Glum,
It costs far fewer lives to merely find the bad guys at a distance and call in LOTS and LOTS of heavy things that go BOOM! There is no getting away from the need for brave men with rifles to close with and destroy the enemy but it sures makes their job much, much easier and safer if you weed out as many as you can before the Infantry get to rifle range of the Oppos.
I prefer the concept of spending Artillery, Bombs, Rockets, Missiles, and Bullets rather than lives, thank you.