Re: Toys from Jane's...

In message <ML-3.4.986960284.2777.books@jumpgate.jumpspace.net>, Roger
Books wr
ites:

> 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

All true.  I believe I am arguing a more general case than you are.  I
don't think many soldiers in combat are going to try and load their
M-16 with ammo for another weapon.  I certainly don't think soldiers
in general are stupid.	I do think that even an army with well-trained
soldiers will have those soldiers that make mistakes, especially under
combat conditions, and especially with inexperienced troops.

No army's training is 100% effective.  This isn't meant to be an
insult to soldiers or anybody's army.  It's a fact that even talented
people make mistakes.  Michael Jordan has missed game critical shots.
Was he stupid, or lazy, or untrained?  No, and nobody was even
shooting at him.

Perhaps sometimes people emphisize this fact too much, so that it
might seem people think "stupid grunts," but it is an important fact
to remember, especially in real life.  It is reasonable to believe
that the more complicated you make a soldier's life, the more training
he will require to be effective, and the more mistakes that are likely