“To force USSOCOM into an unwanted, unnecessary service structure would fix nothing and break, perhaps, everything. The greatest loss would be both to the great formations that constitute USSOCOM, and to unquestioned reduced capability on behalf of our country.â€
@rangerrebew It can't be said better. It has been proven over and over that every time Special Forces gets close to the conventional army,the regular army asshats try to break them up and use the NCO's as Platoon sgts in the regular army.
There is even a documented case of a USMC General Officer that was in charge of I Corps,primarily a USMC area of responsibility,getting so pissed at not being able to break up the SF camps and use the SF troops as his personal recon teams that he REFUSED to obey his orders to go to the relief of a SF A-camp in I Corps that was surrounded by an NVA division that even had Soviet tanks,and his refusal resulted in the camp being overan and temporarily seized by the NVA,with several of the SF soldiers assigned there KIA,and a couple are were STILL listed as being MIA until recent years,when the army declared them all KIA.
Their first relief came at dawn the next morning,when believe it or not,a recon team from CCN decided to take it upon themselves to run a rescue operation,and talked a VN helicopter crew into flying them into the camp. By then the perimeter had been overran,and there was actually a Soviet tank doing figure 8's over the top of the commo bunker,where most of the wounded had found shelter. It was this recon team that called in tactical air,and when the fighter bombers started showing up,the tanks tried to haul ass for the shelter of the jungle,but IIRC,none made it.
The CCN recon team (8 members strong,plus the VN helicopter with a 30 caliber Browning MG in the only door it had,and the co-pilot leaning out his window and firing a 1911A1 pistol managed to save the survivors. Including two that had been on the berm when the camp was overan,and managed to E&E to the jungle somehow. They came out of hiding when they heard the helicopter come in and land,and they were saved,too.
This was such a serious event that the overall commander of all US operations in VN,General William Westmoreland landed at the Marine base at dawn and PERSONALLY relieved that USMC General of his command,named his second in command as the new USMC in VA and ordered him to send a relief force to the camp. The new USMC commander,not being the fool his boss had been,said "Yessir,yessir,3 bags full,SIR!" and gave the order.
This is such a rare event that it is almost unheard of,but it does highlight the mindset of the conventional military. Truth to tell,if they get what they want,they still won't get it for more than a couple of years because most of the career SF NCO's and officers will take discharges when their time is up,and get out of the army.
What these airheads are missing is these over-achievers joined Special Forces to GET AWAY from the regular army. They were tired of being baby-sitters for both the teenage troops and the officers in their commands.
