Interestingly, Heinlein's _Starship Troopers_ is the only book, other than _The Bible_ to be on the reading lists of _all_ the U.S. Service Academies.
That said, while the Marines dream about powered armor and self-deploying troops, the reality is nowhere near that yet.
As noted, one needs to have control of the LZ --- if that weren't critical, then Spec. Ops. would have actually done something with the idea of putting pods containing soldiers under the wings of Harrier jump jets, and the V-22 Osprey would have a forward-firing weapon --- keeping control of an airfield is hard, which is why AF Sec. Police train to fight against Spetsnaz and the U.S. had RoK Marines guarding their bases during Vietnam.
What does a supply chain look like in a time of drone warfare? How does one control a perimeter and maintain the surface of a runway against an opponent which is well-equipped? (For an example of how critical that can be, see AF-4590)
Starship Troopers is on the reading list because of politics of the books, not technical warfighting side. There is also interesting passage in there about how Service Academies are insane idea since books has chapters on officers in infantry are enlisted personnel who go to OCS and training period with much higher washout rate.
I would say it's more about the discussion of morality and specifically the morality of actions in war and not the politics of war, though they are linked.
The lesson of the Skinnies is quite jarring for someone that didn't go through WW2. Earth outright terrorizes the Skinnies into submission.
You have no idea what you’re talking about. An Osprey doesn’t have a “forward firing weapon” because Direct Action Penetrators followed by -47s from the 160th are better suited to such a scenario.
On the topic of USAF security forces training to fight Spetsnaz…lol.
I figured it was real. Now I get to read about them. :) Thanks!
The US actually did strap people to the sides of helicopters for medevac at one point. The TV show MASH showed one of them. (And yes, the Bell 47 was real.)
That said, while the Marines dream about powered armor and self-deploying troops, the reality is nowhere near that yet.
As noted, one needs to have control of the LZ --- if that weren't critical, then Spec. Ops. would have actually done something with the idea of putting pods containing soldiers under the wings of Harrier jump jets, and the V-22 Osprey would have a forward-firing weapon --- keeping control of an airfield is hard, which is why AF Sec. Police train to fight against Spetsnaz and the U.S. had RoK Marines guarding their bases during Vietnam.
What does a supply chain look like in a time of drone warfare? How does one control a perimeter and maintain the surface of a runway against an opponent which is well-equipped? (For an example of how critical that can be, see AF-4590)