a question for formerly-serving/serving military personnel:
wars have been the catalyst of rapid changes in militaries, doctrinally, technologically, and organizationally. well, we have been in afghanistan for almost a decade and in iraq for somewhat less than that.
what significant changes/new capabilities have you personally noticed in the US military over the previous ten years? and do you believe that the difference to be as significant as say, earlier periods (1941-1951, or 1965-75)?
The human mind cannot grasp the causes of phenomena in the aggregate. But the need to find these causes is inherent in man’s soul. And the human intellect, without investigating the multiplicity and complexity of the conditions of phenomena, any one of which taken separately may seem to be the cause, snatches at the first, the most intelligible approximation to a cause, and says: “This is the cause!"
-Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace
"...what significant changes/new capabilities have you personally noticed in the US military over the previous ten years?"
I've been away awhile now but it seems our networking capabilities have accelerated the push of info through all layers. That has to have developed into an important capability enhancement.
"This aggression will not stand, man!"
Jeff Lebowski
You're very perceptive. Let me turn y'all onto a paper written by my commander (outgoing) and the New Guy (coming to us in July).Originally Posted by S-2
Last edited by Bluesman; 05 Jan 10, at 22:47.
"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell
"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell
Dammit; Lt Col Grunwald's paper is a .pdf. It's 31 pages long, so I can't put it in a post. Mod, help me get this thang in here.
"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell
Where's the link?
Chimo
Blues, if it's on your hard drive you can use "manage attachments" and upload it as an attachment
Oh, and this, too:
"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell
Here's Bluesman's link
Too many bullet-point presentations and video conferences.
Too many people with stars on their shoulders watching real-time UAV TV and chiming in with contradictory instructions.
Too many commanders not listening to or ignoring the advice of their guys on the ground.
Too many senior officers who think rank automatically gives them experience.
Aside from those petty complaints, I think some of the most significant changes of the last 10 years were levered in by Rumsfeld. He was initially on the right track by ramping up special ops, putting the emphasis on small, high-speed, low-drag units with terminal guidance capabilities. But, like a typical corporate exec, he streamlined from the bottom up, not the top down. When you do that, you end up top-heavy. Too many chiefs, not enough indians. It's a great thing having six guys on horse-back able to pull the chain and rain JDAMs down on hundreds of Taliban...but not so great when you have a 80 senior officers, politicians and their staffs telling the six guys on horseback what to do.
Are recent changes as significant as the earlier periods you mention? I don't think they can be compared to 1941-51, but I'd say they are more significant than the 65-75 decade.
Last edited by Red Seven; 06 Jan 10, at 15:55.
Here is wisdom:
And this, too:
It's like you read my mind.It's a great thing having six guys on horse-back able to pull the chain and rain JDAMs down on hundreds of Taliban...but not so great when you have a 80 senior officers, politicians and their staffs telling the six guys on horseback what to do.
We are embracing the concept of the 'mission-type order', and are revolutionizing Air Force ISR. Instead of a shopping list of MGRS coords and a 'fly the line' mentality, we are pressing the edge of the envelope on every mission, trying to maximize not only the tasked targets according to an intelligent, hard-eyed look at what's important and possible, but also on-the-fly, dynamically-tasked, end-user-requested targets that come up after the platform is already in the air and collecting. I do not exaggerate when I tell you that there are many Americans alive and many Taliban dead because we are letting captains and lieutenants listen to junior enlisted on when to turn the jet and go get a target that would never have been collected any other way.
And what you're saying is WHY this is just now happening. It should have been our paradigm all along, but the urge to control all aspects of every asset is a powerful drug, and its effect has been to make the most agile and flexible asset into a sluggish, unresponsive system. Well, we're making it into a WEAPON again, and I can see the future from where I stand.
GOD, I just LOVE this job.
"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell
keith,
correct me if i'm wrong, but this seems like a capability we only got in the last 3-4 years, as more ISR assets/target order software became available. i remember my first visit to a DCGS (DGS-1) a while back; way cool. it's good to get out of the staffing world and see what operational is like.We are embracing the concept of the 'mission-type order', and are revolutionizing Air Force ISR. Instead of a shopping list of MGRS coords and a 'fly the line' mentality, we are pressing the edge of the envelope on every mission, trying to maximize not only the tasked targets according to an intelligent, hard-eyed look at what's important and possible, but also on-the-fly, dynamically-tasked, end-user-requested targets that come up after the platform is already in the air and collecting. I do not exaggerate when I tell you that there are many Americans alive and many Taliban dead because we are letting captains and lieutenants listen to junior enlisted on when to turn the jet and go get a target that would never have been collected any other way.
on another note, this capability, on such a scale, is also way ahead of what any of our allies (let alone enemies) have. yet i doubt anyone in the general public has much heard of this...
The human mind cannot grasp the causes of phenomena in the aggregate. But the need to find these causes is inherent in man’s soul. And the human intellect, without investigating the multiplicity and complexity of the conditions of phenomena, any one of which taken separately may seem to be the cause, snatches at the first, the most intelligible approximation to a cause, and says: “This is the cause!"
-Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace
also, from the Army side, several big developments:
- development and field use of the Stryker, particularly the networking aspects and the day-night imaging; soon (if not already true) a commander will have better situational awareness buttoned up inside than with his head sticking out
- sped-up fielding of improved body armor; forces insurgents to move away from assault rifles towards heavier sniper rifles and the equivalent of a big muzzle-loading musket (the RPG).
of course, an increased appreciation for HUMINT, psychological warfare, and counterinsurgency.
The human mind cannot grasp the causes of phenomena in the aggregate. But the need to find these causes is inherent in man’s soul. And the human intellect, without investigating the multiplicity and complexity of the conditions of phenomena, any one of which taken separately may seem to be the cause, snatches at the first, the most intelligible approximation to a cause, and says: “This is the cause!"
-Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace
Forget the last 3-4 years; the biggest strides have come in the past 12 months. I have seen this place transformed, and I am as proud as Lucifer to have been a part of this - and I use this word with an appreciation of what it entails - REVOLUTION in ISR.
Go on back, because I can give you a tour guide that is as much a part of the hard turn as anybody. He runs the counterpart of my unit, here, the DART (DCGS Analysis and Reporting Team). You simply will not believe what's going on there, and here.
"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell
keith,
oh, i believe it, buddy.I use this word with an appreciation of what it entails - REVOLUTION in ISR.
the next 10-15 years will be even crazier, too; if you read the stuff the thick-glasses boys at AFRL and AFOSR are putting out, they're hoping by 2030 to develop micro/nano-UAV swarms that can be controlled by a single user, with the ability to potentially implant themselves in terrorists.
ooo-rah.
The human mind cannot grasp the causes of phenomena in the aggregate. But the need to find these causes is inherent in man’s soul. And the human intellect, without investigating the multiplicity and complexity of the conditions of phenomena, any one of which taken separately may seem to be the cause, snatches at the first, the most intelligible approximation to a cause, and says: “This is the cause!"
-Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace
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