Re: Toys from Jane's...

It's real easy to take pot shots at the supposed lack of intelligence of
infantry. I've had plenty of experiences of training non-combat troops
in infantry tactics and not just basic stuff but taking them up to the
point where they can conduct a live fire assault course (a real wazoo
one too) without killing themselves or their buddies. It's always
amusing to lead them, through their own experience of doing, to the self
realization that if you intend to stay alive on the sharp end, you have
to be switched on, thinking all the time, firing on all cylinders, and
pretty damn smart even if it ain't all "book learnin's". And all this
when your physical and mental state is normally pushing the low end of
acceptable performance specs. It's a humbling experience for them.

Los

p.s. regarding Squids...anyone in the Navy is a squid.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: JRebori682@aol.com 
  To: gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu 
  Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2001 12:40 AM
  Subject: Re: Toys from Jane's...

  In a message dated 4/10/01 11:38:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
  books@jumpspace.net writes: 

    If this were an isolated incident it wouldn't bother me, but over
the 
    past two weeks this is the third comment I've heard about soldiers
not 
    being smart enough to handle the extra weapons.  That doesn't
require 
    excessive intelligence, it just requires training.	If you have been

    in many training situations and you know by reflex the shotgun ammo 
    is in the belt pouch and the rifle ammo is on your harness then you 
    don't think about it, you just do it.  The rifle with the built in 
    grenade launcher which can be set for distance is on the way, we'll 
    see it in 10 years max.  This will require thought, range the
target, 
    dial in an extra meter, pull trigger two.  Maybe in a close
encounter 
    that won't be used, but I would be willing to bet that in an assault

    the shift from rifle to shotgun would be trivial

  I haven't seen any comments about the stupidity of soldiers, either.
However 
  I think most of us agree. The problem is not intelligence but
training. As an 
  ex-squid myself, I can attest to the effectiveness of training. We
exercised 
  constantly, drilling all the important evolutions over and over. I
remember 
  when we had a fire on board and I went from sitting in CIC manning a
radar to 
  manning the valves for hose #2 without remembering passing through any
of the 
  passageways between. I aint that smart, guys. Its the training that
does it 
  and I think that's what we're all saying, just in differing words. 

  John Rebori ETN2 (Discharged) 
  USN 1976 - 1982 
  ex-USS Pegasus PHM-1