Day 3 - Special Forces Symposium
US Army Special Forces (SF) is this nation's only force - recruited, selected, trained and equipped to conduct Unconventional Warfare (UW). The US Army SF are the best qualified UW Force in the world.In FY 07, Green Beret wearing SF teams conducted 737 missions in 116 countries. My day began with breakfast at the hotel with a room full of symposium attendees. Spoke briefly with the CSM who closed down the old Det "A" in Berlin, and an SF National Guard member who had tours in Afghan and Iraq as a guardsman. He told me the Army cannot task his unit. He explained SF requests augmentation, the men volunteer, but the governor has to approve the deployment. He then told me he did not understand the lack of visibility SF has within the United States considering their contribution to the GWOT effort. I believe the steps the command is taking to increase SF's visibility will be effective. I went through the package I received on day 2. It includes the new coins, the new SF dog tag - actually 2 dog tags. One for active and one for retirees - ditto for the coins. I also got a good look at the first six of the new posters. I'll work on scanning those and have them posted to the VSF web site opening page.
www.veteransofspecialforces.org
Also found a green (rubber thingee) bracelet in the packet engraved with the words "FOR THOSE ON MY LEFT AND RIGHT". The movies will be released in the near future. The overall theme is -
I Stay - - - not for the money - - - not for the critics - - - not for the glory - - - but for those on my left and right - - - The retiree version is -
I Served - - - not for the money - - - not for the critics - - - not for the glory - - - but for those on my left and right - - - Then I went out to Ft Bragg, ran into Joe Lupyak and together we toured the new Special Forces Hall of Heroes. It is more than impressive. You do not want to miss seeing that on your next visit to Bragg. Then to the coffee call with lots of pastries and fruit and good coffee. Spoke with the USAJFKSWC&S CG, MG Parker, there. He told me that SF needs the retired SFA community's support and in a visible way. He was pleased that SFA gave each member of this week's graduating class a free one year membership, and suggested that was a good start. MG Parker then said he recommended the same should be done for every SF soldier who receives a Valor Medal. I thought that was another splendid idea. One that would get some of the local Chapter members out to those formations to connect the dots between Vietnam era SF Vets and SF GWOT Vets. Then it was into the auditorium for the active duty Bronze St Philip Neri Award Ceremony. Mel Smith represented the SF Association. SFA VP Ron McCan was also present. It was very impressive to witness this ceremony. These awards went to top members of the SF Regiment, one of whom will be receiving a DSC soon. Back to another coffee call. I'll tell you much gets done during the interaction during the breaks. The USASFC CG, MG Csrnko and I started chatting. MG C suggested that five Bronze awards per group would be a dynamic improvement. He also told me Special Forces needs the support of the retired SF community now more than ever before. The Graybeard session was moderated by MG Csrnko in a question and answer format. The panel included 5 retirees - 2 MGs, 2 BGs, and 1 COL. All five had extensive and broad ranging careers in the SF Regiment. The format was question and answer. I'll paraphrase the comments and Graybeard recommendations I can recall:
- 1. The Direct Action side does not have to learn the language and customs. Their language is bullets and gadgets.
- 2. SF Company Commanders should visit American Commanders in their AO, explain what they do and ask how they can help him.
- 3. We need to get better at writing and completing AA Reports. We need to be willing to use them for more operational analysis, lessons learned, and self criticism.
- 4. SF is all about the people not the gadgets.
- 5. Prior and current time in the AO is critical and makes a big difference. It is what sets SF apart.
- 6. Articulate our roles and missions; where we fit; and how we help on the battlefield.
- 7. Afghanistan proved Unconventional Warfare is effective and a winning strategy. (My note: Recommend the book, "Masters of Chaos")
- 8. Keep UW and FID out of Irregular Warfare (IW). It is not a fit. UW is presently included in IW.
- 9. Those (uninitiated) in groups studying and planning Irregular Warfare as a concept do not understand the second word. They think warfare means close combat only.
- 10. America and our allies have different ideas of war. Our allies do not understand our declaring wars on drugs, poverty, etc.. (I gathered that declaring all these wars makes us look like insatiable belligerents.)
- 11. Irregular Warfare is not war. It is a partnership arrangement.
- 12. The US should engage our allies in our by, with and through efforts.
- 13. We must continue the Special Forces ramp up.
- 14. We (SF) must refuse to stand down. We must be willing to fight for SF's survival. America needs this strategic capability.
- 15. The waters are completely muddied with the terms SOF and SF. Remember Special Forces is a Branch and career management field. The only one in SOF.
- 16. Remember the warrior ethos. We are warriors first and teachers second. FID is second.
- 17. Special Forces soldiers are the best trained and most lethal on the battlefield. They have to be. That is where they derive their respect, authority, and by, with and through capabilities.
- 18. Conventional leaders do not know SF. Use a soft sell and diplomacy with conventional guys. Remember we are members of the SOF community.
- 19. Embrace the media.
- 20. Remember Emails are permanently recorded message traffic.
- 21. Keep a daily log and keep it complete.
Mike Linnane