Who is the most important in the war right now?
Commanders think that the most important specialty is a HIMARS and F-16 operator.
Generals think that the most important speciality is assault fighter.
Brigade commanders think that the most important specialty is a drone operator and artilleryman.
Battalion commanders think that the most important speciality is company commander.
The company officer, the assault fighter, the drone operator, the gunner, the HIMARS and F-16 crew think that the most important speciality is the infantryman, who plays with death every second in muddy trenches, in the cold and heat, insects and mice, in damp little holes and dugouts, to gain a foothold under fire, to carry everything on their backs, to build everything with their hands, to take most of the hits, to carry the most dangerous burden on their shoulders.
The infantryman thinks about how to survive until the next change in position, how to grab a trophy Pokemon for himself, how if at least once a technician would dig a trench and bring logs, and how to get a certificate of barotrauma with his company and rest for at least a couple of weeks. And he also thinks that those who have never held a landing completely mowed down by debris under the corrected fire of artillery, drones, aircraft, missiles and have not engaged in close combat, do not understand the nature of a war of attrition, in which the most expensive specialty is a shovel and machine gun operator.
Preserving the infantry is the main resource and tactical goal of modern warfare; military technologies, equipment procurement, and changes in the tactics and organizational structure of all other equally important branches of the armed forces and the order of employment should be concentrated around the infantry core. Unfortunately, this is not happening.
The time of volunteer infantry, which itself rushed into maneuver battles for tanks with grenade launchers, has passed, but in positional warfare, the need for high-quality infantry has become more acute.
The infantry, in order to survive, must become the most privileged branch of the military, the real core. This is not a question of humanism — it is a key issue of military logistics and state economy, the price of war must be calculated. The preservation of the life of the infantry must become the goal of defensive planning, it is the first condition for winning a long war of attrition. Until such an understanding reaches the top leadership, there will be no end to the war, and there will be no proper planning either.
Yurii Butusov, Censor.NET
