[grigori]

Originally Posted by Guymullins

I have been meaning to post something about this for a while. We have seen many very good units destroyed by too much media coverage in the past. This only applies to Southern Africa, and I dont mean to preach to you guys in the US, but simply to give our experience for your information. Our 32 Bn, a special; forces semi-pseudo unit which operated almost entirely behind the lines was disbanded when their exploits were endlessly publicised. They were a formidable unconventional fighting force made up of turned terrorists and soldiers from enemy countries. Because of their well publicised effectiveness in later years, they became the focus of attention for disbandment once majority rule came. This was a great loss to our Army and a huge pool of expertise was lost .
The Reconnaissance Regiment also suffered , but in a different way, from too much publicity. When it was a highly secretive unit, it was very effective and the quality of soldier it attracted was very high. After much publicity, the quality of volunteer declined markedly and all the "tough-guy riff-raff" wanted to join and it gained somewhat of a hooligan image. It was also briefly disbanded, but after lots of trimming and cuts, was re-instated as a shadow of its former self.
A very similar fate befell the Rhodesian Selous Scouts. When they were disguised at a Tracker Unit, they operated very effectively as a pseudo unit, turning terrorists and disguising themselves as terrorists and passing on intel so that other units could wipe the enemy out. Once they became subject to media attention, not only did their quality of recruit suffer, for the same reason as mentioned above, but their tactics became known to the enemy and their effectiveness declined. I have been hoping for some time that either the Seals would cease their publicity campaign or that it was a blind for other more secret units operating out of the publics eye.

Is the Recon Regiment the famous Recces unit of the SANDF,I had read a lot of good things about them.