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To: fogarty
Interesting opinion . . . I would like to here more, even though I could drive a Crusader tank through a hole in your analysis.
3 posted on 08/13/2002 7:07:19 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: 1rudeboy
There's no hole. There has already been already several articles by professional Marine Corps officers about the 'transformation' being spoken of by the DoD leadership is in fact a return to attrition-based warfare. Cancelling Crusader has nothing to do with that.

The Marine Corps was already experimenting with the idea of 'network-centric', long-range precision based fires some 5-6 years ago. During the exercise, Hunter Warrior, we had squad-sized and smaller teams of Marines and communicators scattered throughout the battlefield, engaging the enemy with long range precision artillery and air assets. The conclusion was that this 'new style' of warfare fared as well as any other attrition-based warfare scheme to be.

Rumsfeld's stated goal is that the money from Crusader will be used to fund long-range precision weapons via air or satellite. Once again, the 'transformation' is to an armed force which essentially attrites the enemy through long range bombing. And as the whole 'network-centric' approach shows, this is a throwback to the days of centralized command and control. Instead of a line of infantry men commanded by a single bugle and a flag, we have an array of satellites, sensors, and aircraft, all controlled to the minute level from a long-distance central command post. I am not saying this is necessarily bad. But what we need to be clear on is that this 'transformation' is bringing us back to attrition-based warfare.

7 posted on 08/13/2002 9:33:58 AM PDT by fogarty
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