A Combat Controller Story
12-07-2008 | 07:28 PM
#11
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 28
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From: HS-125 SIC
Like you (and I) said,
This was my simple reason for leaving them out of my original comment regarding the USAF having a "warrior" capability. My limited definition of warrior in that earlier comment was directed at those who, like the infantry, close with and destroy the enemy as a PRIMARY mission. With that definition, I leave out AC-130 guys, A-10 guys, Apache drivers, Artillerymen, and too many others to detail here
.
With your experience, you have run into folks that think theirs is the only way, and that everyone else's SOF aren't... I'm not one of those. The DOD hasn't gotten it perfect and SOF are generally over headquartered, but I think the application of specific forces for specific missions has gotten better, and I'm a big fan of using SOF as much as possible.
With all that PC crap out of the way, I do have to show a little pride in ARSOF, where I was an Action Guy for the first half of my 20+ years in the Army. There is no other DOD force like the 75th Ranger Regiment, and there is only one "Special Forces", despite what the media uses in their descriptions of current actions. While I only worked with (not as a member of) the other folks of ARSOF, I am positive that there are no other units that can come close to the boys at Bragg or the Army's SOAR. I'm leaving out a few unmentionables, but you get the point.
No we don't regularly do shipboard ops, but then I don't think folks who are good at that should be doing land ops and getting their teams wiped out along with their supporting aviators either. We can call for and direct fires, but when we have a great relationship with those who do it better than we do, we leverage that skillset and those personnel to help us achieve our goals in a more efficient manner. I'm glad to see our MARSOF brothers get into the FID/UW fight, but for now they are as babes in the woods with the missions they are being asked to accomplish. I am happy to see the various SOF being more tightly coordinated, but it still sucks to see petty personal and interservice politics dictate who gets some missions.
To be clear, I'm only recently retired
, and I'm missing it badly. I also have a bunch of time on my hands, since I'm in IOE and waiting for my training to begin.
.With your experience, you have run into folks that think theirs is the only way, and that everyone else's SOF aren't... I'm not one of those. The DOD hasn't gotten it perfect and SOF are generally over headquartered, but I think the application of specific forces for specific missions has gotten better, and I'm a big fan of using SOF as much as possible.
With all that PC crap out of the way, I do have to show a little pride in ARSOF, where I was an Action Guy for the first half of my 20+ years in the Army. There is no other DOD force like the 75th Ranger Regiment, and there is only one "Special Forces", despite what the media uses in their descriptions of current actions. While I only worked with (not as a member of) the other folks of ARSOF, I am positive that there are no other units that can come close to the boys at Bragg or the Army's SOAR. I'm leaving out a few unmentionables, but you get the point.
No we don't regularly do shipboard ops, but then I don't think folks who are good at that should be doing land ops and getting their teams wiped out along with their supporting aviators either. We can call for and direct fires, but when we have a great relationship with those who do it better than we do, we leverage that skillset and those personnel to help us achieve our goals in a more efficient manner. I'm glad to see our MARSOF brothers get into the FID/UW fight, but for now they are as babes in the woods with the missions they are being asked to accomplish. I am happy to see the various SOF being more tightly coordinated, but it still sucks to see petty personal and interservice politics dictate who gets some missions.
To be clear, I'm only recently retired
, and I'm missing it badly. I also have a bunch of time on my hands, since I'm in IOE and waiting for my training to begin.
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