Quote Originally Posted by Norfolk View Post
I really can't help but wonder if COIN wars such as Afghanistan and Iraq would not have been a little easier to wage if the bulk of the (combat) force structures in both countries were not made up mainly (not entirely) of good old-fashioned Infantry Divisions, the type that the Army got rid of several years ago favour of Light Infantry Divisions and now Stryker Brigades.

The old Infantry Divisions of course had the standard three brigades, nine battalions, da-da-da of Infantry, Div Arty, an Engineer Bn, et al, and a ready-made heavy-armour mechanized force for dealing with the more intense situations based upon a Tank Battalion and a unit of APCs sufficient to mechanize an entire Infantry Battalion. Not to mention, the regular infantry battalions had their own full scales of organic wheeled transport to get them where they needed to go (useful in areas where MBTs and APCs might provoke the locals or the terrain isn't really right for heavy stuff) and they can get around fairly fast. Moreover, the old Infantry Divisions only required about half of the logistical base of an Armoured or Mech Div.

It just seems that, looking back over the arguments on this thread, that the best Formation for most of the needs in Iraq could best be handled by regular Infantry Divisions. The old standard Infantry Divisions gave you a full complement of infantry, organic wheeled transport, and equipment, plus a modest but organic heavy armour and mech infantry capability that didn't have to be begged, borrowed, or stolen from another Brigade or Division and whose guys might not be familiar with your way of fighting (like when Armor units are attached to Airborne or Light Infantry formations), but already know how you operate.

It's probably too late now to re-organize Light Infantry Divisions and Stryker Brigades into regular Infantry Formations for use in Iraq and Afghanistan. But given that Light units as far back as Mogadishu (15 years ago now) needed what a regular Infantry Brigade (with organic tank company and mech infantry company) could provide that a Light Infantry Brigade couldn't, and that much the same sort of thing is needed right now in Afghanistan and Iraq, maybe the Army would be rather better served in the future by regular Infantry Divisions in anything that didn't require mainly either Armoured Divisions or Airborne/Air Assault Divisions. Infantry Brigades and Divisions are a lot easier to switch back-and-forth between low-intensity and medium- or even high-intensity (purely defensive/holding ground role in the latter case) roles. Just a thought or two.
Since the Army decided a few years back that the cornerstone entity is the BCT, the title of the Division means very little. You're either and HBCT, SBCT, or IBCT. Whether you're in an Armored Division or a Mech Infantry Division, you look the same now. Strykers all look the same in terms of task org.

You could accomplish the same thing by returning all three cavalry regiments to corps control, making them all look like 3 ACR, giving the cav back their Kiowas, and bolstering their dismount capablility with either additional scouts within the scout platoons or 1x additional light infantry company in each squadron.