Guys that just went over there after Assessment and Selection are inventorying equipment and turning it over to other units.

Wow.  I'm not sure what to think about that.  I suppose someone thinks drones can recon and set up LZs/DZs....

BTW, my unit is toast (getting "J'ed-out") come Sept.  And I was the only 18-series qualified and slotted guy in my State National Guard.  Luckily, I have an exit plan.

That sucks.

Why cut LRS?

Who needs reconnaissance when you have SHARP/EO yo?

One of the biggest areas lacking in the US in the leadership training is emphasis on reconnaissance as a discipline.

Instead, it is treated like a bullet point on a decision-making matrix by careerists.

Some years ago I read a post by an old guy named Ken White on Small Wars Journal.

He'd done Korea and Vietnam.

He mentioned that recon teams in Korea would leave US lines with a 1911, have a look around and come back through British lines because they were safer to pass through.

His observation was that most Americans view recon as something done by force. If they shoot at you then you need to fix them.

Interesting historical perspective.

The British/UK have an excellent reconnaissance culture when I have worked with them, as do many of the Northern European allies.

If you look at the attention to detail in just a regular British Army recon patrol, their schools, TTPs, I would take them against most of our SOF who are specifically tasked with SR without reservation, with a few exceptions.  The interesting thing about the units I would call the exceptions is that they both model their Recce internal units after the British, and even call them Recce.

Coincidence?

Corps LRS used to send Teams to compete in the Cambrian Patrol every year, which is conducted in the Brecon Beacons-same place a SAS Selection.

If you just look at their planning stage, as well as their brutally honest approach to everything, and the centuries of lessons-learned from the Empire, there really is a lot to take in.

When was the last time a CDR used LRS as intended?

Seems the risk aversion, especially currently, and reliance on tech has deemed them unnecessary.

Unless you are SOF, and even they have to fight like hell, you arent going out without some serious ass and air above you.

I've also regularly heard conventional CDRs say their boys can do the same thing as SOF, so I imagine they have the same sentiment towards LRS.

Are Corps CDRs really going to count on having SOF do the work for them? Having anx properly using LRS teams at the corps level is a great thing. Whose idea was this?

I was in III corps LRS when it deactivated back in 97.  I guess they figured that based on the modern speed of warfare a LRS team would be in the rear before they could do any good....

Conventional commanders want instant information -- like a live, full color video feed from a UAV.  Actual ground condtitions -- "Ain't nobody got time fo' dat."

No requirement for pathfinders now that we have CCT.  We all know they have the same ground tactical savvy as infantry.    They're also going to weigh on the risk of ground success v. pilots' "Feels" (TM).

For a long time at least, the Marines didn't have a problem understanding how important their Reconnaissance assets were, including forward elements, aviation, ELINT, SIGINT, all blended to provide the MAGTF Commander with a balanced picture of what was going on.

Imagery is great, but will never be a substitute for human assets in the area.

A case in point comes to mind from Bosnia right before they were going to annihilate one particular Serbian trucking and staging hub.

Right as the 3 hour Operations briefing came to an end, a British enlisted guy from the Det wearing a civilian blue coat and a beard raised his hand, saying, "Mind if I have a moment before we go?"

He grabbed the laser pointer, and began to detail every single vehicle in the imagery they had on the screen, calling out trucks, how many troops were in each one, what they were there for, and every tiny detail of the area.

"Dis wun 'as the band.  Un raaught ere, 'is wun's full of alcohol for the partee."

"Basically, General  Karadzic's daughter is having a wedding party in the target building, and all these vehicles and troops are here to support it."


An astonished and highly offended desk jockey USAF officer who conducted the briefing stared daggers at this dirty UK coalition member, and demanded,

"How would you know any of this?"

Det: (Grinning widely) "I took a cab there an asked em 'whatchu upto round here?', and they told me."

USAF Desk Jockey:  "Do you realize how many millions of dollars we have spent on this operation so far?"

Det: "No, don't really care really.  It's a wedding party."

       




 

So...  Here's the skinny on why.

The Army is capped at ____ troops and in order for 4/25 (ABN) to remain a BDE sized element and not diminish into a BN task force, the Army had to find a way to stay within its manning limits....  The result is the inactivation of all/most Pathfinder, LRS and Rigger units....  That's the quick answer...  My BDE has a rigger detachment inactivating by Jan 17....