Move, Shoot and COMMUNICATE.
For a Special Forces Team to be sucessful it must be able to move shoot and communicate. If any single element is missing they will fail. We see many threads on PT and "Rucking" and that is important but just as important is the ability to perform a mission once you arrive -- "Shoot". And equally important is the ability to communicate. In Vietnam it was said that the most potent hand-held weapon in the Army was the PRC-25/77. For Special Forces, communications is the means of receiving intel updates, resupply, CAS, medevac, extraction,etc.
In a UW environment, a good commo man is respected and well protected. When I was in Germany in the 60's I was protected, escorted and respected because I could communicate. I was the lifeline and the team recognized that fact. It was,sometimes discouraging because I never got to do the "fun stuff" like raids and ambushes. That changed in Vietnam when I was in SOG and volunteered for recon. I didn't want to be a spectator. Many commo men of the time apparently felt the same as a large percentage of recon men in C&C were 05Bs.
When I volunteered for Special Forces I wanted to be an engineer and blow things up. I was disappointed when they said I was going to commo school. Today I am glad I became an 05B.
Those of you who are chosen for communications rather than one of the "glamor" MOSs take heart. The day will come when you can look others right in the eye and say: "I can do your job but you can't do mine'!
I'm an old FOG, not too remote from Marconi and Morse but feel free to ask questions. I'm sure there are others on the board who can help.
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