Himanshu I feel I must make this point to indicate that bulletproof jackets becoem liabilities under some circumstances.Originally posted by Himanshu Chauhan:
Modern soldier with no Bullet Proof Jacket
Integrated Modern Soldier from Alpha Design Technologies
I read a book about modern warfare and I made some posts in teh RMA thread about it. US troops - fully equipped tended to make mistakes that cost batles and lives because of heavier and bulkier clothing. For example a soldier ina bullet proof vest on patrol in 40 deg C heat gets dehydrated soon - but can carry less water. There have been descriptions (in teh book I spoke of) of US troops gradually discarding items - including water as tehy got more and more tired.
I am sure there are close in COIN/Urban situations where bproof jackets are desirable for troops who will be in teh line of firw (as opposed to some who may have cover) - but describing bulletproof jackets as a paradigm is wrong.
Even the US army knows this but there are political considerrations for the US army that makes it do some things in some ways.
In Vietnam and I think each US soldier required 3 or 4 times the weight of provisions per day to survive - becaus eof teh loads they carried. So BProof vests are desirable under the right circumstances. In teh case of the "modern soldier" I think it would be better to keep him light and cool and give him the means to fight and kill his enemy at night.