SOF Insights

USSOCOM Visual Aid | Self

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Since September 11th there have been too many people talking about Special Operations Forces who don’t have a clue about what they are talking about. Unfortunately most of them the media’s talking heads. There have also been a few who knew SOF and talked too much. Here are some of General Shelton’s thoughts on SOF from a few years back.

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SOF Truths:

Humans are more important than hardware.
Too many people chase the visible high tech equipment thinking that these are the answer. Buy enough high tech equipment and any one can do the mission. WRONG. It is the highly motivated and trained operator that takes the equipment into battle and uses when it will be most effective that makes the mission effective.

Quality is better then quantity.
Even with pre-selection the wash out rates for SOF units range from range from 25 to 90 percent. That’s right – even with all volunteers and high requirements you still fail to select people at high rates. Why? Because the very nature of SOF requires mental and physical commitments beyond the normal. The selection process gives us the highly motivated and trained operator that accomplishes the mission.

Special Operations Forces cannot be mass produced.
If you select ten out of every 100 volunteers, people who want to belong, how can you expect to have massed formations? During Vietnam a 12-man SF team routinely out performed company sized (120-men) units because everyone fought with aimed shots unlike the line, leg, infantry unit. Again, you are back to the highly motivated and trained SOF operator.

Competent Special Operations Forces cannot be created after emergencies occur.
To key to effectively using your highly motivated and trained SOF operators is to use them very selectively and very early in any crises or war. This early use multiplies their effectiveness. Go ask your local fireman when he would like to start fighting a fire – just after it starts or after it has fully engulfed the building?
Plus, it takes times to take that quality individual, train him to level that his teammates require, and then train him to effectively work with the team he has been assigned.

Those SOF truths, clearly stated by Gen. Shelton, explain why SOF is so small, accomplishes so much, and try to live up to being “The Quite Professionals”.

[Blueflag]

Small typo correction to very last line

Should read "the quiet professionals" not "quite profressionals"

we regret the error.