Why Our Military's Strategy is Outdated And Failing us in Iraq And Afghanistan.

As we look back to our past wars like, the Revolutionary War and Civil War we see the great error in our tactics. Marching in a line with no cover or concealment into another opposing force firing into the masses of soldiers now seems ridiculous. How ver to the soldiers and generals of that era it made perfect sense. I feel future generations will look back and see the obvious errors in our current strategies.

Our current enemy and in my opinion all future enemies will not be wearing uniforms and drive military vehicles. We are a soft target when every one knows what we're doing and who we are. In Iraq and Afghanistan the enemy doesn’t wear a uniform. They use guerilla tactics and force us into fighting an unconventional war. We are at a distinct disadvantage in fighting this way. Our enemy knows exactly who and where we are and we don't know who and where the enemy is. This is  comparable to the old way of fighting where two forces marched at each other firing into a formation of troops with no cover and concealment. We need to learn from our mistakes and not march into an enemy that does not wear a uniform or show himself / herself. There are countless accounts in Iraq and Afghanistan of kids and women walking by a patrol and throwing a grenade in the middle of it killing and maiming numerous troops. They do this and succeed because we are a soft target. We wear uniforms and make are presence known on foot and vehicle patrols and bases. These same tactics failed us in Vietnam. We learned a lot about guerilla warfare and the power and morale killer of booby troops. Imagine walking on a patrol through the jungle with your unit who you've lived with, eaten with, and slept next to for month’s maybe even years. The only entertainment you have is talking and getting to know each other. So you are patrolling through the jungle when you step down and hear a "click", your heart stops waiting to explode; only you don't explode. Your buddy three guys in back of you does and is killed. Imagine what that does to your military mind set. You stepped on a bouncing betty (land mine) and it killed your brother in arms. He died because of where you stepped. Most people are then out of the fight mentally by something like this. This was the genius of the Vietcong in making booby traps  that would mentally destroy the morale of the unit.

We need to implement these same strategies of morally breaking down our enemy and using our own Special Forces strategies against ther enemy. Special forces tactics have worked well in Iraq and Afghanistan because they don't drive military HUMVE'S,wear uniforms, shave and operate in large military groups. They go native by growing long beards and driving non military looking vehicles. By blending in with your enemies, working in smaller teams, being unpredictable and not staying on bases you become a hard target. I propose that we start training all of the military branches' Infantry in these Special Forces tactics. Teach them to work in small teams so they are less likely to be noticed, get them out of the usual uniforms (which are targets) and go native. We need to better adapt to unconventional warfare because it will always be like this from our current war, to all future wars. Semper Fi.