May 1, 2006: All the talk of "military transformation" misses the fact that, in Iraq and Afghanistan, the transformation has already taken place, and is still going strong. Compared to the last war, the 1991 operation in Kuwait, the troops fighting today are using weapons and equipment that were not available, or even conceived of, in 1991. A World War II or Vietnam era soldier would consider today's combat troops as something out of science fiction.

The weapons and clothing look similar, but if you look closer you'll notice that the weapons often sport a night vision scope. The new scopes have several other capabilities as well, and need batteries to do their magic, which makes the troops a lot deadlier. The troops have more portable guided missiles to use, and will soon have computer controlled 25mm grenade launchers (the XM-25). Many innovations are not so visible. The troops are wearing body armor that is, for the first time in history, is truly bullet proof. They are carrying first aid equipment, like special bandages that can stop the worst bleeding, bandages that were unavailable to anyone a decade ago. The troops carry personal radios, which use encryption to prevent the enemy from listening in. Officers and NCOs often carry a PDA that can receive live video from UAVs circling overhead. All the troops are equipped with night vision equipment. That, and the night vision cameras on UAVs, means U.S. troops rule the night. Another unseen transformation is the replacement of the older night-vision gear (that merely amplifies available light) with new stuff that is heat sensing. Larger versions of this can see through walls, which makes urban warfare more interesting, and safer.

New weapons include more missiles, and smaller and cheaper ones at that. This is partly so UAVs can carry missiles, or more of them. The increased use of smart munitions (including GPS guided smells and rockets) results in a safer battlefield. That's because less stuff fired means fewer opportunities for friendly fire incidents. Hitting the target with one shot increases the chances that the U.S. troops will be able to quickly and effectively follow up. As a result, troops go about their business faster than in past wars.

It's not just the troops equipment that is changing, some of the troops are being replaced by robots. Long a science fiction staple, this sort of thing is now a reality. These remote control combat robots have actually been around for over a decade (mostly for bomb disposal and searching disaster scenes). But when there's a war on, there is more interest in trying anything. Often, anything works, or can quickly be made to work. Development of the combat droids is accelerating, including autonomous models, and armed robots. This stuff isn't science fiction any more. The troops like the droids a lot, because the robots can now perform some of the most dangerous missions.

Another unseen transformation is how command and control is handled. At the company level and above, commanders run the show from a laptop or while viewing a large flat screen display. Live video and 3-D situation maps (using satellite photos) make it a lot easier for commanders to sort out what is going on, and issue more effective orders. Also unseen is the growing use of computer networking and satellite communications. The Department of Defense wants to spend tens of billions of dollars a year to increase these communications capabilities.

The transformation has extended to the other services, with the marines adopting most of the army innovations. The navy has new classes of ships, and new weapons and tactics for supporting operations along coasts. The major air force transformations have been the GPS guided smart bombs, which have transformed support for the troops on the ground. The smart bombs have also made a lot of air force warplanes obsolete, or, at the very least, less needed.

Because so much "transformation" is already in play, it's hard to get people to pay attention to additional transformation projects. A lot of the transformation technology is use is in the form of wartime expedients. The military wants to get everything up to "transformation" standards, rather than end up with a hodgepodge of old and new gear. Congress is not keen on paying for this, but it's been difficult to explain to Congress, and the public, just how effective, and useful, all the new stuff has been.

But the bottom line is that the transformation has taken place, and continues to.