Are we really training seriously for the next conventional war? All the signs I see say no.

Come back in, get promoted to a position where you can make a difference, do work.

Presently....of course not, this administration has taken the military as a social experiment and not as the true fighting force that it should be.

Just like in Nam and Beirut the politicians keep us on a short leash to play fair and make nice. Meanwhile peasant guerrillas are shooting at our destroyers with Exocets. Putin says his Air Force will shoot to kill with no warning. Sexual harassment class tonight after duty shift.

Just like Nam and Beirut the politicians keep us on a short leash to play fair make nice and get killed and lose the war. Disgusted.

I see the recent Russian "encroachment" on neighbors, the Peacekeeping responsibilities, the presence of the US like we have now continuing to be our "front" so to speak. Airpower, drones and ships will fight the next "War" type of front with the military forces standing by after the fact and being mission based to accomplish strategic targeting. I don't believe we will have a battlefield type of war again. Too many blurred lines politically within countries and in our own for that matter. We have to maintain the Armed Forces because the types of situations I mention above will be many and will require 1000 "advisors" ( always loved that word) 3000 "advisors" there, 2000 "advisors" over there, etc, etc

Sp4 Byron Skinner. The question is what is conventional war. Currently there is only one country that can field 10,000 Main Battle Tanks, 3,000 Combat Air Craft, 308 Fighting Ships. The United States. You can combine all of the forces of Russian and China and there is little chance they could in what I think you are referring as a conventional setting do anything other then to be crushed. The days of massed Armies squaring off like Germany and the Soviet Union are history. Conventional Warfare now is none state insurgency. The US has yet to figure out a way to fight them and still maintain or moral principles. This is the most effective weapon an insurgent has. If the US was to sacrifice its moro standing we could wins Syrian type conflict The Russian Have show how weak there military is. They go and leave nothin' but memories but don't have the military to close the deal. Winning a war is more what you do after the killing. To verify this just look at what the Soviet Eastern Europe to the US/France/Britain's occupied areas of Germany. The US's secret in a period of three years the US made over 50,000 M-4 Sherman Tanks, production of M-4's was stopped before the invasion of Western Europe at Normandy. The US made more tanks in three years more then all the rest of the countries of the world made in the 20th. Century.

A major obstacle to being fully prepared for ANY war is overcoming the "Peace Dividend" mentality that always accompanies "peacetime." When the gurus in DC talk of cutting "fat and waste" expect to lose a leg. When I first came in during the "Cold War" we had almost half a million troops in Western Europe and were considered little more than a speed bump for the "Red Horde." Now we are talking rotating brigades - ooooooooh I imagine Putey-Poot is shaking in his boots.

First step IMHO is to field an adequately sized and armed force. Second, is to ensure those troops are trained to high standards and KNOW their jobs. As Norman Schwarzkopf said, the best plan goes down the tubes the moment the first shot is fired - then it is up to the small unit leaders and PFC on the ground who takes charge when there's no one else who wins battles and wars. The American soldier (by that I mean ALL branches) has always shown an extraordinary ability to adapt and overcome in the worst of circumstances.

Don't get me wrong, our leaders and gurus NEED to continue planning for contingencies around the globe - I remember when XVIII Airborne Corps hosted Gallant Knight 82 planning for a possible Soviet invasion and takeover of the Gulf through Iraq and Saudi Arabia in Feb 82; it turned out to be prep for what became known as Operation Desert Shield in 1991; which led to Desert Storm. But all the planning in the world is no good if you don't have enough bodies or bullets and those bodies don't know how to hit the target.

Until we change the current attitudes of the civilian leadership toward defense - more than just lip service - it's putting a Band-Aid on a bullet hole at best and probably peeing in the wind. I keep hoping one day DC will learn it's cheaper in the long run to MAINTAIN a strong military than to constantly tear down and have to rebuild it over again every war. Both in money and in blood.

The focus of training should be the conduct of military operations in different environments/geographic locations, i.e. deserts, mountains, plains, jungles, urban centers,... And to some extent the various exercises that take place either in the U.S., or joint operations with NATO members covers these scenarios. What I've seen, internally and externally, is the loss of focus on why we have the Armed Forces. I can tell you, in my opinion what they're not for: 1. They are not peace keepers, 2. They are not humanitarian relief workers, 3. They are not an laboratory for social engineering. They are our national defence.

Been out over 20 years, but my impression is that there is no "outside the box" thinking when it comes to training for war. We currently face an enemy who has no scruples, and realizes that our military commitment is along the lines of treating people with Christian humanity, that is, "love your neighbor", "love your enemy". While I understand and try to live by these principles, the radicals see them as a sign of weakness and will always try to exploit them. We must train to fight fire with fire, and then love the enemy as he rehabilitates after being conquered.

Many of us from the Vietnam era ( I include Korea in the era ) are old and beatup.Military technology has left us long ago.But...be assured that whether conventional or unconventional,we will stand our ground as best we can.Pretty sure the next engagement will be different and not very pretty.Regardless of your degree of trainning,2 things will remain the same.The Government calling the shots and not being able to tell the enemy from your friend.Once again,we will have to fight with 1 hand behind our back.