The SAS: a very special force

Divemaster · 02-02-2013, 13:23

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ial-force.html

Dusty · 02-02-2013, 14:35

Certainly, as we prepare to tackle the wars of the future, it is clear we need more investment in our special forces, not ill-judged budget cuts. For, as George Orwell memorably remarked, “People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”

Chairborne64 · 02-02-2013, 15:01

Actually, the cut in the U.S. Army is going to be a big challenge to SF. As the recruiting pool goes down it will be very hard to maintain all the force structure that we have grown (all those 4th battalions). I am sure all of us old timers remeber the "ghost" 6 team in each company after the Gulf War.

Badger52 · 02-02-2013, 20:25

Special forces face big cuts in support network
The support network for Britain’s special forces is facing major cutbacks with around 600 posts earmarked to be lost in a reorganisation to coincide with the military pull-out from Afghanistan.

LINK to a follow-up

Notable to me from the original article:

Quote:

As one senior Army officer comments: “If you cut the strength of the Army any further, then you reduce the recruiting pool from which the special forces draw their recruits. You then have a situation where you either cut the size of the special forces, or drop the training bar, which would severely reduce their effectiveness.”

02-02-2013, 20:35

I guess the age old "less is more" doesn't always cut it...

MR2 · 02-02-2013, 20:36

And that prostitute down in Argentina is just waiting for them to make those cuts.

**The Reaper** · 02-02-2013, 20:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badger52

Special forces face big cuts in support network
The support network for Britain’s special forces is facing major cutbacks with around 600 posts earmarked to be lost in a reorganisation to coincide with the military pull-out from Afghanistan.

LINK to a follow-up

Notable to me from the original article:

How does he think we graduated 850 students per year (from a low of 250 just a few years before) while the regular Army had very limited strength increase?

That bar can be set very low, as we see from time to time.

TR

medic&commo · 02-02-2013, 21:10

Quote:

You paying attention, Barack Hussein Obama?

It been suggested that BHO would like nothing better than to see the "nation playing field" be leveled, in relation to America's standing in the hierarchy.

Perhaps this is just another way of chipping away at super-power status.
m&c

longrange1947 · 02-02-2013, 22:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by DocIllinois

Hell, I remember all of the "nonexistent" platoons in the regular army after the Gulf War.

The vast majority of my active duty time was spent serving as infantry. MOS 63T...

Perhaps we should be like the Muh-reens and pridefully do more with less.

Old quote from the 70s:

"We have been doing so much, with so little, for so long; that they now expect us to do everything, with nothing, forever."

Have that on a wall plaque from 72.

Flagg · 02-02-2013, 23:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by longrange1947

Old quote from the 70s:

"We have been doing so much, with so little, for so long; that they now expect us to do everything, with nothing, forever."

Have that on a wall plaque from 72.

I was just looking at the US Army total headcount in 1970 and 1975.

Looks like approx a 40%+ headcount reduction.

Which I assume would have had considerable impact on specialist unit recruitment from a big picture gross numbers pump in/pump out perspective.

I don't know the difference in specialist unit headcount ratios from 1970 to 1975 nor now, but I can imagine the strain on producing qualified specialist personnel would have been immense, and indicates some potential challenges in the period ahead.

No offense to the old school fellas, but I would think the additional skillsets that keep getting layered on top over the years that lengthen the "manufacturing pipeline" adds a further headwind to gaining, or even just maintaining, capability.

MtnGoat · 02-03-2013, 00:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by longrange1947

Old quote from the 70s:

"We have been doing so much, with so little, for so long; that they now expect us to do everything, with nothing, forever."

So true and will be come a fact very shortly. Ghost teams will be back shortly too.

longrange1947 · 02-03-2013, 10:57

Flagg, during that time, teams were manned at 5 to 8 instead of 12, I was one of 2 qualified medics in the company in 74, that was a lot of field trips, and teams were at 4 or 5 per company mostly 4. You could have as few a 20 to 40 team members in a company with 40 being very rare.

That saying was true in the early 70s and will return soon enough. There is always that pesky "Peace Dividend" that liberals love to talk about. While they find nothing wrong with making a soldier pay out of state tuition, but give illegal aliens in state.

Sorry, off topic. Rant off.