Special Operations In American Wars

Running Head: SPECIAL OPERATIONS

Special Operations in American Wars

Michael Qualls

James Madison University

United States Special Forces have been used in �covert’ operations since the beginning of the US Military. From Vietnam to Iraq, they have played a major role in battle, and continue to as technological knowledge increases.

What are Special Forces? The Department of Defense defines Special Forces as, “organized, trained, and equipped to conduct special operations with an emphasis on unconventional warfare capabilities” (Joint Doctrine Division).

Generally, Special Forces are used for highly targeted and specific operations. These include sabotage and reconnaissance. Because of their high level of training, they are small in numbers, and they generally do poorly in normal combat against larger normal military forces, as normal military forces can overwhelm them by number of troops.

The work of Special Forces is more often classified, and hence the degree of selectivity among candidates is in proportion to the degree of importance in the military mission.

Special Forces operatives may also be used to train foreign local forces when military aid is given to other countries, as much of their specialized training includes language and cultural skills. Special Forces have an aura of mystery surrounding them and are frequently the topic of military fiction. (Definition of Special Forces)

We can see that Special Forces are a critical part of the Unites States Military force. The most important missions; Assassinations, Extractions, and other �High-Risk’ missions are given to these highly trained men and women.

The interesting thing about Special Forces is that someone does not move up in rank or graduate to it, people are chosen by current Special Forces because of their experience and expertise in certain fields.

Special Forces have been used in most of the wars in which the United States have been involved in. Some argue that they are a useless branch of the United States military, and simply cost too much money to maintain. On the other hand, some argue that Special Forces are a necessary part of any military, especially the United States military, because they have played a critical role in the success of the military. Without Special Forces, we could have possibly lost crucial battles to Nazi Germany, Russia, and Iraq.

In 2002, the United States Special Operations Command had an annual budget of $4.9 billion dollars, a mere 1.3 percent of the overall Department of Defense budget (Pike) The argument for the elimination of Special Forces from the military is not supported, because their budget is a small percent of the overall military’s budget.

Special Forces were a necessary part of wars involving the US, such as World War II, the Vietnam War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In World War II, Special Forces played a key role in stopping Nazi Germany. Special Forces missions shut off critical supply lines far behind enemy lines, crippling the German Army. Also, Special Forces were some of the first of the Allied Forces to set foot in the European theater. They were the first on the beach, at Point du Hoc, in France, in order to clear the way for the battleships which deployed troops on D-day. An Excerpt from a mission log of the assault on Point du Hoc best explains how Special Operations troops work.

In January, as the two battalions trained along the coasts of Britain, Rudder and Maj. Max F. Schneider, the commander of the 5th Ranger Battalion, arrived in London to receive their mission for D-day from Col. Truman Thorson, operations officer of Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley's U.S. First Army. Four miles west of OMAHA Beach, the main American landing area, was Pointe du Hoc, a peninsula of steep, rocky cliffs jutting out into the Channel. There the Germans had emplaced a battery of six 155-mm. guns which dominated the invasion beaches. Destruction of the battery was critical to the success of the invasion. Although planners had provided for naval and air bombardments of the Pointe, a direct infantry assault was the only certain way of neutralizing the fortification. To reach the position by sea, the attackers would first have to land on a narrow shoreline and then scale an 83- to 100-foot cliff. One intelligence officer remarked, "It can't be done. Three old women with brooms could keep the Rangers from climbing that cliff." Although initially stunned by the magnitude of the task, Rudder and Schneider stepped up their training program, focusing on cliff climbing and amphibious tactics as the date of the assault drew near…finally landed at 0710. Covered by naval gunfire, the Rangers used ropes fired by rockets to scramble up the cliff. The incredulous German defenders kept up a withering fire, cut the ropes, and tossed grenades down the slope, but within ten minutes of the landing the first Rangers had reached the top and secured a precarious foothold. As more soldiers reached the summit, Rudder expanded his perimeter and began sweeping the area. One patrol quickly found and destroyed the guns, which the Germans had hidden for protection during the bombardment. The cost had been heavy. Of the 230 Rangers who had made the assault, only 70 remained by the late afternoon of 6 June. Lacking men, supplies, and ammunition, the remainder grimly prepared to hold out against enemy counterattacks (Hogan).

I believe that this move was crucial to the beginning of World War II. It enabled American troops to begin disabling German structures on the French shore, which allowed for an easier Allied assault on the beaches of Normandy. If this action was not taken, the casualties of D-Day could have been far more in number.

Special Forces also played a key role in the Vietnam War. “Their responsibility was to train South Vietnamese soldiers in the art of counterinsurgency and to mold various native tribes into a credible, anti-communist threat (SpecialOperations.com).” The main focus in Vietnam was to train Vietnamese natives to infiltrate North Vietnam and provide reconnaissance for the American troops.

Through their unstinting labors, Special Forces troops eventually established 254 outposts throughout Vietnam, many of them defended by a single A-team and hundreds of friendly natives. They were also responsible for training thousands of Vietnam's ethnic tribesmen in the techniques of guerrilla warfare. They took the Montagnards, the Nungs, the Cao Dei and others and