daftandbarmy
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 26,488
- Points
- 1,160
Kirkhill said:D&B,
Bernadette notwithstanding: NI was/is a Domestic Operation.
Also, disregarding Martin's Tommy Gun and nasties in culverts, do you think that the threat level to the Squaddie rose to the level of Afghanistan? How about Iraq? Would you have been able to fully utilize the capabilities of Warriors, Challengers and AS90s in Derry? On second thought, don't answer that. You probably would.
Better question, while it would have done wonders for your morale, would it have either reduced the threat or hastened the glorious Millenium that is upon us? (The odd knee-capping and bombing aside).
As miserable as NI was, it was a police action with emphasis on mobility, light infantry, light cavalry and intelligence. N'est ce pas?
Yes, pretty much. The 'bad old days' of the 1969-80/81 period were, as far as I can estimate, on par with a Baghdad type situation, but on a much smaller scale, with far more troops per capita to deal with it all. It's all ugly when you're in the middle of it, of course.
As for the effectiveness of the 'overwatch' I found that it was interesting to see what effect it had on people. Some disregaded it and relied mainly on their own tactics and knowledge of the terrain, leaving the pilots to get bored out of their skulls. Others relied heavily on it and wandered around as if God Himself was casting his benevolent gaze upon them and enveloped them in HIS loving protection. Others actually blended the two, and got the pilots involved fully in every patrol, and put police and others (int cell types etc) onboard with the pilots.
We tended to do the latter, and sent multiple 'int' tasks up to the pilots who provided us with all kinds of other informaiton as well as providing overwatch on the patrol. We also encouraged the taking of zillions of photos.Note: the pilots were expert observers, unlike grunts like me, and added alot of value from that perspective.
I'd still prefer a division of 'snitches' to a thousand 'gizmos', as that's the kind of int you really need to be proactive and deal with the root of the problem. But, yeah, if you had some small drones that could be used by foot / mobile patrols, great. I'm not sure that the CSM in an ultralight is the way ahead though as you still tie down manpower.... even if it's only the CSM ;D