Well if your command and control got hit in a nuclear exchange it would be over as you would have no more orders coming down telling you what to hit next.

Without such orders you have no way to know what target should be hit next.Do you expend your now possibly last warheads against the assigned target not knowing if it has been already been destroyed.


And in the case of the Japanese those guys in most cases heard that the surrender had occurred but thought it was a ruse.In the case of a nuclear war what with all the communication networks you would know if your unit survived the situation if all was cut then you already know that all is said and done as far as a war are concerned.

Your only real action then would be to try and maintain what you have and help start over again after all the enemy will have been hit just as badly or near so.

In a nuclear war the silo are done deals each had several enemy warheads targeted upon it so for them it is over the best they can do is carry out the order and wait to die because they will die.The rule in the US was launch on waring which means upon detection of a Soviet attack SAC and the navy boomers would have received their orders and launched in this time the Soviet warheads are already coming so for 90% of the silos that will be their only act of the war before they are hit.

To fight when there is still a chance of victory is honorable to fight when all is lost is simply foolish.

Anyway we have an obvious difference of opinion and I am not going to convinced that mine is incorrect nor will you guys that yours.I say that because I get the feeling that an attempt is being made to convince me other wise.Sorry but I have spoken with too many people that really worked on the "Big Stick" end of things to think other wise.

A good chunk of my military time was at SAC HQ. We always figured that there were going to be 4-5 SS-18s with our name on it. At least I would not have suffered.

During the Cold War, in the early 1970s, a friend was stationed in West Germany, just a bit over the border wuth the East. (Oddly, he had volunteered for duty in Vietnam, but was given duty in West Germany; a barracks mate of his applied for duty in West Germany and was sent to Vietnam.) When he arrived on base, the new troops were given an orientation. During the orientation, the officer in charge told the men the Soviet troops just to the other side of the border outnumberd them, had more tanks, more artillery, and more tactical nukes. He said if a full scale war broke out, the troops of both sides would be wiped out in minutes, if not seconds. This was the prevailing belief during his whole time in West Germany. Damocles sword, indeed...


<O>

Some good statements in this thread I found over at pprune a while ago. My favourite has to be this one:

For those of us who have served in the military, there is nothing odd about this. :haha:

What they do is they have this monkey and they give him a dart and he throws it at this dart board that has all the possible postings in the military where the dart lands is where you go.


At least back in Vietnam in the case of the US Army and Marines mostly draftees went to Vietnam.

Also by the early 70's Vietnam was over for the US so far as ground forces where concerned anyway.The peak for ground forces was 1969 in 1970 the last major combat operation carried by Army infantry was in 1970 out they began the force reduction in 70 and Nixon wanted to pull one last ground operation while there will still enough troops to pull one by 1971 the numbers had been reduced by a very large amount and by 72 there where only a very small number of ground forces mostly advisers to the ARVN,aircrew,support for aircraft and general support personal.So if you asked for Vietnam duty by 1970 or later and you where in another vital area such as West Germany you would have stayed.

Of course even during a RIF some people are going to be added to a unit that is about to re-deploy.

In fact during the entire Vietnam War the defense of Western Europe was still a considerable concern and an important area to also locate your forces.if you got posted to West Germany you would have to wait until your tour was complete there and then if you had Vietnam on your dream sheet you would get but in the middle of a tour no.Like wise if you where in South Korea and you wanted Vietnam you would not be allowed a request to go until your tour in ROK was completed.


Some argue that this was one of the problems in Vietnam was that many of the forces had come from the draft pool and not the professional pool the guy that where career military.This would apply more to the Army and Marines than the USAF and Navy where most of the combatants where not draftees.

It is not called a "dream sheet" for nothing. :up: