@ThomasWictor 1) I discussed this with a marine who recently returned from a deployment to the region who, while he didn’t specify that he was a part of the marine unit as mentioned... implied it heavily.
@ThomasWictor 2) He mentioned being in a ‘scout’ company which is traditionally a smaller sized company (100-something men) and when he showed me pictures of his squad during the deployment, they were all EXTREMELY heavily armed. Each person had an LMG it seemed.
@ThomasWictor 3) When I brought up the concept of the third revolution in military affairs, this idea of small teams of heavily armed soldiers with so many combat multipliers you feel the sympathetic pain of hundreds of enemy soldiers when you think about encountering just one
@ThomasWictor 4) I learned a VERY interesting tidbit. On the US side of things, the 3rd RMA started... due to Obama.
@ThomasWictor 5) No, not like that.
See, Obama faced a quandry. The military needed to keep fighting, but Obama needed to obfuscate that the War on Terror was still going on, because of that shiny Nobel Peace Prize. The media would keep some stuff quiet, but war still had to be shrunk down.
See, Obama faced a quandry. The military needed to keep fighting, but Obama needed to obfuscate that the War on Terror was still going on, because of that shiny Nobel Peace Prize. The media would keep some stuff quiet, but war still had to be shrunk down.
@ThomasWictor 6) He needed something that he could obsessively micromanage, and was still powerful enough to get the job done.
So he started using Special Forces.
A LOT.
So he started using Special Forces.
A LOT.
@ThomasWictor 7) The rate of missions for the Special Forces quickly grew out of control. Attrition was taking a toll. The Special Forces could do the jobs being assigned, but there were not enough of them to keep up with the demand.
@ThomasWictor 8) The ambush in Africa where the special forces soldiers were killed?
The report highlighted that the unit had deployed without taking the adequate amount of time for the unit to train and integrate its newest members, because it had to be put into action far too quickly.
The report highlighted that the unit had deployed without taking the adequate amount of time for the unit to train and integrate its newest members, because it had to be put into action far too quickly.
@ThomasWictor 9) Take a look at how long the soldiers killed had been with the unit.
Not long at all.
The cracks in the Special Forces had already split open due to the strain of the frequency of deployments.
Not long at all.
The cracks in the Special Forces had already split open due to the strain of the frequency of deployments.
@ThomasWictor 10) So, how do you supplement the Special Forces, who are limited in number, with enough firepower and manpower to keep up with the demand?
You give a marine company a regiment worth of heavy firepower and send them along.
You give a marine company a regiment worth of heavy firepower and send them along.
@ThomasWictor 11) You ‘play war games’ with Marines by giving them Special Forces-like equipment such as silenced rifles and pretend to act shocked when their lethality drastically increases. (H/t @hfinch61) m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/…
@ThomasWictor @hfinch61 12) Long and short of it: The Wictor is exactly right. The 3rd RMA is putting as much firepower into as small and economical a group as possible. The US Marines are the tip of the spear in this revolution.
@ThomasWictor @hfinch61 13) The result? One platoon of Marines and Special Forces were able to utterly annihilate a Russian combined arms battalion, without taking a single casualty.
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