Sheer Insanity

Master Sergeant Shawn Simmons
(1967-2008)
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When did Special Forces soldiers become Panzer Grenadiers riding around in armored vehicles? This is not what SF does.

SF in armored vehicles? This is a conventional tactic that is out of place in the SF mission. My question may seem callous, but it is no moreso than a war which is swallowing good soldiers at an alarming rate.

"Three Green Berets [including Master Sergeant Shawn Simmons of Tallahassee] drowned last month when their Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicle rolled into a river in Afghanistan. Their deaths come amid growing concerns about the threat of catastrophic rollovers in the military’s silver bullet solution to improvised explosive devices (SF deaths come amid MRAP rollover concerns.)"

The MRAP is described as the military's "people-mover of choice in combat zones. This confused statement is representative of the muddled thinking at the Department of Defense on all levels. People are not moved in combat zones; rather, soldiers fight and maneuver in such zones and they do so in combat vehicles possessing offensive and defensive capabilities.

The MRAP is an armored taxi that moves people. Shuttle bus service is not a military function when in combat. Soldiers move only with the purpose of destroying an enemy. Swanning around the battle area in an MRAP is superfluous behavior.

The Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned released a report last month which said, not surprisingly, “Road shoulders in the Middle East do not meet U.S. standards and may collapse under the weight of the MRAP, especially when the road is above grade and can fall to lower ground (ditches and canals).” 30-ton truck, meet Iraqi dirt road built over a canal.

The Lessons Learned Center also mentioned the height of the MRAP as being problematic when its 16-ft' high antennae snags on 11-foot high power lines. "This may lead to electrocution," not to mention putting the kibosh on the whole the hearts and minds thing.

The problem is that the DoD is trying to equate countryside with combat zones. MSG Simmons and two others drowned when the road sheared and dropped them in the drink. "The weight of the MRAP, up to 30 tons depending on the model and equipment upgrades, prompted the road to collapse and the MRAP to roll over into a canal."

Any farmer knows about road shear when driving tractors; SF engineers can't figure that out?