As I shot this out to one of the Marines whos sevres as a scout section leader within the unit (and as a LEO on civvy street), as some food for thought on his training mindset, it became clearer why we have a fixation with such drills.

It's not necessarily b/c the drill is easy, or sexy, but rather because conducting ancillary training would require non-organic assets and expertise that line companies rarely have the pleasure of employing.

The default training situation is to work on skills that get everyone involved, but don't always require the platoon sergeant or platoon commander to be around. The fixation may arise from the fact that the drill has simply been performed so much that it falls into a subtle area of muscle-memory and is the first card to be thrown down.

Against the highest-risk threats, the preferred tactical decision may be to have an attached engineer emplace a satchel charge against the fortified structure. How often do you see engineers training with the infantry, save the integration that occured when we knew for certain we would be crossing into Iraq? For that matter, how many times have battalions conducted a training rotation at MOUT town with non-organic assets/units other than trucks and maybe AAVs?

I think that this article highlights a deficiency within our typical systems-approach-to-training. We simply do not train together enough to build that familiarity on capabilities and limitations of supporting assets. When we do, it is for a finite period of time such as a Combined Arms Exercise, or when a MEU "locks on" six months out from its float date. Even then, the raid is often the critical task trained to, not high-intensity urban combat.

Hmmm...time, time, time. Maybe I need to edit my thoughts over on the drill and ceremonies thread.