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This has the ring of truth to me- and I am former S.F., but have worked with units of the 82nd at times.

There are HUGE differences in the approach taken to this sort of mission by Special Forces as opposed to the regular Army way. That is exactly why S.F. EXISTS! To be able to go into an area in small teams composed of very competent and mature individuals, EARN the trust of the people there, and develop good intelligence and possibly train and arm some paramilitary forces.

The "overwhelming force", kick-in-the-door, "grab-em-by-the-nuts and their hearts and minds will follow" approach is appropriate in some situations- probably not in this one.

This mistrust of unconventional forces has a long history in the U.S. Army, and it is not going away anytime soon. What we will need is better senior leadership, so that each element is used when and where it is needed, and people are not put on the ground just to get their "combat patch" tickets punched.

Most of the posters on this thread will not have been in Special Forces, and don't have much of an idea of what I was trying to explain, above. Let me try an analogy- the Special Forces A-Team would be more like the local cop on the beat, who gets to know his neighborhood and the people who live there, listens to them, gets a few good tips, perhaps, on criminal plans or gang activity, and maybe even helps them set up a "Neighborhood Watch" program.

The 82nd (or other conventional forces) would be like sending in a large SWAT Team to project overwhelming force into a critical situation, and end it. Making friends and listening to local people is not a high priority.

Both approaches are needed, but not for every situation.

A point well taken, when I was in Viet Nam the 101st broke in with us when they brought the rest of the Division over in '67 plus a Brigade of the 82, they didn't want to listen, we were only legs. They got a lot of people killed for no good reason with their hi didle , didle right up the middle mentality.