An American joint force that lacks the ground combat power to prosecute close combat must ultimately stand by and allow the enemy to make long-range engagement all but irrelevant.

一支缺少地面战斗部队从事近距离作战的美国联合作战力量，必须始终准备着并等待敌人形成远程作战的条件，但这种想法是不切实际的。

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We must not, however, take counsel of our fears and abandon or weaken the close-combat component of the joint force.

但是，我们决不能让我们的恐惧占据上风而因此放弃或者是削弱联合作战力量的近距离作战基础。

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It is the close combat capability of the joint force that forces the enemy to mass and thus become vulnerable to long-range fires.

它是联合作战力量的近战能力，能迫使敌人集结并因此成为远程火力容易打击的目标。

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Miller distinguished himself by extraordinary acts of heroism while serving as the weapons sergeant in Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3312, Special Operations Task Force 33, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan, during combat operations against an armed enemy in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on January 25th, 2008.

WHITEHOUSE: Medal of Honor for Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller

Thus, what looks like a modest cut to the federal budget results in rapid erosion of combat skills across the joint force.

FORBES: Move up http://i.forbesimg.com t Move down

For instance, the Defense Business Board found last year that 40 percent of the 1.4 million active-duty military personnel in the joint force had never deployed for combat, and an additional 30 percent had only deployed once.

FORBES: Pentagon Should Cut Bloated Head Count, Not Weapons Programs