Last Monday I promised a post on Fighter Planes and Submarines, and how the church ought to take note of how they work and why. Rather than fully develop that theme, I chose to sow a seed for thought and pick it up later. Looking back on that post, I’d say I was so vague as to plant no seed at all. Call this a second attempt.
Disclaimer: As will be obvious, I am not expert in military tactics. I make no claim even to being well-read as a civilian interested in the subject. Nevertheless, I think I know enough for my purposes here.
Fighter planes don’t go up with the ultimate purpose of dueling with enemy fighters. There is an ultimate objective. Air forces fight for control of the skies; navies fight for control of the seas; the object of both is victory on land.
Fighter planes are sent to attack bombers. Bombing missions are therefore escorted by fighters for defense. The purpose of the fighters is, on the one side, to defend the target against the bombers, and on the other side, to protect the bombers and enable them to successfully reach their target.
Fighter planes, carrying missiles or bombs, are themselves used against primary targets. Again, enemy fighters are used to defend against those attacks.
Fighter planes are used to attack shipping convoys. The purpose of these attacks is not simply to sink ships, but to prevent the ships from delivering their cargo — troops, supplies, firepower (in the case of battleships and aircraft carriers) — to their destinations.
At sea, submarines serve a purpose similar to fighter aircraft. If you saw the movie (or better yet, read the book) The Hunt for Red October, you’re aware of two types of submarines: missile subs, and attack subs. The purpose of missile subs is to covertly sneak within missile range of land-based targets and deliver their missiles. In Red October, attack subs were used to hunt down the missile sub by that name (hence the title . . .). The usual purpose of attack subs is to attack ships. Consequently, there are then attack subs hunting other attack subs. Furthermore, naval convoys carry helicopters for the purpose of hunting subs.
Complicated enough yet? I could go on and on with this theme but, in short, war often involves battles within battles within battles, the purpose of which is only ancillary to the overall conflict.
What if military commanders lost sight of the big picture? What if aircraft carriers simply launched fighters on mission after mission just to engage in aerial dogfights, air and naval battles were fought for their own sake, and pilots and submarine commanders chalked up kill after kill, but supported no land-based objective? Individual combatants could boast of great accomplishments, but no victory would ever be won.
To be continued . . .
TrackBack URL: http://www.thirstytheologian.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1072
Share this post:
Posted in:
Link · 0 TrackBacks
← Previous · Home · Next →
Comments on this post are closed. If you have a question or comment concerning this post, feel free to email us.