Special Forces magazine article
 

An interesting article in the current (October '05) Atlantic magazine.

Imperial Grunts: With the Army Special Forces in the Philippines and Afghanistan-- laboratories of counterinsurgency. By Robert Kaplan pp.84-93

In case anyone can't find it, I can email out a PDF copy of it. Being that I can't figure out how to attach a file to an email thru this forum, you'll need to email me your email address so I can send it. Or, somebody tell me how to attach in this forum.

Dave,

Please do.

Dave could you email it to me as well... Thanks
Jon

Here's the link. Has anyone read the book yet?

THANKS jatx. That will save me some time. I don't think the book is out yet.

Naw jatx, I just got it today at B&N. I'll hopefully have a chance to finish it by the end of the weekend. Once I do I'll post a review.

Great, I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts. The article was fairly positive toward SF but, with a title like Imperial Grunts, I worry that the work as a whole may have a more ideological edge to it.

Thanks for being our canary!

Interesting read. I think Kaplan tends to do a pretty good job. Some of the things he describes here are inspiring and uplifting, others disappointing and frustrating... therefor probably accurate? I think I'll get this book.

jatx,

Thanks for posting the link.

Dave,

Thanks for trying to send it to me.

It's no problem... I typically read anything I can get my hands on that's current events related with what seems to be little to no bias.

Finished the book last weekend. Fairly quick, but definitely more in-depth than the article. Thanks for the original post stone.

It is interesting, as you will find, that he is covering this war from a different perspective than most of the writers out there. He is definitely looking at this from a small wars / LIC perspective. He also compares the methods used by USSF, Marines, and Mother Army quite well. As a writer, he is free to critique the organizations / methods and this is a definitely a strength for him.

All in all, a great read. If you know of any conventional officers or NCOs out there, might want to point them towards this book.

I am looking forward to his follow-on book to this.

Any other thoughts?

V/R,

I’m half-way through the book. My first impression is it's okay, but at times a little over the top. To be expected, since he has to sell books.

I’ve been jumping around the book reading different chapters as I find time. Kaplan does a good job of telling the stories of the characters he meets, their current duties, how they got to where they are, and their experiences along the way. Since I don’t know any SF soldiers, the only thing better than that type of reporting is, of course, found here at PS.com! :)

It was interesting that after his travels he returned to Ft. Bragg to brief the top echelon on the “defects of Special Forces” and how SF needed to “evolve.” Even though Kaplan framed his intent as relaying the thoughts of the NCO’s and officers with whom he was embedded, I wonder how the briefing by a journalist on how SF needed to change was received at JFKSWCS.

Kaplan’s premise is that SF is vulnerable to being swamped by Big Army and losing out when it comes time to divvy up the Pentagon budget. While acknowledging that SF was “hot,” and justified in claiming success in Afghanistan and enjoying prominence in OIF and GWOT, Kaplan claims this just makes SF more vulnerable. He likens SF’s predicament to Apple launching the personal computer revolution, then being dominated by Microsoft. Kaplan believes that unless Special Forces “evolve and correct its shortcomings,” it would suffer Apple’s fate.

This line of reasoning seems counter-intuitive, especially since the CSA comes from SOF and Secretary Rumsfeld is a strong proponent of expanding the role of SOF. Kaplan doesn’t expand on how he reached his conclusion, and I am a civilian who knows nothing about Army and Pentagon politics.

great book so far
 

First of all I would like to thank those involved for mentioning the article and the book. I'm about half way through the book and I'm really enjoying it so far.

I believe Kaplan's theory or premise that America is an empire although a reluctant one is of real interest. His analogy between the current activities of our SF teams in Colombia, Phillipines, Afganistan etc. and to the engagements of the English military during Kipling's time is welcomed. His portrait of the American military personnel as soldier statesman actually implementing policies they have partially created illustrates the power inherent in individuals who are highly trained and motivated. In this era of big companies, big armies, etc. it's illuminating to see that there the substantive impact in the actions of individuals.

I have not reached the point in the book where Kaplan is offering advice on how to change SF, but I imagine it will be in sync with the last chapter of Masters of Chaos where the author disccuses the ideas of General Lambert.

How to redefine SF in this global fight against terrorism should be an interesting process. How to keep big Army at bey and allow SF teams to actually join the fight in places like Columbia and the Phillipines will be one of the crucial battles.

In essence, Kaplan is saying essentially what General Lambert's proposes for the future role of the SF: to formally assign SF the responsibility of worldwide asymmetric threats. The SF would have permanent assignment to watch the hundred plus terrorst groups and insurgencies around the world and when trouble appears, to raised a flag, then plan and execute the plan to stop the threat. To do so without a layer of beaucracy watching over their shoulder and micro managing their actions.

General Lambert states,"The Special Forces soldier today is audacious, brave, and better than ever, and works best when totally unfettered."

However, it seems unlikely that big Army would sit idly by while SF personnel engage in robust activities around the world and they sit and wait for a big war to fight.

Also, it seems unlikely that we our nation could sustain such policies over the period of time required to make such a system successful. Before you know it, a Carter of Clinton would become president and screw up the whole system.

After reading the excerpt in Atlantic monthly I look forward to getting a copy of the book. Robert Kaplan may just be this generations Robin Moore. A journalist who through his experiences while preparing for a book or an article has come to be an advocate of SOF.

The first time I read an article by Robert Kaplan I was getting ready to return from AFG on my first tour and someone gave me a copy of an article that was printed in the New York times. The article was very well written and articulated the fact that the "Big Army" may just be hindering the war effort through its conventional mindset. The article went on to describe how the troops out at the FOBs, PRTs and in the field are fighting the war and the other 10,000 are at Bagram and Kandahar licking ice cream cones and going to the PX (if you were stuck at BAF/KAF you know what you did) Kaplan was able to capture the common feeling of the troops through his interactions and observations.

It is good to see a responsible journalist who writes the reality of what is going on out there and then combines it with acute intellect of how to employ our "Soldier Statesmen".