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Article 6924 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: mfriedma@uucp (Michael Friedman)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy,rec.arts.sf.misc,alt.cyberpunk
Subject: Re: 21st Century Soldier
Message-ID: <1992Sep15.171032.5468@oracle.us.oracle.com>
Date: 15 Sep 92 17:10:32 GMT
References: <11SEP199212055913@dstl86.gsfc.nasa.gov> <1992Sep13.064805.16276@oracle.us.oracle.com> <14SEP199213315181@dstl86.gsfc.nasa.gov>
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In article <14SEP199213315181@dstl86.gsfc.nasa.gov> olson@dstl86.gsfc.nasa.gov (Paul Olson) writes:
>In article <1992Sep13.064805.16276@oracle.us.oracle.com>, mfriedma@uucp (Michael Friedman) writes...

>>Doc, two questions...

>>1.  Why the heck do you think it will be hand to hand even then?  Even
>>in Vietnam there was very little hand-to-hand combat.  

>But there was still needed.  If you bypass the basics, you're dead if you lose
>your technology advantage.  

Sure.  And if everyone winds up nude and weaponless it will be nail
and tooth time.  So what?  That is so damned unlikely that we don't
worry about it.  OK.  So take a more reasonable worst case - the new
hightech stuff that is better than WWII gear all goes on the fritz.
Well, in tht case, based on real results in real wars there still
isn't going to be much hand to hand fighting.

>How is a soldier, who is dependant on high-tech, going
>to survive when his high tech gives out? 

The same way they have throughout the ages when they were cut off from
supplies.  Miserably and viciously.

>They only way to survive is with basic training.

Nobody is suggesti9ng eliminating basic training.  Cut out the straw
men.  The post I was responding to was claiming that the new high-tech
battlesuits would go on the fritz and that our soldier would then be
overwhelmed in hand to hand fighting by the enemy.  I pointed out that
even with current gear, or for that matter, 1940s gear, hand to hand
fighting was quite unlikely to be decisive.

>>2.  What on earth makes you think that those electronics aren't
>>hardened against EMP?  It seems like a pretty obvious system
>>requirement.

>Is it possible to completely harden a device against all EMP?  It depends on
>the strength of the pulse.

True, but at a certain point you have to ask "why bother with EMP.
Just drop the nuke on the bastards."
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