Every infantryman today is probably equipped with, at minimum, a four-power scope, night-vision goggles, and a laser for use with night vision. While the small arms themselves haven’t really come a long way, the accouterments certainly have. When I was in a motorized heavy weapons platoon, we had a dozen PRC-119’s, satcom radios, Blue Force Trackers, etc we probably had comm capabilities that entire divisions during World War II would have drooled over. Radios at the platoon level were very rare during World War II, and what was in play was of limited range and had no encryption capabilities.

This allows for much faster response times to dealing with threats or reorganizing after a firefight or simply getting troops to move around where you want them. Today, many infantry companies will have communication assets down to the fire team level. With improved fuses and nearly automatic rates of fire that can be achieved with today’s weapons, you wouldn’t need the hours and hours of shelling they used during World War II landings.

In the 1940s, 5-inch guns were almost considered an afterthought. destroyers and cruisers now only come equipped with one or two 5-inch main guns. If we start talking about the B-52, things get even crazier.) Additionally, naval gun fire support has come a long way since the 1940s. (Keep in mind, the F-15 is a fighter/bomber, not a dedicated bomber. I once heard that a single F-15 packs as much firepower as an entire squadron of World War II–era bombers when you take into account explosive weight and the percentage of ordnance you can get on target. The most important difference between 1944 and today would be in the realm of guided munitions. Marine Corps three combat tours, three years as an embassy guard and detachment commander:

This question originally appeared on Quora.Īnswer by Paul Frick, former infantry staff sergeant, U.S.

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