“It took 130,000 US troops to suppress about 10,000 insurgents in Iraq. A country about the size of Kalifornia.
Also, there is a large contingent of former military in the civilian population many with years of combat experience. IMHO the German/Europe comparison in WW2 does not hold up.” [mad_as_he$$, post 40]
“The US standing army is flea on the back of a wolf. It is only 800,000 with half faggots, REMFs and support units. The best are overseas. The USA Army could NOT put down a rebellion in Florida let only the entire USA! It’s a joke to think so...” [central_va, post 42]
Analysis is at least 140 years out of date. Unsupported, foot troops are one thing only: targets. Came true before smokeless powder came onto the field. A brief look at the casualty figures from World War One ought to shed some light. And those losses happened before combined arms doctrine took shape.
No entity on the battlefield owns a poorer ratio of capability versus vulnerability than a footsoldier. There are dozens of systems against which infantry is powerless; combat today takes place in realms where a footsoldier will never venture, and about which the citizenry at large is unaware.
“Combat experience” is overrated (not that the population of combat veterans is all that large: mad_as_he$$ ought to take a closer look at the implications of the numbers he cited). I’ve met thousands and worked with hundreds. I spent more time getting them to “unlearn” stuff they “knew” was true but wasn’t, than I did informing them about what was going on. Right up to and including four-stars.
Even the best, most experienced veterans can boast only limited experience, especially when it comes to realms of action outside their own particular specialty. Situations are far too particular, details far too overpowering, for combat veterans to have developed a generalized sort of “superior wisdom” that grants them perfect understanding, that never fades with time. Training gets stale, or is imperfectly remembered; degrades a veteran’s ability to train others.
The math doesn’t work, the standing army is a meaningless foot note in the case of a general insurrection. It isn’t even seed corn.
Ok lets take FLA there are 67 countries in FLA. Let's say they rebel. That means there would be available 62 aircraft of all sorts per county. Lets say half are combat ready ~30 or so. 30 aircraft are not going to suppress an entire county. IF you ad just one more state of equal size you are down to 15 and so on. The numbers don't work out for the Feds.