Day 2 - Special Forces Symposium

US Army Special Forces (SF) is the nation's only force recruited, selected, trained and equipped to conduct Unconventional Warfare (UW).

Other units may claim to have been assigned the mission of UW. They do not have the capability.

A direct action and kinetic strike capability do not qualify a unit as Special Forces. The US Army, USNAV, USMC and USAF all have a direct action and kinetic strike capability.

Because (and as we have known all along) The Special Forces Unconventional Warfare capability is a unique, unmatched and unequalled strategic national defense asset, it is important for our nation's leadership to know that when they care enough to send the very best, they don't have to send paper greeting cards.

Yesterday's events covered the topics above and many others. We had outstanding and informative briefings by the USASFC CG, two briefings by the USAJFKSWC&S CG, and a briefing on the evolving state of the world, the book The "Pentagon's New Map" and some hints about his coming book, by author Thomas Barnett. Barnett was informative and humorous. Everyone in the room laughed when he said, "It takes a tank to raise a village." We knew the double entendre and ambiguity was deliberate. Barnett did make some striking points. He said that our wars cost 5-10% of the cash expenditures while the subsequent peace costs are 90-95%. Maybe that explains why we seem to have more defense contractors than soldiers.

Here are a few statistics on new SF warriors. Of those who make it past the initial screening process and get to assessment and selection (SFAS), 25% graduate. I did not hear anyone say how many enlisted are dropped prior to SFAS. The number of captains dropped during screening is substantial.
Average age - 22 1/2
Average GT - 121
20% college graduates
50% some college
Average sleep during SFAS - 4 hours daily for 14 days
SWC&C is responsible for 65 Military Publications, and they are heavily involved in the 3-24 rewrite.
SWC&C has established a Directorate of Special Operations Education. SF courses are being evaluated for college credit and programs are expanding to provide for advanced education opportunities for SF soldiers.

There is a disconnect with US Army conventional forces. They do not understand Special Forces. They do not know who we are, what we do, or where we fit on the battlefield. As one man explained, every time he deploys he must first seek out the local battalion and brigade commanders to give them a briefing on these subjects. The big Army needs to fix those disconnects in their school system.

MG Csrnko has an initiative that will address this. Special Forces Command has made a movie in 2 versions. It is in the final editing stage. We saw most of one version. Copies of both DVDs will be sent to every US Senator, Congressman, and military leaders in all services. The purpose is to let the world know who we are.

Several months ago, I wrote the article, "Kill the 'Quiet' Professionals". It is still posted in the "Editorial Archives" link at - - www.veteransofspecialforces.org/main/archives/archives.html. The concerns expressed in that article are being addressed in a large way.

MG C is determined to reinstate world-wide brand recognition to US Army Special Forces and the Green Beret. The movie is not the end of this effort, it is the beginning. A new series of posters have also been initiated and distribution began yesterday. The posters will cover the range from Jedburgh Teams, to A Teams, to Mike Force, to today's ODA. We also have a new coin. There are 2 versions of the coin (only difference is one word) one for active and one for retired and former. Trust me you will want one or both.

Of course with no PAO, SF Command has a very limited external capability. USASOC, USSOCOM and US Army Public Affairs Offices must also initiate and direct successful campaigns that support SF Command in this effort.

A historical point, I would like to make to demonstrate capabilities, is when the 5th SFGA Colors were posted in Nha Trang Vetnam, the 5th had twice as many A Teams as are in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The dark cloud I mentioned yesterday appeared again. More on that later.

SF is getting dogs. Contrary to popular belief that dogs are one mission critters. SF has proved single dogs can become trackers, sniffers and attack dogs. Also going to get UAV units.

The 7th Group move was questioned by VSF when we first formed and in meetings we had with leaders at all levels. Yesterday, we learned that the 7th Group move is being questioned by the military.

I'll close with this. In FY 07, The Green Beret wearing, US Army Special Forces performed 737 missions in 116 countries.

DOL
Mike Linnane