[VaBthang4]

[lelio]

bump for later reading

[Lee'sGhost]

another bump for later reading.

[Drammach]

Redundancy,(backup systems) and low-tech alternatives.

Finally, trained operatives.
They must know mission goals and have initiative to complete them on their own. ( A major weak point of the old Soviet military. )

[FreedomPoster]

Good article. However, this part:

In the blink of an eye, a nation can go from squashing an idiot like Saddam Hussein`s massive army to internal problems where national police elements must train on weapons of war to deal with its own citizens, e.g. a nutcase like David Koresh.

I found extremely annoying. Koresh may have been a bit of a nutcase, but he did nothing to deserve the s&*#storm that fell on his head. The Feds created that situation by not just arresting him on one of his routine trips to town. Instead, the ATF created a fiasco, because they wanted a telegenic "dynamic takedown" at budget time, which went bad, then Reno and the Feebs compounded the error.

[GOP_1900AD]

We still cannot handle a 2 MRC let alone any thing really major like facing another great power such as Russia (or worse yet a reconsituted USSR) or the PRC. We have no civil defense and no strategy to fight and win a nuclear war. Our pathetic warm over of the UK's "10 year rule" which led to WW-II will bring on WW-III. History has not ended and great wars will happen again and again until the end of time.

[185JHP]

(1) Now we know whence came the idea for "The Dirty Dozen" (2) BLOBT - Buy Lots Of Bandwidth Today (3) Hasta La Vista big Carriers.

[hripka]

Q: What is more important: Efficiency or Mass?
A: Depends on the country's wealth. Beware though, roughly speaking, "efficiency" beat "mass" in Korea and Vietnam. Using more bombs in Vietnam than WW2 did not win that war.

Q: How does the nation generate wealth?
A: A better question would be, "How much are taxpayers willing to pay?"

Q: What is more preeminent: Offensive or Defensive firepower?
A: Broadly speaking, offense, due to surprise, initiative, etc. 2 exceptions: urban warfare, and M.A.D.

Q: How do you use information to pull it all together?
A: Read history. Lessons of past battles are great teachers.

Also, read John Poole or Bill Lind on Manuever (common-sense) warfare and small-unit tactics. Brilliant.