Vietnam helped the airforce, Iraq helps Army and Marines

www.washtimes.com...

the wars help America able to learn from the mistakes and the use of tactics by the enemies.

For the next 40 years the Air Force and Navy spent literally trillions of dollars transforming how they fought in the air. They formed fighter schools such as Top Gun for the Navy and Red Flag for the Air Force to relearn the art of aerial combat. The services developed families of new fighters such as the F-15 and F-16 flown by the American and Israeli air forces and the Navy's F-14 and F-18. The investment has paid off. Since Vietnam, Americans and Israelis flying American aircraft have achieved kill ratios of several hundred to one. No one can challenge us in air-to-air combat today.
On the ground, the news on kill ratios hasn't been very good. The numbers are inexact, but recent experience suggests that Army and Marine ratios are at about six to one when engaging an enemy with help from artillery and air power. They compress to about parity when the enemy is able to draw our soldiers into the close fight in places like Fallujah.
So, what are we doing to gain dominance on the ground? There is some good news. One lesson relearned from Korea and Vietnam is that soldiers stand a far greater chance of surviving the close fight when mounted in armored vehicles. Both the Army and Marines have begun ambitious programs to develop a series of armored fighting vehicles such as the Future Combat System that will provide a decisive close- combat advantage. But recent experience in Iraq and Afghanistan tells us that actions by the enemy compel our soldiers to leave their vehicles to fight on foot.
To increase the ratios in the dismounted fight, the Army and Marines have invested some money lately into purchasing body armor, new night-vision devices and off-the-shelf commercial radios. All of these improvements cost less than two B-2 bombers. To be sure, these efforts have (quite literally) stopped the bleeding for now. But, what about tomorrow? What are we doing to ensure that the ratios move more in our favor in future battles?


[edit on 10-5-2005 by deltaboy]

u can read the rest.

[edit on 10-5-2005 by deltaboy]

I know that the off the shelf radios are not allowed in some Marine units, the reason being an insurgent can easily get their hands on one and listen in on ongoing operations. I know because my father is a Marine and we were watching a show about an Army unit in Iraq and I noticed the unencrypted radios and asked him about it.

Deltaboy,

So I guess we will be looking out for the next conflict to help out the Navy?

I have to say I have always thought those damn dolphins were to arrogant by half.

Cheers

BHR

Oh yeah..most recent battle experience increases the operational capabilites of a military exponentially..
:hint: chinawhite..

Originally posted by BillHicksRules
Deltaboy,

So I guess we will be looking out for the next conflict to help out the Navy?

I have to say I have always thought those damn dolphins were to arrogant by half.

Cheers

BHR

who knows Bill, maybe if and wen China decides to invade Taiwan, it be the U.S. Navy's turn to learn from weaknesses.

Very nice post,
I have to agree with DeltaBoy I hope that we learn from all of our mistakes form previous wars to prepare for future conflicts.I really hope we learn.....

DaVirus,

It seems that not all of us learn.

The best lesson is that War is evil and never to be entered into lightly.

That lesson has been missed by the current leadership in US and UK.

Cheers

BHR