The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
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Dirty Little Secrets
We Prefer The Marines
by James Dunnigan
April 26, 2006
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
As good as the U.S. Army Special forces
are at training foreign troops, many of these foreign armed forces now
prefer U.S. Marines. This began when some U.S. officers, responsible
for assisting in the training of military forces in Third World
countries, began declining, when offered Special Operations Forces
(SOF) personnel. Publicly, the reasons offered are usually couched in
terms that suggest the SOF people are needed elsewhere, which is
certainly true, given ongoing operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and
elsewhere. But privately some of the advisory personnel cite the fact
that SOF personnel usually bring with them all sorts of specialized
equipment that the host country will never be able to afford. Moreover,
the capabilities for which SOF trainers provide training for are often
much too sophisticated for local, and usually poorly educated, troops
to absorb. An additional objection is that the nature of the way in
which SOF operates is just too "undisciplined" for Third World forces.
Apparently when asked, experienced advisors will ask for American
marines rather than Special Forces. The marines have been helping out
with the foreign troops training since the war on terror began, and the
more basic and down-to-earth approach of the marines has been more
attractive to many nations.
The SOF
are still very good at organizing and training irregulars. But when it
comes to turning a bunch of civilians into disciplined troops, the
marines have an edge.
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