Darrin Cook
Yellow Belt
"We were teaching Soldiers too much stuff," said Hertling, a veteran of Desert Storm and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The result was a "task paralysis" and loss of focus.
One task Hertling wants to do away with is bayonet training.
In today's wars, there's no reason for soldiers to learn how to fix bayonets to their rifles and disembowel an enemy combatant, Hertling said. Besides, bayonets don't fit rifles soldiers carry today, he added.
Hertling, though, conceded that bayonet training is deeply ingrained in the Army culture.
"Some of these ideas would make old infantrymen turn over in their graves," Hertling said.
Hertling also wants combatives or hand-to-hand fighting to de-emphasize grappling or basic wrestling moves. Instead, Soldiers need to learn to fight with their hands and use anything they can grab -- whether it is a knife or stick -- as a weapon, he added.
Would you agree:
1. No Bayonet
2. Less Grappling
3. More Striking
4. More Improvised Weapons Ability
One task Hertling wants to do away with is bayonet training.
In today's wars, there's no reason for soldiers to learn how to fix bayonets to their rifles and disembowel an enemy combatant, Hertling said. Besides, bayonets don't fit rifles soldiers carry today, he added.
Hertling, though, conceded that bayonet training is deeply ingrained in the Army culture.
"Some of these ideas would make old infantrymen turn over in their graves," Hertling said.
Hertling also wants combatives or hand-to-hand fighting to de-emphasize grappling or basic wrestling moves. Instead, Soldiers need to learn to fight with their hands and use anything they can grab -- whether it is a knife or stick -- as a weapon, he added.
Would you agree:
1. No Bayonet
2. Less Grappling
3. More Striking
4. More Improvised Weapons Ability