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Rifleman Reply
A.R.'s comments about the period between 1982-88 are on the mark. There's a lot from that period AND Vietnam that fell into the final product during JUST CAUSE.
Remember that we've retained a near-parochial perspective to the Caribbean, and Central/South America. We maintained a strong presence, possessed lingual skills, and had a good intelligence and logistical infrastructure. We also had a need for near-term focus.
Grenada, Cuba, Haiti, El Salvador, Nicarauga, Colombia, Peru, and Panama (w/it's canal) posed threats of various orders of magnitude in the region. As such, we obviously maintained and made great use of our Panama facilities. We also maintained a very close and active relationship w/ the Honduran army during this period.
7th I.D. (Light) spent a ton of time in Honduras during the mid-eighties. There absolutely was a silent war along the Honduran-Nicaraguan border then. Our national guard brigade was round-out and later maintained a close training relationship w/ that division. We always had people going south. 7th I.D. seemed like they had a brigade rotated in on a near-constant basis.
It was a small-unit, light infantry/SOF laboratory.
Still, I chose 1988 for one reason. We happened to go into battle about 20 years ago. That encompasses, from there forward, damn near every soldier and marine on service now.
That's a massive culmulative knowledge base that's spread across a variety of infantry-related disciplines and skill-sets. Not only that, but those skills have been repeatedly LFXed and refined with real targets/objectives. Air-assault, airborne, special forces, marine infantry, mechanized infantry, light infantry, SEAL/amphibious operations, etc.
All in combat anywhere between desert and jungle and from sea level (offshore oil-platforms) to 11,000 ft.- and usually under fire. Multiple tours.
So. If you look at the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, who in the infantry hasn't seen battle- again and again?
That was my thought on twenty years. Panama works perfectly to start the ball rolling for this generation of infantrymen.
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"This aggression will not stand, man!" Jeff Lebowski
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