Who knows what kind of nonlethal weapons are available or in the works that can render weapons useless or people out of commission in some way?
I have been called naive on another board for suggesting that nonlethal weapons could theoretically substitute for lethal weapons in combat situations and work just as effectively.
-Kris
PS It occurs to me I forgot to search this subject on these boards, so I’ll do that, but meanwhile, feel free to answer…
Just on the off-chance that I know what you’re talking about, I’ll suggest “wads of bubble gum stuffed into the chambers of a revolver” as an example of a non-lethal weapon that can render a lethal weapon useless.
And I will suggest a feather pillow held over the face as an example of a non-lethal weapon that can render a person out of commission.
Sorry, I can’t visualize either of these non-lethal weapons being used in combat situations–at least, not this side of a Jackie Chan movie.
Theoretically they could replace standard weapons. That’s why they only exist in theory. Many years and countless amounts of money have been spent actually trying to develop something viable even for civilian use by cops, much less military combat, and you can see how far that has gotten. What exactly do you suggest as a non-lethal substitute?
War is hell and combat’s a bitch. That’s why it’s combat and not flag football or tag.
I think he may be talking about things that can stun or disorient troops without whacking them permanently. Or possibly things that can render their weapons inoperative.
Say you can generate a nuclear blast electromagnetic pulse that zonks the enemy fleets’s electronics and, while they’re dead in the water you zoom in with you diesel choppers and prop dive bombers with their hydraulic controls and gas fired machine guns and iron bombs and…oh, wait, he said non-lethal.
I just went and bought a book by a US military expert called “Non Lethal Weapons - the Future of Combat in the 21st century” or something like that (it was an impulse buy, I wasn’t paying much attention 
) so I’ll get back to you on that…
But I’ve heard of such things as some kind of ultrasound device that can cause people to lose all orientation, special explosives that release a substance that engulfs everything in some kind of sticky gunk where they can’t move, paired lasers carrying electrical current which can make people freeze in place, stuff like that.
Also, more conventionally, I was thinking tranquilizers, tazers, specialized netting, nonlethal chemicals, things like that…
-Kris
Ringo… that would work. Just like the already developed electronic disrupters, ultrasonic jobs, high intensity lights, etc. that have been looked at. As soon as they are brought to bear, the same bleeding hearts that want non-lethal weapons start inquiring about human rights, long term effects, want the FDA, AMA and the Boy Scouts to do studies on them, look at the cost and eventually decide that bullets are okay after all, at least for the next year. It’s a vicious circle that never ends. Lots of people want non-lethal, but none have ideas.
Kris, noble concepts, yet they’ve been tried and found lacking. And again, costly even if they were effective.
Plus there is one small problem with non lethal. People expect the US to be the “trend-setters” with waging war in a nice, humane manner. Unfortunately, most of the bad guys don’t feel the same. Ask yourself this. Could you, in clear conscience, send people to battle with gummy guns and tranquilizer darts when the bad guys are using high explosives, bullets, mines, grenades, etc? Would you be willing to explain to parents, wives, girl/guyfriends, why they were killed while they were trying wage a “nice” war?
Something to think about.
Actually, NLWs are very much designed to complement conventional weapons. From the pitch I heard, those who develop and broker them emphasize that they are NOT a substitute for conventional weapons. The pitch I refer to came this past August from someone who wanted us to use his NLWs in a military exercise.
For instance, you could have a NLW that’s like a huge microwave. If you’re in the beam, it’s so painful it’s debilitating. Once you’re out of the beam, you’re ok. But you’d never want to give a platoon these weapons without also giving them real firepower. What it comes down to is that militaries are designed to kill, not temporarily paralyze. So, I’d have to side with your other board on this one. You could never have an effective fighting force using only NLWs.