Dan
04-19-2007, 19:54
Published on Thursday, April 19, 2007
Special Forces milestones
By Kevin Maurer
Staff write (http://www.fayobserver.com/)r
A decision made two decades ago is helping the Army fight the present-day war on terrorism.
The Special Forces Officers’ Branch was established April 9, 1987, and the crossed-arrow was adopted as its insignia. Special Forces soldiers celebrated the anniversary in a ceremony last week at Fort Bragg.
Since its creation, teams of Special Forces soldiers have trained Colombian soldiers to hunt drug runners, toppled the Taliban government in Afghanistan and trained the Philippine and Iraqi armies to combat terrorists.
“Since Sept. 11, 2001, we were able to respond with soldiers that were trained in unconventional warfare and go into Afghanistan, and accomplish the mission of bringing down the Taliban by working through the Northern Alliance. We made a change the Soviet Union wasn’t capable of doing in 10 years,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Parry Baer, senior enlisted adviser for U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg. “If you look at Special Forces groups over the past 20 years, we’ve remained regionally focused so that we can work with the military in those regions and be the eyes and ears on the ground for the combatant commanders and for the nation.”
A native of Croswell, Mich., Baer began his Special Forces career in 1981 with the 5th Special Forces Group. He has served in combat operations from the first Persian Gulf War to the present.
Q: In the past two decades, how has Special Forces changed?
A: Over the past 20 years, we have remained constant with our unconventional warfare roots through our training. What has changed is how we’ve adapted our organization and skills set. Before we were a branch, personnel were assigned to one of the main branches of the Army. How this hurt us is that, for an officer, you could only stay so long before he had to go back and fulfill his branch qualifying commitments to stay competitive for promotion. The same for the enlisted side. When it came to promotions, if you hadn’t served as a platoon sergeant, first sergeant, you were hurt on the promotion side. When we became a branch, it allowed us to keep personnel within the community for their entire career.
Q: When Special Forces was first created, did anyone ever think it would be able to pull off a mission like Afghanistan or in Northern Iraq during the invasion?
A: I think the unconventional mission from the beginning of Special Forces that was the concept to go behind enemy lines, work with indigenous forces and conduct operations that support the goals of our nation. I think from the inception, the unconventional mission has always been our focus and where we thought we were going.
Q: In the past two decades, what are some of the Special Forces highlights or events that define Special Forces and Special Forces soldiers?
A: Just recently, we’ve conducted operations in the Philippines where we worked on Joli island. We basically stabilized the island, which was heavily engaged with certain terrorist elements. By training the Filipino Army on how to conduct operations and working with civil affairs doing humanitarian assistance throughout the region, we basically showed the people how the government is trying to help them, why they shouldn’t support the terrorists and basically saw a quick turnaround.
Q: What is Special Forces’ most important contribution to the war on terrorism?
A: The ability of our soldiers to operate on the battlefield today around the world. The personnel we provide on the battlefield are probably the most significant contribution. If you look at the commitment to the global war on terrorism, we’ve maintained forces continuously in Afghanistan since 2001. We are able to roll into Iraq as well as maintain a commitment in the Philippines, South America and Africa.
Q: What is Special Forces going to look like 20 years from now?
A: Starting next year, we’re adding one active-duty line battalion to each of the five Special Forces groups. We’ll expand over the next five years. We’ll go from three line battalions to four. That is so that we can better manage the operational tempo for the current fight and so that we can meet U.S. (Special Operations Command) global special operations force posture.
Everyone has watched since 9/11 how al-Qaida and the Global War on Terror has gone. You do not see army against army. It is more of a asymmetrical threat. I think everyone watches what success al-Qaida had and how we’ve gone after them and taken down their networks and cells. I think the future battlefield will be geared more toward this one.
Special Forces milestones
By Kevin Maurer
Staff write (http://www.fayobserver.com/)r
A decision made two decades ago is helping the Army fight the present-day war on terrorism.
The Special Forces Officers’ Branch was established April 9, 1987, and the crossed-arrow was adopted as its insignia. Special Forces soldiers celebrated the anniversary in a ceremony last week at Fort Bragg.
Since its creation, teams of Special Forces soldiers have trained Colombian soldiers to hunt drug runners, toppled the Taliban government in Afghanistan and trained the Philippine and Iraqi armies to combat terrorists.
“Since Sept. 11, 2001, we were able to respond with soldiers that were trained in unconventional warfare and go into Afghanistan, and accomplish the mission of bringing down the Taliban by working through the Northern Alliance. We made a change the Soviet Union wasn’t capable of doing in 10 years,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Parry Baer, senior enlisted adviser for U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg. “If you look at Special Forces groups over the past 20 years, we’ve remained regionally focused so that we can work with the military in those regions and be the eyes and ears on the ground for the combatant commanders and for the nation.”
A native of Croswell, Mich., Baer began his Special Forces career in 1981 with the 5th Special Forces Group. He has served in combat operations from the first Persian Gulf War to the present.
Q: In the past two decades, how has Special Forces changed?
A: Over the past 20 years, we have remained constant with our unconventional warfare roots through our training. What has changed is how we’ve adapted our organization and skills set. Before we were a branch, personnel were assigned to one of the main branches of the Army. How this hurt us is that, for an officer, you could only stay so long before he had to go back and fulfill his branch qualifying commitments to stay competitive for promotion. The same for the enlisted side. When it came to promotions, if you hadn’t served as a platoon sergeant, first sergeant, you were hurt on the promotion side. When we became a branch, it allowed us to keep personnel within the community for their entire career.
Q: When Special Forces was first created, did anyone ever think it would be able to pull off a mission like Afghanistan or in Northern Iraq during the invasion?
A: I think the unconventional mission from the beginning of Special Forces that was the concept to go behind enemy lines, work with indigenous forces and conduct operations that support the goals of our nation. I think from the inception, the unconventional mission has always been our focus and where we thought we were going.
Q: In the past two decades, what are some of the Special Forces highlights or events that define Special Forces and Special Forces soldiers?
A: Just recently, we’ve conducted operations in the Philippines where we worked on Joli island. We basically stabilized the island, which was heavily engaged with certain terrorist elements. By training the Filipino Army on how to conduct operations and working with civil affairs doing humanitarian assistance throughout the region, we basically showed the people how the government is trying to help them, why they shouldn’t support the terrorists and basically saw a quick turnaround.
Q: What is Special Forces’ most important contribution to the war on terrorism?
A: The ability of our soldiers to operate on the battlefield today around the world. The personnel we provide on the battlefield are probably the most significant contribution. If you look at the commitment to the global war on terrorism, we’ve maintained forces continuously in Afghanistan since 2001. We are able to roll into Iraq as well as maintain a commitment in the Philippines, South America and Africa.
Q: What is Special Forces going to look like 20 years from now?
A: Starting next year, we’re adding one active-duty line battalion to each of the five Special Forces groups. We’ll expand over the next five years. We’ll go from three line battalions to four. That is so that we can better manage the operational tempo for the current fight and so that we can meet U.S. (Special Operations Command) global special operations force posture.
Everyone has watched since 9/11 how al-Qaida and the Global War on Terror has gone. You do not see army against army. It is more of a asymmetrical threat. I think everyone watches what success al-Qaida had and how we’ve gone after them and taken down their networks and cells. I think the future battlefield will be geared more toward this one.