Well thats what your missing a) we won every fire fight in Viet Nam because of higher proficiency of skill sets & b) we only lost the war because our politicians failed us and our soldiers. Just like Nam we see Al-queada crossing the boarder to Pakistan to regroup & unlike Nam we are currently conducting air strikes into Pakistan to reach them. We allowed the commies to carve out their regime because our politicians (not the guys on the ground) were weak willed.
Now I might disagree with you on the year thing, first off few military men world wide trained extensively for extreme close combat or hand-to-hand combat regularly. Those who do are the more poor countries or those with a heavy MA culture; Korea, China, Japan, Russia, the Balkan Nations ect.
As for a year being enough time, the Gracies claim that Gracie Combatives can teach you basic proficency within 2 weeks. You get that in basic & then have a year of sergeants time training to suppliment that training. Plus what soldoers do on their own, most of the MMA fans trained on their own in the same GC format that the Gracies say will make you a "GJJ Blue Belt."
My issue with the Army stuff isn't the MMA, I'd love to see some Muay Thai or something with a better striking base added to make it more rounded, plus some basic instruction on throws, takedowns & sweeps. Most Army Soldiers are taught nothing but bare bones ground fighting & don't even cover the whole manual. Even then the politics of the MAC is that it isn't intended to teach combat skills but (from
FM 3-25.150, 1-2 PURPOSES OF COMBATIVES TRAINING) "More importantly, combatives training helps to instill courage and self-confidence. With competence comes the understanding of controlled aggression and the ability to remain focused while under duress. Training in combatives includes hard and arduous physical training that is, at the same time, mentally demanding and carries over to other military pursuits. The overall effect of combatives training is-
- <LI itxtvisited="1">The culmination of a successful physical fitness program, enhancing individual and unit strength, flexibility, balance, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
- Building personal courage, self confidence, self-discipline, and esprit de corps."
Not much is said about killing the enemy at close range. It talks about the purpose of hand-to-hand combatives being used to condition the soldier with self-confidence, personal courage, and so on. Yet, everything in Military culture is about doing just that; Ruck Marchs, Bayonet Courses, FTXs (Field Training Exercises), Simulated Combat Exercises, & so on.
Many times & especially for Infantry Soldiers/Marines this training occurs during an 8 hour work with FTXs lasting from 30 to 90 days. So then where does the need for mental toughness via MMA based training have a need in the Military Culture?
Now if you look at the
MCRP 3-02B: Marine Corps Martial Arts under Introduction, section 1. Purpose it reads; "Marines are also engaged in many military operations other then war, such as peace keeping missions & noncombantant evacuations, where deadly force may not be authorized. During non-combatives engagements, Marines must decide if a situation warrents the use of deadly force." The same paragraph goes on to state plainly "To make the right decision, Marines must understand both the lethal & non-lethal cloase combat techniques needed to handle the situation responsibly without escalating the level of violence unnecessarily."
There is already a fundamental difference in that MCMAP, unlike US Army MAC, is based on the ability to subdue or possibly kill an enemy in combat. MCMAP unlike MAC makes use of closed fists, knife hand strikes, palm strikes & finger jabs. Standing joint locks and breaks plus the additional ground fighting techniques. Also the MAC's Hand-to-Hand Philosophy towards lethal force is (as per
FM 3-25.150 Chapter 9 Group Tactics, Section I Lethal Force Scenarios) is "The fundamental truth of hand-to-hand fighting is that the winner will be the one whose buddies show up first with a weapon." MCMAP's lethal force philosophy is explained
Overview of Close Combat Section, 1. Purpose of Close Combat; "Close Combat is the physical confrontation between two or more opponents. It involves armed & unarmed & lethal & non-lethal fighting techniques that range from forced compliance to deadly force."
So again, at what point do soldiers need to rely on a MA system for dicipline, mental toughness & so on when the whole life style and military culture encourages and teachs such things?
Why is that Marines (who also draw some technical assets from BJJ) advocated using potentially lethal force & have far better striking & vital target point training for those strikes to make them effective, yet the Army ignores that possible added skill set?
