http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/ The Future of the Military, Law Enforcement and National Security Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:25:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/#comment-87700 Steve Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:30:18 +0000 http://deftech.usmilblog.com/?p=4157#comment-87700 JSALLISON: Reminds me of an NCO instructor I had during chemical warfare training. He said he was smoking a butt in between the old 6 generator trailer set ups, when a 2nd Lt. started screaming at him"you're giving away our position with the IR " and he shouts back "what? I can't hear you over the generators". Of course this was taking place in the center of the Brigade TOC. It was part of his point to use your brain instead of relying on doctrine every single time. JSALLISON: Reminds me of an NCO instructor I had during chemical warfare training. He said he was smoking a butt in between the old 6 generator trailer set ups, when a 2nd Lt. started screaming at him“you’re giving away our position with the IR ” and he shouts back “what? I can’t hear you over the generators”. Of course this was taking place in the center of the Brigade TOC. It was part of his point to use your brain instead of relying on doctrine every single time.

]]> http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/#comment-87699 JSALLISON Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:40:09 +0000 http://deftech.usmilblog.com/?p=4157#comment-87699 New developments in face cammy sounds fine to me. My only beef with it was the whining and snivelling by our scouts because us tankers didn't use it. Seemed a bit redundant to mask our faces whilst riding within a 60+ ton behemoth though bossman did direct we do so in order to have a peaceful opord. More annoying was the directive to wear webgear onboard, again at the (snivelling) behest of those poor disrespected scouts. I'm sure things are much better, now. New developments in face cammy sounds fine to me. My only beef with it was the whining and snivelling by our scouts because us tankers didn’t use it. Seemed a bit redundant to mask our faces whilst riding within a 60+ ton behemoth though bossman did direct we do so in order to have a peaceful opord. More annoying was the directive to wear webgear onboard, again at the (snivelling) behest of those poor disrespected scouts. I’m sure things are much better, now.

]]> http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/#comment-87698 Steve Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:35:37 +0000 http://deftech.usmilblog.com/?p=4157#comment-87698 Oh yeah war paint. To think how thrilled I was when they ditched the two-tone stick of pain for the commercial hunter products. Now, you don't shine as much in NVG's, I would have just thought that using nano-technology might not be necessary in this case. Oh yeah war paint. To think how thrilled I was when they ditched the two-tone stick of pain for the commercial hunter products. Now, you don’t shine as much in NVG’s, I would have just thought that using nano-technology might not be necessary in this case.

]]> http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/#comment-78390 Ontos Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:55:46 +0000 http://deftech.usmilblog.com/?p=4157#comment-78390 Umm.... I thought we were talking about war-paint here fellas... What gives? Umm.… I thought we were talking about war-paint here fellas…
What gives?

]]> http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/#comment-87697 Wes Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:40:34 +0000 http://deftech.usmilblog.com/?p=4157#comment-87697 TDS4S, if you were a soldier and this new face paint saved your life, would you consider it to be an important, worthwhile development? TDS4S, if you were a soldier and this new face paint saved your life, would you consider it to be an important, worthwhile development?

]]> http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/#comment-87696 TDS4S Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:34:33 +0000 http://deftech.usmilblog.com/?p=4157#comment-87696 Its interesting to read the first few posts and see how quickly the discussion elevated from face paint to grand strategic questions. I think everyone senses something that no one can quite verbalize. Let me give it a try: this face paint doesn't matter and no tactical advance will matter until we as a nation are less lost... until we know what they hell we are doing with our military and why. I mean, who cares about face paint, for crying out loud? Face paint provides a tiny tactical advantage for a nation that already has global tactical dominance, and a fat lot of good it is doing us. All of our problems are strategic. The critical question isn't whether the enemy can see you in NODs. The critical question is what we are trying to accomplish as a nation and whether the military can help accomplish it for us or not. Only after we have decided as a nation what our goals are can we decide what combination of force, diplomacy, economics, etc can acheive them. And only after we have decided that can we begin to talk about what vehicles or weapons or other gear we need. IR absorbing face paint might help you accomplish a mission, but until the nation has decided what missions to accomplish and how, how does it matter? Russia knows that it wants to dominate Europe... that knowledge guides its energy policy and military actions. China knows that it wants to dethrone America... that knowledge guides its economic policy, exchange rates, and military focus. What vision is guiding America? Toward what end are we coordinating our economic policies, immigration policy, military modernaization efforts, energy policies, etc? Bottom line: if you don't know where you are going, going there faster isn't necessarily good. Maybe IR neutral face paint will help us complete some miiltary actions a wee bit better, but until we know what our national goals are and how those military actions move us closer toward acheiving them, they don't matter. Its interesting to read the first few posts and see how quickly the discussion elevated from face paint to grand strategic questions. I think everyone senses something that no one can quite verbalize. Let me give it a try: this face paint doesn’t matter and no tactical advance will matter until we as a nation are less lost… until we know what they hell we are doing with our military and why.
I mean, who cares about face paint, for crying out loud? Face paint provides a tiny tactical advantage for a nation that already has global tactical dominance, and a fat lot of good it is doing us. All of our problems are strategic. The critical question isn’t whether the enemy can see you in NODs. The critical question is what we are trying to accomplish as a nation and whether the military can help accomplish it for us or not. Only after we have decided as a nation what our goals are can we decide what combination of force, diplomacy, economics, etc can acheive them. And only after we have decided that can we begin to talk about what vehicles or weapons or other gear we need. IR absorbing face paint might help you accomplish a mission, but until the nation has decided what missions to accomplish and how, how does it matter?
Russia knows that it wants to dominate Europe… that knowledge guides its energy policy and military actions. China knows that it wants to dethrone America… that knowledge guides its economic policy, exchange rates, and military focus. What vision is guiding America? Toward what end are we coordinating our economic policies, immigration policy, military modernaization efforts, energy policies, etc?
Bottom line: if you don’t know where you are going, going there faster isn’t necessarily good. Maybe IR neutral face paint will help us complete some miiltary actions a wee bit better, but until we know what our national goals are and how those military actions move us closer toward acheiving them, they don’t matter.

]]> http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/#comment-87695 Steve Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:26:36 +0000 http://deftech.usmilblog.com/?p=4157#comment-87695 Roy, you still haven't proved any similarity between our system and the Romans. Once troops started swearing allegiance to their general instead of the republic it really started to go downhill for them. Rome depended on constant expansion to keep their society running. Just trying to keep enough slaves to run their world must have been a full-time job. Roy, you still haven’t proved any similarity between our system and the Romans. Once troops started swearing allegiance to their general instead of the republic it really started to go downhill for them. Rome depended on constant expansion to keep their society running. Just trying to keep enough slaves to run their world must have been a full-time job.

]]> http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/#comment-87693 dm Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:29:54 +0000 http://deftech.usmilblog.com/?p=4157#comment-87693 The most recent epidemiological survey estimates that 1.2 million Iraqis have died from violence in the last 5 years of war, about 30% of those directly caused by US forces. An unknown number have been injured (possibly up to double or triple the number of deaths), and an estimated 5 million are displaced. By comparison, the 8 year long Iran-Iraq war, one of the bloodiest wars in recent history, is estimated to have caused half a million Iraqi wounded and dead. The population of Iraq is 27 million. The most recent epidemiological survey estimates that 1.2 million Iraqis have died from violence in the last 5 years of war, about 30% of those directly caused by US forces. An unknown number have been injured (possibly up to double or triple the number of deaths), and an estimated 5 million are displaced. By comparison, the 8 year long Iran-Iraq war, one of the bloodiest wars in recent history, is estimated to have caused half a million Iraqi wounded and dead. The population of Iraq is 27 million.

]]> http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/#comment-87692 dm Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:29:04 +0000 http://deftech.usmilblog.com/?p=4157#comment-87692 The most recent epidemiological survey estimates that 1.2 million Iraqis have died from violence in the last 5 years of war, about 30% of those directly caused by US forces. An unknown number have been injured (possibly up to double or triple the number of deaths), and an estimated 5 million are displaced. By comparison, the 8 year long Iran-Iraq ... Read Morewar, one of the bloodiest wars in recent history, is estimated to have caused half a million Iraqi wounded and dead. The population of Iraq is 27 million. The most recent epidemiological survey estimates that 1.2 million Iraqis have died from violence in the last 5 years of war, about 30% of those directly caused by US forces. An unknown number have been injured (possibly up to double or triple the number of deaths), and an estimated 5 million are displaced. By comparison, the 8 year long Iran-Iraq … Read Morewar, one of the bloodiest wars in recent history, is estimated to have caused half a million Iraqi wounded and dead. The population of Iraq is 27 million.

]]> http://defensetech.org/2008/11/03/the-face-paint-of-darkness/#comment-87691 Heh Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:22:06 +0000 http://deftech.usmilblog.com/?p=4157#comment-87691 Roy, the insurgency don't exactly have training in special weapons such as aircraft and tanks. Most of their men come across the border anyway. They're kicking our asses because we can't find them. When they do get into straight combat, they almost always lose unless we're greatly outnumbered. Either you're trolling, or you don't realize just how large of an advantage we have over these people. Roy, the insurgency don’t exactly have training in special weapons such as aircraft and tanks. Most of their men come across the border anyway. They’re kicking our asses because we can’t find them.
When they do get into straight combat, they almost always lose unless we’re greatly outnumbered. Either you’re trolling, or you don’t realize just how large of an advantage we have over these people.

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