[editor-surveyor]

>> “ Your average combat service support unit would get torn to pieces trying to occupy anything more dangerous than a chow hall.” <<

.
Then what happened at Waco?

The Davidians never fired a shot, even though it was reported by the schmuck mediots that they were heavily armed.

[Steel Wolf]

What happened at Waco? Aside from the obvious "don't join a wackadoodle cult and get into a pointless gunfight and protracted seige with the feds", you mean? That's pretty much what happened at Waco. It's tragic (and, at best, criminally negligent) that women and children died there, but let's not romanticise what they died over.

That said, it's no great feat of arms to roll armored vehicles towards a cult compound and burn it to the ground. That sort of thing is pretty much what armored vehicles are built for. And it's a whole different ballgame than trying to occupy a 'friendly' town full of deer rifles on the roofs and handguns around every corner.

Just like in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military has great advantage while on the move, but is vulerable to being bled down once it has to hold territory. Combat arms units can do so effectively, provided they have a relaxed ROE. (Other units, like a finance or supply battalion, not so much.) Combat arms units are a drop in the bucket, compared to the scope of the country, and a relaxed ROE will cause a lot of YouTube worthy footage that won't help the government's cause.

The comparison to Waco really isn't apt on any level, aside from, at best, the government's willingness to use force.