The Close Combat Lethality Task Force

The infantry will get needed attention for leadership, equipment, and combat cohesion with the establishment of the Close Combat Lethality Task Force to institutionalize efforts to push forward on all those fronts.

Progress was made on recognizing problems and pushing solutions during the major fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, but with fewer troops in combat there is danger that peacetime inertia will destroy that progress. But not if the task force works.

One thing not mentioned on the unit cohesion front was the decision to rotate brigades and not individuals through the combat theaters. Fighting the Vietnam War didn't break the Army. Abandoning unit cohesion broke the Army. And for all the talk about Iraq breaking the Army, that never happened. A big reason is that unit cohesion was maintained.

What can be done about the procurement bureaucracy that is married to Congressional careers via the appropriations process is unknown. I've noted the crippling nature of India's dysfunctional procurement bureaucracy. Luckily the sheer size of our budget overcomes some of that problem to deliver superb weapons--even if late and expensive. Perhaps the rise of China which could have a budget one day to match America will inspire better procedures. Although that hasn't had an impact in India.

But for now let's see if we can get unit cohesion down to the fire team and squad level, with trained leaders and needed personal equipment--which at least is cheap compared to the big ticket items of tanks, planes, and ships.