Quote:
Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b
Well, of course, that's an MP's job! Seriously, though, I get your point -- infantrymen and combat arms-types are not trained for police or peacekeeping duties (I got a little of that kind of training because I was in the Guard before I went on active duty, but when I was in that wasn't common). Police are trained to apprehend the bad guys, while infantrymen are trained to close with and (yes) kill them. It's basically mutually-exclusive training.
|
Whereas in the British Army up until the mid 90's everyone served in Northern Ireland at some point so they had done exactly this kind of duty (and I'm not talking just infantry battalions, I recall artillery units -without field artillery obviously - doing foot patrols). I was shocked when I watched news reports on the telly and we seemed almost as clueless as the Americans after Gulf II at doing this stuff. I guess it showed just how short institutional memory can be in practice.
I'm not entirely certain of my statistics but I'm pretty sure that British Army recruitment typically rises in time of war. I also seem to remember that our basic training was extended by two weeks a few years ago because the kids feet were so soft from wearing trainers all their lives that they needed extra time for their feet to harden up