.

Don't remember who posted about the SF growth and subsequent postings. Problem is the Army's inate ability to manage personnel. They knew for years close to 50% of SF would be retirement eligable over a 5 year period, guess what they did just that retired and went elsewhere. So the Army says hey 20 years ago we brought guys off the streets straight into SF it worked then why not now. Problem is that huge 50% of retirees. 20 years ago a few sprinkled inexperienced guys could be trained, mentored, and developed by seniors without a ripple effect throughout the force. Not mention these college educated, 4 years SF experience with multiple tours are ripe for every other agency and private sector jobs out there, how many are stick around? If I'm not mistaken the average age in SF has gone from 32 years to 27years...huge experience and maturity gap.

What all this does is tie into the fact that everyone wants to do everyone elses job. Conventional forces want to do what SF does, guys in SF want to do what Infantry guys do and so on and so on. If everyone stayed within their capabilities and scope of things they would stay busier than ever and we would be leaps and bounds ahead of where we are currently. Yes there are many great individuals throughout the force and many different entities actually conduct joint operations as it should be. Unfortunately for everyone of those there is more not doing this.

Sorry I kinda rambled have a million more thoughts but will spare you those and save them for later.

That's foremost a societal thing. Even in a volunteer service - who is willing to spend his life in the bogs, some desert or jungle, when others of his age have a familiy life, are much more comfortable and prosperous?

Excessive rotations and ratios of 6 or 7 to 1 are certainly undesireable. 4 to 1 I guess should be the goal. But the current armed forces still have a structure that is designed for a full-scale blow-up in case of mobilisation with a very top heavy structure. Also don't forget all the perks and promotions that come with deployments - everybody wants a piece!

And it's also a question of mentality. The warrior spirit, or whatever you might call it. Not doing it as a job, or as duty for the fatherland, but out of a mentality (not necessarily one compatible with civil society). It would also need a vastly different social structure of the forces, a different definition of duty, discipline, ranks. Strategic compression in the extreme, and almost like a religious order. Takes a certain desperado mentality. People who are fed up with society, those who are running away from something - you end with something like the Légion Etrangère. No way to build larger forces on that.

A more realistic way might be foreigners. Promise them U.S. citizenship and an education for X years in the bogs. No need to rotate them. The Byzantine way.