Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!psuvax1!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Training keeping pace with technology?
Message-ID: <10022@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 9 Oct 89 04:22:42 GMT
References: <9936@cbnews.ATT.COM>
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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
>From: patterso@ads.com (Tim J. Patterson)
>... said during a recent NATO exercise in
>Germany > 60% of the US tank crews could not use their range finders
>because they didn't know how to work them.
>[mod.note... American tanks of WWII were fitted with gyrostabilizers
>for elevation... only one about crew in three
>understood the thing well enough to keep it aligned for proper use. - Bill]

And tank crews are an unusually favorable case, because there is usually
some attempt to steer soldiers with mechanical aptitude or background into
tanks or artillery.  The infantry could use such people too, but usually
has to make do with the leftovers, because the "mechanical branches" have
constant huge maintenance workloads and need all the competent people
they can get.

                                     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
                                 uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu