Monday, May 26, 2014

SOCOM gets put to the test. Counter Terrorism mission instead of Counter Insurgency...



via WGRZ.com
Obama also announced that he will decide soon on possible troop levels for a post-2014 residual force to be left in Afghanistan to keep training local security forces and conduct counterterrorism missions.
This is beyond interesting and to me will be the first real test of SOCOM.

Let me put this out there (and yes...let the incoming begin...) SOCOM has been skating.  More specifically we're seeing a duplication of effort for the simplest of all missions...and its not really a SOCOM mission.  Ya see they're concentrating on raids.

A Boy Scout Troop can do a raid if its planned well enough with fabulous ISR assets.

And that my friends is the rub.

Conventional Forces have been doing the hard thing.  Conducting counter insurgency ops...rebuilding schools...establishing relationships with the locals...patrolling areas to ensure stability.

Meanwhile Rangers, Special Forces, SEALs and MARSOC have all been doing raids, raids and nothing but raids.

A Counter Terrorism and Training mission should be a SOCOM only mission set.

Now we will learn everything we need to know about the organization.  Either they're actually about the work of Soldiering or doing the Marine thing...or they're just a bunch of pretty boys with nice toys.

If done logically this should be interesting...but I don't think we'll see it.  For all the arrogance and chest thumping, SOCOM members like to be real close to conventional forces.  This will be the time for SOCOM to put up or shut up.  Lets see if the Head Bull Frog steps up, refuses to ring the bell and pushes for Afghanistan 2015 to be a Special Ops Combatant Command...all SOCOM and nothing but SOCOM.


5 comments :

  1. David Ignatius wrote, a year ago:
    "McRaven offers his agile, stealthy and highly lethal network of commandos. Often their missions will involve training and partnering with other nations, rather than shooting. Sometimes, their activities may look like USAID development assistance or CIA political action. McRaven’s global network would help fill a vacuum in U.S. foreign policy."

    So no more simply assassinations, kidnapping and torture? Show me. The Marines learned nation-building in Iraq, but SOCOM never did.

    news report:
    The government of Afghanistan has banned elite American forces [i.e. SOCOM] from operating in the province of Maidan Wardak, claiming that Afghans working with US special forces have been involved with the torture and killing of villagers in the area. The province, which is adjacent to the Afghan capital of Kabul, has been a strategic buffer against the Taliban and key to the defense of the capital.--Feb 23, 2013

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  2. spot on, but even more telling is that the only people that have demonstrated and incorporated leading foreign forces, training them and living with them is Special Forces. it was their hallmark in Vietnam but i have yet to actually see it in Afghanistan.

    the other members of SOCOM talk good but they're neither organized AND HAVE NEVER demonstrated that they have that ability.

    yeah. i can't wait for the glory boys to finally do the Soldier or Marine thing the way the conventional have been forced to over the years. either they put up or admit to the world that all we've built is one HUGE raid force.

    raids might be fun (fuck it, they are fun) but its only a small wrench in the tool bag. and if thats all SOCOM is good for then that points to two issues....

    1. We're doing too many raids...WAY TOO MANY! and...
    2. SOCOM isn't fucking special. they might parachute, and scuba but how many actual ops use those means to arrive at the target location? not very fucking many. quite honestly most ops are heli-borne.

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  3. You mean like this: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/world/africa/us-trains-african-commandos-to-fight-terrorism.html

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    Replies
    1. i am constantly amazed at how people post flippant answers to issues without trying to delve into them....especially when its a view that counters conventional wisdom.

      if you want to worship at the alter of SOCOM then so be it. i won't get in your way, but take the time to research what happened in Mali when a Special Forces A-team went their when the cameras weren't rolling and how it all turned out.

      not one of SOCOMs proudest moments...not one of SF's finest moments and one that neophytes and fan boys ignore.

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  4. Solomon, i agree with you on the SF/conventional Issue. Which is why almost every colonial country used to rely on a huge local/mixed militia to keep the people in order and do the ground work for empire(infrastructure) building.

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