US Special Operations Forces in Action

The Challenge of Unconventional Warfare

Thomas K. Adams

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 1998
• eBook ISBN: 9781136744457
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Armies in the 1990s are commonly involved in low-level, ill-defined, politically charged, messy situations known collectively as "unconventional warfare". Thomas Adams argues for a shift in expectations with a greater willingness to accept lengthy commitments and incremental progress.

1	What are special operations all about?

The US armed forces, like the militaries of all modern major powers, are trained, structured and equipped for World War II-like clashes of maneuver warfare – massive tank battles surging across the countryside, accompanied by apocalyptic doses of artillery and airpower. This is called ‘conventional warfare’, meaning that it follows the established conventions for the conduct of military combat. The problem is that this kind of bruising conventional mechanized combat has happened to the USA's military forces exactly once in the past 50 years: this was the Iraqi war of 1991, and it lasted not quite six days. The rest of the time, the armed forces have been doing something else.

During that same 50 years, tens of thousands of US service personnel, including some women, have died in armed clashes; not only in the slogging infantry combat of Korea and the endless bloodletting of Vietnam, but also in a mind-boggling variety of ambiguous, smaller-scale conflicts. During the same period, a particular capability was developed to deal with this array of lesser, but messy, politically charged situations that often straddled the tenuous boundary between an uneasy peace and something that was not quite war – Somalia, Haiti, Rwanda, El Salvador and Nicaragua to name a few. Generically, these ill-defined, constantly shifting forms of conflict can be termed ‘unconventional warfare’ (UW) because they do not follow the conventions of military conflict. They are not usually waged by the professional armed forces of a state, warring forces do not usually attempt to seize and hold terrain, and sometimes they are not even waged for a specific reason.

Unconventional warfare (UW) – US DOD (Department of Defense) definition. An SOF (Special Operations Forces) principal mission involving a broad spectrum of military and paramilitary operations, normally of long duration, predominately conducted by indigenous or surrogate forces who are organized, trained, equipped, supported and directed, in varying degrees, by an external source. UW includes guerrilla warfare and other direct offensive, low-visibility, covert or clandestine operations, as well as the indirect activities of subversion, sabotage, intelligence activities, and evasion and escape. Unconventional warfare (UW) – author's definition. Those military activities conducted within a conflict environment that are not directed toward or directly supporting conventional warfare, including humanitarian operations, complex emergencies, insurgency and counterinsurgency, some forms of subversion, sabotage and similar activities. Intelligence gathering is an incidental function in most forms of UW UW is distinguished from conventional warfare chiefly by the fact that it does not seek to defeat or destroy enemy military forces in combat.

There is a wide variety of unconventional threats available, many lumped together by the US Department of Defense as MOOTW (Military Operations Other Than War), now (1998) being referred to as Stability and Support Operations (SASO). These include, but are not limited to, humanitarian assistance, insurgency and counterinsurgency, noncombatant evacuation, counterdrug operations, shows of force, nation assistance, ensuring freedom of air and sea navigation, peace operations, disaster assistance, recovery operations, strikes and raids, and more (JCS, Joint Pub 3–07, Military Operations Other Than War, 1995, ix).

Many of these tasks, for example, freedom of navigation missions or strikes and raids, can easily be conducted by conventional forces. However, some situations involve complex combinations of missions such as humanitarian or disaster assistance, nation assistance and perhaps even counterinsurgency, all occurring at once in the same area. The Haiti intervention of 1994 is an example of such a mission.¹

This book argues that, for the most part, the conventional war-fighting forces of the USA are not the best military forces for such missions. These situations are characterized by lack of a defined enemy, the need for persuasion, negotiation and even community leadership, but also by the presence of significant elements ready and perhaps eager to resort to deadly force. The component of the US military best prepared for these conflicts is the Special Operations Forces.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES?

The conventional military forces of the US Department of Defense are commonly referred to as ‘General Purpose Forces’. The term ‘Special Operations Forces’ has come to include a wide variety of military organizations, often with very different missions. This book argues that a number of these organizations perform essentially the same missions as conventional (non-SOF) forces. The Army Ranger Battalions, Army special operations aviation forces and nearly all Navy and Air Force SOF fall into this category. Others, such as the Army's Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta, perform very narrow, specialized functions. Still others, notably Army Special Forces, actually perform functions that make them well suited for unconventional warfare of the kind described here.

The best known of the US special operating units is the Army Special Forces (SF), better known as the ‘Green Berets’. First brought to prominence during the Vietnam War, Army SF acquired an image as deadly, commando-style, jungle fighters, which has not diminished over the years. In addition, the US Navy and Air Force have created their own special operations units, on a much smaller scale than the Army. The Air Force units, in particular, function chiefly to support Army SOF by providing transportation, medical evacuation and fire support.

The principal SOF organizations within each service are:

Army

About 30,000 active and reserve soldiers are assigned to the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). Except for the 1st, 5th and 10th SF Groups and reserve units, most are located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The principal elements of USASOC are :

1. Special Forces (SF): SF are organized in five more-or-less geographically oriented, active-duty Special Forces Groups – the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 10th. Two other groups, the 19th and 20th, are in the National Guard. Each group has a headquarters, a support company, three battalions and an intelligence unit. Each battalion has three companies and a support company. Companies are also referred to as operational detachments bravo, or ‘ODBs’. Each company has a headquarters and six operational detachments alpha, or A Teams’, of 12 personnel. The team members are a commander (captain), a technician, who functions as a deputy (warrant officer), and ten noncommissioned officers (sergeants), specializing respectively in operations, intelligence, light and heavy weapons, medicine, communications, engineering and demolitions. Each team member is ‘cross-trained’ in at least two specialties other than their primary one. The members of these groups receive language training and cultural orientation appropriate to their anticipated area of operations. Their basic function is to organize and train foreign military and paramilitary personnel. However, the Groups are assigned a wide variety of missions, including strategic reconnaissance and direct action (raids and the like). These are the most flexible of all special operations organizations.

2. Rangers: Also known as the 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger). These units are elite, airborne (i.e. parachute) light infantry. The regiment has three battalions, all stationed at separate installations. Each battalion has a headquarters company, support elements and three rifle companies. Each company is composed of three rifle platoons and a weapons platoon with machine guns and mortars. Rangers perform a full spectrum of infantry tasks at a very high level of proficiency. Their special function is to seize and hold enemy airfields or other installations by parachute or helicopter assault.

3. Special Operations Aviation (SOA): The principal unit is the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), although separate Special Aviation Squadrons also exist, one of which is permanently stationed in Panama. These are helicopter units including observation, transportation and attack aircraft. Principal aircraft types are the MH-6, AH-6J, MH-60K and MH-47E. Some units are organized with a single aircraft type, while others are mixed. SOA provides aviation support to Army SOF through insertion/extraction, attack, medical evacuation, electronic warfare and other functions.

4. Special Support Units: The 528th Special Operations Support Battalion and the 112th Special Operations Signal Battalion both at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, provide general support for Army SOF. Other specialized support units provide services and support to specific Army SOF including Special Mission Units.

5. Psychological Operations (Psyops): There is one active duty Psyops unit, the 4th Psychological Operations Group, with five battalions, totaling about 1,300 personnel. There are two reserve Groups. Psyops units assess the information environment, and develop, produce and disseminate media products, including leaflets, posters, newspapers, radio and TV broadcasts and other items. Tactical loudspeaker teams provide another means for military commanders to communicate with the civil population in the area of operations. Psyop forward-liaison detachments are located in Europe, Hawaii and Panama.

6. Civil Affairs (CA): There is one active duty CA unit, the 96th Civil Affairs Bn, with about 300 personnel. This is a general purpose unit. The remaining 97 percent of the US armed forces CA capacity, or 24 battalions, is in the Army reserve. CA units assist local governments at all levels, supporting military operations by establishing relationships between military forces and local civil authorities. In the absence of local government, they may assist in its restoration. CA skills include disaster assessment and coordination with relief and disaster assistance organizations. CA reserve skills include the full range of governmental functions including administration, safety, public health, education, agricultural and other forms of assistance.

Navy

About 5,500 active and reserve sailors are assigned to the Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM). The principal operational commands of NAVSPECWARCOM are Naval Special Warfare Group One at Coronado, California and Naval Special Warfare Group Two at Little Creek, Virginia. A Development Group is responsible for developing requirements and testing new equipment, techniques and procedure. The Atlantic and Pacific Fleets also operate eight nuclear submarines capable of clandestine insertion and extraction of SOF. The principal elements of the command are:

1. Sea-Air-Land Teams (SEALs): There are six SEAL teams. Generally, a team consists of 230 persons configured as a headquarters, support departments, and 8 platoons of about 16 men each. Each platoon can operate as a platoon, two squads or four elements. About 40 personnel are assigned to the departments which include communications, intelligence, diving, air operations and similar command, control and support functions. All SEALs are highly qualified with light weapons and explosives, and as swimmers, divers and parachutists. They perform a variety of functions, including maritime interdiction, reconnaissance and raiding, often operating from aircraft, surface craft and submarines. SEALs are generally agreed to be the most physically fit of all special operations units.

2. Special Boat Units (SBUs): There are two Special Boat Squadron Headquarters and five SBUs. These are surface-warfare units designed to support SOF (especially SEALs) with transportation, infiltration, fire support and supply. Organization varies among the SBUs. Generally, they are composed of a headquarters and some number of combatant craft detachments. Types of craft include the 31-foot River Patrol Boats, the 82-foot, high-speed Mark V Special Operations Craft, the 30-foot Rigid Inflatable Boat and others. The Naval Special Warfare Groups also operate a total of 13 seagoing, Cyclone Class, Patrol Coastal (PC) ships (170 foot).

3. SEAL delivery vehicle teams: There are two SDV (Swimmer Delivery Vehicle) Teams. These are specialized teams that provide and maintain four-man mini-submarines used for SEAL infiltration. Each team has a logistic element, four SDV platoons and two submarine Dry Deck Shelter platoons. Beginning in 1998, these are to be replaced with the similar Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS).

Air Force

About 10,000 airmen and 130 aircraft are assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The Air Force operates the 16th Special Operations Wing (SOW) at Hurlburt Field, Florida and a Special Tactics Group. The SOW includes two Special Operations Group Headquarters with nine active-duty fixed-wing SO (Special Operations) Squadrons and five rotary-wing SO Squadrons. There are three fixed-wing squadrons in the reserve components. These units operate a variety of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Most are advanced variations on the C-130 turboprop transport, the UH60 general-purpose helicopter, and the H-53 long-range helicopter. C-130 variants include attack, penetration, air-to-air refueling and psychological-operations versions. There is one reserve SOW and one Air National Guard Special Operations Squadron. Special Tactics Group provides combat-control teams and search-and-rescue teams. The combat control teams (CCT) often operate with other special operations units to guide and direct supporting Air Force aircraft.

Special Mission Units (SMUs)

These are more narrowly focused organizations equipped and trained for counterterrorism, strategic reconnaissance and other missions that are usually highly classified. Public statements ‘by General Carl W Stiner… identify the Army's Delta Force and [Navy] SEAL Team 6 as permanently assigned Special Mission Units’. They can ‘accomplish surgical strikes against sensitive targets’ for hostage rescue, capture of enemy leaders or recovery of classified materiel. Rangers and the SOAR augment SMUs as required and selected Air Force crews regularly train with them (J. Collins, 1994, 70, 174).

Theater Special Operations Commands (SOCs)²

Each theater of operations has a small Special Operations Command, or SOC, that exercises operational control over SOF (except Psyops and Civil Affairs) in that geographic region controlled by the theater headquarters. There are five Theater SOCs, each commanded by a Brigadier General and including representatives of all the various special-operations elements of all three services.

SOF Missions

Most SOF and all Army SF, Rangers and Navy SEALs are qualified parachutists. Numerous individuals in all SOF units are qualified as light-weapons and explosives experts, divers and receive specific training for extreme environments such as deserts and the arctic. Infiltration techniques such as high-altitude parachuting, small-boat use and underwater approaches are standard among most SOF units. The exceptions to this are Army Civil Affairs and Psyops units. This fact is sometimes used to argue that these units are not ‘real’ SOF.³

The question of exactly what special operations forces do is less straightforward than it might seem from the preceding descriptions. Special operations, or special ops, as they are often referred to, are not well defined. The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) offers the following definition of special operations:

Special operations encompass the use of small units in direct or indirect military actions that are focused on strategic or operational objectives. They require units with combinations of specialized personnel, ...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• List of illustrations
• Glossary of acronyms
• Glossary of terms
• 1. What are special operations all about?
• 2. War outside the conventional model: a US history
• 3. The creation of Army Special Forces
• 4. Special Forces in Vietnam – Part I
• 5. Special Forces in Vietnam – Part II
• 6. The post-Vietnam doldrums
• 7. Special ops in the bureaucratic jungle
• 8. The SOF renaissance
• 9. Desert Storm, Provide Comfort and the drug war
• 10. Somalia and Haiti
• 11. A brief excursion into the future
• Bibliography
• Index