Experts Tell Congress SOCOM Needs to Shift Focus

[BMT (RIP)]

Instead, SOF should return to the indirect, partnership-building operations that units like Army Special Forces were created to perform.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/07/12/experts-tell-congress-socom-needs-to-shift-focus.html?ESRC=eb.nl


BMT

[longrange1947]

With the Ranger influence now permeating SF, that will be difficult to do.

MOO, but the young guys today seem to overly enjoy the thrill of the hunt. :munchin

[mark46th]

DA missions are sexy, drawing the instant gratification crowd. It is up to the schoolhouse to reinforce the student's understanding of the long term, trust building relationships necessary to maintain the stability of any given geographical area. SF Command may need to reinforce this thinking at the group level on a regular basis lest we forget why Special Forces was born.

[Mills]

"Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and 4th Infantry Division battalion commander in Iraq, said he was concerned that such as change could create problems for a combatant commander on the ground.

"Having been a commander in combat, the last thing I wanted was to have cowboys in my area of operations, operating independently without my understanding," he said."

Snip


How often does this actually happen? :confused:

Translation..........

"I don't like people having the freedom to pursue other goals and have operational agendas that are other than my own, furthermore.......I like being able to have a hand in everything that happens in my battlespace so that in the end, I can take the credit, and inflate the success of my battlespace and pass those successes off as my own".

[sinjefe]

Translation..........

"I don't like people having the freedom to pursue other goals and have operational agendas that are other than my own, furthermore.......I like being able to have a hand in everything that happens in my battlespace so that in the end, I can take the credit, and inflate the success of my battlespace and pass those successes off as my own".

Classic:)

[Team Sergeant]

Translation..........

"I don't like people having the freedom to pursue other goals and have operational agendas that are other than my own, furthermore.......I like being able to have a hand in everything that happens in my battlespace so that in the end, I can take the credit, and inflate the success of my battlespace and pass those successes off as my own".

Spoken like a true general.....:D

[Mills]

Spoken like a true general.....:D

I was thinking along the lines of a future politician..............

:D

[69harley]

"Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and 4th Infantry Division battalion commander in Iraq, said he was concerned that such as change could create problems for a combatant commander on the ground.

"Having been a commander in combat, the last thing I wanted was to have cowboys in my area of operations, operating independently without my understanding," he said."

Snip


How often does this actually happen? :confused:

Gen. Petraeous as the commander of the 101st and AO North felt the same way about SF. I remember when he kicked them all out of Mosul and the rest of his AO in OIF1.

[goon175]

The comments section below that article is a great example of how misunderstood the roles of our different SOF elements are.

[Razor]

"Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and 4th Infantry Division battalion commander in Iraq, said he was concerned that such as change could create problems for a combatant commander on the ground.

"Having been a commander in combat, the last thing I wanted was to have cowboys in my area of operations, operating independently without my understanding," he said."

And the last thing Military Intelligence interrogators wanted was an untrained cowboy firing a pistol near a bound captive's head and threatening death to get information on an ambush that could have been mitigated in other ways. Didn't stop you, did it, LTC Hypocrite?

[The Reaper]

And the last thing Military Intelligence interrogators wanted was an untrained cowboy firing a pistol near a bound captive's head and threatening death to get information on an ambush that could have been mitigated in other ways. Didn't stop you, did it, LTC Hypocrite?

Exactly my thoughts.

TR

[Buffalobob]

DA missions are sexy, drawing the instant gratification crowd. It is up to the schoolhouse to reinforce the student's understanding of the long term, trust building relationships necessary to maintain the stability of any given geographical area. SF Command may need to reinforce this thinking at the group level on a regular basis lest we forget why Special Forces was born.

Very well said!

[Peregrino]

FWIW - SOF is an umbrella term. Saying SOF should return to the indirect, partnership-building operations that units like Army Special Forces were created to perform fails to account for the diversity of capabilities that umbrella covers. Each component of the SOCOM "SOF" forces brings their unique specialty to the fight. Those specialties are only generally interchangeable. We don't need more amatuer hour escapades from non-Special Forces (SF) units attempting to adapt themselves to a mission they are not selected, trained, or organized/equipped for just so they can maintain relevance in the current "operational environment". Any organization's "character" (the way they operate/see themselves) is something of a pendulum and it swings back and forth. The Regiment is returning to its roots (UW); it'll take a while for the results to be apparent, but it is happening. Believe it or not - we already have more capability in SF for indirect, partnership-building operations than the current political regime has the intestinal fortitude and foresight to employ. I don't understand what the author is worried about.

[Paragrouper]

Restated from a sergeant's perspective....

Having been a SF soldier in combat, the last thing I wanted was to have Colonels in my area of operations, operating independently without my understanding

[abc_123]

Restated from a sergeant's perspective....

Now THAT is classic.:D

[greenberetTFS]

FWIW - SOF is an umbrella term. Saying SOF should return to the indirect, partnership-building operations that units like Army Special Forces were created to perform fails to account for the diversity of capabilities that umbrella covers. Each component of the SOCOM "SOF" forces brings their unique specialty to the fight. Those specialties are only generally interchangeable. We don't need more amatuer hour escapades from non-Special Forces (SF) units attempting to adapt themselves to a mission they are not selected, trained, or organized/equipped for just so they can maintain relevance in the current "operational environment". Any organization's "character" (the way they operate/see themselves) is something of a pendulum and it swings back and forth. The Regiment is returning to its roots (UW); it'll take a while for the results to be apparent, but it is happening. Believe it or not - we already have more capability in SF for indirect, partnership-building operations than the current political regime has the intestinal fortitude and foresight to employ. I don't understand what the author is worried about.

Good post and excellent point made.........;) :D

Big Teddy :munchin

[AngelsSix]

Exactly my thoughts.

TR

Beat me to it! ;)

[AngelsSix]

Now THAT is classic.:D

My thought exactly!:D