After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

Chapter 676: Chapter 471: Military Reform? Or Restaurant Restructuring?_2

"Manager, manager! A table just came in, three of them are Sichuan chefs, and they even ordered Sichuan dishes. That one with the buzz cut might be a head executive chef! One of them was just complaining about the dish not being authentic and wanted to send it back! Now they’re asking for paper and a pen; they might be recording the taste of the dishes! They’re not here to cause trouble, are they?"

Upon hearing this, the manager glanced over and then said gravely,

"I’ve got it. Keep an eye on them. I’ll speak to the kitchen to take extra care with their dishes."

With that, he headed to the kitchen.

At that moment, Division Commander Jin at the corner table voiced his confusion:

"Little Fang, what do you need paper for? Just ask if you need anything."

Fang Huai pondered for a moment and replied, "Commander Jin, I’ll be honest with you. Recently, I’ve been working on firefighting reforms and I’m genuinely interested in your quick-reaction force. However, in my research, I’ve discovered some issues."

"Oh?" Division Commander Jin became more curious, propping his arms on the table and lowering his voice to say:

"Go on."

Only then did Fang Huai continue: "When your quick-reaction force actually has a task, it might take several hours to deploy troops. Taking a cue from us to snatch those few seconds indeed doesn’t seem that necessary. Poor command transmission efficiency and a chaotic command system are the real issues you urgently need to address."

"Nonsense."

Division Commander Jin was a bit displeased upon hearing this.

"Our military operations, starting from the Korean War, have been characterized by very clear delivery of orders at all levels. Even without a cohesive command group, we can form trios led by squad leaders for combat. Little Fang, in terms of command, our military’s six major tactics are considered advanced worldwide. Many countries’ militaries are learning from us!"

Our glorious military tradition welcomes criticism, but not arbitrary criticism. Fang Huai, if you say there is a problem with command, you need to provide clear reasons.

Fang Huai saw his agitation and waved his hands with a smile.

"Commander Jin, don’t rush. I’m not talking about tactics, but about structure, the organization of the force.

From division to battalion to company, having three layers of agency at a basic two-tier level is certainly cumbersome.

Since Maxim invented the machine gun, warfare is not a matter of numbers anymore. Sometimes two or three soldiers can hold a position. With further technological advancements, it may not even be soldiers behind the trenches but robotic dogs.

Modern warfare encompasses combined arms operations, with various troop types coordinating together. Force structure should be divided according to operational purposes, not by troop type.

Mechanization and digitization need to gradually integrate if we are to win wars. The approach of large troop formations might have had greater resilience in the past, but in modern warfare, their reaction capability is much weaker.

You should understand the importance of reaction capability, nearly as vital as combat strength. Once locked on by modern warfare weapons, a powerful missile can claim the lives of dozens, even hundreds of soldiers.

The pace of battle is increasingly rapid, with fleeting opportunities for action and withdrawal, all requiring a more flexible command system.

Especially for rapid response forces, they shouldn’t be organized at a divisional level, but rather, divisions should be disbanded and brigade-level units should become the new, independently operating forces.

Flattening management is key to meeting the needs of warfare in the new era. The military should learn from enterprises, where many bosses try to solve multiple issues with one employee. While the military shouldn’t go that far, attempts should be made to address various problems with one basic unit." freewёbnoνel.com

At these words, Division Commander Jin finally became serious.

It wasn’t affirmation, but recognition.

This Little Fang understood something about modern military forces.

"Little Fang, we’ve been paying attention to this issue since ’98. Jinan Military Region’s 20th Group Army’s 58 and 60 divisions changed to brigades, and in the process of reorganizing, the 20th Group Army was cut by half.

All this was influenced by the American and Russian division-to-brigade reforms, but we can’t be led by the nose by the West.

But the ultimate evaluation... I can tell you, it was poor.

Not every country can enhance combat power by changing divisions to brigades, without information technology equipment and a corresponding structure, it’s impossible to enhance combined arms combat capability.

To empower brigade-level units, that costs money, lots of military budget, do you understand?

And then there’s logistic support. Take our motorized infantry division for example; based on current equipment, we’re highly dependent on logistics. Without adequate logistic construction, if we were to go to the frontline, we’d be calling for our parents after a few days of fighting. Changing to brigades? How to change, divide one into two? To maintain the same combat power, the ratio of logistics personnel must increase to what extent?

The American military reform, I can’t be sure, but the Russian military reform, I suspect they will revert. They were just fooled by the Americans again, like during the Soviet era, changing divisions to brigades? Their military budget probably can’t afford a true division-to-brigade reform. They might end up backtracking."

The earnestness in Division Commander Jin’s voice made Fang Huai frown.

This Division Commander Jin truly had insight.

The situation on the Russo-Ukrainian battlefield, years later, was just as he had predicted.

The Russian Army ultimately reverted to the brigade-to-division approach.

So did the US Military.

But Fang Huai’s goal was simply to get Division Commander Jin to catch the wave of military reform early and to preemptively understand the results of our military’s reform.

To convince a division commander to change his strategic thinking... it wasn’t as simple as the situation at Tangjia Mountain back then.

Back then, he had the authority granted by a superior, but when it came to military reform, the authority was in the hands of Division Commander Jin across the table.