Dog Pound Zulu
10-13-2013, 14:47
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsf/articles/20131013.aspx
Vietnam Versus Afghanistan
October 13, 2013: Although U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations
Command) deployed (at their peak) over 30,000 troops in
Afghanistan, there is still disagreement over how these forces should
have been used. The dispute centers on how much effort should go
into developing effective local allies versus using the SOCOM
capabilities to just hunt down and kill the bad guys. The largest
component of SOCOM, the U.S. Army Special Forces was founded to
organize, train and advise local allies, as well as carry out commando
operations. In the Special Forces each twelve man A Team (or ODA)
is selected from among the best infantry troops and then trained in the
language and customs of a specific part of the world.
These ODAs are very good at going into an area, establishing local
relationships and organizing more effective local armed groups to
carry out missions of mutual (to the locals and the United States)
missions. This process is often slow, requiring months just to get the
introductions over with and over a year to produce local forces that
can have a serious impact. For that reason the other approach, using
SOCOM personnel to quickly acquire information about the bad
actors and then use American forces to go after them. The ODAs are
excellent at scouting and setting up informant networks among the
locals.
Other components of SOCOM, like SEALs, Rangers marines and
Delta Force (a commando operation recruited from Special Forces
operators) are available for “direct action” (raids) missions. This
approach worked in doing a lot of damage to al Qaeda and the Taliban
in Afghanistan, but at the expense of longer-range efforts to....
Vietnam Versus Afghanistan
October 13, 2013: Although U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations
Command) deployed (at their peak) over 30,000 troops in
Afghanistan, there is still disagreement over how these forces should
have been used. The dispute centers on how much effort should go
into developing effective local allies versus using the SOCOM
capabilities to just hunt down and kill the bad guys. The largest
component of SOCOM, the U.S. Army Special Forces was founded to
organize, train and advise local allies, as well as carry out commando
operations. In the Special Forces each twelve man A Team (or ODA)
is selected from among the best infantry troops and then trained in the
language and customs of a specific part of the world.
These ODAs are very good at going into an area, establishing local
relationships and organizing more effective local armed groups to
carry out missions of mutual (to the locals and the United States)
missions. This process is often slow, requiring months just to get the
introductions over with and over a year to produce local forces that
can have a serious impact. For that reason the other approach, using
SOCOM personnel to quickly acquire information about the bad
actors and then use American forces to go after them. The ODAs are
excellent at scouting and setting up informant networks among the
locals.
Other components of SOCOM, like SEALs, Rangers marines and
Delta Force (a commando operation recruited from Special Forces
operators) are available for “direct action” (raids) missions. This
approach worked in doing a lot of damage to al Qaeda and the Taliban
in Afghanistan, but at the expense of longer-range efforts to....