Re: [OT] Update JohnA

At 4:07 PM -0400 5/14/03, Flak Magnet wrote:
>No disagreement there.  Market Garden definitely drove that point home.

Market Garden shows an example of 2 mauled and hardly combat worthy 
Armored Divisions beating the snot out of a single full strength 
infantry division in urban warfare. The Airborne unit gave a splendid 
accounting of themselves, but their situation was tenuous from the 
start. Airborne units can be very fragile things. To think of them as 
just as combat capable as a Mechanized Ground force ignores many key 
points in their usage and especially their disadvantages.

Issues with past US Army war game rules (real stuff in the military) 
where the Airborne units when para dropped were 'protected' from 
artillery bombardment in the first 12-24 hours also drove it home. 
Airborne units can't be dropped with any significant opposition in 
the vicinity of the drop zone. If they are, their ability to 
consolidate their forces and gather their combat power is severely 
degraded. Especially if the red forces have artillery. An determined 
bombardment of the drop zone or assembly areas would severely kneecap 
the airborne types.

Now, in a light conflict where the opposition can't find it's own 
arse in the dark let alone a drop zone in their backyard, Para's are 
great. Even so, they can get in over their heads quickly due to their 
low horsepower to weight ratio when it comes to beating feet or 
pushing through an blocking force. HMMWVs and Mk19 GLs just don't cut 
it in all the combat situations.

>I was using a less "Gulf War:	Take Two"-centric view of the issue.  If
the
>101st Airborne isn't to be respected, then the history of 101st means
diddly
>squat then?  The patch is a symbol of the unit and a tie to it's past.

It's certainly not be be spat upon. But it doesn't make it more valid 
than say a patch from the 4th ID.

>Bah, any type or arms, armor included, can lose to any other if the
conditions
>are right.  Combined arms win wars.

Granted, but the light infantry types are more vulnerable than most 
to counter attack's by the other combat arms.

>Not sure what you mean by "ticket puncher"...

TICKET PUNCHER: A career military officer
      whose primary concern is personal advancement.
      A common practice was to temporarily leave
      a rear area job and spend a few weeks in the
      field with the troops for the sole purpose of
      gaining decorations and awards such as the
      such as the coveted CIB (Combat Infantry Badge)
-- 
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