One hundred men will try today...
On the feasibility of the Democrat promise to "double America's Special Forces"
By Jeff Emanuel Posted in Featured Stories | Military Roundtable — Comments (32) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
[Editor's note] The topic of RedState's Military Roundtable for this week and next will be the feasibility of the Democrat promise to "double the number of Special Forces and add more spies" as a way to guarantee the capture of Osama bin Laden and a victory in the War on Terror.
This week, in Part I, we will explore the history of America's Special Operations Forces (SOF), define terms, and review US SOF units and capabilities.
Next week, in Part II, we will investigate more in depth just what it is that makes them elite, or "Special," review the extensive training, cost, and requirements, and examine the overall feasibility of the proposition to quickly and effectively double these forces.
"Special Operations," as defined by the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), are:
Operations conducted by specially trained, equipped and organized Department of Defense forces against strategic or tactical targets in pursuit of national military, political, economic or psychological objectives. These operations may be conducted during periods of peace or hostilities. They may support conventional operations, or they may be undertaken independently when the use of conventional forces is either inappropriate or infeasible.
Special Operations Forces have been defined as:
military units which are formed and trained to conduct missions involving unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, direct action and foreign internal defense. SOF teams typically comprise relatively small groups of highly-trained personnel who are armed and supplied with specialized equipment, and operate on principles of self-sufficiency, stealth, speed and close teamwork.
The history of American Special Operations extends back into the murky depths of colonial history, when "Rogers' Rangers" stalked the enemy in wood and swamp during the 18th century French and Indian War. As the US Army Special Operatons Command (USASOC) institute of heraldry tells it:
Read on...
[Named] after their commander Maj. Robert Rogers, they were the first of America's unconventional forces. Though the era they lived in was simpler than the present age, the skills necessary to become an elite soldier were the same.Rogers' Rangers fought in terrain that normal men shunned. They crept up on unsuspecting foes with the stealth of Indians; in fact they modeled their tactics on those of the native Americans. "Move fast and hit hard," and "don't forget nothing", Rogers told his men, and they obeyed, thereby setting the standards for generations to follow.
The tradition of a select few men waging unconventional warfare continued just over a decade later in the American Revolution, with the "Swamp Fox," Francis Marion, whose men "harassed the British with a success out of all proportion to their small numbers."
In the Civil War, John Singleton Mosby, the "Grey Ghost," formed "Mosby's Rangers," a band of Confederate raiders who "became the terror of Union generals, cutting off communications and supplies behind the lines."
But, USASOC continues, "it was during World War II that special operations troops finally left the shadowy peripheries and came into their own. In quick succession the public soon knew the names of such units as" the Devil's Brigade, which earned its name through its repeated success at close-quarter combat against numerically-superior forces, Darby's Rangers, who spawned the motto "If it's impossible, let the Rangers do it" with their scaling of the Pointe du Hoc cliffs in the D-Day invasion, and Merrill's Marauders, who, though overwhelmingly outnumbered by opposing Japanese forces, advanced 750 miles across Burma on foot, fighting five major engagements, and losing 700 of their 2,000 men (679 of the remaining required hospitalization). "Their philosophy was simple: shock the enemy with quick strikes and deep thrusts, leaving him paralyzed and confused."
At the same time, "Wild Bill" Donovan, a WWI Medal of Honor recipient, was forming the Office of Special Services, which practiced "a new kind of special operations, taking a bit of the Swamp Fox and a bit of Mosby, and combining it with new techniques of airborne and guerrilla fighting" to fulfill the dual mission of collecting intelligence and waging secret operations behind enemy lines. The primary operation of the OSS in Europe was called the Jedburgh mission, which consisted of dropping three-man teams into France, Belgium and Holland, where they trained partisan resistance movements and conducted guerrilla operations against the Germans in preparation for the D-Day invasion -- the forerunner to the Foreign Internal Defense mission of today's Special Forces.
The OSS bequeathed two giants of American organization. According to USASOC heraldry:
From its intelligence operations came the nucleus of men and techniques that would give birth to the Central Intelligence Agency on Sept. 18, 1947.From the guerrilla operations of the O.S.S. came the nucleus of men and techniques that would give birth to Special Forces (more popularly known as the Green Berets) on June 19, 1952.
With that, the Army's Special Forces were born. To clear up a common misconception: "Special Forces" is a term as misused -- and overused -- as the word "inconceivable" in the film The Princess Bride. In reality, Special Forces is the specific title for one group of men. These special operators, also known as the "green berets," are members of the U.S. Army who are assigned to Special Forces Groups around the country (and the world), and who wear the famous "green beret," which they have earned by successfully completing the grueling 12 to 24-month Special Forces Qualification Course, or SFQC.
The mission of the Special Forces (motto: "De Oppresso Liber"), according to USASOC, is:
to plan, prepare for, and when directed, deploy to conduct unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense [training foreign miltary and resistance forces], special reconnaissance and direct actions in support of U.S. national policy objectives within designated areas of responsibility.The units continually train to conduct unconventional warfare in any of its forms -- Guerrilla Warfare, Evasion and Escape, Subversion, and Sabotage. The soldiers are also schooled in direct action operations and special reconnaissance.
Approximately 1,400 soldiers are assigned to each group. The 12-man "A" Team is the key operating element of the Special Forces Group (SFG).
Led by Fort Campbell, KY's 5th SFG, the Special Forces were active for fourteen years in Vietnam, from original insertion in June of 1956 to train a cadre of indigenous Vietnamese Special Forces teams, through the tasks of fighting in remote areas of Vietnam, the training thousands of Vietnam's ethnic tribesmen in the techniques of modern warfare, and the winning of civilian hearts and minds through building schools, hospitals and government buildings, providing medical care, and dredging canals, to their final exit in March of 1971 (though some Special Forces soldiers continued to serve in various covert missions as part of the Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) and other successor units.) During this time,
back home in America, a confused public searching for heroes in a strange and unfamiliar war quickly latched onto the Special Forces. John Wayne made a movie about them, Barry Sadler had a number-one hit song about them, and the green beret took its place alongside the coonskin cap and cowboy hat as one of America's mythic pieces of apparel. [fr. USASOC]
The field endured a lull in the post-Vietnam era, but were ramped up again during the Central American counter-guerrilla operations of the Reagan years, and have been used extensively in every conflict since, including the Gulf War, in which they:
conducted deep reconnaissance, performed direct action missions, helped rescue downed pilots, supported the Kuwaiti resistance and trained coalition units. SF Teams performed important intelligence collection missions behind the lines and served as our first line of defense as they patrolled the borders as part of combined reconnaissance teams with the Saudis. Other teams reconstituted the Kuwaiti army and trained them, and the other coalition partners, in small unit tactics, NBC operations, close air support, minefield breaching, urban combat and other subjects. During the ground war, 109 SF teams accompanied virtually the entire range of forces into battle.
The Special Forces continue to perform classified missions around the world, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army Special Operations also includes the modern Rangers (motto: "Rangers Lead the Way"), descended from Marion, Mosby, and Darby. According to USASOC,
Rangers are the masters of special light infantry operations. These include attacks to temporarily seize and secure key objectives and other light infantry operations requiring unique capabilities. Like their Special Forces counterparts, Rangers can infiltrate an area by land, by sea or by air.
The Rangers have had a sporadic history since their 1942 founding, being deactivated from 1945 to 1950, when they were reinstated for use in the Korean conflict. By the time they were deactivated again, the Rangers "had fought almost every type of battle imaginable. They made combat jumps, river crossings, behind-the-line raids and conventional assaults."
The Rangers were raised up again in the late 1960s to perform the Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) mission, penetrating the jungles far from regular American units, watching the enemy, and gathering strategic intelligence on enemy strengths, communication lines and unit movements
After Vietnam, the Rangers were permanized into the 75th Ranger Regiment. They led the 1983 assault on Grenada and the 1989 assault on Panama, both times jumping from 500 feet with Air Force Special Tactics personnel to take an airfield and pave the way for the follow-on assault by the conventional 82nd Airborne Division. They also performed classified tasks in the Gulf War, and continue to do so now in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other combat zones.
The story "Blackhawk Down" was centered on the special operational Task Force Ranger, and represents very well the heart and skill of these men -- as well as the danger inherent in their mission.
USASOC also owns an Aviation unit, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), nicknamed "The Night Stalkers" (motto: "Night Stalkers don't quit"), which is a unique organization that:
provides support to Special Operations Forces on a worldwide basis with three types of modified helicopters.The capabilities of the aviation units include inserting, resupplying and extracting U.S. and Allied SOF personnel. They also assist in SOF Search and Rescue, and Escape and Evasion activities. In addition to general aviation support to the SOF community, these units provide airborne command and control, and fire support.
The 160th was formed in 1980, after the disaster of Desert One in Iran, from the best Army aviators Fort Campbell, KY had to offer.
The training tempo of TF 160 was many times higher than any other aviation unit in Army history. This was not accomplished without a price, however. From its inception in 1980 until October 1983, 9 helicopter crashes resulted in 21 deaths and numerous injuries. A Blue Ribbon panel in October 1983 almost abolished the unit because of its high accident rate.
However, after the standards for entry were raised, the problem was brought under control and TF 160 has since participated in a host of classified missions. In the Gulf War, the 160th performed Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) and border penetration missions to deliver Special Forces teams deep into enemy territory, and to extract personnel. In Somalia in 1993, TF 160 suffered numerous casualties as part of their heroic support of the Rangers on the ground, and they have participated in the War on Terror in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere.
The Navy's operators, comprised of SEAL (SEa, Air, Land) teams, Special Boat Units, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal units, fall under the Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC), which:
is committed to combating the global terrorist threats. In addition to being experts in special reconnaissance and direct action missions, the skill sets needed to combat terrorism; NSW is postured to fight a dispersed enemy on their turf. NSW forces can operate from forward-deployed Navy ships, submarines and aviation mobility platforms as well as overseas bases and its own overseas units.
According to NSWC, the SEALs can trace their origins to the the Scouts and Raiders, Naval Combat Demolition Units, Office of Strategic Services Operational Swimmers, Underwater Demolition Teams, and Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons of World War II, which were formed in large part:
to meet the need for a beach reconnaissance force to identify and reconnoiter the objective beach, maintain a position on the designated beach prior to a landing and guide the assault waves to the landing beach.
NSWC continues:
Some of the earliest World War II predecessors of the SEALs were the Operational Swimmers of the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS. Many current SEAL missions were first assigned to them.
On 23 November 1943, the U. S. Marine landing on Tarawa Atoll emphasized the need for hydrographic reconnaissance and underwater demolition of obstacles prior to any amphibious landing.
After Tarawa, 30 officers and 150 enlisted men were moved to Waimanalo Amphibious Training Base to form the nucleus of a demolition training program. This group became the first Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs).
In the Korean conflict, UDTs successfully conducted demolition raids on railroad tunnels and bridges along the Korean coast, supported mine-clearing operations, conducted beach and river reconnaissance, and infiltrated guerrillas behind the lines from sea.
In 1962, the first SEAL teams (motto: "The only easy day was yesterday") were established. Formed entirely with personnel from Underwater Demolition Teams, the SEALs mission was to conduct counter guerilla warfare and clandestine operations in maritime and riverine environments. They performed these missions, as well direct action and training nationals, in Vietnam until leaving in March of 1973.
SEALs have participated in every major American military operation -- and many more minor, classified operations -- since Vietnam. Most recently, NSWC forces have been on the ground in Afghanistan, where they carried out more than 75 special reconnaissance and direct action missions and conducted Leadership Interdiction Operations in the search for terrorists trying to escape by sea-going vessels, and in Iraq, where the largest number of operators in NSWC history was employed to conduct such missions as capturing high value targets, securing off-shore gas and oil terminals, and raiding suspected chemical, biological and radiological sites.
The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) is home to ground and air-based Special Operations forces, as well. The USAF has aircraft, both fixed and rotary-winged, which deliver personnel and equipment to any necessary location, including austere and combat environments. This fact is not surprising. What does surprise some is the fact that the Air Force has its own ground combat special operators, as well.
The origin of the USAF's special operations rescue forces, known as Pararescue, began in 1943,
when 21 persons bailed out of a disabled C-46 over an uncharted jungle near the China-Burma border. So remote was the crash site that the only means of getting help to the survivors was by paradrop. Lieutenant Colonel Don Fleckinger and two medical corpsmen volunteered for the assignment. This paradrop of medical corpsmen was the seed from which the concept of Pararescue was born. For a month these men, aided by natives, cared for the injured until the party was brought to safety. News commentator Eric Severeid was one of the men to survive this ordeal. He later wrote of the men who risked their lives to save his: "Gallant is a precious word; they deserve it."
The specialty came into its own as the fabled "feet of the Jolly Green Giant" in Vietnam, as, daily, Pararescuemen volunteered to ride a rescue hoist cable into the Vietnamese jungle to aid wounded infantrymen and injured pilots, whose aircraft had been shot down.
Air Force Pararescuemen, or "PJs" (motto: "That Others May Live") are trained as:
personnel recovery specialists with emergency medical capabilities in peacetime and combat environments. They deploy by air-land-sea tactics into forward, non-permissive environments and provide the trauma medical care for injured personnel and may act as aircrew gunners and/or scanner on both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. They participate in search and rescue (SAR), combat search and rescue (CSAR), recovery support for NASA and conduct other operations as appropriate.
PJs deploy with every branch of service's SOF units. They were members of the assault forces on Grenada and Panama, and in Mogadishu in 1993, after two Army helicopters were shot down, PJs responded to the scene to assist survivors and treat the wounded. Since then, PJs have been active in every major military operation, as well as performing civilian rescue operations, such as hurricane Katrina evacuation.
Originating with the Pathfinders in WWII, Air Force Combat Control Teams ("CCT") (motto: "First There"):
employ by air-land-sea tactics into forward, non-permissive environments to establish assault zones with an Air Traffic Control (ATC) capability. The assault zone is either a drop zone (for parachute operations), a landing zone (for fixed wing or helicopter operations), or an extraction zone (for low altitude re-supply). CCT also establishes recovery zones (for surface to air recovery of personnel or equipment), and ground based fire control for AC-130 gunship operations. In addition, CCT provides vital command and control, surveying capabilities, limited weather observations and are qualified in demolition's to clear obstructions and hazards.
The advent of the Air Force as a separate branch of service saw the role of the Pathfinder teams, which had been created to jump into a drop zone ahead of time to set up navigation aids and guide the inbound Airborne force to its objective, given to the new service. This was finalized in 1953, when the 10th SFG "refused to comply with directives that incorporated CCT into their joint tactical missions. Although SF had no objection to controllers working drop zones and participating in practice jumps, they did not want CCT personnel integrating into their missions."
The Air Force cut off aerial training support to the Army until they backed down, and began integrating CCT. Like the PJs, Combat Control came into its own in Vietnam -- particularly with the seige of Khe Sanh in 1968. For the 77 days of the siege, CCT was on site providing an invaluable service, working resupply drops and airlands. According to AFSOC:
CCT was directly responsible for 8000 tons of cargo being delivered to the surrounded Marine camp.The mission at Khe Sanh verified to command level leaders that CCT was the force of choice for Air Traffic Control in a combat environment. Five silver stars and eight purple hearts reflected the bravery but the mission effectiveness silenced most critics.
Through out the war in Southeast Asia, Combat Controllers played a crucial role. Due to their special skills and adaptability, Controllers continued to be a vital part of the war effort right up to the fall and evacuation of the capital cities of South Vietnam and Cambodia. True to the motto "First In, Last Out," a Combat Controller was the last American off the US embassy rooftop in Saigon April 30, 1975.
Combat Controllers were involved in Desert One, Grenada, Panama (where two CCTs were inserted by helicopter to control the Ranger airdrop, and others were attached to Special Forces A-Teams), the Gulf War, Mogadishu, and Afghanistan and Iraq.
And the final USAF special operators. The Forward Air Control mission -- guiding aircraft and coordinating strikes in combat environments, behind enemy lines, and in close proximity to friendlies -- dates back to World War II, and came into its own in Vietnam, as FACs moved out of cockpits and onto the ground, attached to maneuver units, along with an enlisted ROMAD (Radio Operator Maintainer and Driver).
After Panama, these enlisted men were promted in duties to be airstrike controllers themselves, both integrated with sister-service SOF and as teams of their own. Thus were born the TACPs, or Tactical Air Control Parties (motto: "The strong shall stand, the weak will fall by the wayside")
A constantly evolving careerfield. the TACP progressed from the Gulf War, through Mogadishu, where a two-man TACP was involved but underutilized, to full use in the War on Terror controlling airstrikes in Afghanistan and Iraq. The modern TACP has become a team of two or more USAF Tactical Air Controllers, sometimes including an Air Liaison Officer (always a qualified aviator), which is assigned to a U.S. Army combat maneuver unit, either conventional or special operational, to advise ground commanders on the best use of air power, establish and maintain command and control communications, control air traffic, act as an inter-service liaison, control naval gunfire, and provide precision terminal attack guidance of U.S. and coalition close air support and other air-to-ground aircraft.
Along with being assigned to all conventional Army combat units, TACP airmen are also attached to Special Forces, Navy SEAL, and Army Ranger, as well as Joint Special Operations Command units and multi-national Special Operations task forces, primarily as communications experts and precision airstrike controllers.
The US Marine Corps, though it has long had Force Recon and Expeditonary Unit forces, only became a member of the US Special Operations Command in February of this year. Their integration, both in training and on missions, will further round out the capabilities and interservice operability of America's diverse Special Operations Forces, whose demand is growing greater all the time in this age of global terror.
Next week, selection, requirements, and an exploration of the (in)feasibility of immediately "doubling Special Forces" and winning the War on Terror.
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They will drop the qualifications for special forces to the point where they won't be special. Then it will be easy to double the number.
officially not exist in this breakdown? Just curious.
...don't know what you're talking about. And I've used up less than half a decade of the 70-year nondisclosure agreement I once signed.
It is part of Army Special Forces, the official name is 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta.
If you google and restrict your search to only .mil sites, so you can be sure it isn't and OPSEC violation, you get quite a few hits.
I can speak to neither its accuracy nor whether everything Bowden wrote was authorized for disclosure, but he does discuss there the role of Delta in the Battle of Mogadishu.
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill
IIRC, by Somalia Delta had been officially acknowledged.
One thing Bowden does incredibly well in Blackhawk Down -- and he does a lot extremely well in that book -- is examine the sociology of Delta, the Ranger Regiment, 160th SOAR, and line infantry and how they look at each other and how the pecking order can be a detriment to combat success.
...when you don't understand why they exist.
In this instance, they want to use Spec. Forces as police, walking a beat in the hills of Waziristan looking for a "criminal" named Usama bin Laden. While we can ask them to do point reconniassance and make an extraction, it's the CIA's job to "find" him.
You know what Hillary did when she and bill went down to South Africa? When they toured the slums and refugee towns, she asked how large South Africa's army was.
(these are not quotes, but rather the gist of what was said)
"About 40,000 ma'am," replied the officer with the Football (the nuclear codes).
"Well, why aren't they here building housing projects and improving sanitation?"
"Well, ma'am, that's not what they are there for," replied the Air Force Colonel.
"Well," she retored, "maybe they should be."
So, let me get this straight. Instead of training to keep militants out of the country, preventing invasion by neighbors (not very likely I'll grant you) and protecting the wildlife refuges from poachers, the military should be building housing projects? Give. Me. A. Break.
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."
--Thomas Jefferson
about the dems.
"It's difficult to plan a military...
when you don't understand they exist."
Amen and amen!
I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life.-Ronald Reagan
Maybe they can use these guys instead.
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill
Am I missing something? As I understand it, the "reviled" Rumsfeld doctrine proposes that future wars are to be fought by smaller more mobile units and special operations forces with the conventional miltiary in support, to permit US forces to criple the enemy combat capability without destroying the country's physical infrustructure by using assault units with a smaller footprint. Such a change in emphasis is bound to lead to an increase in numbers if not on the ground then at least in support.
Now it sounded to me like the democrats flat out opposed this idea last spring. The term ludicrous comes to mind. Today they want to usurp it? Headline: Dem's seek to prove their stenght on defence by adopting Rumsfeld doctrine as core principle at national convention. That should go over well with the netroots....
Or did I misunderstand the gist of the Rumfeld doctrine? What am I missing?
Support the Mission - Honor the troops
Exsolvo Orbis Terrarum
This isn't a brand new idea - Kerry pushed it in '04.
More Special Forces and Special Operations units of the kinds detailed above does sound to me like a good idea; I assume where Jeff is going with this is that it's just not feasible to find and train enough qualified people to just double the size in one stroke. But there may also be practical geo-political issues with how many Special Ops troops can be kept in the field at one time without attracting too much attention.
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill
FYI, the motto of the 75th Ranger Regiment is "Sua Sponte" not "Rangers Lead the Way"
...I was going for the broadest representation possible, rather than individual units. Obviously 160 SOAR was an exception, though.
Honestly, I went to RIP in December of '02 but was cycled out due to coming in 15 minutes late past the time hack on a land nav course. Was supposed to go to 1st Bat, but, unfortunately I got to finish my extended contract at 1st Coscom at Bragg (referred to as the "Leaning Sh@#house" to most).
especially dead reckoning is very tough and if you make a mistake it's really hard to fix it. I guessed my way through a dead reckoning course to pass when I realized I couldn't make the points in the alloted time.
Yeah, at Cole Range for RIP the land nav was at night so there was really no "reckoning" at all, albeit for the 3 meters you could see in front of you with a red lense flashlight.
Funny though, I got pretty good at land nav and dead reckoning during my time in service and I still can't find my way around a grocery store!
It sets back your night vision. Use the compass, the stars if they're there for a general directional guide, and feel your way through for the rest.
you can always tell when the patrol leader is lost because he'll be under a poncho with a flashlight and a map doing a map check even though its as dark as the inside of a cow.
De Opresso Liber
I'm not the only one prone to get lost among the street addresses.
Put me in the bush, tho, and I am gone. For some reason I've always been able to get 'there and back' before getting lost amongst the trees.
De Opresso Liber
I am a Vietnam Era Army Special Fofrces veteran. I entered SF in 1964 and finished direct assignments to any of the Groups in 1970.
Question: Of all participating in this group: Are there any other SF Veterans from the Vietnam era?
Why do I ask? Because of this topic.
When I qualified as a Special Forces Officer there was only ONE Special Forces: The United States Army Special Forces. There was only ONE Beret - the Green Beret, and that authorized (and the only one in history)by a presidednt of the United States.
There was no such critter as: 'Special Ooperations Forces.'
Today, Special Forces and Special Operations are used almost interchangeably, and everybody and his brother wears a Beret.
USMC Force Recon, Navy SEALS, USAF Air COmmandos; RANGERS ets. were not, and in my book, are still not Special Forces.
As I understand things today: USMC Force Recon are just that - Reconaissance specialists who may or may not do some Direct Action activities. SEALS are amphibian Direct Action, Recon experts; USAF Air Commandos provide support to Air-to-Ground activities in support of generic SOF troops. RANGERS are infantry Ph.Ds with high value expertise in patrolling and raids.
Lumping these groups together into a singular 'SOF Pile' occurred only after the Defense Reorganization under the 1986 Gold-Water-Nichols Act. That Act put 'suits' where generals used to be; relegated the Services to subordinate 'house-keeping' organizations for the God of 'Jointness' and layered real special forces under an additional two tiers of general officers. To what end?
So - what, exactly, would the Democrats reorganize? and How would they reorganize them?
In the Army, Special Forces professional acumen and endurance is underwritten by its NCO Corps. NCOs aren't 'recruited' off the streets and they arent 'appointed' from the lower ranks. NCO are MADE through experience, education and travail. REAL NCOs are irreplceable. Add faux NCOs to Special Forces and what do we get? FAUX Special Forces - and I suspect that might be part of the plan.
What I think (and many others agree) is not needed is NOT another expansion and reorganization of so-called SOF Forces. What is required is a definition of the many attendant terms and a restudy of each of the force missions. This is especially the case for US Army SF because of the extremely unique aspects of some of what they do - which, by the way, is not duplicated elsewhere in the so-called SOF bunch.
Each of these SOF organizations are unique in their own way - and are incredible force multipliers; but they are NOT the same. Can anyone explain to me what in god's name a Navy SEAL is doing in the highest and coldest of mountains in Afghanistan? Or USMC Force Recon?
I could go on with this for days, but I believe readers see my point. Use these forces properly and in their own 'lanes'. Do NOT sacrifice their capabilities to 'jointness', and for god's sake lets cull some of the layers of general officers from the these forces - and repeal the bloody Gold-Water Nichols Act - and start again.
'Jointness' and 'sameness' (In Special Forces) isn't going to work for us in the war against fascist Islam; neither will an increase in numbers. Give them their missions and turn them loose - without benefit of upward spiraling suboptimal concentric circles of command.
My View.
Anybody else out there see it this way? Or, nearly?
I've been awfuly busy. Sorry for not being around so much these days.
I agree in part and dissent in part.
I agree on assesment of SEALS and Force Recon in Afghanistan. While they are excellent troops, they are performing out of role. (My biggest gripe in line with your statements would be the use of DELTA for ops simply because they are seen as "supermen" by beaurocrats and not as counterterror operators. Searching for scuds? Give me a break!)
I think the problem goes back to everyone wanting a piece of the pie. See SEAL Team 6 and DELTA overlaps for example. Other examples include Desert One, Grenada, and Panama (one of my personal favorites).
I also agree with the beret being dumbed down.
I also agree with you on the ignorance of those who use the term "Special Forces" and "special operations" interchagebly. Special Forces is a specific unit type, whereas special operations applies to the myriad of units outside of onvential forces. (Note how many people call Special Forces soldiers "Green Berets" too. Green berets are hats, not Special Forces troopers).
I believe you correctly defined each of the units you listed (ie recon, etc). But I might differ, if only slightly and with great deference to your thoughts. I think there is a place for the term special operations. If one considers the special quality of soldier that goes into an "elite unit", one who works primarily behind enemy lines alone or in a small group for example, the term might be a fair one.
For example, I agree that rangers are experts in infantry tactics (recon and raids). But the sheer difficulty of entering and staying in such a unit validates a special moniker imho. While rangers do not place a special emphasis on individual thinking and planning like Special Forces, their eliteness in what they do clearly gives them assignments above and beyond what a traditional soldier does (they are often tasked to provide security for DELTA ops, for instance).
I would provide a line between "elite" and "prestigous" in determining what defines special ops as well. For example, airborne personel and marines are clearly presitigous (and could be called elite when compared to troops of other nations), but they do not fill the roles associated with "spec ops" traditionaly. (Airborne today is more of a first reaction force rather than the WW2 parachutists of yesteryear. And even then they operated in large numbers).
BTW, I agree the Goldwater-Nichols act was garbage in large part.
Just my opinion. I'm open to being wrong on it as it hasn't bothered me too much (way above my former paygrade). As you know I never served in SF, and only acted in a supporting role to "spec ops" unit. I would be hard pressed not to call those fellows special though, as (in part) many of them came from SF backgrounds. Interestingly enough, many had ranger backgrounds too. Not having been SF nor even spec ops per se, I may not even be entitled to an opinion. I would value your thoughts though.
Best to you friend.
"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" - Defoe
De Opresso Liber
I very much appreciate your taking the time and effort to respond to my remarks; and find that I have very little argument with anything you have to say. That goes also for your exceptions to some of my perceptions.
The depth and scope of your remarks convinced me to perform a task I have been avoidng for a great long time: To reduce to writing what I know from experience about the Army Special Forces. I have serious reason for this (aside from my professionmal writing).
Jeff Emanuel's thread on this week's Military History section morte or less opened the door for my addressing the topic.
I do not wish to hijack Jeff's thread(s) - (This week's and next's week's), yet stand a very good chance of doing so by going into detail here on your comments. Nor do I wish to do any injustice to the effort you expended on your excellent and inciteful remarks.
So, I will compose my own 'Diary' on this subject over the week-end wherein I will attempt to address your remarks, satisfy my own need for catharsis, and do no damage to Jeff's effort. I hope this is okay with you.
Essentially, I will discuss what I know and what I observed about pre-Goldwater-Nichols Act Special Forces. I WILL dwell somewhat on the Vietnam Era because of my own familiarity with those events and what passes for history. Also because the Vietnam Era was used as an excuse by responsible politicians to cover their a***s by building the myth the the military 'lost' the war when it did not. SF roles during the era are shrouded in myth and disinformation, as well.
Taking their cue from the politicians, the 'conventional military' turned its guns on Special Forces to spread the wealth and begin its own semi-fallacious revamping with a scape goat in a basket.
The G-N Act was an effort to 'fix' what was not broken with Special Forces, while continuing to abrade that which was broken. As stated earlier, I went into SF in 1964 and came out entirely in 1974 (I erroneously said 1970, earlier).
If there are any other Vietnam era SF'ers monitoring this site they are welcome to chip in on this and any other comments I will make on the topic. All others are encouraged to do so.
You, in particular, need not worry about having no background with any of the Operational Teams. Far as I'm concerned you've already demonstrated a background and savvy on the topic not often found even amongst ancient survivors of the Post WWII/Vietnam Era A-Detachments.
More to come. Give me a few days.
p.s. If you or any of the others here wish to exchange e-mails on this subject, I am open for business.
Best to you & Be Well,
GB
You're kinda stealing my thunder from next week ;-)
So much to say in response, yet it's mostly echoes. Let's see...
(a) "When I qualified as a Special Forces Officer there was only ONE Special Forces: The United States Army Special Forces." Special Forces = Special Forces = Special Forces. Not SEALs, CCT, SOTAC, Ranger, etc. As I took care to point out:
To clear up a common misconception: "Special Forces" is a term as misused -- and overused -- as the word "inconceivable" in the film The Princess Bride. In reality, Special Forces is the specific title for one group of men. These special operators, also known as the "green berets," are members of the U.S. Army who are assigned to Special Forces Groups around the country (and the world), and who wear the famous "green beret," which they have earned by successfully completing the grueling 12 to 24-month Special Forces Qualification Course, or SFQC.
That should settle it. The term "SF" is bandied about incorrectly, as you know. De Oppresso Liber, bro.
(b) "Lumping these groups together into a singular 'SOF Pile'." The world of SOF became much more structured with the creation of USSOCOM as the overseeing agency of each branch's special operational units, for the purpose of integrated training and across-the-board standards. JSOC, created after Desert One, is another example -- and a much more integrated one -- of interservice SOF working and training together.
(c) "Special Forces and Special Operations are used almost interchangeably, and everybody and his brother wears a Beret." Incorrect terminology on the part of the general public, as I acknowledged above. Re: berets, they are beyond overused now, I agree. Every force I detailed in the piece above, save the NavSpecWar troops, wears a different beret, and, of course, the entire Army does now, as well (thanks to Gen. Shinseki). It's all but lost all meaning at this point.
(d) "So - what, exactly, would the Democrats reorganize? and How would they reorganize them?" You hit the mark, Yahuti. They don't even know that "Special Forces" doesn't refer to the whole of SOF. They have no clue whatsoever.
Your analysis is pretty darn good, Yahuti, as it should be with your background. We're on the same page. I'm very interested to see your response to the breakdown next week, which analyzes each and looks at the feasibility -- and desirability -- of yet another restructuring and attempted expanding of each, and of SOF overall.
Email me if you'd like to take this further offline.
De Opresso Liber
to:
Hoosierteacher & Jeff Emanuel . .
Last thing I want to do is steal a topic. I will gladly withold any comments until AFTER Jeff's postings are published next week, and make mine in response to his.
FYI: I am just now completing a manuscript (Fiction [more or less]) which I've entitled:
'The A-Camp'. Soon as I get it sold I'll advertise here on RedState.
have another of their 100,000 cops on the street strategies. They're about as serious about this as they were about law enforcement here incountry.
In Vino Veritas