Re: Manuever warfare was:Anti-Tank guns

In a message dated 99-02-11 14:30:07 EST, you write:

<< 1. The US Army says they are proponents of Maneuver Warfare but the
 actual mechanics are really thinly veiled attrition based warfare.
 (Personally I think one should read USMC FMFM-1 Warfighting. They've
got
 a better grasp.)

****
I think that I have read that, I have read most of the FMs that you can
get
with out enlisting, for anyone that uses armour I would sigest reading
all of
the FM-17-xx manuals, very interesting.
****
 
 2. Artillery or fire support. Well it's really not much support at all.
 The redlegs have developed their own thing which does little to support
 joe schmoe the tanker or infantryman. (Note that Airforce CAS is no
 better. They control their own CAS that's why the USMC has the best
 system) FS requests has become such a	mysterious art form that only
 arty guys can do it. The problem is the artillery is much more
 interested in fighting their own battle (the deep interdiction thing
ala
 the artillery raids and MLRS raids of Desert Storm, than they are with
 finding time to provide fire support for infantry platoons and
 companies. This has been a complaint in combat arms for a little while
 now. Every branch is always trying to prove how they have the biggest
 dick  (ask John the engineer <grin>), and this is the artillery
branches
 way of doing it.

****
That can be a probem for the ground pounders and tread heads.
**** 

 3. A lot of future doctrinal policy is validated through simulations
but
 Army simulations are flawed due to the utter lack of modeling for lack
 of a better term "morale". Sort of what I was going into before. He
 devotes a couple chapters to this.

****
Maybe the use hipnotic sigesting to give there units super high misshion
modivashion.
****
 4. Many wrong or incomplete lessons were drawn from Desert Storm in an
 attempt to validate the DOD and the US Army's current warfighting
 doctrine. Despite the overwhelming success a lot of stuff was screwed
 up. (One of the biggest being the primacy of air power in all
 situations....)

****
Desert Storm was a walk in the park with a L7A3 and someone with a 1"
knive
trying to mug you, not all that dificult, I know that ~400 people were
killed
in action, but cositering what they did that is not very many people, I
don't
think that any would cound have done better.
*****
 
 Anyway it's been several years since I read it but those are a few
 issues.
 
 Los >>
One of the things that I addressed with the Arty and Air support is
having
them at the company level, each company has 4 Attack helos and 2 Med
MRLS
launchers, that should make getting supporting arty much easer.
-Stephen