Combat Outpost Penetrated in Afghanistan, 9 dead

[120mm]

Bill, that sounds dangerously like former defense secretary Rumsfeld's comment: "As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time."

I hate to envision the ground casualties suffered without modern body armor and MRAP/M-ATVs. Without today's UAS, attack helicopters, lift and MEDEVAC aircraft flying a much broader area than Vietnam and suffering far fewer battlefield and accident losses, our ground forces could have been in a world of hurt. Those casualties easily could have cut the Iraq War short resulting in a different outcome due to homeland pressure ala Vietnam.

Really? Rumsfeld telling the truth is dangerous?

Personally, I hate to actually experience a political and military leadership too cowardly to allow soldiers to dump their "modern body armor" and force them to stay in their MRAPs/M-ATVs. I'd prefer winning, which you cannot do if you are married to Michelin man suits and your vehicle the size of a three story building.

Today's armor is much lighter. Technology could evolve to make armor even more so and include cooling fluid tubes adjacent to Soldier skin using weight saved with lighter armor. Hard? Yes. But if the effort is not made, Soldiers continue to be jeopardized needlessly. To quote a pretty smart General, hard is not impossible.

I'm assuming you have no idea what you are talking about, here. The armor weighs the same, though it's more effective. And every time something gets made lighter, military morons in the leadership use that occasion to find something worthless to add to the soldiers' load.

Cowardice on the part of leaders and risk aversion is not how you win a war, COIN or not.

I'd choose greater casualties and a will to do what it takes to succeed over better body armor 7 days a week.