View Full Version : US Army Special Forces are shifting their focus
US Army Special Forces are shifting their focus to fighting China or Russia, and they're already practicing for it in Hawaii
https://news.yahoo.com/us-army-special-forces-shifting-133059720.html
"...US special operators have played an instrumental role in the fight against terrorists and insurgent groups over the past 20 years.
Now, as the Pentagon focuses on preparing for a conflict a near-peer or peer military, like China and Russia, the special-operations community is looking for ways to remain relevant in a completely different type of war.
Army special-operations units are particularly concerned, as they make up most of the US Special Operations Command's (SOCOM) numbers...."
A neutral to nice story in the news.
Old Dog New Trick
11-18-2021, 19:24
Peer or near peer?
I don’t even think we come close to “near peer”, those militaries train men for hardcore battle and don’t have an “Office of Equity, Transgender Studies, LGBTQ Equality and Rape Prevention.” In fact I’d go farther and say their women, what few they have are bigger, stronger and more rugged than some of the “men” we’ve allowed through our combat arms training facilities just to meet minimum recruiting requirements.
And the Navy is currently going forward with an up to a >20% cut to it SEAL trained Squadrons for the sake of a vaccination that doesn’t prevent shit.
What’s the number of Army SOF/SF that will be kicked out in the coming weeks or will just leave on their own over this and other detrimental factors?
Who’s gonna fight this war between us and China? When the first two aircraft carriers are sunk the war is over.
WarriorDiplomat
11-18-2021, 20:13
US Army Special Forces are shifting their focus to fighting China or Russia, and they're already practicing for it in Hawaii
https://news.yahoo.com/us-army-special-forces-shifting-133059720.html
"...US special operators have played an instrumental role in the fight against terrorists and insurgent groups over the past 20 years.
Now, as the Pentagon focuses on preparing for a conflict a near-peer or peer military, like China and Russia, the special-operations community is looking for ways to remain relevant in a completely different type of war.
Army special-operations units are particularly concerned, as they make up most of the US Special Operations Command's (SOCOM) numbers...."
A neutral to nice story in the news.
What is it they think they are going to provide in a peer/near peer conflict? the work we have done since 1952 IS the ground work that was needed to deal with these enemies am I wrong? I heard 10th when I was retiring talking about war with N Korea we had a bunch a GB's that were the higher ranking running around excited talking about expectations of 10th Group taking the lead and 50% casualties expected etc.....and I wondered why 10th and not 1st and are we now shock troops assaulting from the front how the fuck can all these "intelligent" experienced dingbats believe that is a real plan
The SF community has the shortest sight at the top it seems every commander comes along with a new idea on what we are and puts out his vision and the entire regiment runs around like a bunch of sneetches without stars on their bellies looking for the star machine. Everytime we get great officers at the O4-5 level they are hidden away on staff or other assignments where they have no influence.
If it is time for SF to go away or can we pull our heads out of our 4th point of contact and establish what we are, what we do and what our limitations are in near peer conflict and our strengths leading up to it. I doubt we will replace the 3 letter agency on the ground with social media like it is and the newer GBs just cant STFU especially with fame and fortune beckoning and youtube social influencers and talk radio shows etc......these idiots think that GWOT was their finest hour and ignore the fact that it was not and we were exposed for the confused dysfunctional organization we are. More importantly the thin line between the corruption in our Politics and our military focus shows how it easy it is to destroy an institution from the top down by influencing our nations youth with socialism and anti America pro China propaganda yes SF has followed the same decline from Obama era to this very day
The reality is we should have been working in that direction when Clinton inflated Chinas role in our economy or better yet listened to McArthur but we are not planners we are reactionaries. The evil of communism even has many of our own leaders confused as to what it is and how free countries fall to their charms. The name game has them all fooled the leftist thinkers in academia have normalized words like Democracy and replaced the representative republic idea with it and today? we are almost a Democracy within a few voting cycles.....get rid of or revise history and change the order of who was bad and who is good and provide provocative alternative ideas as to why socialism is good and misunderstood and you get America 2021
Warrior Diplomat, spot-on. I was thinking that as I drove into work this morning. Was listening to some shit GEN jack Keane was squawking about on the radio. Different story than I heard from him at 0200 in the morning on top of hill 109 at JRTC back in...96?. i stood next to him as a Bde OC when he was Div CDR and listened to him whine about how unfair it was that his air assault was getting decimated by the 509th. We'd given him the fucking playbook and he apparently didn't have time to read it. His hubris prevented him from fighting the fight that was coming, his arrogance wanted to fight the fight he was prepared to fight. BIG distinction replicated by our current crop of perfumed princes borne out by 20 years of interminable war(s).
I drive into work in the early AM and on the rare occasion the troops are actually out doing PT it looks like a Bataan death march: fat bodies schlepping along, nuclear fall-out littering the back trail; etc. Heard they are going to scrap the new ACFT as 40% of women routinely fail it. can't meet the standards? Change the standards Should put Scotty Miller in as a lane-walker for PT tests, maybe we'd have more women pass it.
But I must say - you look out across the formation and we have such wonderful, incredible diversity: all colors; all weight classes; all body compositions represented with an emphasis on overweight; all conditions of fitness with failing and marginal over-represented. WE MUST BE STRONG AS F*CK!!!
Oldie but a goodie… “amateurs study tactics while masters study logistics”.
The “logistics” of the USA with regard to the “human-resources” is in such a state of dis-regard and ill-preparedness that should the need arise to institute a draft (which would be the case in ANY near-peer fight), the US Mil would fail.
Never mind that we no longer have the industrial capacity to out-build these adversaries, we no longer have the people to build the machines, let alone operate these weapons.
Our “infantry” are little more than glorified mall cops with machine-guns. Their “leadership” are ticket-punching morons who would be hard-pressed to lead a dead horse to the ground.
I just re-watched Band of Brothers, and there is NO way we could field that army again today. We are too weak of mind and body.
Grave times ahead……
Well, this is a depressing thread....at least we've got the Space Force!
Old Dog New Trick
11-19-2021, 16:44
We’ll have to nuke them from orbit, it’ll be the only way to be sure!
Last hard class
11-20-2021, 23:34
I drive into work in the early AM and on the rare occasion the troops are actually out doing PT it looks like a Bataan death march: fat bodies schlepping along, nuclear fall-out littering the back trail; etc. Heard they are going to scrap the new ACFT as 40% of women routinely fail it. can't meet the standards? Change the standards Should put Scotty Miller in as a lane-walker for PT tests, maybe we'd have more women pass it.
But I must say - you look out across the formation and we have such wonderful, incredible diversity: all colors; all weight classes; all body compositions represented with an emphasis on overweight; all conditions of fitness with failing and marginal over-represented. WE MUST BE STRONG AS F*CK!!!
That's good.
Wasn't that our slogan for a while?
We’ll have to nuke them from orbit, it’ll be the only way to be sure!
Roger that Maj Kong, Old-style tactics still work.. :lifter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3edi2Wkr5YI
Old Dog New Trick
11-21-2021, 09:00
Roger that Maj Kong, Old-style tactics still work.. :lifter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3edi2Wkr5YI
Ha! Comedy Royal!
I was thinking more along the lines in “Aliens” (Bill Paxton)
For thread points: the only we defeat China or Russia is if we are fighting them on our home soil and it’s an all in or loose approach. Our military cannot win a conventional war against them on someone else’s turf.
“Wolverines!”
WarriorDiplomat
11-21-2021, 13:08
Ha! Comedy Royal!
I was thinking more along the lines in “Aliens” (Bill Paxton)
For thread points: the only we defeat China or Russia is if we are fighting them on our home soil and it’s an all in or loose approach. Our military cannot win a conventional war against them on someone else’s turf.
“Wolverines!”
Agreed, especially when much of our technology that "equalizes" the battlefield they partly or wholly produce. Our west coast states seem to be willing to receive a Chinese invasion with an apathetic approach if not with open arms.....can you imagine all those cargo ships off the coast being full of pre position support no need to fight through a Naval war to secure a beach head in California, Oregon or Washington
Old Dog New Trick
12-07-2021, 14:10
Can we handle two major conflicts at once? Can we support Ukraine and Taiwan at the same time in two different theaters… we’re about to find out!
Lesko Brandon, wrong on every foreign policy decision for forty years!
He’s about to start two wars.
Can we handle two major conflicts at once?...
Not since about 1989.
In 1989 we had 18 active and 10 guard divisions.
Now? 11 Divisions - 31 Brigade Combat Teams active and 8 Divisions in the guard.
Can we handle two major conflicts at once? Can we support Ukraine and Taiwan at the same time in two different theaters… we’re about to find out!
Lesko Brandon, wrong on every foreign policy decision for forty years!
He’s about to start two wars.
We just spent 20 years proving to the world that we couldn't win in a minor theater of conflict. Obama's restriction on "night raids" - Karzai's Twelve 12 points - indecision - 65 slide CONOPs - GOMARs forCIVCAS claims - verified or not - yada yada yada and all that jazz...
What did it get us?
Right now, you could shut down a division headquarters for a day or more just by uttering a few racial, cultural, religious, or sexual slurs in the break room in the 10 minutes immediately following the CUB.
A cartoon posted on the unit bulletin board could disrupt countless man-hours by causing people to prepare, deliver, and attend briefings to mitigate future impacts of continued misbehavior.
It only takes an accusation of wrongdoing to disrupt and destroy the esprit de corps of a cohesive fighting unit
You don't need big muscles and state of the art weaponry when strong words are all it takes to slow the machine. Why go to the gym when I can sit at my computer and expand my woke-cabulary?
I'm not going to fight you with my fists. I'm going to accuse you of misgendering me. I'm going to spotlight your bigotry. I'm going to spreads rumors about your extremist tendencies. I'm going to report your social media accounts for spreading misinformation.
Near peer and great power competition - blah blah blah...
what a fucking scam
That should go viral, Box
WarriorDiplomat
12-07-2021, 18:29
Warrior Diplomat, spot-on. I was thinking that as I drove into work this morning. Was listening to some shit GEN jack Keane was squawking about on the radio. Different story than I heard from him at 0200 in the morning on top of hill 109 at JRTC back in...96?. i stood next to him as a Bde OC when he was Div CDR and listened to him whine about how unfair it was that his air assault was getting decimated by the 509th. We'd given him the fucking playbook and he apparently didn't have time to read it. His hubris prevented him from fighting the fight that was coming, his arrogance wanted to fight the fight he was prepared to fight. BIG distinction replicated by our current crop of perfumed princes borne out by 20 years of interminable war(s).
I drive into work in the early AM and on the rare occasion the troops are actually out doing PT it looks like a Bataan death march: fat bodies schlepping along, nuclear fall-out littering the back trail; etc. Heard they are going to scrap the new ACFT as 40% of women routinely fail it. can't meet the standards? Change the standards Should put Scotty Miller in as a lane-walker for PT tests, maybe we'd have more women pass it.
But I must say - you look out across the formation and we have such wonderful, incredible diversity: all colors; all weight classes; all body compositions represented with an emphasis on overweight; all conditions of fitness with failing and marginal over-represented. WE MUST BE STRONG AS F*CK!!!
100% agree with the observations and sentiment. It is a sad state of affairs for the military today....I would love to say that it is hyperbole from media driven fears but I can't it's true and IMO worse than we can see on the outside looking in. I wrote years ago of what I saw as a 2x SWTG instructor one as PI and the other as CI and the very real drop in standards...not only is the institution weak so are this eras troops.
The only thing and I mean ONLY way we can fight a war is our technology....the cancer of weakness takes years and years to get rid of but only under hardship and necessity. The GBs traded life hardening experience for institutional brain washing in the form of high speed schools and college degrees. Hard times make for hard men and necessity produces ingenuity and genius not institutions or degrees lastly culture breeds both....the Democrats deserve serfdom.
I keep explaining to people that weakness is why the Russians are considering retaking the Ukraine....they did it with Obama and now Biden they follow what is happening here and it drives their aggression....why would Putin fear a weak administration and a woke military? You want an idea of what the world thinks of the U.S......just pay attention to the giant game of risk call geo-politics
Can we handle two major conflicts at once? Can we support Ukraine and Taiwan at the same time in two different theaters… we’re about to find out!
Lesko Brandon, wrong on every foreign policy decision for forty years!
He’s about to start two wars.
You forgot the 3rd one waiting to happen in his back yard behind the woodshed.
Old Dog New Trick
12-07-2021, 22:33
^^^True^^^
B‘Cause 01/06/21 was just a parade of flag waving patriots, not like the ones China, North Korea, and the Kremlin put on every year.
Lesko Brandon, wrong on every foreign policy decision for forty years!
Actually, he was the only one who said (in essence) that not splitting Iraq into three parts was a bad idea.
Otherwise, you're 100% correct IMO.
Old Dog New Trick
12-21-2021, 19:31
A broken clock is right more often than Joe B. How he got to where he is today is simply astonishing.