NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm going to have to go with infantry.

Floral Wombat (to be very random)

Air combat, specifically Dogfighting. Nothing is more white-knuckled than engaging with another (or more) plane, twisting and turning about as if every movement will be your last. It's a harrowing experience.

I'm going to have to go with infantry.
Modern Naval warfare takes place at distances of 20 miles or more. Modern Air Force combat is over in seconds. By "mechanized" I'm assuming you mean Armor. Mech infantry is still Infantry. The job of the Infantry is still to close with and destroy the enemy. Nuff said? :)

Aww! I didn't read the choices properly. I voted for infantry but my real vote goes for air.

Aww! I didn't read the choices properly. I voted for infantry but my real vote goes for air.

There is nothing like engaging a Spitfire Mk. IX with a Bf 109G-6/R4. Absolutely nothing.

Oh. I thought you guys were talking about actual combat, not role play or simulations. Sorry.

There is nothing like engaging a Spitfire Mk. IX with a Bf 109G-6/R4. Absolutely nothing.
I just like it because of that air fight in 'Independance Day'. That was sick.

Beware the archers and trapsmen in the woods...and the spies too.


Did I just write that? Sleep must be getting to me....

No no no, you guys do not understand, sure air is high paced, dangerous, exciting, and maybe even fun after you just wipped some enemies butts. But you have little on the line. As I understand it, if you get hit, or if the computer knows you are likely to die, you eject. Now sure, you have to deal with the crap of "Behind enemy lines" and all that fun POW stuff. But infantry is where it is AT. Especially Spec Ops infantry that leads/coops with regular infantry.

As I see it, when you are infantry you deal with snipers, machine gunners, tanks, air, and even naval sometimes. Oh do not forget artillery. Next if you are infranty you can get shafted with the worst equipment (think of the experience the Allied soldiers went through in Battle of the Bulge). When you are infranty you work with your squad, then platoon, and then maybe your company. When attacking a city who knows who will get get shot or if it is a trap? When you are infantry you have to be prudent to take a second before opening the door, to lie low for three more seconds after the machine gun fire, just in case. When you are infranty you have to be prepared for any moment to be shot at and to shoot, also you need to watch your back for close combat situations.

wait we aren't talking real life?

Yes, we are talking real life. May it be personal live combat experiences that influences your judgement, or spectation of battle or simulations.

I'm going to have to go with infantry.

Been there, done that

Been there, done that

Then how dangerous would you say it is?

Then how dangerous would you say it is?

Safer than riding around in an armored vehicle.

If you're able to keep your distance, and you have a suitable weapon, it isn't dangerous at all. If you play it right, they have no idea you're the one shooting at them.

Can't always have things work out that way, though.

Yes, we are talking real life. May it be personal live combat experiences that influences your judgement, or spectation of battle or simulations.
Then I'm going to have to go with Infantry, primarily Airborne Infantry. Mechanized Infantry isn't a class unto itself, being simply Infantry which rides in lightly armored vehicles until it's time to dismount and fight as Infantry.

Infantry isn't just the most exciting and dangerous, it's the most demanding in physical, emotional and mental terms.

Air combat I think is the most 'exciting' but there is no doubt that infantry combat is the most brutal.

Air combat I think is the most 'exciting' but there is no doubt that infantry combat is the most brutal.

It's not that brutal. The major difference is that when it's over, you get to see your results up close. Aircraft do a lot more damage, and inflict a lot more "brutality" but the pilots never get to see the results.

It is more personal. That's probably a more accurate way to put it.

It's not that brutal. The major difference is that when it's over, you get to see your results up close. Aircraft do a lot more damage, and inflict a lot more "brutality" but the pilots never get to see the results.

It is more personal. That's probably a more accurate way to put it.
Yeah. Plus you get to kill people and blow shit up! Mwahahahaha! :D

Yeah. Plus you get to kill people and blow shit up! Mwahahahaha! :D

Well, that's the job description, but it doesn't work out that way.

I'd say my primary impression was one of confusion. Rather like the way you're confused during a football play - trying to do your job and not knowing how the play is coming out until there's a pause.

You laugh later because you're glad to be alive. Glad the other guys are dead. Glad that you're still in one piece.

Well, that's the job description, but it doesn't work out that way.

I'd say my primary impression was one of confusion. Rather like the way you're confused during a football play - trying to do your job and not knowing how the play is coming out until there's a pause.

You laugh later because you're glad to be alive. Glad the other guys are dead. Glad that you're still in one piece.
Confusion is a major part of "the fog of war." That's why you try to plan things out in as much detail as possible beforehand ... so that you make allowances for all the stuff that's going to go to hell.

Coming out in one piece is important, yes. :)

But I still love blowin' shit up! :D

You are in a dark cylinder. You know the enemy is out there, but you cannot see them. There are no windows, no sunlight, no moonlight and barely any sounds. Everyone speaks in a whisper. A faint noise on sonar... "Was that them? Do we have engagement?" You sweat just a little, knowing if your ship doesn't shoot first you may be crushed by thousands of pounds of water in a nanosecond.
"We have engagement, target is right beneath us! He's trying to shadow us!" Whispers the sonar ops.
"Is it a decoy or is it real?" whispers a voice in the dark.
"Tubes one and three, on my command launch" the captain says in a hushed voice as the floor tilts thirty degrees forward. You know that the submarine is heading deeper into the dark abyss. Out there, another commander just may be targeting your ship...

During the cold war this type of cat/mouse game played out DAILY. it is amazing there were not more engagements.

No no no, you guys do not understand, sure air is high paced, dangerous, exciting, and maybe even fun after you just wipped some enemies butts. But you have little on the line. As I understand it, if you get hit, or if the computer knows you are likely to die, you eject. Now sure, you have to deal with the crap of "Behind enemy lines" and all that fun POW stuff. But infantry is where it is AT. Especially Spec Ops infantry that leads/coops with regular infantry.

It's like that in modern air combat, but the kind I'm talking about is WWII air combat. When you're shot down, you're lucky if the guy who plugged you didn't fill you with holes. And, don't forget about the far less-reliable parachutes in those days.

It's like that in modern air combat, but the kind I'm talking about is WWII air combat. When you're shot down, you're lucky if the guy who plugged you didn't fill you with holes. And, don't forget about the far less-reliable parachutes in those days.


Whoa, I say this with all honesty. You are right.

Whoa, I say this with all honesty. You are right.

Damn right. A Yak or a Spitfire or any WWII-era fighter can be a killing machine in the right hands. It can also be the ultimate death trap.

Mechanized for sure. The sheer firepower to blow shit up is amazing. Of course if your into that kind of thing. :)

Exciting... Navel combat. it will be undersea, Sea Level and sky.

Most Dangerous... Infantry.

Aircraft are dumb tis not like WWII now you just rock up and get given a gazillion medals in Iraq!

Infantry vs Artillary for most dangerous!

To soar in the skies, to be the last knight of the modern times, to duel with the enemy one-on-one is only given to the airplanes.

Air combat, specifically Dogfighting. Nothing is more white-knuckled than engaging with another (or more) plane, twisting and turning about as if every movement will be your last. It's a harrowing experience.

Not much of that anymore around. With a missile that can knock you out of the air from 20 miles range, forget it. Also it seems there won't be any dogfighting in the future done by humans in planes anyway. Take the UCAV or the Predator, that's the future.


Infantry, well, you can at least run away or hide somewhere.
Mechanized? Well, if that thing is hit and burns? Uhmmm... no thank you.

*shakes head*

Not to spoil your thread, but I don't see what can possibly be "exciting" about the prospect of killing other human beings. Yes, if you're forced to do it, then I can imagine you might work up some form of excitement, if only as a defence mechanism so as not to go insane at the thought of either being brutally killed or brutally killing someone else. But sitting back safely and wondering which is most exciting? To me, that's a little sick.

I've always felt people just don't consider the reality of what war is. It's not fun. It's monstrous. There is nothing glamorous about the reality of war. It's a mix of terror, violence, chaos, confusion, sickening and horror.

Sorry for that; I'll let you get back to your thread. I just had to say it.

there's nothing like, APCs charging towards a terrified enemy, and the cordite of the guns. the tank smashing onto the baracade then the infantry pouring out. into close combat.

i especially like assault troopers in urban combat , my NS army is based upon them. the submachine gun fire and the cold steel of bayonettes, then the screaming of the mortar breaking the fight momenteraly.

Not much of that anymore around. With a missile that can knock you out of the air from 20 miles range, forget it. Also it seems there won't be any dogfighting in the future done by humans in planes anyway. Take the UCAV or the Predator, that's the future.


Infantry, well, you can at least run away or hide somewhere.
Mechanized? Well, if that thing is hit and burns? Uhmmm... no thank you.

I'm talking about WWI and WII Air Combat, but yes, you're quite correct. Air Combat these days is very lame.

SpecOps would be the most exciting, that's why I plan on doing it :)

You are in a dark cylinder. You know the enemy is out there, but you cannot see them. There are no windows, no sunlight, no moonlight and barely any sounds. Everyone speaks in a whisper. A faint noise on sonar... "Was that them? Do we have engagement?" You sweat just a little, knowing if your ship doesn't shoot first you may be crushed by thousands of pounds of water in a nanosecond.
"We have engagement, target is right beneath us! He's trying to shadow us!" Whispers the sonar ops.
"Is it a decoy or is it real?" whispers a voice in the dark.
"Tubes one and three, on my command launch" the captain says in a hushed voice as the floor tilts thirty degrees forward. You know that the submarine is heading deeper into the dark abyss. Out there, another commander just may be targeting your ship...

During the cold war this type of cat/mouse game played out DAILY. it is amazing there were not more engagements.lol its also amazing there werent more nervous breakdowns!

*shakes head*

Not to spoil your thread, but I don't see what can possibly be "exciting" about the prospect of killing other human beings. Yes, if you're forced to do it, then I can imagine you might work up some form of excitement, if only as a defence mechanism so as not to go insane at the thought of either being brutally killed or brutally killing someone else. But sitting back safely and wondering which is most exciting? To me, that's a little sick.

I've always felt people just don't consider the reality of what war is. It's not fun. It's monstrous. There is nothing glamorous about the reality of war. It's a mix of terror, violence, chaos, confusion, sickening and horror.

Sorry for that; I'll let you get back to your thread. I just had to say it.

I didn't find it horrifying. I didn't go insane. I wasn't sickened, terrified, or horrified. Sorry, for someone who hasn't been in combat, your opinion seems to have been cobbled together from watching too many movies.

It was, without a doubt, one of the most fulfilling and exciting things I've ever done. You never get closer to anyone than to the people you serve with in combat. They are the finest people on earth.

If you and your fellow soldiers know their jobs, and you have the right weapons, it's not terrifying at all. No more so than a football game.

I didn't find it horrifying. I didn't go insane. I wasn't sickened, terrified, or horrified. Sorry, for someone who hasn't been in combat, your opinion seems to have been cobbled together from watching too many movies.

It was, without a doubt, one of the most fulfilling and exciting things I've ever done. You never get closer to anyone than to the people you serve with in combat. They are the finest people on earth.

If you and your fellow soldiers know their jobs, and you have the right weapons, it's not terrifying at all. No more so than a football game.

Roger.

Edit: Yes, there is a fear of death. But no more than crossing a busy street, wondering if the guy driving the car in the distance is drunk and will swerve into even if you DO make it to the other side....

War is not glamorous, no. But it isn't barbaric, horrific or any of the sort. You see hell everytime you turn on the TV. We go -through- hell so the rest of the world can sit back, watch the telly and come up with opinions.

SpecOps would be the most exciting, that's why I plan on doing it :)
Special Operations can be very, very demanding, in every sense of the term. Not only are you expected to function as an outstanding solider, you are expected to be creative and improvise to get the job done. SpecOps covers a multitude of "sins" too, everything from civil affairs to deep cover "black ops."

Special Operations can be very, very demanding, in every sense of the term. Not only are you expected to function as an outstanding solider, you are expected to be creative and improvise to get the job done. SpecOps covers a multitude of "sins" too, everything from civil affairs to deep cover "black ops."

You also won't have much of a home life. Make your choice.

I didn't find it horrifying. I didn't go insane. I wasn't sickened, terrified, or horrified. Sorry, for someone who hasn't been in combat, your opinion seems to have been cobbled together from watching too many movies.

It was, without a doubt, one of the most fulfilling and exciting things I've ever done. You never get closer to anyone than to the people you serve with in combat. They are the finest people on earth.

If you and your fellow soldiers know their jobs, and you have the right weapons, it's not terrifying at all. No more so than a football game.
Welllllll ... I don't know about that! I didn't exactly relish getting shot at, and the first time I realized someone was specifically shooting at ME, rather than just throwing rounds out there, was a rather rude awakening.

I didn't go insane, become terrified or horrified, or become an emotional basket-case either. It did, however, change me in ways I'm still discovering to this day.

To compare it to a football game ... well, I just don't agree.

You also won't have much of a home life. Make your choice.
Especially these days, now that SpecOps is in "the driver's seat" in the war on terror. That was another rude awakening ... those who had been on the fringes of the military finding themselves being moved into command and control positions. Some few have had more problems coping with that transition than they ever did with combat!

Welllllll ... I don't know about that! I didn't exactly relish getting shot at, and the first time I realized someone was specifically shooting at ME, rather than just throwing rounds out there, was a rather rude awakening.

I didn't go insane, become terrified or horrified, or become an emotional basket-case either. It did, however, change me in ways I'm still discovering to this day.

To compare it to a football game ... well, I just don't agree.

Depends on what your situation was, I suppose. The sudden realization that the typical Iraqi can't hit anything past a hundred yards, and you're six hundred yards away, seems to take the fear out of you. Especially when you can casually decide whether or not to shoot at them at your leisure. Yes, they were shooting at me, but it seemed so lame that I wasn't bothered by it.

I would bet that Vietnam was different, since they were probably right on top of you, coming out of the brush at any moment.

Probably the biggest non-fear moment was when (first Gulf War) we kept their heads down in their trench, and a combat engineer vehicle went down their line, collapsing their trench and burying them alive. You really, really got the sense that since they didn't take you up on the offer of surrender, they wanted to fight. But their weapons seemed completely impotent - there was no fear of being hurt, much less killed.

It was a lesson. Don't get involved in combat if your side sucks - for those guys, it was probably a terrifying way to die - not even shot - but simply buried alive with your comrades under ten feet of sand.

Ill have to go with ground warfare as a whole as The Infantry are just a small part of the larger picture. Other support elements are in fact at more risk of attack than the infantry.

[QUOTE=Whispering Legs]Depends on what your situation was, I suppose. The sudden realization that the typical Iraqi can't hit anything past a hundred yards, and you're six hundred yards away, seems to take the fear out of you. Especially when you can casually decide whether or not to shoot at them at your leisure. Yes, they were shooting at me, but it seemed so lame that I wasn't bothered by it.

I would bet that Vietnam was different, since they were probably right on top of you, coming out of the brush at any moment.

Probably the biggest non-fear moment was when (first Gulf War) we kept their heads down in their trench, and a combat engineer vehicle went down their line, collapsing their trench and burying them alive. You really, really got the sense that since they didn't take you up on the offer of surrender, they wanted to fight. But their weapons seemed completely impotent - there was no fear of being hurt, much less killed.

My friend was a Marine in Sesert Storm and told me that M1s with plows on them pretty much bulldozed trenches full of Iraqis. I hadnt heard that anywhere again until you just described the same scenario.
He also was part of a squad chasing Iraqis in stolen Kuwati vehicles- mercedes and toyota landcruisers, etc that they obliterated with SAWs.

My friend was a Marine in Sesert Storm and told me that M1s with plows on them pretty much bulldozed trenches full of Iraqis. I hadnt heard that anywhere again until you just described the same scenario.
He also was part of a squad chasing Iraqis in stolen Kuwati vehicles- mercedes and toyota landcruisers, etc that they obliterated with SAWs.

Yeah, and now some idiot on this forum will say that I'm a war criminal because the Hague Convention probably bans burying armed soldiers alive after they refuse to surrender.

When we were done, it was like they had never been there.

Moralllll KOMBAT!!!
dadada da da dum dum da da da da dum dum.

(you know the tune)

Not sure if you have it there cant be arsed to look, but id imagine its airborne combat, id give my right leg to go back in time and fight with the 1st Airborne.
(after odviously)

Yeah, and now some idiot on this forum will say that I'm a war criminal because the Hague Convention probably bans burying armed soldiers alive after they refuse to surrender.

When we were done, it was like they had never been there.

well yeah its pretty inhumane, being killed by being burried alive, jesus christ thats fecking horrible.

Yeah, and now some idiot on this forum will say that I'm a war criminal because the Hague Convention probably bans burying armed soldiers alive after they refuse to surrender.

When we were done, it was like they had never been there.


Well-the conservationists might be happy that the amount of lead and iron normally introduced into the ecosystem was reduced and that you also practiced proper composting.
You have to look on the bright side

well yeah its pretty inhumane, being killed by being burried alive, jesus christ thats fecking horrible.


Its called "War" - not a paintball skirmish.

Yeah, and now some idiot on this forum will say that I'm a war criminal because the Hague Convention probably bans burying armed soldiers alive after they refuse to surrender.

When we were done, it was like they had never been there.

I don't believe in conventions. I don't even know why they exist. You can't make war "sanitary" because even the concept isn't to begin with. Just do anything you can as an individual soldier or unit to survive.

Think about it this way. If you were walking down the street and someone was shooting at you in a ditch at a construction site and you had some plow equipment right next to you, wouldn't you consider burrying them alive to save yourself? I sure would.

Right now I am a loader in an Abrams, find live fire in that to be killer...Im also in ROTC and got a slot at robin-sage. I was one of those people the green berets train to fight the 82nd airborne...This one "mission" I was hiding in a swap with a dozen or so others, a northa carolina swap in the summer is not the greatest place to be... a patrol of the 82nd came through it and we killed them all. That made me realize had it been real I would have become a killer that day, that makes you think. The whole thing the fighting i mean lasted less then a minute but it was the longest minute of my life people who've done that will understand it i think.

Due to my contract with ROTC I was not deployed to Iraq with the armor brigade I served in. It was not that I didnt want to go persay, I served with the soldiers in that unit for 19 months I knew them meet some of thier wives, and got drunk with them all...At times I wish i was there with them, its just that ill be there in another year and a half as a 2nd LT, and that my duty calls me to that.

If you and your fellow soldiers know their jobs, and you have the right weapons, it's not terrifying at all. No more so than a football game

Every soldier serving knows there jobs and are damned good at it. But I must disagree with this statment perhaps the ability of me to remain annoyomous behind this fourm allows me to do thins, in RL im all for killing and am hard lol its a guy thing i suppose...granted ive only taken part in war games but even when fake bullets are shot at me, or when im "dead" when my miles gear goes off its scary even terrifing but still get the job done...

I don't believe in conventions. I don't even know why they exist. You can't make war "sanitary" because even the concept isn't to begin with. Just do anything you can as an individual soldier or unit to survive.

Think about it this way. If you were walking down the street and someone was shooting at you in a ditch at a construction site and you had some plow equipment right next to you, wouldn't you consider burrying them alive to save yourself? I sure would.


Absolutely. I use any weapon of opportunity defensively or offensively. As long as I'm standing and he isnt when its over, its fine with me.

Exciting... Navel combat. it will be undersea, Sea Level and sky.

Oh, yeah. I've been in some navel combat and it sure is exciting, and sometimes dangerous. Never done it undersea, though. Could be interesting. :D

Yeah, and now some idiot on this forum will say that I'm a war criminal because the Hague Convention probably bans burying armed soldiers alive after they refuse to surrender.

It doesn't. Sure, it's a gruesome death, but war is war and being blown to pieces by a bomb, buried alive or having a bullet pierce your aorta produce the same result.

I think each one is just as dangerous I would have to say infantry or mechanised, But I feel I must mention that some support elements are in just as much danger.

Oooooh. Death. Exciting. :rolleyes: :headbang:

Oooooh. Death. Exciting. :rolleyes: :headbang:

So you think as a human being, after all the training, all the preparation, you FINALLY get to go into live combat you wouldn't be excited in any way, shape, or form? It may be a sucky thing to get excited about but we are human beings, violence in innate and it's something some people get pleasure from, especially how war is today. Much like a game.

well yeah its pretty inhumane, being killed by being burried alive, jesus christ thats fecking horrible.
Yes, but no better or worse than being flammed by a "Flame Track" ( an Armored Personnel Carrier rigged with a flame thrower ). We use to call what was left afterward "crispy critters."

War always seemed to me like metaphor for the rest of life: intense, contradictory, sometimes ennobling, sometimes degrading, etc. Going into what we were almost certain to become firefight situations, my nerves always felt like they extended about ten or twenty feet out from my body. Time took on an entirely different quality. Paradoxically, in the midst of death and the possibility of death, I had never in my life felt more alive.

So you think as a human being, after all the training, all the preparation, you FINALLY get to go into live combat you wouldn't be excited in any way, shape, or form? It may be a sucky thing to get excited about but we are human beings, violence in innate and it's something some people get pleasure from, especially how war is today. Much like a game.
Well first of all. I wouldn't get the training if there was any way that I could avoid it.
And second: War is in no way a game.

Well first of all. I wouldn't get the training if there was any way that I could avoid it.
And second: War is in no way a game.

I never said it was a game. The way it's waged now is much LIKE a game. Meaning it has similar characteristics.

I never said it was a game. The way it's waged now is much LIKE a game. Meaning it has similar characteristics.
...Is in no way LIKE a game then.

Seriously. How is it like a game?

Its called "War" - not a paintball skirmish.
Yes but by doing inhumane things, you become the bad guys.

...Is in no way LIKE a game then.

Seriously. How is it like a game?

Formations and combat tactics are not unlike football or soccer plays. With all this new technology coming into use, targets are slowly being designated by some sort of graphic. You also get to test your physical and mental limitations just as any sport would.

I'm not for war just for the sake of it as some people I know are, however from a soldier's perspective(and I know MANY, specifically vietnam and gulf war era soldiers), you have to look at it like a game except if you lose, you have no extra lives.

Formations and combat tactics are not unlike football or soccer plays. With all this new technology coming into use, targets are slowly being designated by some sort of graphic. You also get to test your physical and mental limitations just as any sport would.

I'm not for war just for the sake of it as some people I know are, however from a soldier's perspective(and I know MANY, specifically vietnam and gulf war era soldiers), you have to look at it like a game except if you lose, you have no extra lives.
How is it like a football match?

Stop being vague. HOW is it like a game?

How is it like a football match?

Stop being vague. HOW is it like a game?

Ok this is how it's like a football game. Your team goes into formations (shotgun, blitz, etc). You execute the plays. You make it towards your objective, which is most often within enemy territory(touchdown zone). You have opposition trying to push you back(other team). You cover each other from enemy fire(tackling and shoving opposition out of the way). You score a "touchdown" once you make it to your objective.

The quarterback is the soldier in command, the reciver represents the teamates which you give orders to and they execute them, and the recievers have the ability to adapt to the opposition if the moment calls for it(passing). And that is why it's similar to football.

Ok this is how it's like a football game. Your team goes into formations (shotgun, blitz, etc). You execute the plays. You make it towards your objective, which is most often within enemy territory(touchdown zone). You have opposition trying to push you back(other team). You cover each other from enemy fire(tackling and shoving opposition out of the way). You score a "touchdown" once you make it to your objective.

The quarterback is the soldier in command, the reciver represents the teamates which you give orders to and they execute them, and the recievers have the ability to adapt to the opposition if the moment calls for it(passing). And that is why it's similar to football.
That's the biggest simplification I have EVER seen in my life.

The quarterback is the soldier in command, the reciver represents the teamates which you give orders to and they execute them, and the recievers have the ability to adapt to the opposition if the moment calls for it(passing). And that is why it's similar to football.
Hey! It's also like being a chef!

That's the biggest simplification I have EVER seen in my life.

lol, well at least I explained it throughly.

lol, well at least I explained it throughly.
My point was just that War is never as simple as a game. The effects of war go on for endless generations and on a worldwide scale. A game you can quit or finish. A war is never over. And no one is a winner

My point was just that War is never as simple as a game. The effects of war go on for endless generations and on a worldwide scale. A game you can quit or finish. A war is never over. And no one is a winner

In the heat of battle, when it's just you and your opposition it's similar to a game. As you put it, the effects are not, and you are quite correct. NOBODY is a winner, even if you win the war, especially a politically induced war such as the one going on now, nobody actually wins. The only thing some people might win are the freedom of Iraqi civillians, but I doubt that was the incentive or objective for this skirmish in the first place. Just an inevitable(but good) side effect being twisted and manipulated as an excuse for an incompetant "leader".

...Is in no way LIKE a game then.

Seriously. How is it like a game?


When you're in an infantry engagement, if you had some warning, you get a few minutes (or seconds) to decide what to do within your squad or platoon. You've also trained and practiced with certain "plays" or standard tactics your group will use (you go left, you go right, you go up the middle, and I'll stay here).

Like a football play (American football), the play starts, and for a while, there's a lot of confusion. You don't have perfect knowledge of where everyone is, or what everyone is doing, and maybe you're really not knowing how it will all come out.

And then everything stops again. Just like an American football play. Maybe it stops in just a few seconds - and maybe it goes on for three days before stopping. But when it stops, you get to see how you did.

That's how it's like a game (there's a tight parallel to American football).

When you're in an infantry engagement, if you had some warning, you get a few minutes (or seconds) to decide what to do within your squad or platoon. You've also trained and practiced with certain "plays" or standard tactics your group will use (you go left, you go right, you go up the middle, and I'll stay here).

Like a football play (American football), the play starts, and for a while, there's a lot of confusion. You don't have perfect knowledge of where everyone is, or what everyone is doing, and maybe you're really not knowing how it will all come out.

And then everything stops again. Just like an American football play. Maybe it stops in just a few seconds - and maybe it goes on for three days before stopping. But when it stops, you get to see how you did.

That's how it's like a game (there's a tight parallel to American football).

Yeah-but without all the stupid commericals.

Yeah-but without all the stupid commericals.
And all the times I could have used John Madden and the CBS Chalkboard...

A good cage fight. And by a good one I mean a fight that isn't just all grappling techniques.
Or a good free-fight. Or some nice kick/Thay boxing.