novelonline Chapter 2376
Chapter 2376
Chapter 2376
Anger is just a facade; guilt and panic are the real truth.
I once read a novel about a tough guy named Ma Wulong. He was rugged-looking, spoke in a deep voice, and had a fierce expression. Everyone who met him thought he was terrifying.
One day, someone asked him why he always looked so fierce. He replied, "In this world, if you're not fierce, others will be fierce to you. You have to be even more ruthless than them for them to be afraid of you and stop bullying you."
In reality, every strong person has a vulnerable heart. Their strength may stem from necessity; only by being strong can they protect themselves from harm. Once they let their guard down, they risk being betrayed. This phenomenon is known in psychology as self-defense. We encounter people around us who are prone to self-defense; some are like powder kegs, ready to explode at any moment, while others are more secretive, though occasional moments of loneliness may betray their inner turmoil.
Imagine if you were very powerful and could handle anything, would you still act so domineering?
The answer is clearly no. If a person were virtually omnipotent, they naturally wouldn't waste their energy and effort on mundane matters. People are assertive precisely because they are actually quite vulnerable. Some people are all bark and no bite; they blame others with a belly full of anger, but they easily crumble because they lack inner strength. They only want to achieve their goals through outward assertiveness. Therefore, for them, assertiveness is merely a tool; once they find it doesn't work, they will reveal their true vulnerability.
Some people's assertiveness is merely a means to achieve a certain goal. Once that goal is achieved, their assertiveness vanishes, and their original friendliness resurfaces. This is also true of seemingly assertive people in life. They are not inherently assertive; they may even be quite vulnerable. However, to protect their fragile hearts, they must place themselves under a strong "armor." In this ruthless society, there is indeed a situation where "if you're not ruthless, you'll be hurt." Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is a common trait. People don't care about the feelings of those weaker than themselves, and they fear being harmed by those stronger. Therefore, to live with dignity and avoid being looked down upon, they hide their vulnerability, projecting an image of strength by altering their tone of voice and facial expressions. They are veritable "actors," not for money, but for self-protection.
Besides short-term dominance, there is also long-term dominance, which is the formation of a similar personality. This is generally because they have gained a lot of successful experience in the past. They are used to success and being leaders, so they naturally exude the aura of a strong person.
Such people are strong individuals who are consistent inside and out, but even they have a very vulnerable side.
Such people generally don't shed tears. They enjoy success while simultaneously experiencing life's hardships, understanding that only by becoming strong can they provide a protective shield for their families. They may not be talkative, because their actions speak volumes; they are silent contributors, willing to sacrifice everything for their families. We often seem to have the misconception that someone's behavior reflects their inner character, but this is incorrect. Perhaps every strong person has a vulnerable heart.
We've gone a bit off-topic.
That's how people are.
The same applies to nations.
To avoid being coveted by others, the United States has no choice but to pretend to be tough... In reality, it's all bluster and no substance!
There's nothing they can do now but talk the talk.
Take action... Ha! Without the navy, who the hell is afraid of you!
Go ahead and send a plane if you dare!
In this world, the army is always the one that truly determines the outcome of battles!
In recent large-scale wars, various drones, general-purpose fighter jets, medium- and long-range rockets, and tactical missiles have inflicted significant damage on ground forces. Against this backdrop, more and more people are beginning to overlook the value of the army or deny its role, seemingly relegating it to a supporting role on the land battlefield compared to the navy, air force, and rocket force. However, realistically speaking, the army is the true strategic branch with crucial control over land; after all, the air force, navy, and rocket force can only assist in gaining and expanding an advantage. To achieve comprehensive control and long-term occupation, large-scale, routine deployment of army forces is essential. In reality, the situation where army units are overwhelmed by air combat platforms only occurs in small and medium-sized countries. Powerful nations like China and the United States, with their balanced development of all military branches, certainly have ample means to counter this. Taking the PLA Army as an example, as the army advances, in addition to the "air defense network" woven by the army's air defense forces, the air force and rocket force will provide corresponding fire cover and fire support. Under such circumstances, it is wishful thinking for the enemy to attempt to destroy our ground forces through air strikes.
The army is the oldest branch of the armed forces. It has existed since the beginning of the military. It is the oldest and largest branch of the armed forces. Therefore, the navy and air force call the army the "big brother," and this title is well-deserved and will never change.
The army is a branch of the national armed forces, primarily referring to the military that fights on land.
Modern armies have evolved into a multi-service, multi-system, and multi-layered integrated whole, possessing powerful firepower, striking power, and high mobility. They are capable of both independent operations and joint operations with other services. An army typically consists of specialized branches such as infantry, armored forces, artillery, engineers, communications, and chemical defense, and also includes newer branches such as army aviation, electronic warfare, and special operations forces. With technological advancements, modern armies are equipped with a large number of advanced weapons and equipment, such as tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, missiles, and helicopters, greatly enhancing their combat capabilities.
Looking back at history, we can see that the army has always played a vital role in warfare. Before the Industrial Revolution, the army was the core of a nation's military power. For example, in the Hundred Years' War between England and France and the Napoleonic Wars, the army's role was irreplaceable. However, with technological advancements, especially after the First Industrial Revolution, the navy's status gradually rose. The advent of steam power brought about a qualitative leap in the speed and reliability of ships, thereby enhancing the navy's combat capabilities.
However, this does not mean that the army is obsolete in modern military strategy. The land is the foundation of national sovereignty and security, and the army plays a vital role in defending national territory, resisting aggression, and in ground warfare.
The irreplaceable role of the army can be analyzed from the following points: First, the army has a very strong ability to adapt to complex terrain. Mountain warfare and urban warfare both require the army to participate. Moreover, the army's armored vehicles and tanks can provide effective protection and direct fire support for infantry. In addition, the attacks of air force fighter jets and naval warships are too "fierce," bombing large areas at once. They are not suitable for clearing out enemy forces in cities and mountains. Firstly, the cost is too high, and secondly, it is easy to cause friendly fire to civilians.
Secondly, the irreplaceable nature of the army is also reflected in its ability to occupy target areas. If the target area is inland, the navy can only fight but cannot occupy it. Even if the marines are sent, their armored units are not as "fierce" as the army. After all, the marines' armored vehicles also need to consider amphibious landings, and their armor is certainly not as thick as the army's armored vehicles and tanks.
If it's the Air Force, then according to the organization of our army, the only ground combat unit of the Air Force is the Airborne Force. However, like the Marine Corps, the Airborne Force is generally equipped with light armor because it needs to be deployed by transport aircraft. In fact, its armor and firepower are not as good as the Army's.
In conclusion, the army is the most suitable branch of the military for carrying out occupation missions. Moreover, a modern army includes both ground and air combat units. Look at our combined arms brigades; they can be rapidly deployed by helicopter, making them extremely mobile. Combined with our advanced tanks and armored vehicles, they are absolutely awesome!
So here's the question: how can the United States deploy its army when it's isolated from other countries?
Strategic projection capability is a core indicator for measuring military power. It refers to the ability to deliver personnel, equipment, and supplies to target areas via land, sea, and air transport vehicles and combat platforms. It determines the scope, intensity, and duration of military operations and is considered a core element of national strategic capability by all countries. Global projection capability is a strategic requirement to adapt to the expansion of national interests in the context of globalization. Possessing global strategic projection capability is an important condition for being eligible to participate in global political, diplomatic, and economic activities. A significant reason why a country can be called a global power is its possession of global strategic projection capability. In the contemporary world political, economic, and security landscape, analyzing a nation's global strategic projection needs requires, firstly, pursuing necessary military deterrence based on national security, maintaining a minimum level of asymmetric military balance, and ensuring the ability to launch retaliatory military counterattacks when national survival and development are seriously threatened.
Second, it is essential to expand military support based on national interests, ensuring that the areas where political and diplomatic objectives are reached are areas where military power can exert influence, and that the areas where economic activities exist are areas where military power can extend. Third, it is crucial to safeguard the security of strategic maritime passages, ensuring the security of maritime energy and trade transportation, and providing security guarantees for various marine and polar resource development activities. Global strategic projection generally relies primarily on maritime combat platforms, supplemented by necessary land-based and air combat platforms, to conduct long-range projection of troops and firepower.
There are three main delivery methods.
Firstly, large-scale transportation vehicles remain the primary means of strategic deployment. Strategic deployment using large-scale transportation vehicles mainly includes three methods: land, sea, and air transport. Land transport is simple to organize and has strong comprehensive transport capabilities, but as the deployment distance increases, its limitations due to geographical environment and transportation conditions become increasingly prominent. During the Kosovo War, Russia attempted to deploy combat forces to Yugoslavia by land, but was forced to abandon this plan due to some countries refusing to provide transit routes. In the Iraq War, the US 4th Mechanized Infantry Division was forced to detour through Kuwait to enter the battlefield because Turkey refused to provide a transit route.
Maritime transport offers strong overall transport capacity and long distances, but is greatly affected by geographical conditions. Air transport is fast and covers long distances, but has weaker overall transport capacity and higher costs. During the Gulf War and the Iraq War, nearly 99% of U.S. military personnel were transported by air, while over 95% of equipment and supplies were transported by sea.
The second method is deployment via large combat platforms.
Large-scale combat platforms represent a modern trend in strategic airlift capabilities. These primarily include three delivery methods: land-based, sea-based, and air-based. Land-based delivery typically involves using land-based platforms to launch medium- and long-range ballistic missiles to deliver nuclear or conventional firepower, or to launch spacecraft, satellites, and other space-based operational vehicles to deliver troops and firepower.
Sea-based combat platform deployment typically utilizes large warships to transport firepower and troops from shore to sea or from sea to shore, or to integrate troop and firepower deployment. Utilizing sea-based combat platforms such as aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines is the primary and most frequent strategic deployment method for the world's leading military powers, primarily the United States.
Airborne combat platform delivery typically utilizes long-range combat aircraft to deliver firepower from air to sea and from air to ground. In the 1986 US air strikes against Libya, F-117A fighter jets, taking off from the UK, flew continuously for 14.5 hours and 6000 miles to carry out direct air strikes against Libya.
The third type is strategic pre-positioning.
Strategic prepositioning is a new development in modern strategic projection methods. Strategic projection is implemented through three main methods: equipment and material prepositioning, battlefield facility prepositioning, and support force prepositioning. Equipment and material prepositioning involves storing a portion of combat equipment and materials in advance in the pre-determined battlefield and its vicinity to reduce the scale of strategic projection during combat, shorten long-distance transport time, and improve strategic rapid response capabilities. Battlefield facility prepositioning refers to the pre-construction of airports, ports, positions, and command, communication, and transportation infrastructure necessary for supporting combat operations in the pre-determined battlefield and its vicinity, facilitating the rapid formation of battlefield support capabilities in the event of combat.
Prepositioning of support forces refers to the pre-organization and construction of some combat, logistical, and equipment support forces in and around a pre-determined battlefield, based on support needs. The aim is to reduce the scale of strategic airlift and accelerate the formation of comprehensive support capabilities in the event of war. During the Gulf War, the U.S. military, centered in Kuwait, prepositioned a large number of battlefield facilities, equipment, supplies, and support forces in countries such as Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia before the war, providing strong support for rapid deployment and early operations.
The second approach tends to directly project firepower, while the third requires a large number of well-equipped military bases around the world, which the United States was previously able to barely achieve.
But now... they've all shrunk back.
That's expensive!
Therefore, the second and third options are essentially nonexistent.
Only the first option remains: using large transport vehicles.
Land transport is not an option... there's nothing we can do, it's determined by geographical location.
Air transport isn't really feasible either. Air transport can only carry personnel, but what about equipment? Especially heavy equipment. Without heavy equipment, what good are people?
Therefore, we still need a navy!
There's no navy anymore...
The US can no longer scare people.