Transforming the Infantry

[BloodStripe]

Honestly, I'm way out of my knowledge base when it comes to how the DoD and Big Army solicit contracts. What I have seen is a buttload of waste on big ticket items, while basic kit and armament is cobbled together from spare parts or is non/barely-functional. After seeing so much waste and mismanagement, I think the DoD and Big Army can be better at leading and equipping the Infantry.

Example -
DoD/supply/etc : Heya grunts! Here are 100 MRAPS. Oh... but we can't do much about the cobbled together 240's, SAW's with warped receivers, non-functional lasers, worn out gloves/pants, etc. If you're hungry we have steaks, lobster, and artisanal coffee at the nearest FOB though.

Grunt: Uh...

DoD/supply/ect : Also, please stop cavorting off with our supply of sundries and snacks during your visits. We know we've been feeding you Pop-Tarts and expired Pancake Heater Meals, but nevertheless please behave like civilized human beings and respect our property.

Here's how the acquisition process works (just a real high level overveiw).


Each year on Oct 1, they receive their annual budget. That budget includes everything they need for the year, to include payroll, beans, bullets, and bandaids. That money comes in five different "colors"; Operations and Maintenance (O&M), MILCON, procurement (proc), R&D, or MILPERS.

To your example, MRAPS are most likely bought via PROC funding (no idea off the top of my head what one costs but they are probably higher than $200k). SAW's, lasers, sights, etc are O&M. It's against the FMR to use one color of funding for something other than what it was intended for. So if your command requested new MRAPS, they'll be given money for those. You also only have finite funds available as a commander and you are trying to ensure your commanders guidance is met through the funds you are told you have. Some of the higher grade officers around here can attest more to that. In my current position as a Contracting Officer I just make sure the funds are available when releasing an award. I have no input on why I'm buying something or how much money is left available. Unfortunately for most of us at the lower levels who are grunts living and working in the barracks and rarely around the head shed, we never know how the supply side works as we aren't exposed to it.

 

[Brill]

@BloodStripe , don’t forget about using OCO funds to satisfy UFRs!!!!

 

[BloodStripe]

@BloodStripe , don’t forget about using OCO funds to satisfy UFRs!!!!

Don't even get me started.

 

[R.Caerbannog]

Here's how the acquisition process works (just a real high level overveiw).


Each year on Oct 1, they receive their annual budget. That budget includes everything they need for the year, to include payroll, beans, bullets, and bandaids. That money comes in five different "colors"; Operations and Maintenance (O&M), MILCON, procurement (proc), R&D, or MILPERS.

To your example, MRAPS are most likely bought via PROC funding (no idea off the top of my head what one costs but they are probably higher than $200k). SAW's, lasers, sights, etc are O&M. It's against the FMR to use one color of funding for something other than what it was intended for. So if your command requested new MRAPS, they'll be given money for those. You also only have finite funds available as a commander and you are trying to ensure your commanders guidance is met through the funds you are told you have. Some of the higher grade officers around here can attest more to that. In my current position as a Contracting Officer I just make sure the funds are available when releasing an award. I have no input on why I'm buying something or how much money is left available. Unfortunately for most of us at the lower levels who are grunts living and working in the barracks and rarely around the head shed, we never know how the supply side works as we aren't exposed to it.

Yikes! That sounds like a giant pain in the butt. Makes sense as to why there was so much 'wheeling & dealing' going on behind closed doors. Flippity flip flop, I've got nothing other than 'Run Away!'.

 

[R.Caerbannog]

Random thought: I'm thinking if the DoD really wants to make the Infantry more lethal, they need to fix their acquisitions process. It's mental that the Infantry's personnel, gear, food, training, etc, have to go through some color coded funding monstrosity. Feast and famine (regarding fund disbursal) seems like a dumb way to manage grunts.

Better leadership, training, and lighter gear/comms/batteries, may as well be a pipe dream until leadership at the DoD and acquisitions fix themselves. We have the most advanced military in the history of the world and yet grunts are supplementing gear and rations out of their own pockets.

Hello Rome!

 

[BloodStripe]

Random thought: I'm thinking if the DoD really wants to make the Infantry more lethal, they need to fix their acquisitions process. It's mental that the Infantry's personnel, gear, food, training, etc, have to go through some color coded funding monstrosity. Feast and famine (regarding fund disbursal) seems like a dumb way to manage grunts.

Better leadership, training, and lighter gear/comms/batteries, may as well be a pipe dream until leadership at the DoD and acquisitions fix themselves. We have the most advanced military in the history of the world and yet grunts are supplementing gear and rations out of their own pockets.

Hello Rome!

Commanders make the decision on how to spend their money. While I admit the acquisition process is dated, you are picking the wrong approach to this problem. Go pick the fight with your CO that he/she isn't requesting the shit you actually need.

You are focusing at the unit level, but a lot of money is being coded and set aside at the Pentagon level for new major weapin systems, trying to get them updated, because we have been focusing on dudes in mud huts for the past 20 years; meanwhile our near peer adversaries have been focusing in catching up to our existing capabilities.

 

[Gunz]

Random thought: I'm thinking if the DoD really wants to make the Infantry more lethal, they need to fix their acquisitions process. It's mental that the Infantry's personnel, gear, food, training, etc, have to go through some color coded funding monstrosity. Feast and famine (regarding fund disbursal) seems like a dumb way to manage grunts.

Better leadership, training, and lighter gear/comms/batteries, may as well be a pipe dream until leadership at the DoD and acquisitions fix themselves. We have the most advanced military in the history of the world and yet grunts are supplementing gear and rations out of their own pockets.

Hello Rome!

If you're talking field rations and gear in the field, there is a time-honored grunt-modification process that constantly evolves. Making all that issue shit actually work, improving capabilities through improvisation. Same goes for field rations.

If you're talking garrison and mess hall, then there's no excuse.

 

[R.Caerbannog]

Commanders make the decision on how to spend their money. While I admit the acquisition process is dated, you are picking the wrong approach to this problem. Go pick the fight with your CO that he/she isn't requesting the shit you actually need.

You are focusing at the unit level, but a lot of money is being coded and set aside at the Pentagon level for new major weapin systems, trying to get them updated, because we have been focusing on dudes in mud huts for the past 20 years; meanwhile our near peer adversaries have been focusing in catching up to our existing capabilities.

That's the rub. While the O's can plan and request supplies for projected theater operations, situations and circumstances change. It's also not just about logistics at the company, battalion, brigade, or even division level. It's about the facility in which the appropriate technology and supplies trickle down to the guys on the ground. If the O's are hamstrung by a complex supply system and the senior enlisted have to start horse-trading, something is wrong.

Going back to the article posted, the whole premise of fixing the infantry is bringing in older recruits and throwing money at them. That's akin to putting a pedigreed horse on a broken cart. A broken cart is gonna have problems moving regardless of the pedigree and price of the horse pulling. My argument is that the DoD is better served putting it's money into leading, training, and equipping it's grunts in a more efficient way (fixing their cart). With how acquisitions and funding seems to roll though, I dunno if that's gonna happen.

 

[R.Caerbannog]

If you're talking field rations and gear in the field, there is a time-honored grunt-modification process that constantly evolves. Making all that issue shit actually work, improving capabilities through improvisation. Same goes for field rations.

If you're talking garrison and mess hall, then there's no excuse.

Honestly, I think that improvisation is one of the defining aspects of the Infantry. Creativity and good old fashioned ingenuity always does the trick when you're surrounded by people who hate you.

For a while though, the DoD was burning through piles of money overseas and there was a lot of visible waste. Hence, being miffed at all the excess.

 

[MikeDelta]

Random thought: I'm thinking if the DoD really wants to make the Infantry more lethal, they need to fix their acquisitions process. It's mental that the Infantry's personnel, gear, food, training, etc, have to go through some color coded funding monstrosity. Feast and famine (regarding fund disbursal) seems like a dumb way to manage grunts.

Better leadership, training, and lighter gear/comms/batteries, may as well be a pipe dream until leadership at the DoD and acquisitions fix themselves. We have the most advanced military in the history of the world and yet grunts are supplementing gear and rations out of their own pockets.

Hello Rome!

Hello Rome is right! Citizen soldiers buying their own gear.

 

[MikeDelta]

Honestly, I think that improvisation is one of the defining aspects of the Infantry. Creativity and good old fashioned ingenuity always does the trick when you're surrounded by people who hate you.

For a while though, the DoD was burning through piles of money overseas and there was a lot of visible waste. Hence, being miffed at all the excess.

YES. Field expedience!

I recently read that Russian officers during WW2 thought we had no doctrine because of our GIs ingenuity. The kind of stuff you don’t find in the FMs but can achieve through great training and wisdom passed down by senior NCOs.

 

[Devildoc]

You know nothing's going to change. Sure the technology changes, but the problem will never change. I'm sure I can find some microfiche of a newspaper article from the 1860's describing the plight of the soldier and how much weight he has to carry and why the live maggots and grubs in his food may not be a good thing.

 

[Board and Seize]

Off the top of my head, though not that old: The Soldier's Load and the Mobility of a Nation

 

[MikeDelta]

Off the top of my head, though not that old: The Soldier's Load and the Mobility of a Nation

Man, I just read a bit of this and it’s great. Thanks! Looking forward to plowing through this

 

[Board and Seize]

If you get that territory, They should make the governor the infantry man 99% of the time. They deserve it for giving so much. But not always.

I...

I just dont -

Dear sweet baby heysews.

@The Warlord I'll go ahead and guess that you're a bored highschooler with nothing better to do over your summer than to get some sweet trolling over on those stuck-up dudes (and dudettes) on ShadowSpear (SS) that think they're soooo much better than awesome airsofters. That said, I'm going to go overboard on the philosophical charity with you here, and offer some good faith advice.

Though we have a good time, the folks on SS are actually a fairly serious lot who come here to meaningfully engage with one another on all sorts of issues and questions. Resident amongst us is the #3 internationally ranked Memelord (@Teufel ), but that sort of good clean fun stays pretty strictly in a couple of threads/subfora.

Seriously, guy, you won't get much of an entertaining rise before getting the hammer if that's what you're here for. If you are here to actually participate/engage, check out the link in your intro post and read up on our community guidelines - you won't be taken seriously otherwise.

 

[Board and Seize]

I'm actually glad for the thread bump.

I'm working on an article I intend to submit for publication squarely on the thread's topic. If there's anyone who'd be interested in reading draft(s) and providing early feedback, I'd really appreciate it. I'm through outlining the general structure of the argument, and should have something readable by the start of next week if not sooner.

If you're able and willing, shoot me a message and we'll take it offline. Happy to talk about the broad thrust in the open, but don't want to wreck my chances at publication.

 

[Board and Seize]

Well it's just a typo. there was no edit button on my browser. Maybe it's out dated. I knew I was going to get hammered for doing that after I noticed it did not have the word "new" posted in my intro title. And Yes, I read the guidelines before posting, which made me slap my forehead after I posted it. It's not a work of art, but what ever.

I proffer to look at this career like this. If that action, doesn't benefit the greater good of this country, then I don't have time for that. Let's focus on what a man does, instead of what he , it's too easy to manipulate. That's what real men do is it not?

This your commander & chief. Don't forget that, I am going to be your boss one day when you talk to me. They say there is a chain of command, but it's bull shit. The real government is found on the front lines. I'm pretty sure when the warriors die, everything behind it, goes with it. So congress is a here say government.

Especially the infantry line. How do you command the battle field? From a desk in the white house - nope. It's done here, not much logic seems to be going on here, just heart. That's the real commander and chief. If you don't retreat. If you do that, your just a lady then.

Thanks for the effortful answer, and I'll respond in similar good faith.

typo, etc.

You'll quickly find that in this community, attention to the details matter. That attention is valued because it is indicative of the attention one will have to details in other situations (like combat, where many of the SS members have significant experience). Many young SOF and military hopefuls come here for advice, and many of the members are active in those very communities right now. So the attention you display towards silly little details like what you publicly broadcast to people whose exclusive club you're supposedly trying to join is seen as predictive of how you will behave if you make it there.

You'll find that there's plenty of disagreement here on any given topic and many viewpoints are represented. We enjoy thoughtful and thought-provoking debate, but there's little appetite for uninformed speculation or argumentation for its own sake.

So, pretend you're communicating with real, live people who might remember what you say and be in positions to affect your future, and you'll be fine.

the rest

I'm not sure if you're trying to convince people of your particular viewpoint, or ask about it. Just remember that while you might imagine something about the reality of military life, or motivations, or combat, that most of the folks here know from personal experience.

Measure twice : cut once :: Think twice : submit once

edit: I'm not sure what exactly it is you're trying to say about combat/command.

 

[AWP]

This your commander & chief. Don't forget that, I am going to be your boss one day when you talk to me.

What do you mean by this?

 

[Gunz]

The real government is found on the front lines.

Actually, it's not. Not since Napoleon. Make no mistake, actions at the sharp edge are affected very much by the politics and decisions of our civilian leadership and sometimes by military commanders who's only connection to the battlefield is through video teleconferencing.

The directives of that civilian leadership are transmitted down the chain to young men and women warriors who attempt--often at the cost of their lives--to interpret and execute those policies.

If your statement were true, the Vietnam War and some other conflicts might have ended much differently.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Well no matter which type of government you choose the warriors stay put. Only the writers change around. So you can always move them. Because they are just influences. The real power is found in these warriors. So I proposed we just put them all into one branch so you can see it. Then center it. Who knows, the next governor could be you.

This is how I won the world over.

Your Shtick has already grown old.
Come back in 3 days and try again...or not.

Either way, consider this a formal warning.

Back on topic.