Quote Originally Posted by Ken White View Post
Until they go inoperative or you run out of batteries. Then what...
Then that individual may have to rely on a buddy with the same gismo. At the weight of a single 40 mm round you could easily have a few of these in a section, or for a little more weight this one has a built in inclinometer. Or else he/she is back to square one, which, if jcustis’ post 31 is anything to go by, isn’t much of an alternative.

I agree with you that good training and the individual’s ability to master these skills without the gadgets is preferable, but it just doesn’t seem to be happening (enough). So would it not be better to swallow our pride and break the status quo by allowing today’s technology to help us out?

How long did it take for optics to become common on almost all rifles before we dropped that silly ‘we should simply be able to use open sights because optics may fail’ attitude (read Arthur Schopenhauer’s quote below). Sure they may fail, but so what? Rifles may fail too, so let’s go back to swords.

I’m not suggesting that we drop training without the gadgets, not at all. Map reading and use of compass for instance should (and I hope is) still be taught and trained along side the use of GPS, but while GPS is available and it works, and its accuracy is required, use it.
In fact, a LRF can aid in training range estimation because you can check your guesses immediately. I do that with hunting and that is sometimes a good thing.

I’ll admit that over-reliance on gadgets will almost certainly blunten the ‘naked’ skills, and minimising that is/will be a challenge, but I think that using that as a justification to not use these tools does us a disservice, especially where the use of these tools increases effect measurably.

How many AT4s and other such weapons, and perhaps lives, could potentially be saved (money, carried weight and exposure through unnecessary firing signature) by increasing first hit capability through issuing these simple LRFs? Bean counters may even be happy to hand them out as disposable items.

Alternatively, issue the heavier and better military specific LRFs to team/section leaders so they can give accurate fire control orders for all weapons in their teams including 40 mm and machine guns. But for that to work effectively we may have to go back to some form of normality with regards to the number and variety of support weapons carried.