The True Affliction of Troops in the Gulf

 

The Wait: The True Affliction of Troops in the Gulf

The soldier is trained for action. He is drilled according to the OODA loop: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. In actual combat, he is entirely absorbed by his mission and his mind has no room for doubt.

The hitch today is that in the confrontation in the Gulf, between Iran and the United States, a frozen front imposes a long wait upon the troops. No open war, no peace either. Just permanent tension and forced inaction that contradicts everything the soldier is prepared for.

It must be remembered that a prolonged wait is not neutral. It produces concrete and dangerous effects for Americans as well as for Iranians and Israelis, and even more so when it comes to conscripts or reservists:

• Mental fatigue

• Progressive loss of vigilance

• Erosion of discipline

• Decline in cohesion between units

The enemy is no longer only in front. It is also in the time that passes. Technology, instead of helping, sometimes aggravates things. It transforms the combatant into a screen guard and reinforces the feeling of futility.

The media get excited at every minor incident and talk of imminent escalation. But in my view, these incidents are good opportunities to test the troops and pull them out of boredom. The real danger remains relaxation. We saw how, in a moment of inattention by Iranian leaders, relaxation gave the opportunity to eliminate them on February 28. The first who flinches offers a free advantage to the adversary.

Otherwise, if this phase is not managed correctly, the forces risk weakening from within even before the first real combat. Thus, military commands prepare to fight on this invisible front. Troops must be supervised, discipline maintained, and this wait transformed into a useful period of reinforcement.

As Saint-Exupéry says:

“In action, one is fragile; it is in the interval of acts that one regathers one's strength.”

It is in the interval, in this often-despised wait, that the solidity which allows one not to break at the decisive moment must be built.

@SpencerGuard @KamranBokhari @DefenceHQ @WarfareAnalysis

 #Iran #US #Israel #MiddleEast  #MilitaryStrategy #OODALoop #Defense #Warfare