Hell in a Very Small Place...Death in the Tall Grass

Confusion is always the bane of all fighting forces. Disorganization and panic fragments and disperses a unit's fighting effectiveness substantially, and men are much more likely to die needlessly as a result.

Every plan looks nice and simple on paper, but out on the actual battlefield things are bound to become much more convoluted and complicated. Factors such as terrain and temperature have massive impacts that are easy to forget about if doing planning in an air-conditioned room talking about formations. This became apparent on the FTXs, where even though the mission was cut-and-dry and centered in a small area, confusion nevertheless took place. People became lost as a result of blind travel, and sometimes the objective itself would be completely bypassed. These situations slowed down operations significantly and slowed momentum down. And this was only on a mock training mission...

The sister battalion's experience at Albany also showed that American forces are by no means indestructible or untouchable. It is vital to understand that there is no built-in superiority that makes us invulnerable and victorious, and that the enemy is very capable of destroying you if you let him.