The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Field Modified Weapons in Iraq/Afghanistan

LouisianaMan · June 16, 2013, 12:26 PM

Alabama,
Your note about OH-58 pilots using the M-4 took me back to a series of books, published in the early-to mid-70's, about various elite forces, weapons, etc. One of these focused on "Loach" observation helicopters (OH-6, IIRC) in Vietnam, and was written by (or focused on the experiences of?) Gary Mills, I believe.

Anyway, the gist was that these scout helo guys would hover at treetop level, following footprints & tracking enemy soldiers, and often wind up in shootouts with same. The helo guys were using M-16's or carbine/SMG versions of it, to good effect. Sounds like the same concept was rediscovered in the wars of the past decade!

I wish that the proponents of "push-button" war and "war by remote control" would take to heart these low-tech realities! Instead, the same guys who seemed to think that Mach-2+ Phantom jets wouldn't need to be able to dogfight--given their advanced radars & missile systems--have now concluded that drones are the answer to all their problems. They keep convincing themselves, gullible politicians, and much of the American public that war has finally become the province of technology. Remember when atomic weapons made conventional war "impossible"? When advanced weapons systems made rifles & pistols obsolete? When "information" became the be-all, end-all of warfare?

Many of those same techno-geeks are the same ones who remark scornfully that studying history is a ludicrous waste of time. So, we continually wind up in conflicts & are surprised at the amount of old-fashioned blood, guts, human ingenuity and shoe-leather they still require.

June 16, 2013, 12:26 PM	#39
LouisianaMan Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2009 Location: St. Francisville, LA Posts: 151	We've come full circle (yet again :-) Alabama, Your note about OH-58 pilots using the M-4 took me back to a series of books, published in the early-to mid-70's, about various elite forces, weapons, etc. One of these focused on "Loach" observation helicopters (OH-6, IIRC) in Vietnam, and was written by (or focused on the experiences of?) Gary Mills, I believe. Anyway, the gist was that these scout helo guys would hover at treetop level, following footprints & tracking enemy soldiers, and often wind up in shootouts with same. The helo guys were using M-16's or carbine/SMG versions of it, to good effect. Sounds like the same concept was rediscovered in the wars of the past decade! I wish that the proponents of "push-button" war and "war by remote control" would take to heart these low-tech realities! Instead, the same guys who seemed to think that Mach-2+ Phantom jets wouldn't need to be able to dogfight--given their advanced radars & missile systems--have now concluded that drones are the answer to all their problems. They keep convincing themselves, gullible politicians, and much of the American public that war has finally become the province of technology. Remember when atomic weapons made conventional war "impossible"? When advanced weapons systems made rifles & pistols obsolete? When "information" became the be-all, end-all of warfare? Many of those same techno-geeks are the same ones who remark scornfully that studying history is a ludicrous waste of time. So, we continually wind up in conflicts & are surprised at the amount of old-fashioned blood, guts, human ingenuity and shoe-leather they still require.