Via DefenseNews.com
LONDON - Britain's elite SAS is facing a recruitment crisis because the army is so overstretched that soldiers do not have time to prepare for the grueling selection process, a senior officer warned April 25.The US Army is already facing this issue with its Ranger School. At one time I remember talking to a guy in the 82nd and he basically told me (before the wars) that in order to get promoted in the US Army Infantry, you had to have your tab (Ranger Tab that is) or else you'd better be a friend of the Battalion Commander.
Brig. Richard Dennis said that the high "operational tempo" of the armed forces and the "unrelentingly demanding" operations in Afghanistan meant that servicemen were being discouraged from joining the special forces unit.
In a letter leaked to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Dennis, head of infantry, said the pressures affecting the forces were combining to "mitigate against Special Forces recruitment."
Long story short, Special Operations has become so specialized (raids, raids and more raids) that conventional infantry is picking up the slack on missions that they once performed.
You have Marine Infantry training African troops in Partnership Missions. US Army and Marines serving as trainers and advisors to the Afghan National Army....
You have MEU's performing TRAP missions that are suppose to be pure-dee Special Ops...
The question I have for you is this. If we are using our Special Operations forces for almost nothing but raids now (nothing wrong with that but it is a limited mission set) then do we really need a separate command for them?
US Army Special Forces isn't training host or insurgent forces anymore...that belongs to the CIA or conventional forces...
Rangers are being used to back up the other Special Ops forces instead of performing their bread and butter raid missions solo...
Navy Seals are doing nothing but raids and deeeeeeep recon....but its the same mission set as Marine Special Operations....
USAF Special Operations has Para-Rescue but every Special Ops team has medical personnel that are trained to the standards of the teams that they accompany...as far as aircraft are concerned, with the exception of C-130's the US Army Night Stalkers are suppose to be as good ....
So say it out loud...is Special Operations so special now...or can they stand to be downsized too?
i am not so sure what you mean as "they are special anymore" but they cant be downsized, it shows how critical they are and how good military training and tactics are becoming. imagine the combat experience our military is getting, not only are we the most technologically advanced but we are the most experienced, both with the grunts, the NCO corps, and the officers. Our tactical flexibility has been stretched and yet has adapted to new battlefields never seen or thought of before.
ReplyDeleteour SEALs are going into places we never thought before, infantry performing missions that was only reserved for rangers, marines are just being marines and kicking ass. this is the nature of our war now, and we need them at this most critical time, and thank heavens we have them there!
thats the reaction that i expected but did you know that special operations are more expensive than line companies...require more support per man and are more lavishly equipped.
ReplyDeletethink about this. Marine Snipers are often attached to special ops teams...they have jump wings, scuba bubbles etc...but they're considered Marines and not Special Ops bubba's. same thing with Army Snipers.
i'm just sayin....if all we're doing is raids with our special ops guys then do we need as many?
Raids comprises most of what is being done at present, though undoubtedly there is a large amount of recon done before any "door kicking" is actually conducted, but that is simply a tactical requirement of the fight we are in today. It's not necessarily representative of the fight we will be in tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteSpecial forces capabilities are difficult to acquire (properly) and extremely perishable.
Australian Special Forces are doing much the same as US Special forces in Afghanistan and "elsewhere" but at the same time, they are providing maritime interdiction capability off Somalia, Domestic CT capability within Australia, training for their "green" war role on exercises and of course, sustaining the operational effort in Afghanistan.
They are busy as hell. I'm sure the operators are absolutely loving the pace of operations compared to the 70's, 80's and 90's, but I see little to suggest that they should be cut back. I would say the exact opposite, if it were possible in Australia's case...