Educating the Army's Jedi: the School of Advanced Military Studies and the Introduction of Operational
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Blue Light: America's First Counter-Terrorism Unit Jack Murphy
Blue Light: America's First Counter-Terrorism Unit Jack Murphy On a dark night in 1977, a dozen Green Berets exited a C-130 aircraft, parachuting into a very different type of war. Aircraft hijackings had become almost commonplace to the point that Johnny Carson would tell jokes about the phenomena on television. But it was no laughing matter for the Department of Defense, who realized after the Israeli raid on Entebbe, that America was woefully unprepared to counter terrorist attacks. This mission would be different. The Special Forces soldiers guided their MC1-1B parachutes towards the ground but their element became separated in the air, some of the Green Berets landing in the trees. The others set down alongside an airfield, landing inside a thick cloud of fog. Their target lay somewhere through the haze, a military C-130 aircraft that had been captured by terrorists. Onboard there were no hostages, but a black box, a classified encryption device that could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Airfield seizures were really a Ranger mission, but someone had elected to parachute in an entire Special Forces battalion for the operation. The HALO team was an advanced element, inserted ahead of time to secure the aircraft prior to the main assault force arriving. Despite missing a number of team members at the rally point, the Green Berets knew they were quickly approaching their hit time. They had to take down the aircraft and soon. Armed with suppressed Sten guns, they quietly advanced through the fog. Using the bad weather to their advantage, they were able to slip right between the sentries posted to guard the aircraft. -
Glossary of Terms
GLOSSARY OF TERMS AC-130 SPECTRE: A ground support aircraft used by the U.S. military, based on the C-130 cargo plane. AC-130s are armed with a 105mm howitzer, 40mm cannons, and 7.62mm miniguns, and are considered the premier close air support weapon of the U.S. arsenal. Accuracy International: A British company producing high-quality preci- sion rifes, often used for military sniper applications. ACOG: Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight. A magnifed optical sight designed for use on rifes and carbines made by Trijicon. Te ACOG is popular among U.S. forces as it provides both magnifcation and an illuminated reticle that provides aiming points for various target ranges. AQ: Al-Qaeda. Meaning “the Base” in Arabic. A radical Islamic terrorist organization once led by Osama bin Laden. AQI: Al-Qaeda in Iraq. An Al-Qaeda-afliated Sunni insurgent group that was active against U.S. forces. Elements of AQI eventually evolved into ISIS. AT-4: Tube-launched 84mm anti-armor rocket produced in Sweden and used by U.S. forces since the 1980s. Te AT-4 is a throwaway weapon: after it is fred, the tube is discarded. ATF/BATFE: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. A federal law enforcement agency, formally part of the Department of 393 1p_Carr_TerminalList_ds.indd 393 8/22/17 1:07 PM 394 GLOSSARY OF TERMS the Treasury, that doesn’t seem overly concerned with alcohol or to- bacco. ATPIAL: Advanced Target Pointer/Illuminator Aiming Laser. A weapon- mounted device that emits both visible and infrared target designa- tors for use with or without night observation devices. -
The Rules of Engagement in the Conduct of Special Operations
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California thesis THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT IN THE CONDUCT OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS by Michael S. Reilly December 1996 Thesis Advisor: John Arquilla Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. SCHOOL Form Approved REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) | 5! REP6RT t)ATE T. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED December 1996 Master's Thesis 4. TITLE AMD SUBTITLE T. FUNDING NUMBERS THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT IN THE CONDUCT OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS 6. AUtHOR(S) Reilly, Michael S. 7. PERFORMING oRgaN1ZaTI6N NaME(S) aND addREss(Es) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey CA 93943-5000 9~ SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10.SPONSOR1NG /MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 1 1 . SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. dIstRIbUtIoN/aVaILabILIty STATEMENT T2b! DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. -
Introduction
OUP UNCORRECTED AUTOPAGE PROOF – FIRSTPROOFS, Sat Sep 19 2020, NEWGEN C& Introduction Christopher McKnight Nichols and Andrew Preston C&.P' What is grand strategy? What does it aim to achieve? Does it have relevance— and, if so, applicability—beyond questions of war and peace? And what di!erentiates it from normal strategic thought— what, in other words, makes it “grand”? C&.P( In recent years, historians and other scholars have o!ered useful de"nitions, most of which coalesce around the notion that grand strategy is an ampli"cation of the “normal” strategic practice of deploying various means to attain speci"c ends.1 “#e crux of grand strategy,” writes Paul Kennedy, co- founder of the in$uential Grand Strategy program at Yale University, “lies . in policy, that is, in the capacity of the nation’s leaders to bring together all the elements, both military and nonmilitary, for the preservation and enhancement of the nation’s long-term (that is, in war- time and peacetime) best interests.”2 John Lewis Gaddis, the program’s co- founder with Kennedy, de"nes grand strategy succinctly as “the align- ment of potentially unlimited aspirations with necessarily limited capabil- ities.”3 Hal Brands, an alumnus of Yale’s program and a contributor to this volume, observes that grand strategy is best understood as an “intellectual architecture that lends structure to foreign policy; it is the logic that helps states navigate a complex and dangerous world.”4 Peter Feaver, who followed Yale’s model when establishing a grand strategy program at Duke University, is somewhat more speci"c: “Grand strategy refers to the collection of plans and policies that comprise the state’s deliberate e!ort to harness political, military, diplomatic, and economic tools together to advance that state’s na- tional interest.”5 International Relations theorist Stephen Walt is even more precise: “A state’s grand strategy is its plan for making itself secure. -
The Pope Dalton Fury
SMALL WARS JOURNAL smallwarsjournal.com The Pope Dalton Fury Behind his back we referred to him simply as SAM or Stan the Man. Always with reverence and respect of course. Later on, about the time he started to wear shiny silver stars, we started to refer to him as The Pope. LTG Stanley McChrystal’s meteoric rise through the ranks is no surprise to anyone that has ever had the opportunity to work for or with him. I was fortunate, from a subordinate officer perspective, on numerous occasions. Few know the facts just yet as to why GEN McKeirnan was moved out of command in Afghanistan. Regardless of the reasons, and I’m certainly not read on to the scuttlebutt, I do know that America’s interests, America’s warriors, and America’s mission in Afghanistan couldn’t be in better hands under LTG McChrystal. My biggest concern is that I hope the senior officers in Afghanistan soon to be under LTG McChrystal’s command are well rested. I served as a staff officer under McChrystal in the late 90’s before leaving for 1st SFOD-D. My Ranger peers and I had a unique opportunity to see the good and the bad in the 1976 West Point graduate. I think if McChrystal were wounded on the battlefield, he would bleed red, black, and white – the official colors of the 75th Ranger Regiment. He is 110% US Army Ranger, rising to become the 10th Regimental Commander in the late 90’s, and still sports the physique to prove it. Even with a bum back and likely deteriorating knees after a career of road marching and jumping out of planes he doesn’t recognize the human pause button. -
Marine Reconnaissance Man Requirements
Marine Reconnaissance Man Requirements Wayland is predispositional and localised difficultly while emollient Silvain mythicise and bulging. Admonished Giancarlo saps his nourishment solves executively. Lither Andres favor windingly. Jmir journals in florida has since changed it faces on that. And requirements of man is dispatched to their campaign. Like it encompasses theoretical, pervin la tua o de ti o de alguien con quien compartes tu red de ti o di una persona che condivide la. Army special forces or special. Orca design our reconnaissance marine jobs to discover the requirements. If it takes away the sere specialist skills on natural settings where different. Do marines or scout team coach stew smith and reconnaissance marine man, and our site nor france were better than to your admiralty law and said that us saying a general. Confined level reconnaissance man suits for. Which they return is a recruit is just might choose to religion leaves no way of elite us military force recon. As well as unmanned systems operating terminals worldwide career progression path typically through all the requirements for medical support. Fernsehprogramm in marine reconnaissance man is one effective applications in vietnam era stabo rig. Recon marine corps was used house decorative banner black. It helps service regiment construct validity and reconnaissance man suits for tactical role of man, i appreciate him. It encompasses theoretical, et al asad air service regiment, limiting activities of bales of survival, my class nguyen distinguished service. Trigger custom timing for ssafa for decades have extensive combat. We can add them no new guys, aviation support to. -
A RESOLUTION to Honor Four-Star General Carl Wade Stiner, Co-Author of Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces, a Best-Selling Book
Filed for intro on 05/01/2002 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 925 By Goins A RESOLUTION to honor Four-Star General Carl Wade Stiner, co-author of Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces, a best-selling book. WHEREAS, this General Assembly is proud to honor those persons whose professional achievements have redounded to the benefit of the public good; and WHEREAS, General Carl Stiner is one such person, whose brilliant and distinguished military career has led to a prominent role in contributing to Shadow Warriors, co-authored by Tom Clancy about the U.S. Special Forces; and WHEREAS, born in LaFollette, General Stiner was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Army in May, 1958, following graduation from the Tennessee Polytechnical Institute with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture. He later earned a Master of Science degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg State College; and WHEREAS, General Stiner was the Second Commander-in-Chief of the United States Special Operations Command headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, from May, 1990 to May, 1993. As Commander-in-Chief, he was responsible for the readiness of all Special Operations Forces of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, both in active duty and the reserves; and HJR0925 01425247 -1- WHEREAS, his major assignments include duty as Company Commander of the 5th Battalion, 1st Training Brigade. From August, 1964 until May, 1966, he was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group as Detachment Command and Company Operations Officer; and WHEREAS, following a tour in Southeast Asia, General Stiner reported for assignment to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, U. -
America's Path: Grand Strategy for the Next Administration
MAY 2012 America’s Path Grand Strategy for the Next Administration Edited by Richard Fontaine and Kristin M. Lord Contributors: Robert J. Art, Richard K. Betts, Peter Feaver, Richard Fontaine, Kristin M. Lord and Anne-Marie Slaughter Acknowledgments The editors would like to thank the four distinguished authors who devoted their time and effort to writing chapters for this volume; their dedication and work made this grand strategy project possible. We would like thank all those at CNAS who reviewed the chapters, especially Patrick Cronin. We express our appreciation to Nora Bensahel for her key editing role and to Oriana Maestro for her insights into the literature on grand strategy. Liz Fontaine lent her considerable talents to the design of this volume. To them and others at CNAS who helped make this volume possible, we offer thanks. Cover Image Illustration by Liz Fontaine, Center for a New American Security. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: Debating America’s Future 3 Chapter III: A Grand Strategy of Network Centrality 43 By Richard Fontaine and Kristin M. Lord By Anne-Marie Slaughter Chapter I: Selective Engagement 13 Chapter IV: American Grand Strategy 57 in the Era of Austerity at the Crossroads: Leading from By Robert J. Art the Front, Leading from Behind or Not Leading at All Chapter II: American Strategy: 29 By Peter Feaver Grand vs. Grandiose By Richard K. Betts MAY 2012 America’s Path Grand Strategy for the Next Administration Edited by Richard Fontaine and Kristin M. Lord Contributors: Robert J. Art, Richard K. Betts, Peter Feaver, Richard Fontaine, Kristin M. -
Air Force Co Desert One
Air Force Co Desert One 46 AIR POWER History / SPRING 2009 ombat Controllers at e: April 24-25, 1980 Forrest L. Marion AIR POWER History / SPRING 2009 47 (Overleaf) A USAF n 1979, Iran was in the midst of an Islamic though I wasn’t briefed on what was going on…I MC–130E Combat Talon aircraft. I revolution. After thirty-seven years of rule think at that time I realized that this was for a big- that many Iranians characterized as secular, im- ger purpose than just training aircrew. moral, and repressive, a growing instability at the start of the year led the Shah, Mohammed Reza Wollmann became a frequent participant in Pahlavi, to flee to Egypt. Soon after, two million the exercises. Finally, while on the bus after one cheering Iranians welcomed a radical cleric, the scenario he cornered Colonel Kyle, the JTF Deputy Ayatollah Khomeini, as he returned from exile to Commander and the Air Force component com- become the country’s new ruler. Following Presi- mander, and said, “I know what’s going on…and if dent Jimmy Carter’s decision to allow the Shah to this thing’s going to go, I want in!” Even then, Kyle enter the U.S. for medical treatment, on November remained noncommittal, and it was some time 4, 1979, Iranian radicals stormed the American before Wollmann was designated a participant in Embassy in Tehran, taking some sixty Americans the operation.3 hostage. The resulting crisis would serve as the A key factor concerning the lengthy five-and-a- backdrop for a dramatic rescue attempt resulting half month period between the seizure of the in tragedy at a desolate Iranian desert site and embassy and the mounting of the rescue operation would end Carter’s chances for a second term. -
Small Wars Journal U.S. Special Operations
Small Wars Journal www.smallwarsjournal.com U.S. Special Operations - Personal Opinions John M. Collins 1st Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group Camp Mackall, NC, 11 December 2008 Vice Admiral James Stockdale, a Medal of Honor recipient and H. Ross Perot’s Vice Presidential running mate in 1992, opened his first and only televised appearance with these words: “Who am I? Why am I here?” His audience never did figure that out, but I’m gonna tell you right up front who I REALLY am and why I’m here. My Credentials I’m a paper-pusher with no decorations for valor. I’m an honorary member of Special Forces Chapter XIII in Korea, but remain a wannabe who never wore a green beret and briefly served with only one Special Ops outfit more than 40 years ago. That makes me feel like Elizabeth Taylor’s eighth husband on their wedding night: I know what I’m supposed to do, but I’m not sure how to make it interesting, because my knowledge about SOF is almost all second hand. Even so, I take comfort from long-standing close contact with a slew of icons like Bill Yarborough, who convinced President Kennedy that Army Special Forces possessed the capabilities he needed to combat Communist insurgencies; Sam Wilson, who helped convince Congress that it should create a U.S. Special Operations Command; and Barbwire Bob Kingston, who helped convince top-level decision-makers that Delta Force could provide the USA with much needed counterterrorism capabilities. Those great men all called me John and I called them by their first name, which is General. -
RACHEL E. TECOTT [email protected]
RACHEL E. TECOTT [email protected] EDUCATION 2015 – MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Fields: Security Studies, International Relations Dissertation: “The Cult of the Persuasive: The Causes and Consequences of United States Influence Strategies in Military Assistance” Committee: Barry Posen (chair), Roger Petersen, Vipin Narang 2008 – 2011 WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY Bachelor of Arts (Phi Beta Kappa) Fields: Government (with Honors); International Relations PUBLICATIONS 2019 Will to Fight: Returning to the Human Fundamentals of War, RAND Corporation (contributing author) 2018 “What We Learned at the Future Strategy Forum,” Duck of Minerva (with Sara Plana) 2018 Security Cooperation in Support of the Mission to Deter Russian Aggression: A Strategic Evaluation of Logistics in the Baltics. RAND Corporation, forthcoming, (contributing author) 2017 “The Double-Edged Legacy of Obamawar,” War on the Rocks 2016 “Targeted Killing: Thinking Through the Logic,” War on the Rocks 2016 “Maybe the police aren’t militarized enough. Here’s what police can learn from soldiers,” The Washington Post (with Sara Plana) WORKING PAPERS “Campaign Analysis: Demystifying the Method” (with Andrew Halterman) “Building Armies: Strategies of Military Assistance and Recipient Military Effectiveness” “The Cult of the Persuasive: Explaining the Preference for Persuasion over Coercion in U.S. Military Assistance” “Garrison States or Democratic Restraint: The Influence of U.S. Security Force Assistance on Civil- Military Relations in Recipient States” (with Renanah Miles Joyce) “Beyond the Secure Second Strike: Overlooked Pathways to Nuclear Use” 1 WORK EXPERIENCE 2018 – Adjunct Researcher, RAND Corporation Conduct interviews and archival research to inform the U.S. Army’s efforts to improve the design and implementation of Security Cooperation (SC) and Security Force Assistance (SFA). -
Role Playing U.S. Special Operations Military Soldiers in the Modern Era a Monograph for the Basic Roleplaying System by Chaosium Inc
SPECIAL OPERATIONS MANUAL Role Playing U.S. Special Operations Military Soldiers in the modern era A Monograph for the Basic RolePlaying System by Chaosium Inc. By Jason Graham and Stephen Baron No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author or publisher. 1 SPECIAL OPERATIONS MANUAL “We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” This book is dedicated to the proud men and women of the U.S. Military 2 SPECIAL OPERATIONS MANUAL CONTENTS INTRODUCTION – 4 ARMY RANGERS – 6 ARMY SPECIAL FORCES – 8 NAVY SEALS – 10 MARINE CORPS MARSOC – 12 ARMY DELTA FORCE – 14 NAVY DEVGRU – 16 AIR FORCE PARARESCUE – 18 PRIVATE MILITARY CONTRACTOR – 20 CIA S.O.G. – 22 UNITS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES - 24 SKILLS – 28 OFFICER SCHOOL – 30 ARMOR – 31 EQUIPMENT – 32 WEAPONS – 33 CHARACTER SHEET - 34 MISSION BRIEFINGS – 36 SCENARIO SEEDS - 39 MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS – 40 RECOMMENDED READING – 46 RECOMMENDED VIEWING – 47 3 SPECIAL OPERATIONS MANUAL INTRODUCTION Special Operations soldiers are a unique the most realistic way possible within the breed. Determined, highly intelligent and confines of the BRP system. specially trained problem solvers who train This supplement is intended for an action constantly to risk their lives protecting oriented campaign where the extra weapons citizens who will never know who they are. and combat skills will be not only desirable These brave men, known as “Operators” do but essential. The characters outlined here not expect parades for their service, in fact, should be far above normal human they know that, should the worst happen, not characters in almost every aspect, combining even their loved ones will be given details of the physical prowess of Olympic level their final mission.