So I've seen this before. The idea that Generals and Admirals were always taught to fight the last war, and it's only the very rare, innovative ones that are able to fight the new war effectively.

So: Admirals at the beginning of WW2 still thought that the Battleship was king, were slow to embrace change (and the Aircraft Carrier). In this day and age, the US still believes that the AC (CV) is king, and I'm afraid during the next major war, that we'll find that we were still looking at WW2. Generals at the beginning of WW2 still thought that static defenses (like the maginot line) and trench warfare (like WW1) were where it's gonna be. Only the innovative German staff and a few others like Zukov and Patton really embraced the idea of Blitzkrieg and Armored warfare.

New tech is often not embraced until it's been proven in warfare. The Exocet anti-ship missile wasn't really thought of as much until it sank a ship in the Falklands war, and at that point it's price on the black market quadrupled.

Based on this, and looking at our current military situation, and the new type of warfare happening in Ukraine... what do you think about the "old ways" we've been fighting wars, and the "new ways" that war continues to evolve? Drones and semi-autonomous computers that can think, move, and act on their own. I'm not saying "the terminators are coming", but I am saying that computers are taking more and more upon their shoulders and making more decisions, playing a greater role. Ukraine looks to be a proving ground, just like the Spanish Civil War was before WW2.

Thoughts?

Our emphasis should always be on peer to peer review or near peer WWIII type actions. That is the type of war that could end us as a nation. The GWOT and other such are just training exercises.   Governed more by politics than tactics.

War is about killing people and breaking your enemies' will to continue to war.

You can bomb places and things, but until the people or politicians tap out you'll fight them 'til they die.

Read the Bible.  You want to end resistance?  You really do have to kill them all, or break their will to fight.

Ever wonder why some populations that can't read hold grudges for things that happened hundreds or even thousands of years ago?  Oral history and human perspective.

Technology might change, but humans are as they ever were.  Faithful, evil, industrious, lazy, vain, selfless, jealous, proud -- the whole range of human feels and emotion.

Gadgetry may change, but humans are the same.  For some, it's easier to do the familiar than have to think -- unless you're the underdog.