Non-Linear War 101: Don't Foot-Slog Be More Mobile Than Foes

Throughout the ages, Soldiers have suffered, lost battles and wars by carrying too much on their bodies harming their mobility vis-a-vis their enemies and exhausting themselves; the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. had Western Civilization hinge on this thin thread. In more recent times, overloaded, immobile Soldiers have lost battles and wars and even when we win, it means heavy casualties. Prolific war analyst U.S. Army Brigadier General S.L.A. Marshall (SLAM) wrote to date the best book on the subject "The Soldier's Load & the Mobility of the Nation" which you can read online on the web page below:
http://www.combatreform.com/combatlight.htm

SLAM, whose experience ranged from WW1 to WW2, Korea and Vietnam--gets it--that the Soldier must never carry more than 1/3rd of his body weight but ASS U MEs that a huge nation-state logistical machine is going to swamp him with supplies along linear supply lines so men can care-free foot-slog. His protege' Colonel David Hackworth (Hack) tried to inform SLAM that on non-linear battlefields (NLBs) of limited wars Soldiers will not have WW2-in-their-hip-pocket and must be self-reliant. Hack's mentality is the Vietnam "Lightfighter" who is resupplied by air from VTOL helicopters entering/leaving the battlefield so he need not carry so much. Hack's articles are on the combatlight.htm web page, too. The problem here as this video shows, is that you cannot be helicopter inserted with light supplies even if you are within artillery range of the FOB fire base because the enemy who controls the GROUND 24/7/365 will bleed you with previously-laid land mines and could swarm superior numbers against you--belt-buckle close as took place at LZ X-Ray with Col. Hal Moore's 7th Air Cavalry. Helo resupply is NOT a given in the face of enemy ADA.

http://www.combatreform.com/fries.htm

We have ANSWERS to the Soldier's Load problem as Sherman's Flying Columns won our own Civil War by reducing camp furniture, refusing to be tied to linear supply lines and being able to live off-the-land, this gets you 4-7 mph of foot speed.

http://www.combatreform.com/sere.htm

Next, you carry your own supplies for self-sufficiency of action by out-guerrillaing, the guerrilla by using bikes and carts for 10-25 mph mobility:

http://www.combatreform.com/atb.htm
http://www.combatreform.com/atac.htm

Even if all this was done, Hack admits a super-infantry even dug-in would be overwhelmed in a matter of hours if attacked by swarms of men because we are fighting the enemy EVEN when we should be with OVERMATCH. The answer is General Gavin's M113 light tank/APC "amtrack" that is go-anywhere by air, land, sea that carries SUPERIOR levels of supplies and firepower that's CO-LOCATED right there on the NLB so when dismounted, infantrymen can really be lightly loaded on foot. This is the actual thing we learned from Korea and did right in Vietnam Armored Cav units:

http://www.combatreform.com/m113combat.htm

Our current ego-created failures began in 1980 with the too-heavy Bradley damning the "mech pussies" into OPEN TERRAINS and the too-light Humvee damning our lightfighters to road (man-made strips of open terrain) land mine ambushes just because they didn't want to be seen in tracks. LTG Gavin was/is right...where is the air-delivered Cavalry in light tanks/APCs?

http://www.combatreform.com/cavalryandidontmeanhorses.htm

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• vietnam
• non-linear
• war
• mobility
• soldier's
• load
• M113
• Gavins

[WPEUROPEANPOWER]

David Hackworth was awesome.

RIP

[ozeangruen]

it´s every time a proplem if you fight on foreign soil.

[OSS4USA]

I just like the pussy!!!!!

[DemonHide]

More people must know about this documentary. I think it illustrates well the weaknesses of the American military then, which have not been corrected, in a way that anyone with common sense can understand. It would definitely serve to dispel a lot of misconceptions and stereotypical generalizations of the war and its participants. I think a very big issue is people not being able to put 2 and 2 together and apply this to today's military and today's fight.

[dynmicpara]

TT = Think Tanks

The super expensive war toy racketeers must be limited to small buys as a form of damage control/bone thrown their way since abolishing a racket outright requires a Congress not bought and paid-for by the MICC-TT but loyal to the voters and aware of military realities. IMHO we need a sub-national conflict corps with its own budget from Congress to insure Morice Lines and Gavins are ready and available for Afghanistans.

[Callenge1]

All right, you got me again. What does the "TT" stand for in the MICC-TT? And will the boys with the SUPER EXPENSIVE war toys let this happen?

It appears that a Morice Line and some Gavins would have saved nine lives and lot of casualties this week in Afghanistan.

[dynmicpara]

If the military would act like PROFESSIONALS and demand proper use of combat engineering to smother sub-national conflicts there are MICC-TT WHORES ready to sell them the WARES needed (walls, fencing, sensors, cameras etc.) instead of the feel-good narcissistic kinetic energy bullet gunslinging they want to do that doesn't stop terrain infil/exfiltration...

[Callenge1]

OK, I get it. I had visions of today's downtown Baghdad. I looked up the Morice Line and see your point. My only questions are rhetorical. Do we, as a nation have the patience for this type of conflict in Afganistan given the "Get Bin Laden" mania? And wiil the whores of the MICC allow spending on the items necessary for this or continue with their "wonder weapons."

[dynmicpara]

Actually, you CAN fence in a country and you need to. Consider the highly successful Morice Line. Do you want to win a sub-national conflict fed by outside foes or not? If you do, you surround the nation with a border fence and mobile reaction forces. No back-doors are left open through a "Laos" or anywehere else. If Americans are too lazy to win SNCs with walls they should not do them.

[Callenge1]

Sorry for the double post. I didn't think the first on got posted and the second I just condensed.