Flagg
04-27-2013, 01:00
Henry A. Prunier, 91, last member of OSS Deer team, dies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/world/asia/henry-a-prunier-army-operative-who-helped-trained-vietnamese-troops-dies-at-91.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y&_r=1&
I had a good look around this forum and found only two threads to Mr Prunier's recent award of BSM:
http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34757
http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32417
I learned about OSS Deer team a few years ago and I'm stunned at how little content there is in open source about it in light of what transpired in the following decades.
From my amateur perspective OSS Deer team would appear to be a classic case study of the "armed diplomat" role that US Army Special Forces perform, including it's predecessor/lineage units that can influence long-term strategic geopolitical decision making.
While the Truman Administration, by commission or omission, failed to leverage an opportunity that could have helped mitigate a broad regional conflict involving the US in the following decades, I'm quite surprised the OSS Deer Team/Ho Chi Minh/Giap example isn't leveraged more openly and assertively as an example of how modern SF can help shape the big picture strategic geopolitical landscape.
In my amateur opinion, while the last decade's worth of direct action centric operations have a very important role to play in the global fight, how many bad guys getting shot in the face individually equals one successfully leveraged big picture strategic geopolitical opportunity initiated by SF?
I believe I understand why the armed diplomat stuff doesn't seem to make it onto the front pages:
1)Non kinetic is often non newsworthy
2)It could be in the best interest of SF/national interests to keep such wins out of the mass media spotlight
Maybe I'm getting old, but in recent years I've been trying to filter through all the kinetic stuff to find such non kinetic needles in the proverbial global haystack.
Any chance of getting some QPs to jump in with comments/opinions about:
1)Was Deer Team's efforts a truly strategic political missed opportunity? And if so, why do so few people even know about it?
2)Is Deer Team's mission taught to newly minted QPs?
3)Has the Deer Team mission ever been used to educate government about the potential value of SF, and is it still used today?
I hope I've posted this in the appropriate forum, my apologies if my nav skills are off.
Cheers Fellas!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/world/asia/henry-a-prunier-army-operative-who-helped-trained-vietnamese-troops-dies-at-91.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y&_r=1&
I had a good look around this forum and found only two threads to Mr Prunier's recent award of BSM:
http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34757
http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32417
I learned about OSS Deer team a few years ago and I'm stunned at how little content there is in open source about it in light of what transpired in the following decades.
From my amateur perspective OSS Deer team would appear to be a classic case study of the "armed diplomat" role that US Army Special Forces perform, including it's predecessor/lineage units that can influence long-term strategic geopolitical decision making.
While the Truman Administration, by commission or omission, failed to leverage an opportunity that could have helped mitigate a broad regional conflict involving the US in the following decades, I'm quite surprised the OSS Deer Team/Ho Chi Minh/Giap example isn't leveraged more openly and assertively as an example of how modern SF can help shape the big picture strategic geopolitical landscape.
In my amateur opinion, while the last decade's worth of direct action centric operations have a very important role to play in the global fight, how many bad guys getting shot in the face individually equals one successfully leveraged big picture strategic geopolitical opportunity initiated by SF?
I believe I understand why the armed diplomat stuff doesn't seem to make it onto the front pages:
1)Non kinetic is often non newsworthy
2)It could be in the best interest of SF/national interests to keep such wins out of the mass media spotlight
Maybe I'm getting old, but in recent years I've been trying to filter through all the kinetic stuff to find such non kinetic needles in the proverbial global haystack.
Any chance of getting some QPs to jump in with comments/opinions about:
1)Was Deer Team's efforts a truly strategic political missed opportunity? And if so, why do so few people even know about it?
2)Is Deer Team's mission taught to newly minted QPs?
3)Has the Deer Team mission ever been used to educate government about the potential value of SF, and is it still used today?
I hope I've posted this in the appropriate forum, my apologies if my nav skills are off.
Cheers Fellas!