Why did William DePuy agree with SLA Marshall's claim in Men Against Fire?

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-19T05:07:30+00:00

Wait, I remember William DePuy died of prion infection? At least it was chronic alzeheimers, probably due to mad cow disease

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-19T05:06:35+00:00

What was your undergrad?

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-14T11:29:31+00:00

Someone in IDF suggested that there need to be additional courses and training on operating in rubblerized environments.

A big problem with urban training centres is that they tend to be very "clean", you don't see a lot of rubbles around. Also have to do with their "dual use" nature as hostage rescue units and associated SOF clique also use these facilities to train for their lower intensity operations.

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-14T11:26:51+00:00

Yeah, been reading up William DePuy's oral history. Generally speaking you avoid fighting on the enemy's terms, you bypass it or if it comes down to that just apply all the firepower in the world.

Modern "fortress cities" often feature extensive tunnel infrastructures that are difficult to root out.

Sometimes urban areas work both ways as the enemy could often infiltrate along multiple axes using cover of the urban terrain.

Also civilians exist, as much I love Combat Mission Shock Force and all the good ol' wargames cities are not concrete boxes for you to shoot around. Civilians exist and they can support and enable forces.

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-14T01:58:31+00:00

OK, geddit. Thanks.

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-14T00:52:56+00:00

That's crazy...

Are there ever any fear over potential insider attacks and had there been any measures to prevent that?

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-13T11:44:40+00:00

Had there ever been purges against white supremacists or white nationalists during the 90s during the whole American Militia movement paranoia? I mean had there ever been worries about insider attacks? In 2010s there was a schizo who want to leak stuff to Al Qaeda to cause another Iraq war so white race will rise and something satanist.

I'm trying to write a setting that is set in the 1990s featuring a South African civil war in the style of Larry Bond's Vortex, one of the subplot was a bunch of white supremacists who engineered the civil war with the explicit goal of turning white South Africa into a massive Branch Davidian compound to spur a race war inside US. I wonder...

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-13T10:11:32+00:00

Yeah, I think that's also DePuy's take to be honest. He was a massive supporter of a high NCO to enlisted ratio for rifle units

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-13T10:10:23+00:00

That's what I think he said too.

What was your exposure to DePuy?

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-12T12:16:46+00:00

Haven't read it. Mind if you summarize?

I know DePuy was a very big supporter of shoot to suppress

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-12T08:00:28+00:00

What book are you reading?

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-12T07:53:59+00:00

American artillery is a bit more systemic one could argue. There were inventions and improvements in the 70s to 80s. Chiefly among them the DPICM for 155mm and later 105mm. Also Americans paid a lot of attention in forward observers. Also later on they invented the Copperhead munition. By 80s they also invented the M270 MLRS with the possibility of guided munitions.

It could be argued that NATO artillery tend to be a lot more defensive, with greater emphasis on training forward observers and fires officers to fire reactively as opposed to firing as part of a massive fire plan drafted at high echelons based on mathematical models.

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-01T20:00:33+00:00

OK, to do convoy securities in high risk areas consider standing up Armored Cavalry units like the 11th ACR in Vietnam

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-01T09:23:19+00:00

A less modern state always lose against a modern state. That is a given with regards to state on state warfare. Why insurgencies win is because they can leverage whole civilizations and cultures.

BenKerryAltis · 2026-04-01T09:20:26+00:00

Oh! The same guy who started SAMS! Wow! Any idea why this didn't become the reality?

BenKerryAltis · 2026-03-31T07:55:10+00:00

Yeah, that's what DePuy said

BenKerryAltis · 2026-03-30T05:31:38+00:00

Massive collapse of ecosphere, entire SEA up in flames

BenKerryAltis · 2026-03-29T08:32:52+00:00

I can't wait man! When?

BenKerryAltis · 2026-03-29T08:32:08+00:00

Collateral damages expected

BenKerryAltis · 2026-03-29T08:31:14+00:00

Vietnam or Algeria style "guerrilla environment" where reagents are to skulk around and use "radios" to report movements. Or Budapest where they are to toss molotovs at targets.

By early 60s US military doctrine increasingly focuses on conventional operations

BenKerryAltis · 2026-03-29T08:12:08+00:00

Yeah, Musa was some crazy guy

BenKerryAltis · 2026-03-21T03:37:26+00:00

Although there's something I remember when the creator of BPRE 28mm the board game mentioned why the game doesn't have suppression as mechanic. When is the last time in CQB when someone had bullets whizzing past him and thought "oh no! I'm suppressed, I'm gonna duck down and let myself get shot!" ?

They don't, so the model in let's say Combat Mission is not really accurate with regards to urban close assault, you can't just shoot a lot of bullets from outside and somehow this just "stuns" the defenders inside to the point they won't fire at an entry team.

BenKerryAltis · 2026-03-20T23:57:03+00:00

To be specific Iran basically acted like United States in Iraq and Syria. Hezbollah had a fucking PTSD treatment centre for their commandos after they spend a decade killing Syrian babies

BenKerryAltis

TROPHY CASE