Quote Originally Posted by JMA View Post
I tend to agree that there is too much specialization. Much of what appears to need specialization these days, radio op/signaler, weapons (any), even medical to an extent should be common to all. I would like to think that in an army where operational deployments are seldom more than a quarter of their time there is plenty of time to cross-train.
Which army are you talking about?


To Fuchs, the discussion of how to train and organize units IS the discussion of structure and organization. I have never heard of any modern military that doesn't train infantry, artillery observers/joint fires controllers, medics and signallers separately, although I am open to being corrected.

Even US SF, probably the ultimate in cross training, have all but one of those skills as a primary skill (they also have engineer and intel analysis as primary skills).

On a small team (like a LRS team), I would think that having specialist in each requisite skill would ADD to the ability to cross train the team, instead of hindering it. Having 2 NCO observers in the LRS platoon (what we have now) probably contributes to the cross training, but not nearly what having an observer on each team would. Especially with the training/certification requirements to control precision strike munitions, which I would think would be an extremely desirable capability in a LRS team, having a specialist makes sense to me. I also, from the very beginning, freely admitted my professional bias as an artilleryman.