'Sapper'

I think service should be voluntary until that alone doesn't fill the need. When volunteers can't cover it, then the draft is perfectly fine. I agree that those that are pacifist or conscientious objectors should be allowed to fulfil non combat roles. I personally don't want to be in a foxhole next to someone who isn't there to fight, and believe that anyone else on the line would have the same opinion. With that being said, anyone who fails to answer the call and flees their country should have their citizenship revoked for life and not be allowed back in for any reason. I know it sounds harsh, but especially in an existential conflict like this one I think it is fitting. It is your choice to flee, but in doing so you should no longer get to identify with that country or nationality. It is an insult to all of those that stay and suffer, whether in the military or not, for that person to continue to have the rights of the others without shouldering the responsibility.
As the CPT said, there seems to be a disconnect between rights and responsibilities in a lot of nations nowadays. Freedom isn't free and those rights come with a price tag from time to time. 

I'll be in Chiba Monday or Tuesday.
I'm very excited to find out if the sky above the port is the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. 

My favorite sentence of that chapter is "In Heathrow a vast chunk of memory detached itself from a blank bowl of airport sky and fell on him." Gibson is a damned master of English language.

They sent a Slamhound on Turner's trail in New Delhi, slotted it to his pheromones and the color of his hair. It caught up with him on a street called Chandni Chauk and came scrambling for his rented BMW - Its core was a kilogram of recrystallized hexogene and flaked TNT.

So what do you need to counter drones? A weapon, radar and some computer?
We've seen Gepards but also dudes with machine guns being reasonably effective against Shaheeds and stuff, and while FPVs are much smaller targets, I wonder why has nobody built some anti-drone system which could be just machine gun connected to some servos and a computer and a radar. Like C-RAM but scaled from enormous gun to ... maybe even a rifle.
Then you could plop it somewhere and have it work. For bonus points, put it on UGV and drive it around. We've already seen UGV with a machine gun, so it's just missing a radar.
I guess that would still cost more than a drone and you could swarm it with many drones, but it's far better in cost effectiveness to using a traditional air defense system or nothing.
As for hunter / counter drones, that is tricky - I don't know if the drone cameras are good enough to see other drones at a good distance. If not, then the counter drone would also need a radar and enough intelligence to recognize other drones from radar signature, and that's probably more expensive than normal drone.

The only problem people have is a lack of communication. That's it. Other developers share their progress, we're lucky if we get more than one update. 

That's some pretty fancy shooting though, even if the animation looks bizarre.

A good rebuttal of RU's alternate world view by a Polish minister at the UN
 

Yes, my memory is of crates of small bottles left outside the back door of the school.  You were lucky if you got one of the bottles that the birds hadn't already opened by pecking the foil caps.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/26/europe/sweden-nato-accession-hungary-intl/index.html
Sweden is finally in NATO 

Don't really see the point of the Patton quote posting. Far right people love to post another quote of his that "we fought the wrong enemy", implying that he would rather have allied with the nazis. Guy was a piece of work. In his own words, quoted in Peter Harts The Last Battle, during the American offensive in 1918, Patton thought he killed an American soldier who was shell  shocked, hitting him over the head. Somehow this anecdotal admission of possible manslaughter/murder has been completely forgotten despite the scandal in WW2 when Patton simply slapped a soldier.  This wasn't the only time Patton would inflict violence against soldiers of his own country who fought in the first war, he helped put down with force the Bonus Army that marched to DC to get the benefits they were owed. 
Patton was no hero and isn't worth celebrating.

He's frustrated, understandably.  No reason to accuse him of right-wing talking points as if he is spouting Tuckerisms. 
This thread tends to get way over dramatic too often.

While I am not in favor of it, I can understand the reasoning well.
The European arms industry is structured completely differently than the American one.  
They cannot be ordered to increase production, they rely entirely on orders. 

It's not slumbering.
It's swallowing fistsfull of pentobarbital, and washing them down with vodka.

I am wondering if the fact that the guy has those tattoos and the fact he has a a black eye and nose knocked sideways are entirely coincidental.

NLAW, the hero of first phase of the war, still in use
 

To be honest, I find myself somewhat underwhelmed by this expansion. The content I have tried so far is fine, but it falls short of expectations in terms of scale.
What it is missing is that "big thing" that gets you excited about it. In Fire and Rubble that was the Volkssturm stuff, which was completely new to CM and really unique. Downfall is a big content upgrade to Final Blitzkrieg, but in terms of the Combat Mission series as a whole, it does not actually add that much new stuff, with most of the formations and assets being ported over from other game families. Sure, the Volkssturm guys are still cool, but certainly not new anymore and frankly, I find it a bit weird that Downfall leans so heavily on those scenario and campaign wise, considering that they tended to surrender or go home on the western front, compared to the east.
Obviously there is not much new stuff you can realistically do with the Germans, but if you had asked me about this module before it came out, I would have bet that the new "big thing" was amphibious vehicles and river crossings, the capability of which exists in the engine, with various LVTs, maybe footbridges and campaigns at Walcheren and during Operation Varsity to use these new systems. That would have been cool and exciting and, at least to me, the obvious direction for the game to take. All of this is completely absent though. I guess the Schwimmwagen was added, but no allied amphibious gear? This timeframe would also be perfect for adding Commandos and Rangers (which already exist in Italy BTW).
There are the new super late war vehicles and weapons like the Pershing and Comet, but even in that area there is lots of unused potential that would have made the module feel way more unique and interesting. Just from the top of my head: Sherman Tulips, Sherman Crocodiles with fuel trailers (used at Juelich, another river crossing), Super Pershing... personally I am more of an infantry guy, so for those few of us: Why not add M1 Carbines modified for full auto capability, a common field modification, with kits being shipped officially?
I could even think of some more German stuff that could be used to spice those up a bit, like the PAW-600 AT gun that was actually used at the Aller against British forces. In a similar vain, heavy AA gun formations that the allies overran (anti bomber positions), 10.5cm, 12.8cm AA guns... Maybe the 8.8cm improvised AT guns made from unused Jagdpanther guns, used at the "Düren belt"? And of course, since the MP40 was being phased out of production, some Beretta M38/42 for the Volksgrenadiers.
Anyway, my point is, the module feels light on exciting new content and like more could have been done with the scenario.

My thoughts were pretty much along the same line. I shall have to contend myself with getting my Limey arse kicked in the Reichswald. 
I've already put together a new music mod "Jocks in the Wald".

I am content to wait and see.

Using "their" in a sentence like that has been around for decades, possibly over a century.  Its not some new development. And not exactly on topic either.

Just to jump in here in as a Cold War infantryman - we did extensive FIBUA training at various specialised training ranges over the years.
We trained to go in through the roof, the doors, windows, mouseholes, not to go in at all but to bypass, to call in air support, to call in armour support, to blow the place up and if I've missed any options we also trained for them. 
P

I think you may be the one that is misunderstood slysniper. I think Frank has handled it admirably. He was just trying to set the record straight that what he is offering was never going to be payware.
He is offering to give us all something for free that has cost him many hours of research and dedication, and you have seen fit to have a dig at him?
 
I really don't see the need or point in your post to be honest

Ok, that's a fair point. A vehicle pack with some mine clearing equipment would be nice.

I think having Engineers be able to deactivate spotted IED's would be a great feature.

Could someone please explain to me how recruiting in the UK and US relates to the current conflict in Ukraine?  
I think we have spent enough time on this.  Now if someone did a study on how hamster behavior was affecting recruiting in Russia and Ukraine, I would be all for it, but this discussion is simply a distraction bordering on ideological/political sniping.