Us Mechanized Infantryman in the First Gulf War (Electronic book text)

The 198990 Gulf War was the first true test of the modern US Army since its controversial Vietnam involvement. In the intervening years the US Army had undergone major changes in organization, structure and philosophy. Universal Military Service (the draft) was eliminated in 1973 and the All-Volunteer Army (VOLAR) was instituted. Pay was increased, entry standards raised, and numerous incentives introduced ranging from educational benefits to improved quarters, and an environment was created making service life more appealing to families. By the mid-1980s drug and race problems had been minimized, and women were integrated into the force structure, being assigned directly to non-combat units. Major changes had taken place in how training was conducted, both at the unit and individual level. The new system was known as One-Station Unit Training (OSUT): a soldier was assigned to a training unit (Ft Benning, Georgia in the case of infantrymen), and remained with the same drill instructors through 16 weeks of specialized training either as a light infantryman (Military Occupation Specialty 11B assigned to light, airborne, or air assault units), or as a mechanized infantryman (Military Occupation Specialty 11M to be assigned to units equipped with the heavily armed Bradley M2 infantry fighting vehicle). This book addresses the training, weaponry and equipment, and combat experiences of the latter type, and shows how the men manning this advanced vehicle became much more than mere infantry riding into combat in a battle taxi.