Atrax wrote:ElPeregrino wrote:Why aren't are troops shedding their gear like they did in WWII and earlier? Seems to me like the gearhead tendency started up in Vietnam, and look how we ended up doing there...
Serious risk aversion issues by senior NCOs/Officers. Patrol the same street, at the same time of day, and park the trucks in the same spot. But make sure you wear your side plates.
Quick follow ups are important in a counterinsurgency, because while the 'slow but certain' death is effective, the enemy is emboldened when they can 'count coup' by hitting you and running.
It is a law of nature that anything predictable is exploitable. Wearing your plates all the time means that the enemy has to assume that you're wearing them when they plan an attack, which probably saves more lives than body armor stops bullets. The only reliable way to kill some tiny turtle-geared fucker is with (explosive) standoff weapons like landmines, remote bombs, and RPGs (according to wikileaked NGIC report, the things that kill the most troops in Iraq are IEDs and RPG-7s so yeah im right), the next best option is to get a bullet through the spine/up into the brain under the helmet, followed by a shot under the shoulder, and finally a lucky shot into the legs--given the 'firing crouch' people instinctively slip into and the tendency for disciplined soldiers to face their enemies, this is much easier said than done.
From some ranger combat medical handbook: the majority of combat deaths are caused by headshots, followed by penetrating chest wounds, followed by uncontrolled bleeding from an extremity. Wearing your helmet, your vest, and having buddies who are fast on the tourniquet will keep your ass alive when they spray you with lead. It is worth it, because one day they either won't run fast enough, or you will have figured out where they live, and will grab them in their sleep.
If you really wanted to try not wearing plates, you would have to do it with your whole team, and do it rarely enough that the enemy assumes that you're always wearing them. Rolling a dice before going on patrol, and if you get a particular number, having your patrol take them off while in the truck would be a logical way of getting that effect, but it would be pointless, because you are more expensive to produce than some fifteen year old with an AK. Just wait for these to hit the field:
http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia ... ergunship/
