Free Republic

The U.S. Navy and Air Force are beginning to work out the details of a joint battle concept given high priority in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). “We felt the two services ought to get together and pool our capabilities against anti-access threats across a range of operations,” Rear Adm. William Burke, director of the Naval Integration Group for the QDR, told reporters Feb. 4 at the Pentagon. “We want to see if we can do things better, more efficiently and effectively.” Burke noted the two services have a range of complementary capabilities worth expanding. Synergy is “probably the...

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Army News Service, Jan. 13, 2005)― The 42nd Infantry Division has deployed to Iraq with what leaders term a powerful, yet subtle, combat-multiplier — the sniper-trained Soldiers of the division’s 173rd Long Range Surveillance Detachment, and their newly-issued M-14 rifles. The rifles are “part and parcel” of the changing LRS(D) mission, said the unit’s commander, Capt. Michael Manning. “This is not a detachment of snipers,” said Manning. “This is a detachment of highly trained intelligence collectors. We have sniping capability. Now we can acquire targets, identify targets, and destroy targets with organic direct fire weapons. That’s the...