On Sun, Jun 28, 2015 at 3:52 AM, Greg Chalik <mrg3105@gmail.com> wrote:The points are that the dismounted platoon of 150 years from now will be even more different than the current platoon is from one of 1865.
Interestingly enough, I've been reading Shelby Foote's three volume history of the Civil War, these past weeks. Also a book on the organization of Robert E. Lee's army. Platoons in this era were primarily administrative units, since the company generally deployed as a complete unit. Once actual fighting commenced, the platoon's corporals led individual lines (e.g. "half-platoons") of privates in a manner quite similar to the role which fire team leaders assume in modern armies. Given the use of rifled weapons (both small arms and cannon) and the generally broken terrain - those occasions when classic line-of-battle tactics could be used were comparatively few and generally yeilded disasterous results when actually managed - Civil War battlefields quite often resembled modern ones more than they did Napoleonic ones.
There are significant challenges, but not insurmountable within even the next 50 years. Part of my confidence comes from following news regarding efforts to find solutions to genetic disorders.
This doesn't change in the least the fact that you initally argued for early drone control implants/training only to latter insist you actually meant that this would only take place upon adulthood.
Regardless of whether the implantation/training takes place during civilian life or during military RE-training, it still must be paid for and the time invested (and time is money). Also, deliberately re-training for military use is a waste of resources in a fully-militarized society such as the Dorsai (which was the specific culture being discussed), since it would be both easier and less time-consuming to train only once, in the military fashion.
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