[PeteFromMontana]

Thanks for posting this. It looks quite informative.

Bookmarked for reading later

[ibbryn]

Can someone please tell me the function of SEAL Team 6 and how they differ from other SEALs.

[Vigilantcitizen]

Locator.

[Stopislamnow]

Very good article quid, thanks for posting it.

[angkor]

Interesting article.

Aren't these the bad boys from TF121 who captured Saddam?

[Buggman]

Bump for when I get home from work.

Thanks for the post, quidnuc.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

ping

[Cannoneer No. 4]

February 22, 2004: SOCOMs (Special Operations Command) highly trained Rangers, Special Forces and commandoes have a reputation for inflicting heavy casualties, and not taking many in return. Over 5,000 SOCOM troops were operating in Iraq during 2003, and ten were killed in action (five Rangers, two Special Forces, two Air Force and one Army support troops). There was a larger number of wounded, but this number was not released. SOCOM troops avoid casualties through thorough planning, high training levels and excellent team work. Throughout history, the more skilled and better trained troops have consistently won lopsided victories and taken fewer casualties than their opponents. SOCOM deliberately follows in that tradition. But because of the selective nature of such units, you can never have many troops of this quality. SOCOM has about 10,000 "operators" (combat troops) and has a hard time recruiting enough qualified new people to replace those retiring or moving on to other military or civilian jobs. SOCOM also has 35,000 support troops, most of whom were also carefully selected and trained.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

October 16, 2003: In two years of operations, 71 Special Operations troops have been killed in combat or accidents. Another several hundred have been wounded and injured. Only about 10,000 Special Operations troops have been in combat, and this includes some support troops, and crewmen on Special Operations helicopters and aircraft. So the annual loss rate from the deaths and injuries are not quite one percent a year. But it takes 2-3 years to replace losses, and recruiting and training efforts have been increased. Even in peacetime, there would be close to ten percent losses a year from retirement, resignations and injuries. So the wartime losses are not a major strain. But replacing the additional losses also makes it more difficult to increase the number of Special Operations "operators" (like Special Forces, Delta Force and SEALs). Increased recruiting and training operations underway indicate that the Department of Defense is looking at the war on terror is going to be a drawn out operation.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

February 27, 2004: The United States is having a hard time increasing the size of its commando force (Army Delta Force and Navy SEALs). Most of the operators (as the commandoes call themselves) are SEALs, and they are trying to increase their strength by 270 (to about 3,000) in the next two years. It's not easy, as only about five percent of those that apply (and they have to meet minimum physical and mental standards, and already be in the navy, to get that far) eventually get through all the testing and training to become SEALs. The SEALs run five classes, each of 120 men, each year. More than half drop out, or are flunked out, by week six. At the end of the 27 week course, only about two dozen graduate.

Delta Force, which only has a few hundred operators, is thought to be even more exacting. Twice a year, Delta Force recruiters go looking for recruits among active duty soldiers. About five percent of army troops in Korea applied recently, and that might yield a dozen or so Delta operators several years form now.

The commando officers have so far resisted appeals from Pentagon brass to lower standards in order to increase the number of commandoes. The commando leadership know their history, and realize that lowering commando standards simply gets commandos killed in failed missions.

U.S. commandos have been taking the lead in the war on terrorism. The commando units avoid publicity (in order to keep their methods secret), but have been involved in hundreds of operations. The guys who pulled Saddam out of his hole were commandos, and many of the key raids in Iraq and Afghanistan were led by commandos. The most difficult operations tend to go to commandos, because these troops rarely fail. But that's only because they are carefully selected and trained. naturally, the brass would love to have more of these guys. But that's the problem with selectivity; you can't have more.