Combat too difficult? Are we playing the same game?
(I don't have windows, so I haven't tried the mod. My comments apply to vanilla LCS.)
If you mean being violent from the very beginning, maybe; that's usually not my approach. But I find that once I have a good squad together, they're pretty invincible. A competent rifle user with an automatic tends to kill in one hit, or at least incapacitate. On the unlucky occasions an enemy gets a shot off, armor mostly saves the day. In any case, site CCS are usually in groups smaller than 6, and raiding parties can be mass-gunned with supporting fire (when I get tired of dodging raids, I recruit 20 or so liberals with decent Agi, give them rifles, and train them a bit... makes raids pretty trivial).
Initiative isn't necessarily the right fix; better dodge/armor for higher-level enemies, restrictions on supporting fire, and stronger CCS encounters at later sites might do the trick. But being able to take first strike for granted seems pretty unrealistic. Maybe stealth and disguise could give bonuses? Stealth in particular seems to square well with real-life combat.
If early combat is too hard, maybe some easier sites for training would help? But really, having a violent approach be dangerous and difficult without extensive preparation seems pretty appropriate.
Also, Carlos: Thank you for contributing to LCS! I'm highly confident that Jboy and Cheedows also appreciate the effort, even if they don't like this change.