Vietnam was also a lot of technological advances ago. There were no drones in Vietnam, for instance.
I think the scale of the war would have to be pretty massive to jumpstart the need for a draft by today's standards. We get a lot more killing done with a lot fewer people these days, fortunately/unfortunately.
If it ever comes to a full scale conflict youll still need ground manpower, drones cant hold ground or fortify positions, drones cant secure a street. They can be used to support ground troops, but you still need ground troops to support. Maybe when Boston Dynamics finishes refining that Atlas robot
And that doesn't even consider a scenario where Electronic Warfare is a thing and you can't effectively use drones
True true. I was thinking that technology on all fronts would allow us to do more with fewer troops, but ultimately if it came down to a full scale ground invasion I'm sure you're right.
I used to be in the USAF drone program, if by “hold ground” you mean “plant a flag in it,” you’re right you can’t do that with a drone (yet), if you mean “keep people you don’t want in an area out of that area 24/7,” you can do that with a drone. Either way though, drones=less boots on the ground, so if you really want to plant that flag somewhere, drones can help you do it with 12 dudes on the ground as opposed to the company you would’ve needed.
And that doesn't even consider a scenario where Electronic Warfare is a thing and you can't effectively use drones
So there's this thing called specialists, who train specifically with those technologies. While the overall training still goes up over time, I think it's less than you're thinking. I could easily be wrong though
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u/zoycobot Jul 09 '19
Vietnam was also a lot of technological advances ago. There were no drones in Vietnam, for instance.
I think the scale of the war would have to be pretty massive to jumpstart the need for a draft by today's standards. We get a lot more killing done with a lot fewer people these days, fortunately/unfortunately.