A former submariner on why Trump's take on military comms is wrong.

A day or so a go Donald Trump suggested using curriers or messengers for military communications believing to be more secure, safer. Total wrong.

I was not a ground pounder, I was a submariner. What I know of the battlefield is from studying history and talking to veterans. What I learned is stuff happens quick and the big picture changes rapidly requiring fast and accurate communications in order to adapt to a changing battlefield.

Though I am not a battlefield soldier As as Submarine sailor I did learn the importance of fast accurate communications in a fight. What battle did I fight? No military engagement because if the Subs I served on used their weapons you nor I would be hear. Our main weapon was the Trident missile whose use would mean everyone was going to have a bad day. No, the battles we trained for the most were what we referred to as casualties: fire, flooding, nuclear reactor problems, or something involving the missiles or torpedoes. These and some other incidence can be deadly on a submarine.
Take a fire for example. Of all the casualties that can happen on a submarine this is probably the most terrifying. There really is nowhere to run on a submarine and there is no fire department. The crew is the fire department, we have to fight the fire. Imagine being in your home not being able to leave with your only option to fight the fire or die trapped inside. Yes, on a submarine you can seal compartments to limit the spread of a fire, we do that, but every compartment has equipment vital to the subs operation and survival. The forward compartment is normally where control of the submarine takes place, officers quarters, galley and for Trident submarines, torpedoes. Can't just seal that off and let it burn out because we would lose control of the sub, ability to surface, ventilate the ship on the surface, our back up power and Torpedoes don't like fire.
The missile compartment can't be just sealed to let the fire to burn out because, well, missiles hate fire too not to mention we lose atmospheric processing equipment.
The engineering compartment or the reactor compartments. The names pretty much tells you why you can't just let fire burn there.

Part of the communications on a submarine is called sound powered phones. They use crystals to change sound waves into electricity then back to sound on the other end without using external power. This system is simple and reliable but can break , though it rarely does. Without the system we would have to use messengers, sometimes we still do if it is too loud. Now damage control direction takes place in control unless that is where the casualty is. So if the fire is in engineering the messenger has to go from the aft end of the ship to the forward part. Sounds simple? No because the engineering compartment would probably be filled with smoke, you will be wearing an emergency breathing apparatus you will keep having to plug into the EAB air header, get a big breath, disconnect, head forward far as you can, find an EAB connection plug in take a breath all this when visibility is zero. Luckily there are non skid pads you can feel under your feet that indicate a EAB connection is overhead or nearby. Finally you reach control, make your report, and are sent back with the reply repeating the same process all the way back. Now in that time the situation can change. The fire could be extinguished, which is good, or the fire has spread and you need more men to fight the bigger fire.
If you have sound powered phones working the person in charge at the scene will tell the phone talker the situation and what other resources maybe be required, the phone guy then uses the phones to relay the message to control who takes the information and acts accordingly the replies over the phones. Fast, more and accurate information that helps in fighting the fire and saving the ship.
Yes, messengers work but when time and accurate information is of the essence good comm systems are the way to go.
Trump wants to set us back 100 years behind our adversaries. Hell no!