urban warfare training

[Nessa]

It was recently suggested to several of us who volunteer for the SEALs urban warfare exercises that we are just wasting our time and the teams really don't need or even like us participating. The "us" being regular Navy. I was just wondering if this opinion is also held by the SEAL Teams.

[Chickenhawk]

Nessa, Urban Warfare (or Military Operations on Urban Terrain) is one of the most complex environments imaginable, and therefore one of the most difficult to train for. Just watch "Black Hawk Down", or "Enemy at the Gates", to get an appreciation for street fighting in a dynamic, three-dimensional arena. With that said, urban combat is the wave of the future. You'll notice that most people don't live in grass hooches anymore--they like four walls and a roof, electricity and running water (if available). More and more of what we are being tasked to do is in an urban setting, and any training we get beforehand is priceless. Cities are flooded with people, both combatants and non-combatants, and role players are essential in replicating the environment; to provide soldiers, marines, and SEALs the greatest value in their training. It is not a lot of fun playing "bad guy", when it comes to being shot with paint or beat up, so I applaud the fact that you and others take the time out to make our troops' experiences that much more real. No, it is most definitely NOT a waste of time. Even if the "bad guys" win from time to time during training, it will probably save lives when our guys hit the urban battlefield. That is really the bottom line: when the guys go forward into harm's way, we want them to accomplish the mission and bring everyone back alive, or as many as possible. Your involvement in exercises like the ones you described helps make that possible.

[BJB]

the SEALs urban warfare exercises that we are just wasting our time

Not being an expert on military matters, the following is the opinion of a civilian who is interested in the fact that the USA now says it is capable of taking on Iraq and North Korea at the same time.

In the original Gulf War, most of the great Coalition victories (i.e., the ones we saw on the nightly news) were the ones in open territory where superiority in air power made the enemy's equipment a twisted shambles and disheartened them even before ground troops arrived on the scene to accept their surrender.

If the USA goes into Iraq with the aim of toppling Sadam Hussein from power, we may anticipate that the fighting will be more prolonged and will, at some time, involve house-to-house fighting in urban areas. Similarly, if the USA makes serious incursion into North Korea, there will be urban warfare to be faced at some point in the campaign.

In either scenario, the more training your troops have in fighting that kind of battle, the better prepared they will be to face an enemy who does NOT obligingly lay down and play dead when hit with some projectile. Your participation in the training designed to prepare your SEALs for urban warfare will be appreciated -- if not now, then at the time that they have to face the real thing.

This season is, for Canadians, the anniversary of the Battle of Ortona in Italy during WW II: as those who have studied the battle (apart from the legend of "Vino" Smith), the house-to-house fighting was a grim and cheerless way to spend Christmas. As you contemplate the future, be sure to study the lessons of the past.