"Has Special Forces Become A Major Player And Substitute" Topic

… For U.S. Strategic Thinking?

"Within the span of a few decades, the United States has utterly transformed its military, or at least the military that is actively fighting. This has taken place with little fanfare and little public scrutiny. But without any conscious plan, I have seen some of the evolution firsthand. One of my early books, Black Hawk Down, was about a disastrous U.S. Special Ops mission in Somalia. Another, Guests of the Ayatollah, about the Iran hostage crisis, detailed an abortive but pivotal Special Ops rescue mission. U.S. Special Operators were involved in the successful hunt for the drug lord Pablo Escobar, the subject of Killing Pablo, and they conducted the raid that ended the career of Osama bin Laden, the subject of The Finish. By seeking out dramatic military missions, I have chronicled the movement of Special Ops from the wings to center stage…"
Main page
link

Armand

Spec Ops and Intel assets will play a big part in the future, IMO. With using Drones, etc., that could be a "new" way to fight a war with unconventional forces.

Thanks. That was a good article. I like Bowden's writing.

No mention my friend…

Armand

Plausible deniability and the ability to skirt around legal edges especially as special ops are usually not bound by same rules of engagement as conventional troops.

The big problem is the lack of accountability and transparency and integration into military chain of command which has seen spec ops transformed into a tool for colonial enforcement regardless of national interest.

Given the number of operations and countries special forces are engaged in, I doubt even the Pentagon or the President has a true idea of what they are up to.

Don't forget that Spec Ops are the "volunteers of volunteers" so not much "not my child!" is going to be heard when deployments come up. The nature of their missions help to keep the press out, not many embedded reporters to blow cover. They also have a coolness factor that's ready made for media spin along with the media love, even Hollywood loves them. Recall the days of stop loss and all the angst that came with that? Think now how long it's been and how many protests have taken place since that ended. The US can continue on it's "Oh, we have troops there? What's streaming on Netflix?" distraction, the pols can play GI Joe Commander, and nones the wiser if someone doesn't come back or more foreign nationals are getting riled and ready to take to the cause. As long as we have a stick to poke in the eye we'll continue to poke.

All that you posted their arealdeadone has been occurring from decades by many nations, not just the USA.

I doubt even the Pentagon or the President has a true idea of what they are up to.

Some do know what's going. Albeit the WH may care little at this point. This is not a priority on their current agenda, etc. You could say that about many denizens of the DC, the WH, etc. in the past … nothing new there either.

Don't forget that Spec Ops are the "volunteers of volunteers" so not much "not my child!" is going to be heard when deployments come up. The nature of their missions help to keep the press out, not many embedded reporters to blow cover.

Many in the USA don't have the qualifications to get in the military. About 70+% of those of draft/military age, last I heard from the Pentagon in the press as they used to say, are "4F".

Frankly I'm a big fan of volunteer professionals in the military vs. a Draft. Just look at the Draft during Vietnam. Today you'd see Draft riots as well along with all the other rioting going on for various reasons, causes, etc. And if there was a Draft many in Gov't would find a way to get their "kid(s)" out of it. Just like during Vietnam.

Plus as I have said before, yes, many in the USA have no idea about geopolitics, etc., etc. Only what time the game is no , who is bedding who in Hollywood, etc., etc.

(smile)

Armand

Not looking for a draft either, my point is the people in SOF volunteer for it, besides their original MOS. So they stepped up and stepped up again. Not many people will look a them and say "that's not what they signed up for". So they are able to be deployed by whoever to wherever without much grumbling from the masses about missing home time.

Everyone who wants to join SF type units are volunteers. They will go thru some sort of process to weed out those that may not make it. And even then the have to go thru the actual training. And these as some very tough training courses.

How Much Do US Special Forces Make?

"We're all familiar with the commercials encouraging Americans to enlist in the military. Action-packed and provocative, these ads (even those that call out individual career types) tend to keep it simple, glossing over details about one very important factor: money. How much can you make in the military, particularly as you advance up the rungs?

When you're talking about base salary, the answer is not a whole lot — at least, not when compared with many civilian careers. Even those in high-ranking special forces divisions aren't sweeping in hundreds of thousands of bucks a year; in fact, they're often earning much less. Money worries often plague military families, with nearly 9 in 10 active service members and 84% of military spouses worried about money, a National Foundation for Credit Counseling report found…"
Main page
link

Not enough…

Armand