| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| Special Ops Forces Offered Hefty Bonuses |
| 2005-02-05 |
| Senior members of U.S. special operations forces will receive bonuses of up to $150,000 for staying in the military, an increase designed to keep the commandos from bolting to the more lucrative private sector. The policy, announced by U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., provides an array of bonuses and incentives to experienced members of Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, and Air Force pararescuemen, plus a few other specialties. "We are taking a lead role in the global war on terrorism, and it's just important we do everything we can to support these professionals," Maj. Ken Hoffman, a spokesman for the command, said Friday. The largest bonus, $150,000, would go to senior sergeants, petty officers and warrant officers who sign up for an additional six years of service. Personnel who sign up for shorter extensions would receive smaller bonuses, down to $8,000 for one year. About 1,500 operators are eligible. About 7,000 enlisted special operators at a midlevel rank or higher would receive $375 a month in additional pay, and senior operators with 25 years of experience would receive $750 a month more. The skills of these troopers are in high demand in the war on terrorism. Depending on their specialty, they are trained in close-quarters combat, hostage rescue, combat search and rescue, hunting terrorists, and forging alliances and working with foreign and guerrilla forces overseas. Some are capable of operating in wilderness areas for extended periods. They are also extremely difficult and expensive to train. Some candidates for special operations forces, drawn from elsewhere in the military, wash out because of the extreme physical and mental challenges. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #8 I'm with Frank G. Pays 'em the money and when they do good, let 'em keep the ears. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2005-02-05 6:22:33 PM |
| #7 Praetorian Guard? Last I looked, the SP wasn't guarding any Consuls. If we had any. They're out building and leading native auxiliaries. That's their job. |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-02-05 1:27:38 PM |
| #6 The other thing GT7229 ignores is that the SOC don't scale up easily. It takes a whole lot of specialized training to make a special ops guy, and despite the high qualifications for even attempting the training, a large percentage don't make it all the way through. These are guys with incredible physical fitness, combat skills, language/culture expertise and no protection via the Geneva Conventions. The one or two I've known are also low-profile, quiet guys. You get that way when you do things that take your squad 3-4 weeks of intense group contingency planning per DAY of mission. Not that many of the people we face right now respect the Conventions anyway, but the SOC guys know that they are NEVER covered when on a mission. But -- they're at the heart of our posture right now. (Note to non-SOC guys: you count too.) The SOC secured the oil pipelines and airfields in the early days of the war in Iraq, I don't doubt they are doing things on the Syrian border (and will do more if Babyface doesn't get his act together) and probably are making friends here and there in the land of Darius. |
| Posted by: too true 2005-02-05 12:58:41 PM |
| #5 pay them the money and call it well spent - it is |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-02-05 11:34:50 AM |
| #4 The bottom line is that the Special Forces are light infantry that would be chewed up by regular combined arms units. They succeeded in Afghanistan because of air and naval aviation support. In Mogadishu, if they hadn't been supported by Army Aviation - Apaches and Kiowas - they would have been massacred. By contrast, the Praetorian Guard were an army by themselves, not just a couple of battalion-sized units. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-02-05 11:09:05 AM |
| #3 GT7229: Yeah, great. I understand supply and demand, but I always get an uneasy feeling from the historical record of pretorian guards regardless of good intentions the whole thing starts with. Just be careful. The Praetorian Guards were entrusted with the safety of Rome. They had the best of everything. Special Forces troops get the garbage. It's portable garbage, but still garbage - automatic rifles, mortars and transport helicopters, at best. They don't have tanks, artillery, APC's, jet fighters, bombers, navy battlegroups, attack helicopters or the nuclear triad. The Praetorian Guard they're not. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-02-05 10:59:56 AM |
| #2 Yeah. That could be a concern. OTOH, right now we have a non-functioning, inept and badly run CIA. The SOC guys, in contrast, are capable, active, motivated and effective. We **need** guys like this. It's these guys who will deal with Babyface Assad, the mullahs and others. And as a result, the people in Iran who want to be free, prosperous and just go about their daily business will happily do so, rather than resent the US for occupying their country and killing a lot of them. It's not for nothing that Rummy bypassed a shitload of generals to pull up a SOC guy out of retirement to be Army Chief of Staff. |
| Posted by: too true 2005-02-05 10:33:18 AM |
| #1 Yeah, great. I understand supply and demand, but I always get an uneasy feeling from the historical record of pretorian guards regardless of good intentions the whole thing starts with. Just be careful. |
| Posted by: Glereper Thigum7229 2005-02-05 9:50:04 AM |