During the Iraq War, some on the anti-war side confused the Army (and Marines) being "unbalanced" with being "broken," or worn out. With too few troops, virtually every ground combat unit (the exception was the South Korea-based brigade) had to focus on counter-insurgency at the expense of conventional combat. Thus, they lacked "balanced" capabilities. At the extreme, tankers and artillerymen cross-trained as infantry and deployed in this role rather than in their conventional role.
Now that the Iraq War is over for us and Afghanistan is winding down (again, for us), our units have the time to regain lost conventional fighting skills--as these Marines are doing:
Tanks, F/A-18s, artillery, armored vehicles, and MV-22 tiltrotor Ospreys: Just another day of live-fire training at the Marine Corps' Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, Calif. PM was there to observe—at close range—the climax of the second-ever Integrated Training Exercise (ITX), a training event meant to prepare 800 Marines for deployment.
Unlike earlier training exercises, the Marines' imaginary enemies at the ITX are not insurgent infantry with rocket propelled grenades and roadside bombs. Instead, late last year the training personnel here set up a scenario in which Marines oppose battle tanks, mechanized infantry, and antiaircraft missiles.
Many of our Army units must still focus on counter-insurgency for Afghanistan deployments that will continue. But many Army units can do what these Marines are doing--preparing to engage in high-speed maneuver warfare against enemies with conventional weapons and tactics.
I assume Air Force, Navy, and Marine pilots are relearning how to support ground units in conventional fighting and maintaining air superiority.
Combat experienced and balanced will make our military very lethal for another generation--assuming we let them train enough to be proficient.
