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I think Spartan super soldiers with faster speed and enhanced strength would be useful but I can't see ODST's be viable anymore except in a full scare perhaps. What are your thoughts?

About as useful as Mandolarians.

Spartans and ODSTs have similar MOs except that Spartans are far more durable. Normally they would be made irrelevant due to their small numbers given the scope of the human-covenant war but somehow they always manage to be in a situation where blowing up one warship convinces the others to go home. In fact, the game Halo: Reach demonstrated their irrelevancy quite well in terms of turning a battle. Even though they managed a kill ratio exceeding 1:100 they still died in the end because anyone can be chumped by some idiot with a big gun.

So, all things considered, Spartans are impractical. If it wasn't for John-117 the Spartans would've died as complete waste of money/time and humanity would have been a smear of ash on several glassed worlds. The only things Spartans -are- good at is eliminating small rebel groups that could have been as easily dealt with by special operations. ODSTs, being Spartan lite, are just as pointless since they have the same issues. They have all this shiny gear and cool guns but a Plasma Rifle will gun them down just as easy as a regular soldier (Just takes an extra shot or two). And the Covenant has no shortages of Plasma Rifles.


In real life, Spartans would be godly since they aren't dealing with enemies like the Covenant. But like I said earlier, the same things they can accomplish can be done much cheaper.

This is a good thread making a good point. If we just had invincible super soldiers with invincible armor, our military would be better. I am surprised no one has ever thought of this before, ever.

Thoughts?


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Also, I want a cannon that shoots werewolves.

Soldiers (Kurt Russell) more practical
Storm Troopers from SWG are practical to

For both to work we as a nation or civilization needs to be in a situation that requires a "Ender Game" situation

All you ever need is air power.

 Seaward wrote:
All you ever need is air power.

That was really the only massive advantage the Covenant had in Halo. Their fleet's technology meant they could pretty much dominate every space battle with little difficulty, while on the ground, the UNSC had at least had a chance.

 Seaward wrote:
All you ever need is air power.

Pff the movie Independence Day wants a word with you.

 KingCracker wrote:

 Seaward wrote:
All you ever need is air power.

Pff the movie Independence Day wants a word with you.

You mean the movie where Randy Quaid was the Earth's secret weapon?

I want to have a word with that movie...

The military as is it is works with what little money its budget allows for. I doubt that'd stretch to a super soldier program, and, if it could, that such a thing would ever be implemented, again because of cash. As an example most of the world's military's "modern" equipment is actually at least a decade or two old. The US were going to update their then forty year old M series guns a while ago, but stopped short when the manufacturers just cut the price of their original guns.

Another concern would be that if anyone ever fielded such a thing, and it proved viable, it'd escalate into an arms race. If countries could deploy super soldiers then their enemies (and allies) would have to invest in their own counter projects (not necessarily other super soldiers though). I'll refer anyone interested on this matter though to the Germline series, which is this kind of scenario in a can.

So no, I'd say the special forces and regular military are doing just as well as a cheaper alternative. =P

ODST yes, Spartan probably not.

 Seaward wrote:
All you ever need is air power.

Airpower is only as useful as the enemy's Ack-ack and airpower lets it be.

 Grey Templar wrote:

 Seaward wrote:
All you ever need is air power.

Airpower is only as useful as the enemy's Ack-ack and airpower lets it be.

Ah, but the solution to enemy AD and air power is...air power.

"quantity has a quality all of its own"

There is an anecdote from WWII that fits here, from a German Tiger tank commander, One Tiger could take on 10 Shermans, the problem was there was an eleventh Sherman waiting.

Never seen air power take and hold a key terrain feature

 Seaward wrote:
All you ever need is air power.

Are we doing that thing again where you pretend you're on Dateline on a Balkans War special and the year is 1995?

 sebster wrote:

 Seaward wrote:
All you ever need is air power.

Are we doing that thing again where you pretend you're on Dateline on a Balkans War special and the year is 1995?

No, we're doing that thing where I don't take a question about fictional supersailors all that seriously and get amused when armchair experts rage.

 Jihadin wrote:
Never seen air power take and hold a key terrain feature

Wait till we get Mechs that can transform between a jetfighter and a walking suit of DOOM!!!

Wait till we get Mechs that can transform between a jetfighter and a walking suit of DOOM!!!

Due to budget cuts and Sequester the current program has been delayed/push back to a undetermined future date. Way in the future.

 Seaward wrote:
No, we're doing that thing where I don't take a question about fictional supersailors all that seriously and get amused when armchair experts rage.

So how do we play? Just natter some old piece of military theory that has nothing to do with the thread?

Charging knights must maintain as close a formation as possible, to maximise the shock effect and prevent knights being individually surrounded and defeated.

....

Nope, that game sucks. I want to go back to the one where we're pretending it's 1995 and we're saying stuff about the Balkans conflict that proved to be completely wrong. "Sending troops in will just produce another Vietnam."

Aren't you Australian?

 Seaward wrote:
Aren't you Australian?

Aren't you American?

 Ahtman wrote:
Aren't you American?

Sure am. Why do you ask?

 Seaward wrote:

 Ahtman wrote:
Aren't you American?

Sure am. Why do you ask?

After you asked if sebster was Australian I thought maybe it was a game where we ask stupid questions with obvious answers.

This is going downhill fast. But it would be interesting to know why he asked about sebter's nationality

 Ahtman wrote:
After you asked if sebster was Australian I thought maybe it was a game where we ask stupid questions with obvious answers.

This...

 sebster wrote:
Are we doing that thing again where you pretend you're on Dateline on a Balkans War special and the year is 1995?

...leads me to believe we are. I think you guys are winning.


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 motyak wrote:
This is going downhill fast. But it would be interesting to know why he asked about sebter's nationality

I wanted his expert opinion on whether or not they're going to revisit picking up another 24 Super Hornets.

 Seaward wrote:
Aren't you Australian?

Yes.


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 Seaward wrote:
I wanted his expert opinion on whether or not they're going to revisit picking up another 24 Super Hornets.

I don't have an expert opinion. My knowledge of aircraft begins and ends with which ones look really cool. Personally I think we need to order as many Spitfires as we can get our hands on.

 Jihadin wrote:
Never seen air power take and hold a key terrain feature

I missed this the first time through. It's why we send Marines to The Basic School before IFS. So they can land and shoot rifles. Because they've never forgotten Guadalcanal.

 Seaward wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:
Never seen air power take and hold a key terrain feature

I missed this the first time through. It's why we send Marines to The Basic School before IFS. So they can land and shoot rifles. Because they've never forgotten Guadalcanal.

You missed that comment, but you were still trying to make snide remarks about armchair generals? Because other than the comment you missed, the only reference to your 1995 Dateline special was a joke about Independance Day and a comment that the enemy will have air defence and air power of their own.

So basically your grand trolling of the armchair generals consists of getting two responses out of Gray Templar.

 sebster wrote:
So basically your grand trolling of the armchair generals consists of getting two responses out of Gray Templar.

You've responded thrice now.

You may want to sit back and have a Coke or something, dude. Quit being so angry all the time.