Perhaps we should think of the stormtroop company of a kampfgruppe like 28th ID as the tip of the spear. If any company-sized formation in the division is going to get the job done on the battlefield, it's these guys. The Germans and the Iraqis used these guys to crack the enemy's defensive lines so that the regulars could follow through and add mass--like the shaft of the spear. In 2000, the uses of the stormtroop company would vary widely; however, they would be used anywhere a group of confident, experienced, reasonably well-equipped, motivated troops would be needed to multiply the combat power of the remaining assets. A stormtroop company mounted in the divisions's remaining IFV and APC could play anvil to the hammer of a much larger follow-on formation. A stormtroop company might secure the avenue of advance for a larger formation. A stormtroop company might execute a raid, cover a withdrawal, put in ambushes, etc.
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“We’re not innovating. We’re selectively imitating.” June Bernstein, Acting President of the University of Arizona in Tucson, November 15, 1998.
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