Light-Heavy Doctrine conflicts -- Redux

(N.B. - since SWWBO asked, others may too - CAS is Close Air Support, ALO is Air Liasion Officer, a Zoomie trapped with grunts)

It doesn't take long to discover that prudence isn't one of my strong points.

But right now I don't have the same constraints John faces. Plus, I think the discussion is an interesting one and invite others to weigh in...it may help someone, somewhere who's nugging through trying to reinvent the Army.

By the way, for all our faults, in all the Services, you'd be surprised how much we are learning organizations...not perfect, and often the wrong lessons get learned, but there are a lot more Sam Damons than Courtney Massengales in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. These discussions are, at least for me, for the Sams out there (and there's a pun in there somewhere for the guys at Leavenworth...the school, not the prison).

Jason van S-plus 10 is no fool. He's a great read and, if not always right (How should I know? I just fly...OK, flew...jets.), he's an engaging commentator on an eclectic subject mix--just go look at what he thinks of First Command Bank...heh. One thing you shouldn't get from what follows is that I would presume to think he doesn't know most of what I said in my email to him. But some things need to be said over and over and over again in Joint ops (trust me). The other thing to remember is that I am in no way trying to discount the preeminent role of light infantry in the scenarios he addresses...my point is focused on supporting, not supplanting, them. The text of my note to Jason follows:

Jason

"If, in the next battle, tanks are engaged from the tops of highrises, the distances will preclude CAS. Helicopters will be able to drive the enemy from the roofs and top floor or two. But in order to surround and clear a large building, you're still going to need the infantry."

Hmmm...

CAS is what happens when 1) you are operating in CLOSE PROXIMITY to friendly troops and 2) the close proximity mandates DETAILED INTEGRATION with the ground commander's scheme of maneuver. (Something tells me you knew this, but a good ALO continuously repeats himself.)

The rest is in the Flash Traffic!

Now, with a fixed-wing platform that has a point-and-shoot weapon, I could probably assist with the sniper-on-the-rooftop problem, much like the Apache. Moreover, I could, from my cockpit, through your FM command nets probably help keep your ground battle captain apprised of where the gomers were going to (or coming from) as your dismounts start stomping them. In fact, my engagements may not be best suited for the ensuing knife fight, but a few well-placed shots/Mavericks/bombs on the ingress/egress routes a half a block away may be helpful. If nothing else, the enemy now knows a modern-day industrialized nation with a penchant for killing the enemy in an exceptionally violent way has just turned its collective attention to his high-rise and its surrounding environs.

My point is, don't automatically discount CAS until what CAS really is is taken into account and the guy with the USAF chevrons or railroad tracks or oak leaves is approached...if he's good (or a Hog guy), you might get more than you expected. The psychological effects of firepower are often substantial, especially when it arrives unannounced (An A-10 cannot normally be heard above about 5000 feet and in the din of battle it most certainly won't. The first clue you'll get is weapons impact.)

But both of us (Army and Air Force) are still trying to come to grips with these realities and options. I was always slapping my forehead--"Think, dammit! How can we skin this cat?" And I spent a lot of time talking to guys who had blown off CAS 'cause it just wasn't in their crosscheck due to preconceived notions about what it was or was not.

BTW, as the Army reorganizes, I think this need to "Think Different" (hat tip to Steve Jobs) will become a lot more important...

To repeat, saying this to someone like yourself is probably a waste of 'trons--you already know 99.99% of my mantra, but NEVER, EVER ASSUME I CAN'T, OR DON'T WANT, TO HELP.

Great work...keep it up.

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