The Modular Brigade Combat Team

[Ken White]

Pet Rock, that is...

Agree with all you said; this in particular:

...That's not the RSTA's fault - that's an Army educational shortcoming that has to be addressed soon. We don't teach recon or security to the level of competency that we need to. Given 60% of the armor force are now reconnaissance organizations that can be commanded by either an infantryman or armor officer, we've already started to slide down the wrong side of the power curve in this arena.

Spent a few years in Cav and recon Platoons in Infantry units; only Cdr I had who had a clue what to do with the element in either recon or security modes was an old infantry COL who'd led an I&R Platoon during WW II.

Most of the others were fairly malleable and I could usually convince a series of S3s and an occasional S2 to let us do the right thing -- but there was the occasional hardhead who insisted on dumb missions or methods and, even lacking them, it should not be that way.

I recall being told at Knox back around 1980 that the biggest shortfall in NTC rotations was failure at R&S. Heard that again and again in the late 80s and in the 90s and heard the same of JRTC after it got rolling -- and I'll bet it's still true. I've seen entirely too much misuse and seen people get needlessly killed from that ineptitude.

I mentioned before that my son (A former RSTA C Troop 1SG) had commented at a war game that we did not do recon at all well and the new Troop TOE with Tanks was overkill. He then got told by a Cav COL that "...we (the US Army) don't have the patience to do Recon right so we just go out looking for trouble and to do that you have to have armor." I've given that a lot of thought. The patience aspect is a true statement in a sense -- but the issue is NOT with the Scouts, it's with the overlarge Staffs that don't have enough to keep them occupied and continually play the "Car 54 Where are you" routine on the net -- that's where the impatience is. It's not usually the Commanders, it's the staffs.

Not to mention that I expect the M1A2++ is going to run about $7M -- awfully expensive for a "recon" vehicle...

Whatever, we've been on the wrong side of that curve since WW II -- Northwest Europe has a lot to answer for...

It really, really needs to be fixed.

Oh, and I agree with everyone else; the BCT should have three maneuver Bns and the RSTA -- properly organized. Light Inf Bns should also have four rifle Cos.