CAV: Combat

by James H. Cobb

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Thom Swennes · Rating 3 out of 5]

For century’s cavalry units have played a vital role in waging war. Serving as the eyes for the army, on their fleet horses they could comb out in front of the army, spying out the terrain ahead for the enemy presence. Harass stragglers, attack supply lines and sweep down along the flanks of the enemy. The cavalry has always been an elite group, a cut above the infantrymen that compose the bulk of the regular army. After World War II, horses were replaced by tanks and other armored vehicles, adding more speed and range to the traditional units. Today, with the many advancements to training, tactics, weapons and weapon systems, the cavalry is a force to be reckoned with.
Lieutenant Jeremy Randolph Bolde leads a six-man/woman squad employed in the Algerian desert fighting local insurgents in the year 2024. They attack a full division of enemy troops encamped in a desert valley at the approach of a mountain pass. His small detachment is on the high ground and armed to the teeth. With their arsenal of smart weapons and search/detect and destroy drones, their apparently hasty and/or ill-advised actions aren’t as crazy and suicidal as original thought.
Although this story takes place in the near future, I can’t really say that it would fit in the genre science fiction, as that implies that it is presented without a solid basis of fact. Drones exist as do the armored troop and attach vehicles described in the tale. These weapons are employed today with a devastating effectiveness and in a short a span of time as eight to ten years in the future, this story could become very real. This is a must read for those interested in reading about modern combat.

[Greg Hollingsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novella in Stephen Coonts Combat 3