Do you wonder why it took so long to get outside aid to our Special Forces Team? Africa is freaking HUGE!

Thanks to illilpop100 for the pic!

Yeah.  Africa is HUGE!  You wonder why it took so long to get our guys support?  Its like having a team operating in Mississippi and their support based in NY City.  As bad as that ambush was we're lucky it wasn't worse considering the vast distances and the long limb these guys were on (which indicates a failure not only of intelligence but of planning and leadership...we'll chop that up later).

I've been waiting for some of my readers from Africa to chime in on the situation with the Special Forces team that got ambushed and luckily one of them responded today.

I got corrected on one thing.  According to this guy the US is held in high esteem.  I thought otherwise (have experienced otherwise..maybe it was a dick measuring contest) but ok, I'll roll with that.

He also stated that Africa is wildly diverse.  All kinds of different tribes, religions, cultures, wildlife etc...

My point remains. 

Special Forces wants to operate in ways that are no longer applicable to the battlefield as we find it today.  12 man teams even when operating with host nation forces will be targeted.  They will be fixed, and the enemy will exert maximum effort to destroy them.

At the VERY LEAST Army Special Forces Teams need to be augmented with a company of Rangers or MARSOC.

Force Protection in 2017 and beyond mean a minimum size unit be company sized with complimentary air and fire support.  Having available quick reaction forces is also necessary as well as adequate ISR.

Going small and covering the globe is NOT workable.  Combatant Commanders will need to tailor their request for forces more reasonably.  For example, AFRICOM would get one battalion of Marines, one SF team and either a Ranger or MARSOC company with the support we talked about.  That's it for a 6 month period.  SecDef would REQUIRE that they not be placed in penny packets all over the continent and that for each mission they conduct they are then allowed proper rest and recovery before heading on the next.

NO MORE WEARING OUT THE FORCE!