One Hand Clapping has a nice piece on the importance of artillery in warfare. It is an interesting read (especially the comments) and I sent it to a friend of mine. Dave is a NCO in the U.S. Army Reserves and his MOS (military occupational specialty) is Field Artillery. He had some interesting comments about both the post on artillery and those second guessing General Tommy Franks.
That [Donald's post at One Hand Clapping] is why artillery is called the King of Battle...My 2 cents about the people who question Franks' "battle plan": Idiots... all of them... and you can quote me on that as a SSG
[Staff Sergeant] in the US Field Artillery. The fact that they have never actually seen the battle plan has in no way inhibited them from blindly questioning and second-guessing it. IMO, that makes them idiots. They question the security of the logistical lines when, in reality, only once has there been an "incident" along them, and that was a direct result of the support vehicles leaving the 'secured' area. Half of these analysts have never served in the military and so have no realistic basis for their assumptions (maybe I am biased being a current member, but there are some things you can't understand unless you've been there). Others have served, but have been retired long enough (even ol' Stormin' Norman's knowledge is considered outdated) that they have no idea of the present capabilities of a modern US military.Me... I'll trust the guy who's spent the last 30 or so years of his life dedicated to leading troops (that's Tommy Franks, for those of you who aren't trackin') over a so-called 'military analyst' any day. I'm willing to bet not one of those 'analyst' guys has ever gone a day without a meal or a week without a shower before... they just know lines on paper, and that doesn't win wars, it just makes you good at computer games. Soldiers win wars... and the Field Artillery lets them.
Dave, thanks for sharing your thoughts and for your service to your country.