re: #253 ckkatz

It is very true that the equipment largely works and ticks a box… “# of tanks”, “# of Jets” etc.

But a lot of the equipment is nowhere near as capable as much newer equipment is. The Iraqis found that out in the First Gulf War.

Up until now, that has not mattered because the NATO thinking was that checking the boxes and that nobody was going to go to war. I think that has changed in the past week or two.

What the Iraqis discovered is that a poorly trained army of conscripts using badly maintained equipment are never going to be much of a match for a modern military using the latest gear. Hell, the Russians are learning that right now in trying to fight a determined Ukrainian Army with green recruits and equipment they probably pulled out of war reserve stockpiles.