All this high tech stuff is great, but what will we do when faced with a major conventional war?  This stuff needs to be saved for the SOF.  A major land war needs regular grunts with a rifle and canteen.

The ability of leg, airborne, and mechanized infantry to control the battlefield is critically important even in "a major conventional war."  To the extent that the "high tech stuff" facilitates battlefield control, it enables these infantry units to call in artillery and air strikes as well as to engage with direct-fire weapons, ranging from personal small arms to their units' organic anti-tank and anti-aircraft guided missiles.

 

All of this enhances conventional war effectiveness, and should not be denigrated as mere "SOF" slickness.

 

Bear in mind the history of infantry operations, which has in just a few centuries gone from smooth-bore musketry massed in line or column to fast-moving, wide-ranging, tightly-coordinated, highly lethal, well-concealed, and extremely flexible tactical elements that the most able commanders of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam would scarcely be able to comprehend, much less counter.

 

"Son of Land Warrior" has to be appreciated in the context of modern combined arms warfare, where the Army has striven to keep it.  Insofar as I've been able to see, the research and development work has been done well, especially with regard to the close application of "real world" criteria - putting the gear into the hands of serving experienced enlisted men and officers and trusting to their sense of professionalism (at levels of competence the Army has never before been able to rely upon) to provide valid feedback as to practicability and effectiveness.

 

Given the U.S. Army's past history of inflicting upon combat troops some absolutely lousy stuff simply because a general officer or two had enough clout to push it into the inventory, this sort of "bottom-up" embrace of technology strikes me as the most viable way of enhancing mission capabilities and battlefield survival prospects, and I'm all for it.

Yes indeed, it is a wonderful boon to know what cover is around the corner, if there's a guy around the corner and how to get to your buddies.

 

Not that I'm against keeping more reserves.

All this high tech stuff is great, but what will we do when faced with a major conventional war?  This stuff needs to be saved for the SOF.  A major land war needs regular grunts with a rifle and canteen.

Luuuuuxxxxxury! In MY day you had a spear and you drank out of your helmet...IF you were lucky!

That has to be one of the most profoundly silly comments I've seen, certainly in the top 10%, at least.