[jmpmstr4u2]

I am currently serving, and have been for 24 years. I am a MEDEVAC Patient currently getting fixed at Ft. Bliss, TX and have written of my experiences in Iraq during OIF3. The Army in particular is focused to a large degree in simulation training with the exception of those who are in current and immediate “train up” just prior to deploying.

[petro45acp]

God’s speed JmpMstr!

[marron]

I am currently serving, and have been for 24 years.

Then you're the guy I'm interested in. I'm not a vet, so your opinion is important to me.

with the exception of those who are in current and immediate “train up” just prior to deploying.

I take it you don't think this is sufficient. I was imagining that this is where all of the basic training comes together. Then once deployed, some relatively safe ops for tune up before going where the trouble is. It would scare me to think guys were sent into a hot zone without a chance to ease into it a bit.

My remark about Mauritania and places like it may have more to do with reservists or guardsmen (my son was both), but I've often thought these kinds of exercises to be excellent preparation for a unit that may subsequently be sent into Iraq or Afghanistan. They are chasing bandits with local troops, so the possibility exists that they may actually find some, which helps to keep it real.

[Lurker]

As a former Marine rifleman who had the 'cold war' training and then a bungled deployment on a 'peacekeeping' mission back in the 80's, I find a lot to agree with in your piece.

Generals are always fighting the last war, or they're preparing to fight the war they want to fight.

Counterinsurgency is a really tough nut to crack. Viet Nam showed us that.

IMO we ought to be bringing back some of the Non-Comms from that era and paying them to pass along their experiences in this area. I'd personally pay particular attention to finding veterans of Hue and the like.

On top of that, I'd really stress live-fire drills at unknown ranges. The formal range stuff at known distances is great for teaching the basics, but I think some "3 gun match" style training would be a good thing to give every swingin' grunt on the way to the Big Sandy.

Now this part would be expensive and time-consuming, but I think at least one person, preferably two, in every rifle squad should get DLI Language training in Arabic or Pashtun or whatever language is used in the expected AO.

We also ought to bring back (it may be in use, but I haven't heard much about it) the Nam era "Kit Carson" concept. A 'native' Iraqi or Afghan soldier would be given a DLI type course in English and then assigned to each rifle squad.

Organic language skills would be a great help, but having a 'native' embedded with the squad 24-7 would be a real 'force multiplier' IMO. Our guys may be able to speak the language, but they don't know the culture, accents, or idioms in use by the locals so they wouldn't as readily be able to identify a foreign enemy fighter.

This would have an added benefit of, and I'm loathe to use the term, 'cross-cultural bonding'. They'd see we aren't all heartless infidels and we'd learn that they aren't all islamofascist nutjobs.

All of this would increase training time and wouldn't be cheap, but I think the benefits would manifest themselves pretty quickly.

Or....

We could just nuke the entire region and be done with it...

L