Article

2005-01-25 Iraq-Jordan

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Posted by Steve 2005-01-25 11:19:19 AM|| || Front Page|| [7 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Article: The troops also realize that the Special Forces have a lower casualty rate than regular combat units.

This is one of the reasons the Army has a stormy relationship with the Special Forces. Commanders don't like having their best men poached. Every combat unit relies on its best people to lead the way. Having these men lured away decreases the effectiveness of the combat units.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2005-01-25 11:39:27 AM|| [http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2005-01-25 11:39:27 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 But without having the best men poached away, the SF goes downhill. You have to be a vampire that sucks its own blood . . . unit commanders simply have to concentrate on making their soldiers the best and congratulate those that get chosen to go on up the chain into the SF community.

Posted by Jame Retief 2005-01-25 11:44:31 AM|| 2005-01-25 11:44:31 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 This problem isn't unique to the military. Any large organization that trains its cadres internally will face the "train the best, keep the rest" syndrome. Internal competition for prized positions is normal and healthy, as is turnover of 5-10% in any given year for any competitive private sector organization.

Posted by lex 2005-01-25 11:50:55 AM|| 2005-01-25 11:50:55 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 This needs updating. SOCOM is no longer limited to recruiting solely from the active duty ranks. They discovered that there are a lot of talented individuals out there who want to do such things, but are turned off by a regular military lifestyle. Please also note that with a 2-3 year prep time, a lot of new blood is going to be coming on line soon, radically enlarging the forces.

Posted by Anonymoose 2005-01-25 4:18:53 PM|| 2005-01-25 4:18:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Moose, a lot of those 'freelancers' are ex-military types and go into that work BECAUSE they like working with and on the fringe of the Military. If I were a 11B I would transfer over to Special Ops simply because of the better training and duty. They don't do much security or convoy details and that is where most of the casualties are coming from. Plus there is a ceratin amount of satisfaction of going on the offensive and not standing around being a target.

Posted by Cyber Sarge 2005-01-25 5:49:45 PM|| 2005-01-25 5:49:45 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 Cyber Sarge-

Isn't it fun to be a target? Waiting for that one round that doesn't whine past your ear . . . always looking for that IED . . . sounds like a blast!

Posted by Jame Retief 2005-01-25 8:47:43 PM|| 2005-01-25 8:47:43 PM|| Front Page Top

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