I've been a critic of SOCOM but this is not what I was looking for with changes to that organization. The current Army Chief of Staff is about to make these units ineffective. Check this out from Military.com.
US Army Special Forces won't be able to do their thing because you'll have an Army Infantry Brigade stomping around where they're treading lightly.
What I had in mind was a SOCOM that was more independent. You can bet that this is a move to place SOCOM officers back under the thumbs of Conventional Force Officers.
Funny thing is that SOCOM has no one but themselves to blame. Instead of seeking greater power, they should have been seeking greater autonomy. Becoming Combatant Commanders or even being able to work around them (entering areas without first notifying them) put them on the Pentagon's radar and this is but the first example of the bureaucracy putting the lion back in the cage.
This sucks but they have no one to blame but themselves.
NOTE:
If I'm right in my thinking the next shoe to fall will be SOCOM growing less than planned across the board.
U.S. military leaders are planning an Army where conventional units will be deployed in tandem with Special Forces, officials say.This will render some SOCOM units totally ineffective.
Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, outlined the new military in an article published last week in Foreign Affairs. He suggested the military needs to build on the relationship between the conventional Army and Special Operations Forces developed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"The evolution of this partnership over the past decade has been extraordinary, and the ties can become even stronger as we continue to develop new operational concepts, enhance our training and invest in new capabilities," he wrote.
While the size of the Army is being cut, Special Forces are to grow from 32,000 to 35,000, The New York Times said.
The military's goal, as described by Odierno and other leaders, is an Army that can handle everything from working with local leaders to heavy combat in the same theater. That means rethinking conventional military training.
One plan is to assign units to a specific region of the world, allowing soldiers to be trained in local languages and customs.
US Army Special Forces won't be able to do their thing because you'll have an Army Infantry Brigade stomping around where they're treading lightly.
What I had in mind was a SOCOM that was more independent. You can bet that this is a move to place SOCOM officers back under the thumbs of Conventional Force Officers.
Funny thing is that SOCOM has no one but themselves to blame. Instead of seeking greater power, they should have been seeking greater autonomy. Becoming Combatant Commanders or even being able to work around them (entering areas without first notifying them) put them on the Pentagon's radar and this is but the first example of the bureaucracy putting the lion back in the cage.
This sucks but they have no one to blame but themselves.
NOTE:
If I'm right in my thinking the next shoe to fall will be SOCOM growing less than planned across the board.
I don't get that sense, that SOCOM is going to be overwhelmed by conventional forces. Given this is coming from Odierno, I assume it's based on his experience in Iraq. SF weren't enough boots on the ground and there were too many buffers between conventional forces and locals. Paring SF and conventional forces leads to me think they are preparing for future long wars.
ReplyDeletebut its not about long wars. the US isn't gonna get into another Afghanistan for a generation at least. this is about moving in on SOCOM's playground. if the Big Army can get to say hey, we're working with SOCOM then guess what...they get to fight for boatspaces and a bigger Army. additionally an ODA deploys with a Captain in charge. a Brigade brings at least a Colonel and I'll bet in the future it'll be a Brigadier General. that will place the ODA under the thumb of the unit thats suppose to be supporting them!
ReplyDelete