Training the Special Operations NCO

Special Warfare The Professional Bulletin of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School

PB 80Ð90Ð1 Winter 1990 Vol. 3, No. 1 From the Commandant Special Warfare

The overarching mission of the Special Warfare and procedures. The instructor NCO is the initial Center and School is to provide the doctrine, train- link between the student and the operational unit to ing, materiel and organization for special-operations which he will one day be assigned. The NCOs must forces. The most important ingredient in that whole provide an accurate portrayal of the role of special process has always been, and will always be, the operations in low-intensity conflict. soldier we select and train to man the force. He sym- The special-operations soldier is not a finished bolizes and embodies everything we stand for. He product when he leaves the schoolhouse. Again, the carries the heritage and legacy of the past, demon- burden falls to the experienced NCOs in the opera- strates our capability today, and holds our hope for tional units to continue the education process. the future. Selecting and training the right soldier The nature of special operations and our role in requires a professional, dedicated and capable Spe- low-intensity conflict mean that our units are cial Forces NCO Corps. The NCO is the cornerstone deployed right now in various places around the to all our training efforts in the schoolhouse as well world. Because of our missions and the small size of as in the operational units. our units, special-operations NCOs have to be Special Forces Assessment and Selection is our depended upon to do the job on their own and do it selection process. It is a unique privilege afforded to right. They may be deployed on short notice and us by the Army which gives us the prerogative of with little time to train before deployment. This calls selecting those we consider to be the right men to for an NCO corps that is capable, motivated and con- wear the Green Beret. Our NCOs play a key role in scientious in its pursuit of excellence, regardless of this selection process. Their input is a necessary the environment. It calls for NCOs who have inter- ingredient that ensures a quality soldier. NCOs nalized SOF doctrine in our five basic missions, must recognize the right skills, knowledge and atti- know their mission-essential task list and are capa- tude of a soldier in SFAS and know that each soldier ble of operating across the spectrum of conflict with can be influenced dramatically by proper NCO lead- little support or supervision. ership and training. Since its inception two years NCOs are the most important asset we have — ago, SFAS has had a direct impact on increasing the more important than hardware. Consequently, we completion rate of the Special Forces Qualification must maintain and sustain a quality force. NCOs Course. Special Forces NCOs have made the differ- produce the product, and the product must be a ence in SFAS because the emphasis has been on the quality one. We cannot mass produce special-opera- product and not the process, which is basically a 21- tions forces, which is why the selection and training day observation period. of the Special Forces soldier is critically important. When the soldier enters into Special Forces quali- As an Army theme, “The NCO” has sought to fication training, it is again incumbent upon the emphasize the importance of the NCO to the Army. NCO to provide the structure, guidance and atmo- In the operational groups and at the Special Warfare sphere conducive to learning. Mere platform instruc- Center and School, every year is the year of the tion and testing are not enough. NCOs must become NCO. They are truly the backbone of the force. mentors, advisers and role models to guide and motivate the student in order to maximize the value of training time. Although the Special Forces Qualifica- tion Course students are volunteers, many do not have a real understanding of Special Forces or special operations. Training-group NCOs play a critical Brig. Gen. David J. Baratto role in shaping the attitudes and perceptions of students by offering professional advice and sharing their Special Forces experiences. The NCO instructor is the medium for relating operational experience to the material being taught and provides practical applications of current doctrine, tactics, techniques PB 80Ð90Ð1 Spring Contents1989 Winter 1990 Special Warfare Vol. 3, No. 1

Features Commander & Commandant Brig. Gen. David J. Baratto 4 The Special Forces Q-Course by Maj. James R. Fricke Editor Training for Special Forces NCOs is thorough and demanding, Jerry D. Steelman and volunteers must face a number of challenges on the way to becoming members of SF units. Graphic Art Director 12 SFAS: Special Forces Assessment and Selection Bruce S. Barfield by Maj. James L. Velky An examination of the historical background and development of the program to select the right soldiers for Special Forces training. 16 Operations and Intelligence: Keeping Pace with Special Forces Missions by Maj. Rex H. McTyeire Designed to train experienced SF NCOs to become assistant-operations-and-intelligence sergeants, O&I’s content has evolved to keep pace with Special Forces missions and doctrine. V E AS R I RT T A E S LI B E T 22 SWCS NCO Academy: NCOs Training NCOs Drawing on its cadre’s experience and leadership, the SWCS NCO

Special Warfare is an authorized, official quarterly of the Academy trains SOF NCOs to be better soldiers and better leaders. United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Cen- ter and School, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Its mission is 28 Early Special Forces Medical Training: 1952-1971 to promote the professional development of special opera- by Lt. Col. Louis T. Dorogi tions forces by providing a forum for the examination of both established doctrine and new ideas. The author traces the development of Special Forces medical train- Views expressed herein are those of the author, and do ing from its beginnings in 1952 to the extensive program designed to not necessarily reflect official Army position. This publication does not supersede any information presented in other meet the demands of SF missions and the Vietnam War. official Army publications. Articles, photos, artwork and letters are invited, and 37 NCO Professional Development: The PSYOP Specialist should be addressed to: Editor, Special Warfare, USAJFK- by MSgt. Calvin Rome SWCS, Fort Bragg, NC 28307-5000. Telephone: AUTOVON 239-5703 or commercial (919) 432-5703. Special Warfare A blueprint for NCO development in the new CMF 37 — PSYOP. reserves the right to edit all material. Published works may be reprinted, except where copy- 42 Is Fitness Important for Leaders? righted, provided credit is given to Special Warfare and the by Sgt. Maj. Henry Bone author. Official distribution is limited to active and reserve spe- A senior SF NCO uses historical examples to emphasize the impor- cial operations units. Individuals desiring a private sub- tance of fitness. scription should forward their requests to: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washing- 44 When You’re On Patrol ... ton, D.C. 20402. A series of tips for leaders and team members on weapons, equipment and proper procedures. By Order of the Secretary of the Army: Carl E. Vuono General, United States Army Chief of Staff Departments

Official: 2 Letters William J. Meehan II 48 Enlisted Career Notes Brigadier General, United States Army 50 Officer Career Notes The Adjutant General 52 Update Headquarters, Department of the Army 56 Book Reviews SpringLetters 1989 Special Warfare

ing players in SF, having reached and no way to ensure their contin- LIC study insightful higher rank or other interests. ued association and/or return to SF. I would like to take this opportu- We currently have a problem No one wants to see physicians nity to compliment the authors of obtaining enough medical officers come to SF, stay in various courses “Between Peace and War: Compre- for SF. Many of them have encoun- (airborne, flight surgeon, dive med., hending Low-Intensity Conflict.” tered continuing obstacles to reach- etc.) most of their time and then Their insightful study provides an ing, returning or continuing in SF. leave in two years when they are outstanding basis for discussion New medical officers to SF just finally getting up to speed. But among those of us concerned with encounter AMEDD pressure to only it will continue like this unless the present and future challenges stay one or two years and then con- thought is given to branch-qualify- posed by low-intensity conflict. As a tinue their postgraduate medical ing some, thus giving them the professor who is teaching and education. Most of these never skills, and encouraging their engaging in research related to low- return. The one thing that SF return, fully trained, for a later intensity conflict, I must say that always did to show that their medi- assignment as group surgeon. the article will be assigned reading cal officers were full players on the Having gone through SF training in both my present and future team, (making them attend) the “Q and AMEDD officer basic and seminars. course,” is no longer done. This was advanced courses, I can emphatical- On a broader level, I would like a powerful recruiting tool. This con- ly state that if we in SF do not train to compliment your fine publication tinual problem of junior physicians our medical officers, then they will for providing a most meaningful who do not stay and never return, not be trained for our needs. vehicle by which both academics combined with no training that and practitioners can develop a would make them more likely to Maj. Warner D. Farr, MC/SFS greater appreciation of the com- return, has dire consequences. AMEDD Student Detachment plexities that surround special Capt. King’s challenge to the Fort Sam Houston, Texas operations. Your bulletin does other branches is at the crux of this indeed enable us to have an out- problem. “What are the other (Under DA Pamphlet 600-3, standing way by which different branches ... doing to fulfill their Paragraph 18-3, officers who are views can be exchanged in an area obligations to support Army SOF?” accessed into the Special Forces which certainly will grow in signifi- My unofficial opinion concerning Branch receive branch code “18” cance in the years to come. the AMEDD’s answer is: nothing. when they complete the Special The AMEDD has its hands full Forces Qualification Course, Stephen Sloan ensuring that medically competent according to Maj. Jan Murawsky, Professor, Department of physicians are sent to support the chief of SF proponency in the Political Science troops. This they will always do, SWCS Special Operations Propo- University of Oklahoma but that is the limit of their sup- nency Office. As far back as Dec. 9, port. Any training beyond medical 1987, however, an SWCS policy let- Solving SF Branch problems competence and a very few basic ter allowed officers assigned to the I read with great interest the soldier skills will not be provided professional branches — JAG, article by Capt. Charles King on due to preciousness of time to train Chaplain and Medical Corps — to the SF Branch (Summer 1989). As physicians versus the demands of attend the training without receiv- one of those medical-corps officers using a physician’s time to provide ing the SF Tab. not allowed to transfer to the patient care in an extremely busy Officers from professional and branch, I have a few comments. health-care system. support branches who are necessary Behind Infantry and Military Intel- This then leaves us in SF with to support SF-group needs attend ligence, the Army Medical Depart- militarily untrained physicians, no the Q-Course as space permits, Mur- ment has the third-largest number course to train them (a staff-officer awsky said. Priority for attendance of SF-qualified (5G) officers. They course will not do — docs deploy), is given to officers needed to fill SF are, for the most part, not continu- no way to track trained officers, detachment-commander slots.

2 Special Warfare Under a current SWCS proposal, ideas in its formal instruction, and the second Yun-dae (regiment) of all SFQC graduates would be the unit must require continuing the 8240th Army Unit. The initials awarded SF tabs. Officers assigned professional education as part of its stand for United Nations Partisan to professional branches would also METL (mission-essential task list). Forces Korea. be exempt from completion of SFAS. Only through exercises and contin- I can’t remember the guy, but I If the proposal is adopted, Muraw- uing education can these ideas bet a bottle of San Miguel the pic- sky said, those officers who previous- bring fruit. ture was taken in late 1952 or very ly attended the Q-Course and were The long-term success or failure early 1953, I would guess at Kang- not awarded a tab would be eligible of an insurgent movement can wha-do. Your historians can fill you to apply for one. — Editor) depend on the capability of the in on the rest. operational special-operations unit UW’s political aspect that is advising and assisting it. Thomas T. Jones Maj. Brady has written a timely That unit needs to be provided with Indianapolis, Ind. and important article on unconven- the most sophisticated thinking in tional warfare doctrine (Summer the area of insurgency, and Maj. (Mr. Jones’ comment refers to a 1989: “Mass Strategy: A Different Brady’s article is an excellent photo of a soldier holding a banner Approach to Unconventional War- example. with the initials “UNPFK,” which fare”). He has correctly argued that we identified as U.N. Peacekeeping FM 31-20 does not provide enough Lt. Col. William Flavin, SF Forces Korea. As Mr. Jones and a guidance on the political aspects of Office of the Assistant Secretary few other sharp-eyed readers point- supporting insurgencies. of Defense for Special Opera- ed out, the caption should have In LIC, an insurgency is a politi- tions and Low Intensity credited the banner to the UN Par- cal struggle which must be won on Conflict tisan Forces Korea, a unit which political terms. The struggles of the supported North Korean anti-com- Contras and the Afghanistan resis- Non-partisan caption munist guerrillas during the Kore- tance fighters are examples of the I was really enjoying the (Sum- an War. — Editor) need to properly mix, as Maj. Brady mer 1989 issue) ... when suddenly I states, the military strategy with reached page 42. The caption on the the political organization. The com- photo (soldier holding UNPFK ban- munist followers of Lenin, Mao, or ner) was so far off-base that I just the Cuban school have spent a had to write. My first reaction was Special Warfare welcomes letters great deal of time studying these “Is this a test?” Then I thought, from its readers but may have to issues, and so must we if we are to wistfully, “Maybe they’re trying for edit them for length. Please include compete successfully. a reunion and want to know if your full name, rank, address and Now is the time to take another there’s any of us still out there.” phone number (Autovon, if possi- look at the doctrine. However, as Anyway, be advised that the sol- ble). Address letters to Editor, Spe- Maj. Brady points out, proper doc- dier holding the banner is not a cial Warfare; USAJFKSWCS; Fort trine is not the only answer. The member of any “peacekeeping Bragg, NC 28307-5000. school house must include these forces.” He is most definitely from

Winter 1990 3 The Special Forces Course Qby Maj. James R. Fricke

Four young NCOs in dress uni- change-of-station orders to attend forms sit with their classmates at the qualification course. In the the graduation exercise for the Spe- meantime, they are advised to cial Forces Qualification Course. maintain a high level of physical As background music plays and fitness and to complete pro- ushers escort visitors to their seats, grammed text materials prior to the anticipation and elation of the their return, usually within 6-9 four NCOs rises, and each reflects months, for the SFQC. on the challenges he had to over- When they return for training, come to arrive at this milestone in candidates receive briefings and his military career. instruction on upcoming events and complete an extensive in-processing Their challenges actually began which includes airborne refresher prior to the 24-week SFQC. They training. Then they are ready to and all other current volunteers for start the 24-week SFQC (training SF must first complete the three- for SF medics is longer, as will be week Special Forces Assessment explained later). The course begins and Selection Program. SFAS is with 80 hours of common-leader structured to assess volunteers’ training, required by the Army motivation, mental and physical Sergeants Major Academy as the condition and ability to work as core instruction for all basic NCO members of a team. Soldiers do not courses, for those students who pass or fail SFAS; based on their have not completed the Basic NCO performance, they are either select- Course in their previous MOS. This ed or not selected to attend the block of instruction, together with SFQC. Currently 40-50 percent are SF common-task and MOS-specific not selected. instruction in the SFQC, meets the Soldiers who are selected return requirements for BNCOC in the to their units to await permanent- Army’s NCO education system.

4 Special Warfare After CLT come four weeks of complete a graded field training course begins at 2 a.m., forcing the advanced individual field training exercise to evaluate the field-sur- student to navigate part of the (Phase I), 13 weeks of MOS-specific vival skills they have learned. Dur- course in darkness. Students who training for tasks required on an ing the FTX students are required fail the exam will take remedial operational A-detachment (Phase to build a fire without matches, training and re-test 15 days later. II), and finally the unconventional- start a smokeless fire, describe var- The objective of the third and warfare training (Phase III) which ious survival-food sources and con- fourth weeks of instruction, small- tests all the skills the students have struct expedient traps and snares. unit tactics and patrolling, is to learned in the first two phases. They must cook fish and game, enable the student to develop and select a shelter site and construct a implement techniques for conduct- Phase I shelter appropriate to the environ- ing successful combat patrols and Following CLT, students move to ment and tactical situation. operations. Students learn basic the James “Nick” Rowe Special During the second week, students light-infantry tactics and opera- Operations Training Facility at take the most comprehensive land- tions, and this block establishes the Camp Mackall, located approxi- navigation program taught by any foundation for all follow-on tactical mately 40 miles west of Fort Bragg. Army school. The program teaches training. Instruction is presented in Newly renovated, the training facil- the soldier to identify terrain fea- small groups, and trainers guide ity can house up to 750 students at tures, find his position on a map, students through practical field one time and is a dramatic change measure ground distance, orient his exercises. Students learn the basics from the tar-paper buildings of only map and navigate cross-country of raids, ambushes and reconnais- two years ago. using a map and compass. Initially, sance patrols from squad through During the first day at Camp each student takes a land-naviga- platoon-size elements. They cover Mackall, students are introduced to tion diagnostic exam which evalu- many of the techniques listed in their Special Forces trainer, who ates his abilities. Students who FM 7-70, Light Infantry serves as instructor, mentor and show weak areas on the diagnostic Squad/Platoon, and the Ranger adviser. He will be responsible for exam will be monitored closely by Handbook is used as a ready refer- their training for the next 28 days the instructors and may receive ence. Instructors also evaluate stu- and will provide instruction and additional training, as necessary. dents’ performance in leadership assistance in all practical exercises. The final exam is a go/no-go practi- positions during the patrolling He is available at any time cal exercise over varying terrain in FTX. This exercise is flexible throughout training to give individ- which the student must navigate a enough to repeat actions on the ual feedback or remedial instruc- course 18 kilometers long and find objectives or any portions of the tion. His role is not that of a drill four points in nine hours. The patrol if students’ performance is instructor — he does not get the students up in the morning; he tells them to meet him at a specific loca- Special Forces tion at a certain time. The student’s Qualification Course own chain of command fills those housekeeping roles, and students receive treatment appropriate to their rank during training. Phase I WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 The first training event in Phase I is an airborne operation which AIR OPS ADV LAND NAV SMALL UNIT ADV PATROLLING ends with a cadre-led terrain walk. SURVIVAL TACTICS The objective is to identify students SMALL BOAT OPS weak in land navigation so that they can receive additional training 13 WEEKS to help them improve. The addition- Phase II al training places the student in a MOS SPECIFIC TRAINING:(18B) WEAPONS SERGEANT series of situations in which he (18C) ENGINEER SERGEANT must navigate over varying terrain. (18D) MEDICAL SERGEANT The first week of Phase I gives (18E) COMMUNICATIONS SERGEANT soldiers training in air operations, small-boat operations and basic Phase III WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEKS 3Ð4 survival classes designed to teach SPECIAL OPS DET CROSS-TNG UW FTX "ROBIN SAGE" them to live off the land. At the end AIR OPS ISOL/MSN PREP of this survival training, soldiers

Winter 1990 5 incorrect. The rule is to train to the defense-artillery weapons, and stu- forward-observer procedures and standard, not to time, and the com- dents receive 33 hours of instruc- mechanical training to fire-direc- mon-skills training program is pro- tion, from emplacement and operation-center procedures. FDC proce- gressive and sequential. tion to identification and engage- dures are still taught on the M-16 ment of targets. They learn the plotting board, a purely mechanical Phase II characteristics and capabilities of system, to give students a basic After successfully completing U.S. and foreign air-defense sys- understanding of the procedures. Phase I, the students attend their tems. A majority of the training is Students perform maintenance, respective individual specialty- spent on practical exercises in crew drills and section training on training phase. In this phase, each which the student tracks aircraft in both U.S. and foreign mortars and soldier will be introduced to his a simulator. fire-control instruments. The indi- chosen specialty and taught those Weapons NCOs also learn the rect-fire weapons block consists of skills necessary in his role as the characteristics and capabilities of 134 hours of classes, with a majori- junior NCO on an A-detachment. U.S. and foreign anti-tank weapons ty of these hours being practical and threat vehicles. They study the exercise. Weapons sergeant operation, crew duties, target The 18B is also the team’s small- The Weapons Sergeant Course engagement and maintenance of arms weapons specialist who must (18B), emphasizes the weapons sys- selected free-world and opposing- be capable of picking up any system tems most commonly found force anti-tank weapons. After 50 from machine gun to shotgun and throughout the world. The training hours of instruction, the students teaching the basics. He is capable of plan is conducted in related blocks take a comprehensive examination teaching basic marksmanship to of instruction and ends with live- which includes written and hands- indigenous personnel or sniper fire practical exercises. In addition, on testing. techniques to soldiers whose the weapons sergeant learns light- The next major block of instruc- marksmanship is more advanced. infantry tactics. tion (and sometimes the most diffi- He receives 124 hours of instruction Lessons learned from the war in cult for the student) is indirect-fire on small arms and is capable of Afghanistan have re-emphasized weapons. The future weapons describing the cycle of operation, the importance of hand-held air- sergeant learns all aspects, from type of cartridge, feed mechanism, locking system, operating system and sights used on all of the most common weapons systems. He is given extensive training on clearing procedures, disassembly and re- assembly procedures, functions check, and immediate-action and remedial-action procedures on weapons. The final exam for this Students in the block of instruction is both written Weapons Sergeant and hands-on. The hands-on por- Course learn clearing tion is known as the “pile test” — procedures, assembly five weapons are disassembled and and disassembly of placed in a pile. To receive a “go,” the most common the student must reassemble the weapons systems weapons and perform a functions found throughout the check on four of the five weapons world. within 30 minutes. Engineer sergeant The Engineer Sergeant Course (18C) teaches soldiers to plan, construct and destroy buildings and bridges. The training program is more than just a demolitions course; it encompasses all the duties of an engineer sergeant. The engineer sergeant learns to read

U.S. Army photo blueprints; to rig lifting devices for 6 Special Warfare and substructure of a timber-trestle bridge. The majority of the engineer training is in demolitions. The engineer sergeant must have extensive knowledge of demolitions and the capability to use explosives in many different ways. He learns to construct electric, non-electric and det- onating-cord firing systems, to cal- culate and place charges, and to employ substitutes for standard- issue items of ammunition and explosives. In a block of classified instruction on improvised munitions, the engineer student learns to make his own booby traps, incendiaries, blasting caps and assorted protection devices. He also learns to recover U.S. Army photo and reuse explosives which may be Although students in the Engineer Sergeant Course concentrate on demoli- commonly found on the battlefield. tions, they also learn construction techniques necessary in base-camp and The last major engineer subject is civic-action projects. target analysis and interdiction. In construction projects; to prepare a must then clear the minefield, the final practical exercise, stu- bill of materials; to prepare site and using the minefield-recording form. dents must conduct a demolition building layouts; and to construct a Through this exercise the students reconnaissance, prepare a demoli- theater-of-operations building. This gain an appreciation for attention tions folder and present a briefing instruction includes estimating to detail. on the target. Final examinations required materials and mixing, Bridging subjects teach the stu- are comprehensive and consist of placing, finishing and curing con- written and hands-on portions. crete to design specifications. Field- “After successfully fortifications subjects provide Medical sergeant instruction on the construction of completing Phase I, After completing Phase I, the wire obstacles, fighting positions, the students attend medical sergeant currently attends bunkers and shelters. Both field their respective indi- the Phase IIA Course at the Acade- fortifications and TO construction my of Health Sciences, Fort Sam are the basic components needed vidual specialty- Houston, Texas. The 31-week Phase for the construction of base camps training phase. In IIA includes an initial 26 weeks of or civic-action projects. this phase, each sol- classroom instruction on basic aid- Students next receive 37 hours of man skills, anatomy and physiolo- instruction on land-mine warfare dier will be intro- gy, pharmacology, infectious dis- which teaches them the skills they duced to his chosen eases and introduction to care of a need to support combat operations. specialty and taught trauma patient. They learn to describe the nomen- Following an intense week-long clature, characteristics and func- those skills necessary trauma-management field training tions of selected anti-personnel and in his role as the exercise, the medical sergeants are anti-tank mines; to perform mine- junior NCO on an A- sent to various Army and Public field installation, reporting and Health Service hospitals for a four- recording; and to perform minefield detachment.” week period of “on-the-job” train- detecting and breaching with and ing. There they rotate through a without mine detectors. One of the dent the skills necessary to design, variety of clinical services to gain practical exercises the student construct and classify selected practical experience before return- must complete is to have his team bridges. All students are involved ing to Fort Bragg for the final install a minefield with practice in the design of a non-standard, phase of medical training. mines and record them on a mine- semipermanent, fixed bridge, and The Fort Bragg instruction is field-recording form. Another team they construct the superstructure predominantly hands-on. Students

Winter 1990 7 in surgical procedures and has extensive graded and ungraded practical exercises. He performs the duties of an anesthesiologist during surgical procedures and monitors the patient’s signs for the surgeon. During surgery the student is required to perform management of intravenous fluids, set up surgical fields, perform venous cut-downs and delayed primary closures, and debride, or remove contaminated tissue from, different types of wounds. This instruction is conducted under the close supervision of his instructor/mentor. The phase ends with an FTX that tests the student’s skills in a simu-

U.S. Army photo lated combat situation. The entire Students in the Medical Sergeant’s Course learn to administer anesthesia program gives the soldier the skills and to perform limited surgical procedures under the close supervision of and knowledge he may need to pro- their instructors. vide appropriate medical care to indigenous personnel and team put the theory they learned at the on the basic laboratory procedures members. Academy of Health Sciences to he learned at the Academy of practical use. Initial classes are in Health Sciences. He learns to Communications sergeant veterinary medicine, which has interpret slides, cultures and spec- An A-detachment’s only contact proven invaluable in Third World imens and to define their general with the outside world is through countries, where the health of the characteristics. He studies bacteri- the skills of the communications family water buffalo may be more ology, serology, parasitology, hema- sergeant, and his training must be important than personal health. tology, mycology and blood-type thorough. All communications on The student receives advanced cross-match procedures, all of the team use Morse code, and one of cardiac-life-support training to which he will use when conducting the prerequisites for the course is familiarize him with the operation patient examinations. that a soldier be a graduate of the of various types of support equip- The medical sergeant is trained eight-week Advanced International ment and the procedures necessary to treat a variety of cardiac problems. He also learns to recognize Special Forces key trouble signs, explain emergency cardiac procedures and use Qualification Course emergency cardiac drugs. The future medical sergeant receives 91 hours of trauma man- CLT Phase I Phase II Phase III agement. During this instruction he learns to perform a primary and secondary survey; manage trauma FY 90 2 WEEKS 4 WEEKS 13 WEEKS 5 WEEKS of the pneumothorax and hemotho- rax, manage trauma of eye, ear, nose and throat; treat non-penetrating and penetrating injuries of MOS Phase CLT Branch Training the chest, treat penetrating injuries of the abdomen, fractures, contu- sions, abrasions and wounds to FY 91 13 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 5 WEEKS extremities; and perform proper airway management. The medical sergeant expands

8 Special Warfare Morse Code Course, usually taken weeks. The phase begins with five to explain the team’s plan to sever- just before Phase I, or capable of days of special-operations classes al field-grade officers from both the passing a verification test at 13 for the enlisted students. During Special Warfare Center and School send and 13 receive word groups this instruction, students learn the and the 1st Special Operations per minute. There are no exceptions fundamentals of unconventional Command. to this prerequisite. warfare, the complexities of guer- Robin Sage begins with a night The Communications Sergeant rilla organizations, how to operate combat-equipment jump into Course teaches related material in in the joint special-operations remote drop zones in the Uwharrie progressive blocks. First the stu- arena, and the techniques and National Forest in central North dent receives additional interna- procedures for air operations in Carolina. During the exercise, stu- tional-Morse-code training to support of UW. These air-operation dents perform individual and group improve his code speed to 15 send skills will be used during field tasks as part of a special-operations and 15 receive groups per minute or practical evaluation Robin Sage, mission. The exercise lasts for 11 higher. Then he learns cryptograph- where each detachment is required days and is conducted with a realis- ic systems and reinforces his to set up either a resupply drop tic guerrilla force and a well- Morse-code skills with unclassified zone and a message pickup or a trained, well-equipped and well- homework. The course introduces landing zone for a short takeoff and motivated counterinsurgency force students to the common radio sys- landing aircraft. manned by members of the 82nd tems used in Special Forces groups, Following these classes, the stu- Airborne Division. Students are but it concentrates on the burst dent detachments cross-train, and evaluated on their abilities to lead, out-station equipment, which com- each student instructs his team function as members of a detach- presses message data into a short members in the MOS skills he has ment, plan and conduct missions, burst transmission which is hard to learned. After pre-mission training, and train the guerrilla force. trace. Students also study antenna the team begins five days of isola- theory and radio-wave propagation tion, during which the team plans Upcoming changes in detail, learning the basic princi- its mission and each team member Effective Oct. 1, 1990, the SF ples of vertical, horizontal and long- prepares his portion of a briefback Qualification Course will be wire antennas, characteristics of selected antennas and calculation of the most effective antenna length. The course ends with a field performance examination conducted 1,500 nautical miles from Fort Bragg at Camp Bullis, Texas. The student’s final grade is based on his ability to send and receive 32 mes- A student in the sages, 20 of which are graded. This Communications evaluation measures the student’s Sergeant Course ability to use Special Forces com- practices using a code munication-operation instructions, key in the field. In proper cryptographic procedures addition to Morse and his communications equipment code, students learn in an extended field problem. antenna theory and All students in Phase II are must be able to suc- taught various methods of instruc- cesfully transmit tion, since one of their main func- messages thousands tions will be to teach other soldiers. of miles. This basic block of instruction is reinforced in Phase III when the students teach classes to their guerrilla forces. Phase III The final phase of the qualification course combines all of those skills learned in the previous 19 U.S. Army photo Winter 1990 9 Health Sciences. Under the new program, students will report to the AHS for 31 weeks of training, then make a permanent-change-of-station move to Fort Bragg. In addition to maintaining the continuity of medical training from AHS to the medical training facility at Fort Bragg, the change will eliminate the need for students to wait 46 weeks after Phase I (training time at AHS plus Phase II training at Fort Bragg) before applying their SF basic skills in Phase III. Students will be organized into operational detachments at the beginning of the field phase. Each MOS will be represented on the teams, and team members will perform the specialities for which they U.S. Army photo have been trained. One of the most Three Special Forces students and a member of their guerrilla force (right) progressive changes of the new discuss a mission during the Robin Sage field training exercise. course will be the manning of the revised. The major revision will be continue his code training immedi- team-sergeant position on these made in combining the current ately after graduation from AIMC. student A-detachments. Previously Phases I and III into one nine-week This should allow students to filled by a student, the position will field phase. Even though the field become more proficient and attain now be held by a cadre member phase will teach, for the most part, higher code speeds. who will be responsible for training the same subjects now taught in Under the current program, med- and advising the students through Phases I and III, changes will be ical sergeants are required to their 58 days of field instruction. made in the sequence and tech- attend Phase I on temporary duty (See box, next page.) niques of instruction. Instruction while en route to the Academy of The first three weeks of the field will still be sequential and progres- phase will cover map reading, spe- sive, beginning with individual “One of the most pro- cial operations and survival. The skills and progressing to collective instruction will teach theory, as skills. gressive changes of now, but will allow more time for The new qualification course will the new course will practical exercises to reinforce that begin with the MOS phase, the cur- be the manning of theory. In the fourth week of the rent Phase II training which con- field phase, the detachment com- centrates on the occupational skills the team-sergeant mander will link up with his team, required for each individual spe- position on student and collective training will begin. cialty. The MOS phase will change A-detachments. Pre- During the next two weeks, the very little from the way it is cur- teams will be able to develop their rently taught, but by taking this viously filled by a internal operating procedures and phase at the beginning, students student, the position bond as a team. Their training will will have a chance to learn their will now be held by a include small-unit tactics, MOS-specific tasks before they patrolling and Special Forces opera- attend the field phase. cadre member who tional techniques. The teams will This change in the Q-Course will will be responsible have an extensive isolation practi- produce a number of advantages. It for training and cal exercise, guided by their cadre will aid the Communications team sergeant. During this exercise Sergeant Course by eliminating the advising the stu- each member will practice his break between the Advanced Inter- dents through their detachment role and learn his national Morse Code Course and 58 days of field responsibilities in accordance with the MOS-specific training. Since SF doctrine. Morse code is a perishable skill, the instruction.” At the conclusion of the practical student will benefit by being able to exercise, the operational detach-

10 Special Warfare night airborne infiltration into the Uwharrie National Forest. The Team sergeant important exercise will be lengthened to 17 in student development days to allow students to perform those mission-essential tasks from Placing the student detachment under the eye of an experienced SF infiltration to demobilization. team sergeant may be the most important change in the new Q-Course, Following Robin Sage, students according to course architects. return to Fort Bragg. Those who The new arrangement is intended to give students a role-model as have passed the Q-Course will pre- well as an introduction to the way an A-detachment functions. “The pare for graduation and a Special student detachment officer will have command of the detachment, but Forces assignment. As each new not the SF background,” said Sgt. Maj. Joseph Murray, school Special Forces NCO crosses the sergeant major for the SWCS. “The team sergeant will have several stage to receive his diploma, he years of detachment experience and will be O&I-qualified; he will enters into a new vocation, trained know all the MOSs. He will take students just out of their MOS-train- to meet the challenges of today’s ing phase and teach them to perform as a cohesive unit.” Special Forces. The new team sergeant will have an important role in the formation of future Special Forces soldiers, Murray said. “The team sergeant will be assisted by other cadre members, but the main responsibility of Maj. James R. Fricke is currently introducing students to the ‘family nature’ of Special Forces will be the commander of F Co., 1st Bn., his. He will be training the soldiers that he and other SF NCOs will 1st Special Warfare Training later work with in the field.” Group, which is responsible for All NCO instructors fill a critical role in Special Forces training, Phase I and Phase II training in Murray said, and the SWCS is looking for qualified applicants. NCOs the SF Qualification Course. His should have at least five years’ experience on A-detachments; they previous assignments at the Spe- may not have served in SWCS previously or be promotable to 18Z cial Warfare Center and School (senior sergeant). NCOs interested in applying should submit a include serving as the operations request to the SF Enlisted Branch on a DA Form 4187. Address officer and chief of the Communi- responses to Commander; USTAPC; Attn: TAPC-EPK-S; 2461 Eisen- cations Branch, Special Forces hower Ave.; Alexandria, VA 22331-0452. Department. He has also served tours in the 82nd Airborne Divi- sion and the 3rd Battalion, 5th ments will receive their mission long isolation and will prepare a Special Forces Group. He is a grad- briefings for the unconventional- formal briefback to explain their uate of the Command and General warfare exercise Robin Sage. Stu- plan to a senior field-grade officer. Staff College and the Infantry Offi- dents will be placed into a week- Robin Sage will still begin with a cer Advanced Course.

Winter 1990 11 Special Forces Assessment and Selection

by Maj. James L. Velky

Less than two years ago, the the special units develop or use an in its program situational tests in Army adopted a new approach in assessment-and-selection process which candidates were required to selecting soldiers to attend Special that was separate from training. function under adverse and stress- Forces training: Special Forces The OSS, due largely to the ful conditions.2 As the OSS saw it, Assessment and Selection. unconventional nature of its candidates had to be assessed in To gain a better perspective of assigned missions, developed an relation to the common level of why the Special Forces assessment assessment program for the selec- stress to which they would eventu- and selection process was estab- tion of its personnel. OSS strategic ally be exposed.3 lished, a look back at the history of missions required agents to be able Beginning in the 1950s, the special-mission units is in order. to work individually as well as with British, who had formed special- From the time of the American others in remote sites, under missions units, the Special Air Ser- Revolution, men have volunteered adverse conditions and without any vices Regiments, during the Second to serve in units that had different direct command guidance. The OSS World War, institutionalized their and inherently more dangerous felt it necessary to assess its volun- selection methods for entry into the missions than those of other units. teers against set and measurable SAS. With the exception of the first In most cases, the only require- variables (relative human require- postwar selection course (a simple ments for acceptance in these spe- ments needed to succeed) and select week-long stamina and map-read- cial units were physical toughness those most suited for the mission. ing ability check), the SAS selection and a willingness to join. Variables the OSS thought neces- process used assessment variables During the Second World War, sary for successful service were: similar to that of the the U.S. had such special-mission motivation; energy and initiative; OSS. It has not changed signifi- units as the Marine Corps raider effective intelligence; emotional sta- cantly to this day. However, the battalions, Navy underwater demo- bility; ability to get along with oth- SAS organized its selection pro- lition detachments, Army Ranger ers; leadership; ability to keep gram into phases of mentally and and airborne units, the 1st Special secrets; physical ability; observing physically stressful activities to bet- Service Force and the Office of and reporting; and ability to devise ter assess and select the “right cut Strategic Services. With the excep- subversive tactics.1 of cloth.”4 In the 1960s, Australian tion of the OSS, however, at no time To set the stage for assessing and Rhodesian SAS regiments during or after the war did any of these variables, the OSS included institutionalized selection programs

12 Special Warfare patterned mostly on the British determine ways to assess human received assessment training from SAS selection model. behavior against reasonable stan- subject-matter experts at TRA- Although the particulars of the dards of suitability. Using data DOC’s Cadet Command. The cadre British SAS selection process are from the Army Research Institute then validated the planned assess- classified, their general concept of and first-hand experience gained ment-and-selection program by assessment remains much like that from participation in the Australian going through the entire course of the OSS: testing men’s bodies SAS Selection Course, they estab- themselves. The Army Research and minds to determine if they can lished methods and measures to Institute provided behavioral psy- operate effectively, both as individ- identify qualities and evaluate chologists to assist the validation uals and as team members, while potential for completing Special by observing the cadre as they con- under prolonged periods of stress. Forces training. ducted the program. Also during the 1950s, the U.S. Overall, the research involved in The validation was valuable in Army began organizing special-mis- developing the plan took approxi- identifying and certifying proce- sion units known as Special Forces. mately 14 months and consisted of dures for assessing certain physi- During those early years and later, planning and coordination with cal, mental and behavioral traits. volunteers for Special Forces Department of the Army, Army Validation also helped to determine underwent challenging and stress- Training and Doctrine Command the program’s operational and logis- ful training. However, Special and the Army Research Institute. tical requirements. Shortly after Forces did not have a selection pro- Developers also made coordination the validation, in April 1988, the gram separate from the training visits to Navy and Air Force SOF assessment program was designat- course. training centers and the British ed Special Forces Orientation and In the mid-1980s, Brig. Gen. SAS Selection Course. Training and administered to a test James A. Guest and Col. Richard In the spring of 1988, with the group of out-of-session Special Potter realized a need for a pro- Army Chief of Staff and TRADOC Forces students for additional gram to select volunteers to attend approval, the project officer and refinement of the procedures. Special Forces training. While seven Special Forces senior NCOs The results from the test-group’s assigned as deputy commander of formed a provisional cadre and SFOT confirmed the validity of the the JFK Special Warfare Center and School, Potter initiated Army- staff-level interest in establishing the program. Using a platform that underlined rising costs in material, personnel and training resources to man, retain and operate combat- ready Special Forces units, Potter convinced the Army staff that a selection course could save valuable training resources and provide An SFAS candidate highly suitable soldiers for Special takes a break during Forces. a field activity. Activ- Early in 1987, Potter assigned ities during the first Maj. James L. Velky and MSgt. 10 days assess stu- John A. Heimberger as project offi- dents as individuals; cers to develop the concept for a during the last 11 Special Forces selection program. days, they assess stu- The first step they took was to dents as members of define personality traits consistent a team. with successful completion of Spe- cial Forces training and effective duty as a Special Forces soldier. Through coordination with the Army Research Institute and analysis of a two-year study (1985-87) of successful soldier traits, the project officers formulated a basis for identifying desirable personality traits.

Next they conducted a study to Photo by Kirk Wyckoff Winter 1990 13 assessment program, and the cadre prepared to run the program on a regular basis. Cadre strength increased to 48, including a sergeant major and an executive officer, and the project officer was designated the program’s first officer- in-charge. In June 1988, the cadre conducted the first assessment and selection course; from then until June 1989, the assessment program conducted nine courses, with an average of 190 candidates in each class. Also in June 1989, the assessment program was redesignated the Spe- cial Forces Assessment and Selec- tion Course. The nature of SFAS is not complex nor difficult to understand. It was founded to identify soldiers Photo by Kirk Wyckoff who can be trained to perform effec- The hardships of the field-assessment activities of SFAS test candidates’ tively in unpredictable, adverse and endurance as well as their ability to function as part of a team. hostile environments and be dedicated to their profession. SFAS attempts to capture a sol- itself, is only 21 days long. After the The SFAS mission is to assess dier’s profile by first administering a 10th day, candidates may voluntari- and select all Army active and series of mental, learning and per- ly withdraw from the program. This reserve-component Special Forces sonality tests, and secondly by pro- allowance was built into the pro- volunteers for Special Forces train- cessing the soldier through a series gram with much consideration. ing. It assesses soldiers’ potential of field-related assessment activities. Generally speaking, most young for being independent, yet team The mental, learning and personali- soldiers today have grown up in an players and leaders. To do this, ty tests consist of the following: environment in which hardship, SFAS looks at the level at which • Defense Language Aptitude Bat- rejection and uncertainty are much volunteers demonstrate the follow- tery less common than they were sever- ing basic traits: • Audio Perception Battery al generations ago. Thus, they may • physical fitness • Wonderlic Personnel (intelli- become prematurely demoralized. • motivation gence) Forcing attendance until the 10th • intelligence • Jackson Personality day allows soldiers time to become • responsibility • Minnesota Multifacet Personali- accustomed to adversity and to • stability ty Inventory (in-depth personali- learn that they can cope with it. • trustworthiness ty battery) SFAS activities during the first • sociability The field-related assessment 10 days assess how soldiers per- • leadership activities are in areas of: form on their own. The last 11 days’ All good soldiers in the Army pos- • physical fitness and swimming activities assess leadership and sess these attributes to some degree. tests how soldiers function as members But the level at which they demon- • short, medium and long-distance of a team. strate these traits and their degree runs An initial selection board is held of potential for being trained to per- • obstacle course at Day 10 to determine whether form in an adverse environment is • short, medium and long-range candidates will continue in the pro- not normally observed nor tested movements (with weapon and gram, and a final selection board is within their everyday workplace. In field equipment) held at Day 21 to determine candi- most Army career fields, soldiers are • military orienteering (with dates’ suitability for selection to not put into situations that require weapon and field equipment) Special Forces training. them to operate in uncertainty with • log drills Soldiers attend SFAS on a tempo- little guidance, withstand irregular • problem-solving events rary-duty-and-return basis; they mental and physical demands and The field-assessment activities return to their units after SFAS. If work alone, deprived of rest. are conducted over 21 days. SFAS, selected, soldiers will return to Fort

14 Special Warfare Bragg later to attend the SF Qualification Course. When soldiers Prerequisites for SFAS are not selected (by either board), they are counselled on their perfor- All applicants for the Special Forces Selection and Assessment mance and advised on how to over- Program must meet the following criteria. come deficiencies or develop their • Must be a male soldier in grades sergeant to sergeant first class. traits if they wish to return to • Must have a high-school diploma or GED. SFAS later. • Must have a GT score of 110 or higher (Linguists need a GT score of The unique nature of SFAS is 100). twofold. In addition to selecting the • Must be airborne-qualified or volunteer for airborne training. right soldiers for Special Forces, it (Candidates not already airborne-qualified will be scheduled for air- screens soldiers who lack, either borne training after completing SFAS.) temporarily or permanently, the • Must be able to swim 50 meters wearing boots and fatigues. qualities and potential necessary to • Must be able to meet the standards of the Special Forces physical, complete training. This screening as outlined in AR 40-501. aspect of SFAS saves training • Must score a minimum of 206 points on the Army Physical Fitness resources and indirectly frees field Test with no less than 60 points on any event, scored for the 17-21 units from having to expend addi- age group. tional resources on personnel not • Must not be within 120 days of a permanent change of station or suited or conditioned for Special attending a school that will ultimately require a PCS. (Soldiers Forces service. completing an MOS-producing school must serve in that MOS for In the final analysis, programs one year.) that attempt to assess for required • Must not be a prior airborne or Special Forces voluntary terminee. qualities and to train at the same • Must not be under suspension of favorable personnel action. time end up doing neither very • Must not have 30 days or more lost time under Title 10, U.S. Code well. The allied SAS organizations 972 within current or preceding enlistment. know this all too well. They know • Must not have been convicted by court-martial during the current that a remote site and a sensitive term of service. mission are not the place or time to • Must not be barred to re-enlistment. discover that a member or leader of Completion of SFAS and selection for Special Forces training is a team is unsuitable because of a valid for one year. For further information or application, soldiers deficiency in character or mental should contact the Special Forces Recruiting Office; USAJFKSWCS; makeup. They also realize that Fort Bragg, NC 28307-5000. Phone Autovon 239-1818, commercial after spending thousands of dollars, (919) 432-1818. hundreds of training man-hours and other training resources is not the time to find out that the soldier being trained is untrainable or was commissioned in Infantry unsuitable to conduct special-opera- in 1975 and rebranched to Special tions missions. Forces in 1987. Maj. Velky was The Special Forces Assessment the project officer assigned to and Selection program is unique in develop SFAS and served as what it accomplishes for the Special the first officer in charge of the Forces training base and the program. Special Forces community in general. Coupled with changes in Special Notes: 1 OSS Assessment Staff, Assessment Of Forces recruiting and training, Men – Selection Of Personnel For The Office SFAS is part of the most thorough Of Strategic Services, (New York: Rinehart & training Special Forces has ever Company, Inc., 1948), pp. 30-31. had to offer. 2 Assessment Of Men, p. 38. 3 Assessment Of Men, p. 452. 4 Tony Geraghty, Inside The Special Air Service, (Nashville, Tenn.: Battery Press, Maj. James L. Velky is current- Inc., 1981), pp. 193-206. ly a student at the Army Com- mand and General Staff College. A former infantry NCO who served two tours in Vietnam, he

Winter 1990 15 & Keeping pace with Special Forces missions

by Maj. Rex H. McTyeire

Designed for experienced NCOs Originally an entry-level course ligence-sergeant slots on operational from all 18-series MOSs, this during the 1960s, on par with the detachments; however, the instruc- intense program prepares NCOs to other four basic Special Forces tion goes much further. Generally, become assistant operations-and- MOS-producing courses (18B - training covers general and special intelligence sergeants and to weapons, 18C - engineer, 18D - subjects, clandestine-operations sub- assume staff positions at all levels. medic and 18E - communications), jects, tactical-intelligence subjects, O&I has evolved over the past 27 and operations-related subjects. Key If carefully selected, highly moti- years to provide Special Forces A- elements of the training define spe- vated and well-trained soldiers are detachments with the personnel cial-operations command-and-staff a definition of Special Forces, then and skills necessary to train, plan, relationships and detail staff func- the Special Forces Operations and operate and succeed in their mis- tions and responsibilities at all eche- Intelligence Course defines the sions. Now taught by the Special lons, preparing NCOs to fill staff operational capabilities of those sol- Warfare Center and School’s Com- positions up to and including joint- diers and their units. pany A, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special level assignments. Special Forces demands excel- Warfare Training Group, O&I has Operational A-detachments are lence from its soldiers in all aspects become the definitive mid-career much more than well-led groups of of their jobs. Often, their responsi- challenge to Special Forces NCOs. expert medics, engineers, communi- bilities far exceed the skills of a sin- Much more than just another cators and weapons men. They gle career field or military occupa- Special Forces skill, O&I “ties it all must be prepared to deploy and tional specialty. Special Forces per- together” — just as the basic SF fight as an independent organiza- sonnel-selection procedures and courses build on the previous mili- tion, manage much of their own training programs reflect this fact. tary experience of their students, training, prepare for deployment on Only proven soldiers are selected O&I builds on the mid-career expe- a wide range of missions, function for Special Forces training, then rience of SF soldiers. It refines, as a planning cell, perform their their qualification-course training, focuses and extends their experi- own staff responsibilities, and coor- continuous unit training and addi- ence and adds new skills critical to dinate with a variety of external tional specialized schooling builds the operational capability of SF contacts from all services and at all on this professional base to create units. echelons. As a team, members of the scope of capabilities for which O&I specifically trains SF NCOs the ODA must manage an array of Special Forces is known. to fill assistant-operations-and-intel- intelligence functions that else-

16 Special Warfare where in the Army would require integrated into the course with Now, the entire O&I course is several staff offices with many per- operational planning and conduct conducted at Fort Bragg, which sonnel and different MOSs. portions to support the full scope of allows better management of the The demands of training and SF and special-operations missions. course flow, and the tailoring of planning are complex, but when intelligence subjects by the Special teams deploy on missions, their “Originally an entry- Forces cadre ensures that the sub- responsibilities increase significant- ject matter will be appropriate to ly. On a foreign-internal-defense level course during special operations. The primarily mission, for example, the detach- the 1960s, on par 18F cadre is augmented by selected ment may be responsible for its own with the other four NCOs from the intelligence MOS security, staff and management who improve O&I training by pro- functions while training a host- basic Special Forces viding experience in fields such as country staff to support the forces MOS-producing interrogation, intelligence analysis which the same detachment is courses, O&I has and order of battle. They also serve teaching basic military skills. In an as liaisons with intelligence propo- unconventional-warfare mission, evolved over the past nents to ensure the currency and the detachment may have a similar 27 years to provide doctrinal accuracy of the tactical- function in an even more isolated Special Forces A- intelligence blocks of instruction. area, with communication and sup- As Special Forces has evolved port from higher headquarters lim- detachments with over the years, the O&I course ited to periodic radio contact. The the personnel and length and content have also requirements for survival, combat skills necessary to changed. After growing to 16 weeks effectiveness and mission success in at one point, in 1988 O&I lost four such a situation demand that sol- train, plan, operate weeks to the emerging 18-series diers receive intense training which and succeed in their Advanced NCO Course. The CMF- cuts across a variety of military missions.” 18 common-skills subjects in these specialties and proponency areas. four training weeks, now a part of O&I is also a prerequisite for Early classes sent students to Fort SF ANCOC, are building blocks to some advanced and selective Spe- Holabird, Md., for intelligence O&I. ANCOC completion is there- cial Forces training programs such training, and later to Fort Huachu- fore important to provide the best as the 180A Special Forces Warrant ca, Ariz., after the Intelligence possible academic preparation for Officer Program. Graduates of O&I School moved there. O&I. Subsequent course modifica- qualify for MOS 18F, but they must request the MOS change from their basic 18-series MOS. (Currently, 18Ds and 18Es are in a critical shortage, and conversion from those MOSs may be difficult, but soldiers who request it will be considered on a case-by-case basis.) Regardless of the Special Forces career path a soldier chooses, O&I is an essential career-development step. Falling between the Advanced NCO Course and the Sergeants Major Course in the Army NCO education plan, O&I neatly fills the gap in required Special Forces operational training. Referring to O&I as an intelligence course could be a larger error than referring to an A-detachment as an infantry squad (and depend- ing on the audience, will generate U.S. Army photo an equally emotional response). Students in the O&I Course work as a group during an operational plan- Intelligence skills and subjects are ning practical exercise. Such exercises evaluate individual and group abili- part of the training, but they are ties to plan and conduct Special Forces operations.

Winter 1990 17 research projects and home-study requirements. O&I Course Prerequisites O&I academic standards are high, strict and consistently ■ SSG/E6 or above and 18-series MOS qualified. 1 applied. A minimum score of 75 percent is required for each graded ■ 3 years experience (AC or RC) in 18-series MOS in oper- area, and students with two failing ational Special Forces unit. 1 scores will be recommended for aca- ■ Minimum of 12 months’ service remaining upon com- demic relief. The course attrition pletion of the course. rate exceeds 20 percent — a signifi- ■ Final SECRET security clearance, with hard-copy docu- cant figure, since this is not an mentation. entry-level course, but an advanced school for selected SF career NCOs. ■ Airborne-qualified male on current jump status, with a Since the adoption of the current minimum of one static-line jump completed within the 3 standards and grading scheme, months prior to start date. only one class has defeated the 20- ■ Command verification of APFT passed within 30 days percent attrition statistics: SFO&I prior to start date. Class 1-90 suffered only a 13-per- ■ Graduation from Advanced Noncommissioned Officer cent academic loss. Cadre members Course (ANCOC). 1, 2 challenge each class to be the first to graduate 100 percent. 1. May be waived for sister-service special-operations personnel with equiv- Resident students consistently alent qualifications and experience in their respective SO units. have their favorite subject areas: 2. Special Forces ANCOC scheduled to become a prerequisite effective the blocks on Special Forces photog- Oct. 1, 1990. raphy and clandestine operations usually head the popularity list. Although intense and academically tions have brought O&I back to 13 elsewhere in U.S. Army school sys- tough, these blocks involve hands- weeks. tems, would require approximately on application and interesting prac- The course curriculum is one of one full year of continuous school- tical exercises, and each student the most academically intense and ing. The tight O&I classroom sched- easily identifies the value of the demanding in the U.S. Army. To ule is further intensified by student training to ODA operational meet the multi-disciplined requirements of Special Forces operations and the standards of the O&I course, soldiers are expected to be proficient in the critical components of many different intelligence, operational, and technical MOSs, as well as having significant SF professional knowledge and experience. Many of the projects, command- post exercises and practical exercises require the application of SF skills not taught or refreshed because of the course’s fast pace. Tailored external-proponency material such as intelligence, photography and some operations-related subjects are supplemented by general Special Forces- and special- operations-oriented blocks that link the puzzle pieces together and adapt them to the special-opera- U.S. Army photo tions environment. A student team deploys during the O&I field training exercise. The FTX is The external-proponency subjects a week-long performance-oriented exercise to evaluate what students have alone, if taken as they are taught learned in O&I.

18 Special Warfare requirements. The week-long end- Soviet order of battle is the best- of-course field training exercise is “Among the more con- documented and the most current also very popular and gives the stu- of what is available in the Army dents opportunities to apply much troversial blocks of and Department of Defense sys- of what they have learned through- instruction, both with tems, and it is maintained in readi- out the course. The FTX consists of students and propo- ly available student references. an isolation phase, an airborne Overall, in spite of its depth and infiltration of the exercise area, and nency reviewers ... are complexity, Soviet order of battle student field projects, including a the order-of-battle presents the best possible student message pick-up; link-up with blocks and the intense training model. Creating an artifi- indigenous assets; and receiving, cial order of battle for training or identifying and exfiltrating an training on Soviet using a simpler Third World model evader. order of battle, orga- would result in significant lost Among the more controversial nization and struc- training value, with few gains. blocks of instruction, both with stu- Students need to understand and dents and proponency reviewers at ture. These subjects ... be able to apply conventional intel- all levels, are the order-of-battle are critical to many ligence-analysis systems in order to blocks and the intense training on related O&I blocks.” train host-country conventional Soviet order of battle, organization forces in a FID environment. In and structure. These subjects, how- many of the possible UW scenarios ever, are critical to many related existing operational scenario. Sovi- and other SF mission contingencies, O&I blocks. O&I students are et order-of-battle subjects provide opposing forces will apply elements trained to tie their specific intelli- the illustration necessary for stu- of Soviet doctrine, equipment and gence preparation of the battlefield, dents to develop a thorough under- organization. or IPB, and order-of-battle knowl- standing of intelligence operations In mid- to high-intensity conflict edge and the balance of their tacti- and specific ODA mission activities scenarios, SF or special-operations cal-intelligence training into the and support requirements. deployments may be conducted to

O & I Course Synopsis General and Special SubjectsÐ Clandestine Operations SubjectsÐ ■ SF Photography and Filmless Camera System ■ Introduction, Security, Operational Skills and ■ JSOA and SOF Mission Planning Techniques ■ Fingerprint Identification Systems ■ Non-technical Communications: Applied Techniques and Procedures ■ Maps and Overlays w/Foreign Maps and Symbols ■ Intelligence Limitations and Constraints ■ Target Interdiction, Analysis and Systems ■ Elicitation, Interrogation and Interviews ■ SOF Case Studies and Research Operations Related SubjectsÐ ■ SOF NBC Doctrine ■ Introduction, OPSEC and Classified Tactical Intelligence SubjectsÐ Document Control ■ Training Management ■ Intro. to Intelligence; Order of Battle and IPB ■ Assisted E & E and Detachment Evasion ■ Collection, Processing, Dissemination and the Intelligence Estimate Planning ■ Tactical Deception Operations ■ Imagery and Infrared Map Interpretation ■ Combat Orders: Battalion, Brigade and Higher ■ Soviet Forces, Organization, Equipment and Capabilities ■ SOF Command and Control ■ Soviet Military History, Doctrine and Power ■ SOF Staff Roles, Responsibilities, Planning Projection and Estimates ■ Soviet Electronic Warfare and NBC Threat ■ Aircraft Capabilities and Conduct of Airborne Operations ■ World Threat and NBC Updates

Winter 1990 19 O&I, but now as a planning tool rather than as a product of the O&I in CMF18 Career Progression ODA. Each student receives a completed area study and is assigned a related research project. The area ARMYWIDE study and research project are then CONVENTIONAL ASSIGNMENTS applied in the training-management and operational-planning SPECIAL FORCES phases of the course. Students ASSESSMENT & SELECTION develop mission-essential task lists and graded programs of instruction SF QUALIFICATION SF COURSE from their area study, individual BNCOC 18B 18C 18D 18E research and mission scenarios. WPNS ENG MED COMO The area-study and mission-planning changes tie in to other course OPERATIONAL changes. Targeting-analysis and SF ASSIGNMENT targeting-systems blocks have also been brought on-line to fit into a 3 YEAR MINIMUM SF comprehensive SF team-level mis- ANCOC sion-planning sequence called the Combined Area Study Mission OPERATIONAL Analysis Program. Developed in the SF ASSIGNMENT field by the 10th Special Forces Group to fill an operational planning gap, CASMAP was expanded O&I 18F by the 5th Special Forces Group ASST O&I and has been integrated into O&I. The program is a set of compre- ADD'L OPN'L hensive operational-preparation 180A ASSIGNMENTS: SF WARRANT procedures which outline support PROGRAM ÐSWCS INSTRUCTOR ÐNOMINATIVE SOF and staff-management functions ASSIGNMENT from A-detachment through SF- ODA OPNS group levels in support of team 18Z SERGEANT training, preparation and deploy- SGM ment needs. CASMAP guides team SFÐSOF ACADEMY ASSIGNMENTS and support actions from garrison ECHELONS training through operational prepa- ABOVE ODA rations, isolation, deployment, area assessment, exfiltration and after- action procedures to ensure continuity between operational and sup- support larger conventional operation. Area studies, for years a stan- port elements. tions, and a clear comprehension dard student-production effort in Advances and changes in special of the intelligence systems and doc- the curriculum, have been deleted operations and SF have accelerated trine applied at higher echelons as a graded student project. in recent years, with each step for- will enable SF ODAs and B- and Current SWCS philosophy main- ward generating doctrinal and C-detachments to make a more tains that ODAs will not produce training changes in the O&I course. valuable contribution to theater detailed area studies, but will have Special Forces, as an Army unit tactical or strategic objectives. O&I them provided as part of the intelli- and as a career field, is improved graduates, with their skill in IPB, gence support to SF operations. The every time an SF NCO steps to the as well as Soviet order of battle and ODA will then apply the area study podium to receive his O&I diploma, doctrine, will be critical to this to unit and pre-deployment train- prepared to take his knowledge effort in SF operational and staff ing and supplement it with specific back to the field. Every O&I gradu- positions. mission-related area research, since ate knows that he has done far Another debated aspect of the mission-area analysis and area more than punch a career ticket: by course involves a recent significant assessment remain team missions. completing O&I, he has identified change to the program of instruc- Area studies are still taught in himself as a member of the pool of

20 Special Warfare Special Warfare Center and Upcoming changes to O&I School’s 1st Special Warfare Train- ing Group. He served more than nine years enlisted time on A- Soldiers considering O&I or scheduled for attendance should be detachments in both engineer- and aware of two changes which will become effective Oct. 1. assistant-operations-and-intelli- Students who report for O&I training after that date will have gence-sergeant slots before attend- the 18F MOS posted to their records upon graduation from the ing Officer Candidate School. His course. O&I graduates currently receive an additional skill identifi- assignments have included duty er upon graduation and may apply for the 18F MOS after they with the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 10th return to their units. SF units have shown shortages of soldiers in Special Forces Groups as well as 18F because O&I graduates’ records were not being updated, 46th Company, S.F., Thailand. His according to Sgt. Maj. Robert Gron, SF enlisted manager in the overseas experience includes serv- SWCS Special Operations Proponency Office. The new procedure ing on a mobile training team to will allow the Army to keep better track of 18Fs. Soldiers’ units will Somalia, varied national-intelli- still determine whether the MOS will be their primary or sec- gence assignments for U.S. Army ondary. Operations Group, and other nomi- Also effective Oct. 1 will be the requirement that soldiers attend native special-operations assign- the Advanced NCO Course before being eligible for O&I. Active- ments. Ranger- and scuba-quali- component soldiers will have to attend the SF ANCOC, given at the fied, Maj. McTyeire is a charter SWCS NCO Academy. Reserve-component SF soldiers may use any member of the Special Forces ANCOC to qualify until the SF ANCOC-RC comes on-line, sched- Branch and holds degrees from uled for August 1991. New York State University at Albany. leadership from which will be of exceptional professionals: Special drawn future SF warrant officers, Forces noncommissioned officers. SF team sergeants and special- operations sergeants major and command sergeants major. He is a Maj. Rex H. McTyeire currently senior professional among a group commands Co. A, 2nd Bn., of the

Winter 1990 21 SWCS NCO ACADEMY NCOs Training NCOs

The mission of the SWCS NCO SF BNCOC was the first require- Forces soldiers. Academy is to train NCOs to lead ment tackled. The lowest rank on Advanced NCO training for SF and train their soldiers to fight and an A-detachment is staff sergeant. was a different matter, not as easily win. Armywide, staff-sergeant duties are fixed, because there were no SF Established in August 1987, the designated as skill-level-three. The skill-level-four tasks identified. SF NCO Academy has its origins in the SFQC is the entry-level course for NCOs continued to attend the creation of the Special Forces Special Forces which provides ANCOC of their previous conven- career-management field 18 in trained soldiers to fill positions on tional MOS, and though the com- 1985, according to 1st Sgt. Peter A-detachments; therefore, the mon-leader-training portion was Van Borkulo, the NCO academy’s SFQC was determined to be skill- standard, the MOS and CMF com- deputy commandant. With its own level-three. mon-task training did not meet the CMF, Special Forces also had the Of the three requirements for all unique needs of SF NCOs. “SF requirement to professionally devel- NCOES courses — common-leader NCOs who attended the Infantry op its enlisted soldiers. training, MOS-specific training and ANCOC, for instance, learned The Army’s Noncommissioned CMF common-task training — all mechanized tactics,” Van Borkulo Officer Education System provided but a one-week block of common- said. The SWCS had to begin devel- the regulatory requirement to leader training was already con- opment of a separate SF ANCOC. develop skill-level-three (basic NCO tained in the SF Qualification Before the course could be devel- course) and skill-level-four Course, Van Borkulo said. The one- oped, however, a distinction had to (advanced NCO course) training for week block, developed and fur- be made between skill-level-three each MOS within the CMF. As a nished by the Army Sergeants tasks of junior-level NCOs and result, the Special Warfare Center Major Academy, was added to the skill-level-four tasks of more senior and School began to look for effec- Q-Course in July 1986 and admin- NCOs. Generally, experienced tive ways to conduct BNCOC and istered by the 1st Special Warfare senior NCOs serve in more supervi- ANCOC using existing courses. Training Battalion, at that time sory roles. The SWCS focused on This approach was further expand- responsible for all student training. identifying those tasks that sepa- ed to include the newly formed With the addition of CLT, the quali- rated the new SF NCOs from the PSYOP MOS under the proponency fication course also became the more capable, seasoned A-detach- of the SWCS. approved BNCOC for Special ment soldiers.

22 Special Warfare At first the SWCS considered been operating for less than a year.” think more than what to think and converting the Special Forces Oper- Despite the short time for prepara- encourages them to share their ations and Intelligence Course into tion, the academy was fully accred- experiences. the SF ANCOC, since it covered ited by TRADOC. Small-group instruction is not advanced operational techniques, The academy teaches its courses unique to the SWCS NCO Academy. Van Borkulo said, but not all senior using the small-group instruction “Small-group instruction is used in SF NCOs would need the intelli- method. The cadre assigned to the most other NCO academies, too,” gence subjects which the course NCO Academy are called small- Van Borkulo said, “but it works par- covered. group leaders — they must teach ticularly well for us (SOF), because “In January 1988, the Center and and demonstrate to students the each small group functions in a School took the ‘O’ (operations) standards of leadership, training, manner similar to an A-team.” from O&I to form the CMF 18 skill- technical and tactical competence Group discussion allows students, level-four common-task portion of and overall professionalism, Van all of them experienced NCOs, to the SF ANCOC,” Van Borkulo said. Borkulo said. Their function is to be share information and evaluate the The ANCOC common-leader train- mentors, role models and coun- course content in light of their own ing was already developed by the selors for the students. experiences. A critique of the course Sergeants Major Academy. All that Most classes are led and conduct- also goes back to the SWCS Direc- remained was to define MOS trained by the students themselves. torate of Training and Doctrine ing necessary at skill-level four. There is no lecture; students learn with student comments. One of the “SWCS made the separation by discussion. The small-group best things about the academy’s between the junior- and senior-level leader is present, but only to moni- training is its flexibility, Van NCOs’ tasks,” Van Borkulo said. tor the process, to occasionally Borkulo said. As soon as a doctrinal “The junior NCO is more hands-on, interject training objectives and to change is approved, it can be while the senior NCO has more to make sure that those objectives are included in the instruction for the do with supervision, analysis and covered. Small-group instruction next class. planning — for example, the junior places the responsibility for learn- The cadre emphasize that they weapons NCO takes weapons apart ing on students themselves, both are there to help students. Currently and puts them back together; the through group participation and the SF ANCOC, for example, has senior weapons NCO plans the assignment as student-discussion about a 1-2 percent attrition rate, ranges, employment, training, leaders. It teaches students how to mostly for administrative reasons. resupply and security.” Corresponding to the development of the programs of instruction was the establishment of an NCO academy to teach them. In August 1987, SWCS selected CSM Henry Bone to be the first commandant of the academy. “There was no man- power, no budget and no buildings,” Van Borkulo said. “There was only a need for the CMF to have a centralized activity for NCO profes- SSgt. Donny H. sional-development training. The Boles, an instructor Center and School gave Command at the NCO Academy, Sergeant Major Bone the authority inspects of one of the to hand-pick the cadre he needed.” Academy’s students. In December 1988, the academy was subject to accreditation by the Army Training and Doctrine Com- mand. “Normally, accreditation would come after two years,” Van Borkulo said, “but since the requirement to establish CMF-18 professional-development training actually began in 1986 with the creation of the career field, we were due, even though the academy had Photo by Kirk Wyckoff Winter 1990 23 Disciplinary dismissals are unusual. Phase One ends with a four-day “When you look at all the courses “When you look at all light-infantry field training exercise SF soldiers can go to, SFQC and that includes a tactical airborne ANCOC are the only ones they the courses SF sol- operation followed by movement to have to go to,” Van Borkulo said. diers can go to, a defensive position. During the “They have to go to the Q-Course to SFQC and ANCOC FTX, each class is organized into obtain an 18-series MOS, and they three light-infantry platoons, and have to get ANCOC if they want to are the only ones each small group becomes a squad. be promoted to master sergeant they have to go to ... Squads receive missions in which and stay in the Army.” Other cours- They have to go to they must perform reconnaissance es such as Military Free Fall; patrols, set up ambushes, and con- Underwater Operations; Survival, the Q-Course to struct and remove wire obstacles Evasion, Resistance and Escape; obtain an 18-series and protective mine fields. The FTX and Operations and Intelligence are MOS, and they have tests soldiers’ land-navigation skills important, he says, “but those are and ensures that they are familiar for mission enhancement, depend- to get ANCOC if they with conventional tactics. It also ing on the unit and team you’re want to be promoted allows the small-group leader to assigned to. After the Q-Course, to master sergeant evaluate each soldier’s leadership everyone has to attend ANCOC. ... capabilities in a simulated combat ANCOC takes an NCO out of the A- and stay in the situation. team mindset and lets him see how Army.” The three-week Phase Two is the team fits throughout the entire devoted to training in the technical spectrum of conflict.” by PERSCOM; reserve-component aspects of the different Special soldiers are recommended by their Forces MOSs, mostly in a supervi- SF ANCOC unit commanders. sory role. There are actually four To attend the SF ANCOC, sol- The 12-week course is divided different programs of instruction, diers must first be active or into three phases. In Phase One, one for each MOS. The medical reserve-component enlisted soldiers soldiers spend five weeks on com- sergeant receives training in pre- in the rank of staff sergeant or mon-leader training, which ventive medicine and in setting up sergeant first class. They must be includes advanced leadership tech- a dental program, a pharmacy, an qualified in a CMF 18 MOS, be niques, counseling, training man- aid station and civic-action pro- BNCOC graduates and be on jump agement, a live-fire exercise and grams. Weapons sergeants learn status. Active soldiers are selected light-infantry tactics. the employment of various weapons systems, including indirect fire, air- defense and anti-tank weapons. Engineer sergeants receive supervisory training in target analysis and interdiction, the breaching of obstacles and barriers, explosive ordnance and the planning and construction of a base camp. Communications sergeants receive training on establishing communications from base camps to local patrols and to a Special Forces operations base, which could be thousands of miles away. They also learn supervisory duties in acquir- ing supplies of communications equipment and supplies for maintenance and minor repair of communications equipment. Soldiers who already have the 18F MOS, assistant operations and intelligence Photo by Kirk Wyckoff sergeant, attend the MOS training SSgt. Donny H. Boles, an instructor, briefs NCO Academy students on the of their secondary SF MOS. small-group instruction method on which the Academy’s training is based. The four-week Phase Three is

24 Special Warfare dedicated to Special Forces common-task subjects at skill-level four The SF NCO: A Self-Portrait and covers intelligence-gathering techniques, detachment isolation, How do SF NCOs see themselves? Members of ANCOC Class 3-89 organizational operations and base- wrote essays on the importance of the NCO to Special Forces. Here are camp selection. This phase includes a few of their comments: a tour of a selected historical battlefield which allows students to com- NCOs are the primary, small-scale, resource managers of Special pare the curriculum and nine prin- Forces. They ensure that the maintenance and accountability of team ciples of war (objective, offensive, equipment are kept up-to-date and up to standards. Although officers mass, economy of force, maneuver, run the staff and command operations, it is SF NCOs who handle unity of command, security, sur- most of the planning, coordinating, preparing, and conduct of SF mis- prise and simplicity) to the actual sions — they are the lifeblood of Special Forces. conduct of the battle. SFC George M. Walker, Co. C, 1st Bn., 1st SF Group The third phase ends with a four-day foreign-internal-defense Physically, there are few jobs as demanding as being an SF NCO. command-post exercise. During The SF team member must maintain a level of physical fitness that the CPX, each small group is orga- allows him to accomplish many different missions. A detachment nized as an A-detachment. Given member might be tasked to hump a rucksack one day and participate an operations plan, the group must in a scout swim the next. prepare annexes for weapons, SFC James E. Sparks, 160th Special Operations Avn. Regt. medical, engineer and communica- It is the nature of Special Forces soldiers to be leaders, not followers. tions plans and give a detachment However, you will find them, leaders all, working together as one briefback. cohesive team, understanding the role and the necessity of being fol- An important aspect of ANCOC lowers to meet one single purpose — mission accomplishment. is the Leadership Assessment SFC Kenneth E. Harris, JFKSWCS Development Program. LADP is TRADOC-dictated and is conducted While an officer’s career quickly progresses to higher levels of com- Armywide as part of NCOES, Van mand, the NCO spends most of his career at the detachment level. Borkulo said. LADP complements The combined military time among the NCOs on an A-detachment can the small-group-instruction concept easily total over a century of experience. It is this experienced, highly already used in ANCOC because it trained NCO that makes Special Forces a unique organization. takes advantage of the attention SFC Jerry T. Griffin, JFKSWCS students receive from their small- group leader. Throughout the The NCO is the heart and soul of Special Forces. He is the soldier course, students are assigned to as who serves on the ODA the longest. The most important thing he can many different leadership duties as do is to train and assist the new detachment commander. This com- possible. Small-group leaders mander needs all the support he can get; he spends the least amount assess students’ leadership traits of time on the ODA and, therefore, must learn as much as he can as and counsel them to point out weak quickly as he can. Any competent detachment commander will seek and strong areas. The assessment the knowledge and advice of his most experienced team members is done to help the students develop when confronted with situations he is uncertain about. as leaders, not to eliminate them SFC James K. Cashion, Co. C, 3rd Bn., 5th SF Group from the course. Most SF NCOs, when they’re together, bring up the little things Another aid to student develop- that are wrong with SF. However, when these same individuals are ment are the diagnostic exams with people outside of SF, by the way they talk, you would swear that given early in the ANCOC program, they were Special Forces recruiters. before students begin their MOS SFC Randy M. Imbrescia, JFKSWCS training. Diagnostic exams are administered by instructors from The type of NCO who is attracted to SF is a professional soldier. ... the 1st Special Warfare Training He is not the type of person who came to get a little tab for his shoul- Group, which conducts the MOS der or a piece of felt to wear on his head. You could take away the SF training. Since ANCOC is designed tab and the Green Beret and you still would have the SF NCO. to teach students skill-level-four SFC Michael E. Bacon, Co. C, 1st Bn., 1st SF Group tasks, the exams verify that they have the prerequisite skill-level- three knowledge.

Winter 1990 25 Because of various problems, topics and MOS-specific subjects SF Qualification Course has been some students cannot pass the needed to plan and develop a expanded from its original one diagnostic exams. “It doesn’t mean PSYOP campaign, and the two- week to a two-week block of that a soldier didn’t learn what he week common-leader-training por- instruction taught by NCO acade- should have in the Q-Course,” Van tion of the SFQC. my small-group leaders at the Borkulo said. “He may have a ‘high Prerequisites for PSYOP BNCOC beginning of the course. It is decay’ skill, or he may not have are that active and reserve PSYOP required instruction for those been able to sustain his training enlisted personnel be sergeants or SFQC students who did not com- level. Sometimes new systems come promotable specialists or corporals plete BNCOC in their original on line and his unit might have had who have completed the Primary MOS. Soldiers who attend the com- limited amounts of the new equip- Leadership Development Course mon-leader portion of SFQC receive ment. Or the soldier may have been and have served at least six months two diplomas upon graduation — in staff assignments and need a between PLDC and BNCOC. They one for SFQC and one for BNCOC. refresher.” must have passed their skill-quali- Soldiers whose scores on the fication test within 12 months and New courses diagnostic exam are unsatisfactory meet the fitness and weight stan- In the future, the SWCS NCO receive remedial instruction from dards in Army Regulations 350-15 Academy plans to add two more 1st Special Warfare Training Group and 600-19. Active soldiers are courses to its curriculum: Resident instructors during “non-academic selected by PERSCOM; reserve sol- Phase 2 of the reserve-component hours” (their free time at night) to diers are recommended by their SF ANCOC, and the PSYOP bring them up to skill-level three so unit commanders. The course cur- ANCOC. that they will be ready to enter the rently runs one class per year Phase 2 of the SF ANCOC–RC MOS phase. because of the low number of sol- will be a resident MOS phase of the diers in the career field. course for reserve-component sol- Upcoming changes PSYOP BNCOC, also based on diers who have already completed One of the challenges to the the principle of small-group Phase I, U.S. Army Common Lead- course curriculum is to stay current instruction, is taught in three er Training. Common-leader train- with changes in SF doctrine, and phases. Phase I, 11 days, consists ing is conducted at selected U.S. CSM Reginald Salinas, comman- of common-leader training, as pre- Army National Guard regional mili- dant of the SWCS NCO Academy, is scribed by the Army Sergeants tary academies and U.S. Army directing the integration of Special Major Academy, and NCO-develop- Reserve Forces schools. Soldiers Forces joint planning and opera- ment instruction. The four-day enroll in those courses through tions into SF ANCOC. Phase II covers intelligence-related their units. (Individual-mobiliza- “Special Forces is moving more subjects such as classification and tion-augmentee and Individual and more into the joint arena. Both marking of documents, agencies Ready Reserve soldiers must enroll FM 31-20 (Special Forces Opera- available to support the intelli- through the Army Reserve Person- tions) and FM 100-25 (Doctrine for gence-collection effort, and intelli- nel Center.) Army Special Operations Forces) gence preparation of the battle- Resident Phase 2 will be 21 days reflect this increased emphasis on field. Phase III, 13 days, covers long; it will contain the same skill- joint operations,” Salinas said. PSYOP-specific subjects such as level-four MOS and SF common- A curriculum review board held target analysis, printed propagan- task training covered in the active- at the SWCS in January 1990 da, analysis of enemy propaganda component ANCOC, and a graded approved a milestone in the evolu- and PSYOP in support of special command-post exercise. Training tion of SF ANCOC: In fiscal year operations. will be conducted using the same 1991, instruction in CMF 18 skill- Phase III includes the four-day small-group instruction as in other level-four common tasks will place field-training exercise “Sierra courses at the academy. more emphasis on the relationship Region.” During the exercise, stu- During the MOS portion, stu- between Army SOF and conven- dents enter a fictitious host coun- dents will be grouped by MOS, but tional forces and on the role of Spe- try within the Sierra Region by in the SF common-skills and CPX cial Forces in joint operations. parachute. Once in the area, they training, each group will mix sol- perform a variety of exercises, diers with different specialties, Other courses including loudspeaker operations regional orientations and experi- The academy also teaches two and leaflet drops, which demon- ences to get a better cross-section of other courses: the five-week, three- strate their ability to function in team members’ strengths and to day PSYOP Basic NCO Course, support of a special-operations promote the exchange of ideas. which trains soldiers in common- mission. To make up for the shortening of leader skills, intelligence-related Common-leader training in the the course, the NCO academy will

26 Special Warfare send soldiers read-ahead lesson unit commander or sergeant major while he’s in the academy,” he said. materials and doctrinal references (IMA/IRR must be selected by There are also limits to what the dealing with SF common skills and ARPERCEN). The pilot course for academy can accomplish. “We man- certain NCO-development subjects. SF ANCOC-RC is scheduled to run age students and mold them. ... By completing the read-ahead pack- in August 1991. We’re not here to cleanse the force – et before beginning Phase 2, sol- The PSYOP ANCOC will be a we’re not to be a discriminator as to diers will be prepared to enter the nine-week, two-day course, also who should be a master sergeant in resident phase. Soldiers may com- taught once per year, to train Special Forces. ... We make sure we plete the read-ahead materials enlisted PSYOP specialists in train the soldiers the unit has seen before, during or after taking Phase advanced levels of MOS skills, com- fit to train,” Van Borkulo said. “We I, but in any case, they must common-leader techniques and intelli- are an extension of the command- plete them within 15 months prior gence-related subjects. Scheduled ing general’s training strategy for to Resident Phase 2. to begin in fiscal year 1993, the CMF 18. We are not doctrine writ- The course will run once per year, course will be open to BNCOC-qual- ers; we don’t write the lessons; we with a maximum of 96 students. To ified sergeants first class, staff don’t add, modify or delete what the be eligible, soldiers must be sergeants (promotable) or staff commanding general says will be reserve-component (not AGR) sergeants serving in sergeant-first- taught. We’re NCOs training enlisted members of CMF 18; class positions. NCOs.” sergeant first class, staff sergeant Training at the SWCS NCO (promotable) or staff sergeant serv- Academy covers a variety of courses ing in an sergeant-first-class posi- and subjects, and Van Borkulo This article was written by the tion; a graduate of BNCOC (any points out that the academy is only staff of Special Warfare with the MOS); a graduate of Phase I, part of the program — all elements cooperation of the cadre of the ANCOC–RC (U.S. Army Common of the Center and School contribute SWCS NCO Academy. Leader Training); have a secret to a soldiers’ training. “Every activi- clearance; and be selected by the ty in the SWCS touches the soldier

Winter 1990 27 Early Special Forces Medical Training 1952 – 1971

by Lt. Col. Louis T. Dorogi

The origins of Special Forces cial Forces group in the summer of medical training can be traced back 1952 was a logical outgrowth of the to the experiences of the Office of military planning of the Cold War Strategic Services in World War II. era. In case of general or limited From humble Much of the strength of the OSS war, the captive nations of Eastern lay in its ability to tailor its forces Europe, as well as other nations beginnings in to the specific exigencies of the mis- under Communist dominance, pre- sion. But from the small Jedburgh sented a fertile resistance potential 1952, SF medi- teams (three-man operational for military exploitation. cal training teams) to the larger 32-man teams, The ongoing Korean War merely an inherent weakness remained: focused on the necessity to organize evolved into an No medical support was routinely the required forces to accomplish available within the organizational long-range penetration of enemy extensive pro- structure. territory and organize guerrilla gram to meet Col. Aaron Bank, who was largely resistance when possible. The plan- responsible for the Special Forces ning carried out at Department of the demands of concept, recalls that among his the Army-level reached fruition most vivid memories of the OSS with the approval for the organiza- SF missions was the absence of any organic tion of unconventional-warfare and the chal- medical capability, often resulting capabilities under the aegis of the in needless death and suffering Office, Chief of Psychological War- lenges of the among OSS operatives. The need fare, headed by Brig. Gen. Robert for medical support became a prime A. McClure. war in Vietnam. consideration when Bank had the Many of the assigned staff per- subsequent opportunity to shape sonnel had OSS experience as well the future Special Forces tables of as first-hand experience with resis- organization and equipment.1 tance and guerrilla elements during The formation of the initial Spe- World War II. Men such as Col.

28 Special Warfare (later Brig. Gen.) Russell W. Volck- ascertain probable performance in 1952, Elliott was the first Army mann no doubt drew on vast experi- an operational setting, well prior to Medical Department, or AMEDD, ence with Filipino guerrilla groups actual deployment, to assure mis- officer assigned. Within a brief but in formulating global unconvention- sion success. Once a team was furiously paced period, he designed al-warfare plans, while others, such deployed on an operation, it was too a training program to fit the needs as Bank, synthesized their OSS late to worry about its personnel of the Special Forces medic. insight in reviewing the require- composition. Through coordination with the ments for the force structure neces- Exhaustive studies combined Medical Field Service School at Fort sary to carry out the unconvention- standard psychological-measure- Sam Houston, Texas, 28 personnel al-warfare mission. ment techniques with “effective- were sent in November of 1952 to As a special staff section under ness” criteria generated by Special attend the Chief Medical Aidman’s the Department of the Army, Forces. The findings highlighted a course, a course specifically OCPW directed the establishment need for older, mature personnel designed for Special Forces. It was of psychological-warfare training at possessing the necessary physical the prototype for what eventually the Army General School at Fort stamina and showing a preference became the mid-level course in the Riley, Kan. This was quickly fol- for non-routine, outdoor work, as 1970s for the Special Forces medic lowed by the transfer of the 1st — the 300F-1 Course. Later, select- Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet “The prevailing phi- ed personnel were sent to the Navy Group from Fort Riley to Fort Corpsman School.6 Bragg to form the nucleus of the losophy was that the Other AMEDD officers rapidly future Psychological Warfare enlisted personnel followed, with Capt. Dan Black, Center.2 were, in essence, Medical Corps, becoming the first Bank arrived in April 1952 to take physician assigned. He was soon to interim command of the first contin- independent aidmen receive a full complement of Medi- gent of “psy-warriors” coming from and physician sub- cal Service Corps officers; 1st Lts. Fort Riley and, by May 16, 1952, the stitutes in a general- Valentine A. Larsen, Donald E. Psychological Warfare Center Bristow and Vernon H. Newgard. became operational. Col. Charles H. warfare situation. Initially, there were no require- Karlstad soon took over the com- The restrictions that ments for the medical officers to be mand as Bank left to become the applied to stateside parachute-qualified. This, however, first commander of the initial Spe- was quickly changed. Newgard cial Forces group, the 10th.3 medicine would not became the first AMEDD officer to be valid in a guerril- graduate from the Psychological Initial medical support la situation — espe- Warfare Officer Course, despite With a highly favorable response being enrolled two weeks after the from a large number of volunteers, cially when evacua- beginning of the course.7 the newly activated SF unit was tion from behind Most of the Medical Service quickly able to select the best-quali- enemy lines was out Corps officers were initially fied personnel. The medical portion assigned to non-medical duties, of the 10th Group tables of organi- of the question.” with some assigned primary duties zation and equipment listed no par- as Infantry (MOS 31542). ticular requirements for the single well as specific rejection of detailed The enlisted medics participated enlisted medic required for each busywork. Other indices developed in a continuous training program detachment. With the authorized by the studies showed that there to upgrade their medical proficien- grade of E-7 in each operational was a higher probability of effec- cy, in addition to performing their detachment, medical-personnel tiveness among those with a past regular garrison medical duties. input was to consist of only willingness to assume family and The prevailing philosophy was that “damned good medics!” as community responsibility and the enlisted personnel were, in expressed in the words of its first among those who didn’t ascribe any essence, independent aidmen and group commander.4 particular glamor or excitement to physician substitutes in a general- The importance of selecting the their occupation.5 warfare situation. The restrictions “effective” man for Special Forces The work for organizing the med- that applied to stateside medicine duty was underscored by the psy- ical-support activities and future would not be valid in a guerrilla sit- chological studies conducted soon medical training and qualification uation — especially when evacua- after the formation of the 10th Spe- of the enlisted volunteers fell to 1st tion from behind enemy lines was cial Forces Group. There was an Lt. Robert E. Elliott of the Medical out of the question. The lives of acute need for selection criteria to Service Corps. Arriving on July 18, team members would depend on

Winter 1990 29 the enlisted medic who was on-site. to the training, but he felt the focus cial Forces medics received a vari- The training covered procedures, on progressively sophisticated med- ety of experiences. such as appendectomies, which ical training was fully justified. Training programs in locations were normally anathema to anyone such as Munich, Ansbach, Hohen- other than physicians. The primary Bad Tölz fels and Grafenwohr lasted about focus was on emergency medical By the late summer of 1953, the two months. Some of the training training, with some obvious limita- 10th Group was alerted for over- was at dispensary-level, while a tions — training had to be didactic seas movement. Commensurate number of Special Forces medics rather than applicatory. Hence, pro- with the activation of the 77th Spe- received more sophisticated train- cedures such as emergency appen- cial Forces Group at Fort Bragg in ing in surgical procedures. Subse- dectomies were explained exhaus- September 1953, the 10th departed quently, there was little uniformity tively and re-emphasized to provide to Bad Tölz, Germany, Nov. 10, in the training program, except for a preliminary basis for the medics, 1953.8 Its relocation closer to antici- limited assurance that each SF in case they were faced with the pated operational areas no doubt medic received the same level of decision to operate. heightened the feeling of necessity training. The value of the training, The medical cadre of the 10th for increased medical proficiency. however, was in the subordination Group felt no hesitation in channel- Accompanying the 10th as its of many stateside medical restric- ing the training towards these hith- surgeon was 1st Lt. Bill E. Free- tions to the training needs of the erto sacrosanct areas because of a land, Medical Corps. He was a medics. With the cooperation of the firm conviction that operational bear of a man, nearly 300 pounds,9 supporting medical facilities, the necessity dictated the approach. and thoroughly dedicated to ensur- “hands on” training was far superi- Elliott realized that the initial ing the medical preparedness of or to that which medics received reluctance on the part of physicians Special Forces. Freeland imple- stateside. The stateside emphasis to provide this type of training mented an effective program of on- on purely didactic training was sup- would be quickly overcome once the-job training to establish and planted by more realistic applied they were familiar with the opera- maintain medical proficiency: At training in Germany.10 tional concept of Special Forces selected U.S. military hospitals With the passage of the Lodge units. Obviously, there were limits and dispensaries in Germany, Spe- Act of 1954, the enlistment in the U.S. armed services of aliens from virtually all the captive nations of Eastern and Central Europe provided linguistic and area familiari- ty with many of the intended operational areas of the 10th Group. The facilities of Flint Caserne at Bad Tölz became strapped with increasing training requirements. Qualifi- cation of newly assigned personnel, SF medics demon- not only in parachute, but in spe- strate the proper way cialty skills, as well as Special to rappel with a Forces training, occupied much of patient on a stretcher. the unit’s efforts. The extensive medical training created a burden for the unit, but at the same time provided an opportunity to practice instructional skills that were need for working with guerrilla units.11 Okinawa By 1957 the formation in Oki- nawa of the 1st Special Forces Group, the third active group, fore- shadowed increasing personnel-pro- curement problems that were to plague all Special Forces units in the future. With units spread from

U.S. Army photo Europe to the Pacific, there was no 30 Special Warfare central medical guidance from the In the summer of 1959, Bond pick up on these procedures ... see Psychological Warfare Center. secured the necessary administra- how much they could handle and As of that time, no medical officer tive approval from hospital authori- just what we could give them.”17 had been designated as the Center ties to establish a small surgical The Special Forces medics surgeon to oversee the medical research facility in the “old hospital” learned how to perform a venous training and needs within the Spe- area across Ardennes Road from cut-down and administer proper IV cial Forces. There was no hard-and- Womack. Lacking sufficient man- fluid therapy. Medics acting in a fast rule for conformity in the train- power to maintain the facility, he surgical capacity would perform the ing of medics beyond the common negotiated an informal arrange- necessary debridement, primary or training received at Fort Sam ment with the surgeon of the nearby delayed primary closures, insert Houston. Each Special Forces group 77th Special Forces Group. In necessary drains, and take turns had a surgeon authorized, who pre- return for access to the facility, the assisting each other or in operating scribed medical training for the 77th detailed SFC Ralph C. Drouin the anesthesia apparatus on loan unit as he saw fit. to maintain the laboratory. from Womack.18 In Okinawa the 1st Group faced The benefit was mutual to say the The early training program for an even more acute problem. The least. The arrangement allowed Special Forces was flexible: much of only AMEDD officer initially both the hospital physicians as well the instruction was predicated on assigned to 1st Group was Capt. the desires of the group surgeon and Sigurd Bue, Medical Service Corps, “The early training the interests of the medics. Though who was given non-medical duties there was a lot of discussion, there as the group S-2 officer.12 Enlisted program for Special was little attempt to establish a personnel conducted the group Forces was flexible... comprehensive program. This medical program. The unit was Though there was a changed rapidly as reports were without a physician for two years received from Laos and returning until the arrival of Maj. (later Col.) lot of discussion, SF medics described their Laotian Valentine B. Sky, Medical Corps, in there was little experiences. December of 1959.13 attempt to establish The need for more advanced med- The geographic spread of Special ical training was clear. Subsequent Forces units assured that parochial a comprehensive Special Forces requests for estab- needs and interests of each group program. This lishment of such a course at Fort were met. It assured little, if any, changed rapidly as Sam Houston were rejected. Return- focus on the common needs for ing from Fort Sam Houston after standardization of training, beyond reports were received failing to secure the necessary that offered at Fort Sam Houston. from Laos and approval for the course, the 7th Spe- At the same time, other factors con- returning SF medics cial Forces Group surgeon (the 77th tributed to growing personnel prob- was renamed the 7th in June 1960), lems — the post-Korean War cut- described their Lao- Capt. William B. Radcliffe, realized: back in available military assets, tian experiences.” “We would have to take full respon- standard attrition of trained medi- sibility for advanced training our- cal personnel, and a replacement as Special Forces medics an oppor- selves, and (I) set myself to take the system that failed to provide a tunity for hands-on training. task of developing the best program proper input of trained and experi- The first NCOIC, Drouin, was an possible — by Special Forces, for enced medical replacements.14 That extraordinarily well-qualified Special Forces, right on post at Fort need for standardized, realistic medic, possessing not only the req- Bragg.”19 training was eventually addressed uisite medical skills, but an equal The opportunity to establish the by the Surgical Research Laborato- ability to “locate” needed medical needed training course arose when ry at Fort Bragg. supplies and equipment in the the next contingent of eight medics absence of available funding.16 was selected for pre-mission train- Surgical Research Lab In September 1959 the first class ing before going to Laos. Radcliffe There are no formal documents of four Special Forces medics obtained permission to establish an attesting to the initial formation of attended the Surgical Research uninterrupted five-week training the Surgical Research Laboratory.15 Laboratory. Drouin later recalled: cycle for them at the Surgical Its ad hoc genesis is rooted in the “The initial training was more or Research Laboratory. He construct- desire of a Womack Army Hospital less played by ear. By using certain ed a course of instruction which cen- surgeon, Capt. John L. Bond, Medi- medics, Dr. Bond and myself, we tered on as much hands-on training cal Corps, to provide additional sur- tried different procedures to see as could be provided. Training gical practice for hospital physicians. how well the enlisted men would included debridement, endotracheal

Winter 1990 31 intubation, suture techniques and Surgeon General and personnel ratory and classrooms. limb amputations. It was followed from the Medical Field Service “Please be assured of my continu- by other procedures such as prepa- School gave strong indications that ing support and accept my expres- ration and sterilization of surgical the AMTS at Fort Bragg was in sions of great respect and gratitude packs, induction of general anesthe- jeopardy. The relocation concept, for for what you and the members of sia, operating-room routines, sterile the time being, was quickly aban- your staff are accomplishing for all techniques and postoperative care. doned after a brief visit by the Sur- of us.”23 Students learned new medical geon General to the Special War- The strong support by Heaton, as diagnostic techniques, as well as fare Center.22 well as the establishment of the laboratory and pharmacological Lt. Gen. Leonard D. Heaton Center surgeon’s office, presaged skills, via extensive seminars.20 Of seemed suitably impressed with the subsequent changes to the training special significance was the instruc- training at the AMTS, and upon his cycle of Special Forces medics. After tion: The bulk of it was given by return to Washington, wrote Capt. an initial five weeks of branch train- enlisted medics under the technical David G. Paulsrud, the Center sur- ing at Fort Bragg, medics took eight supervision of Doctors Radcliffe and geon, the following: weeks of basic medical training Bond. Limitations on the availabili- “I also want to congratulate you (MOS 910) at Fort Sam Houston. ty of medical officers necessitated This was followed by 10 more weeks this approach. The actual manage- of further didactic medical training ment of the Laboratory fell to SFC “The basic features in the Special Forces Aidman (Air- E. Grant Madison in May of 1960. of Special Forces borne) course (MOS 911.2). At With a cadre of six medics detailed advanced medical selected CONUS hospitals, Special from the 7th SF Group, the facility Forces medics received on-the-job expanded. By December of 1960, the training were training for the next nine weeks as 7th SF Group became the sole user retained throughout part of the applicatory phase of the of the Laboratory, as a consequence the Vietnam period, 911.2 Course (later the 300F-1 of waning interest by the hospital course). and the departure of Dr. Bond from virtually without Returning to Fort Bragg, the military service.21 major changes until medics underwent an eight-week The Surgical Research Laborato- 1966. In March of intensive Advanced Medical Train- ry was from its inception a 7th ing Course at the AMTS. Successful Group activity supervised by its that year the Special completion led to more branch surgeon, but with the rapid expan- Forces Basic Aid- training, namely a grueling two- sion of counterinsurgency forces man’s School was week field training exercise cover- directed by the Kennedy adminis- ing the whole spectrum of training tration, the training mission of the opened at Fort Bragg received. Those finally completing facility shifted. In late 1961, with under the control of the training could expect to be the activation of the Special Forces the Medical Training assigned to a Special Forces unit. Training Group, the laboratory Once assigned, medics, as well as became the central training facility Committee.” those with other Special Forces spe- for advanced medical training for all cialties or skills, could expect further Special Forces medics. on the excellent program of instruc- cross-training, on the basic and tion which you have instituted advanced unit level, often followed AMTS there, and after seeing at first-hand by more exotic forms of training such With the need to revise and the enthusiasm and competence of as underwater operations or high- streamline all Special Forces train- all of you, I have no doubt that altitude-low-opening parachuting. ing, the newly constituted Medical these men will be fully capable of Understandably, attrition rates Training Committee of the Training meeting the tremendous challenge were high (30.7 percent), and in Group took over the task of revising that awaits them. You are indeed 1962, fewer than 100 medics gradu- medical training. The laboratory engaged in a most critically impor- ated from the AMTS.24 The following was promptly renamed the Special tant mission and I congratulate you year the number of graduates more Forces Advanced Medical Training on your extraordinary achieve- than tripled (305), but the attrition School. Even while the AMTS was ments. I am firmly convinced that rate increased to 40 percent. being organized, there were exter- this course of instruction should nal pressures for moving all medi- continue at Fort Bragg and not be 300F-1 Course cal training to Fort Sam Houston. moved to Fort Sam Houston. This The precursor to the Special Preliminary discussions with repre- decision was very easy to make Forces mid-level medical training sentatives from the Office of the after my visit to your surgical labo- course in the 1970s was the Medical

32 Special Warfare Aid Procedures Course (8-R-911.2) offered at Fort Sam Houston. Along with the rapid expansion of counterinsurgency forces in 1962, the course was renamed to reflect its Special Forces student input. From then on it was known as the Special Forces Aidman (Airborne) Course, with only a minor change later in the course number (8-R-F-16 to 300F-1). For the next three years, the course, though operational, was pending formal approval of the course content by the Continental Army Command. In 1963 the course content was modified to reflect the impact of Vietnam on the operational duties of Special Forces medics. Vietnam requirements dictated the addition of veterinary sub- U.S. Army photo jects, as well as practice-teaching in A medic from the 1st Special Forces Group conducts sick call for Rhade basic medical subjects. The teaching villagers near Ban Me Thout, Vietnam, in March 1962. role assumed paramount importance for future SF medics.25 the Special Forces medical training Course prior to the AMTS. This was It is interesting to note that a conducted at the Medical Field Ser- predicated on a reduced attrition non-Special Forces physician had vice School. He was able to modify rate of 91C graduates attending the perhaps the most significant impact the course content appropriately to last phase of SF training (10 per- on the Special Forces Aidman (Air- resolve many of the shortcomings he cent vs. 40+ percent).28 borne) Course. Lt. Col. (later Col.) noted during his Okinawan tour. Roger A. Juel, Medical Corps, was Training was made more rigorous; Vietnam focus: 1963-71 first associated with Special Forces innovative approaches, such as the The basic features of Special training in 1959 by providing some use of a mock dispensary, gave stu- Forces advanced medical training on-the-job training opportunities in dents a more realistic setting in were retained throughout the Viet- Okinawa for medics from the newly which to demonstrate overall nam period, virtually without major activated 1st Group. knowledge gained. changes until 1966. In March of Juel was able to observe first- “By use of a mannequin as a that year the Special Forces Basic hand the apparent lack of uniformi- patient, the student obtained the Aidman’s School (MOS 91A) was ty in the qualifications of those patient’s history of illness and/or opened at Fort Bragg under the medics and noted that one of the injury as well as other basic infor- control of the Medical Training greatest drawbacks was the lack of mation concerning the patient. A Committee. diagnostic capability among the SF diagnosis was determined, treat- The cumulative effect of the basic medics. The apparent lack of ade- ment was prescribed, and evacua- training being conducted under quate preparation in this respect tion as needed ... and each phase of Special Forces control was a subse- produced what he called “an awful his training was tested, such as quent reduction the following year lot of empiric medicine. If the anatomy, physiology, pharmacy, in the overall length of the medical patient got well, the treatment got nursing, types of evacuation, and training cycle from 37 to 32 weeks. credit, where this is not always medical and surgical treatment. In This included a reduction of 91A true.”26 the detection of weak areas, imme- training from 10 to eight weeks and He also noted one of the other diate on-the-spot critique was made decreasing training at the AMTS by problems that was to become a sig- and re-teaching was accomplished one week to seven weeks. This theo- nificant hindrance in the expansion effectively.”27 retically signaled the availability of of Special Forces medical assets — From about 1963 on there were a more medics per year for deploy- the sudden influx of young and number of variations of training at ment. Though not without hurdles, inexperienced medics. After his Fort Bragg which entailed sending the wisdom of bringing the 91A reassignment in 1962 to Fort Sam graduates of the 300F-1 training to training to Fort Bragg was borne Houston, Juel took over direction of the Clinical Specialist (MOS 91C) out by higher academic grades (10

Winter 1990 33 points per man) among graduates cialties Department, of the Special the next calendar year, the status of the advanced Special Forces Forces School and thus no longer quo prevailed, despite intense training. under the staff supervision of the review and discourse on the pro- In 1966 further changes increased Center surgeon. The remaining posed transfer.30 the workload of the Medical Train- technical control exercised by the In 1971, by the direction of the ing Committee — formalization of surgeon was inadequate and pre- Office of the Surgeon General, all the Special Forces Advanced Medi- saged many of the training prob- Special Forces enlisted medical cal Laboratory Procedures Course lems that were to emerge in subse- training was transferred to Fort and assumption of responsibility for quent years. Sam Houston despite the fervent operation of its own unit dispensary. Throughout the year, increased objections of the Center and the Though personnel authorizations pressure by representatives of the Institute. The transfer was to be fol- seemed adequate, there was a con- CONARC surgeon’s office focused lowed by a reduced training cycle, tinual problem of securing enough on returning the eight-week Spe- elimination of a number of Special enlisted instructors and retaining cial Forces Basic Aidman’s Course Forces-essential subjects from the them. The overall shortage of Spe- (MOS 91A) to Fort Sam Houston. program of instruction and the cial Forces medical personnel CONARC deemed the 12-week 91A exclusion of Special Forces-qualified assured that few instructors would Course taught at the Medical training cadre. There was little last a year before receipt of orders Training Center adequate for pro- doubt at Fort Bragg that the revi- to Vietnam.29 viding the necessary input to the sion would produce a lesser-quali- Reorganization of the U.S. Army 300F-1 Course, despite insistence fied medic. John F. Kennedy Special Warfare to the contrary by the Center and The unexpected and belated Center (Airborne) in 1968 led to a the Institute. reprieve of the previous Special realignment of functions. The U.S. A trial program initiated by Forces medical-training program Army John F. Kennedy Center for CONARC admitted 35 91A students came when the first graduating Military Assistance was created, graduating from Fort Sam Houston class under the new system sharing equal status with the U.S. to the 300F-1 Course. During the returned to Fort Bragg and was Army Institute for Military Assis- first six weeks of the 300F-1 Course, tested by the Medical Division of tance, which absorbed the Special 14 of these students dropped out, the U.S. Army Institute of Military Forces Training Group. while out of 19 students completing Assistance. The Center Historical All enlisted Special Forces medi- 91A training at Fort Bragg, only Supplement for 1971 noted: cal training now fell under the two were dropped for academic rea- “The majority of students failed Medical Division, Operational Spe- sons. For the remainder of 1969 and this examination in the following areas: operating room techniques, surgical procedures (amputations, wound debridement, venous cut- downs, and tracheostomies); sterile techniques, and certain medical subjects peculiar to Special Forces operations. Headquarters CONARC was advised of the situation, with the recommendation that additional post-MOS medical training be authorized on Fort Bragg to fully qualify the trainees as Special Forces enlisted medics prior to their assignment to operational units. Authorization was received to conduct a 4 1/2 week post-MOS medical qualification course.”31 The balance sheet From their infancy in the 1950s, Special Forces units’ reason for U.S. Army photo being has been to develop, organize, SFC Larry Dickinson, a medic from the 46th Special Forces Company, equip and direct indigenous forces examines a child as part of a civic-action program conducted in Thailand in the conduct of guerrilla warfare. in November 1967. As early as 1961, however, doctrinal

34 Special Warfare recognition could be found for ing from those anticipated by the health of guerrilla units was chal- another mission in Army Field existing medical doctrine. lenged by the need for health-and- Manual 31-21, Guerrilla Warfare A new lexicon of terms evolved, sanitation improvements among the and Special Forces Operations, reflecting the medical operational indigenous civilian populations of namely, to “advise, train and assist realities of Vietnam. During the Southeast Asia. Special Forces med- indigenous forces in counter-insur- Vietnam era the training had ical training, always extensive and gency operations.”32 The former become the most lengthy and con- rigorous, responded well to that mission required relatively modest challenge. From its humble begin- medical assets, with primary focus nings in 1952, it evolved into a for- on well-qualified enlisted medical “A new lexicon of malized training cycle distinguished personnel capable of operating inde- terms evolved, by the fact that it was the only form pendently. reflecting the medical of medical training for enlisted per- Juxtaposed against conventional- sonnel not always fully under the warfare methods, wherein the more operational realities control of Fort Sam Houston. serious medical problems are evacu- of Vietnam. During ated to a higher level of medical the Vietnam era the care, unconventional warfare places Lt. Col. Louis Dorogi, USAR, is a an increased demand and responsi- training had become member of the Medical Service bility on the lower levels of Special the most lengthy and Corps and is currently director of Forces medical support. Medical concentrated, as well officer courses, 1033rd U.S. Army evacuation for more definitive medi- Reserve Forces Schools, Portland, cal care was not expected to be as perhaps the most Maine. In more than 14 years of available. Thus, there was an obvi- controversial, of the active service, he served in a num- ous need for more physician-orient- five basic Special ber of special-operations medical ed training for the enlisted Special assignments, including medical Forces medic. Forces skills.” supply officer for the 7th SF Group, Counterinsurgency warfare in medical supply officer for the Wal- Vietnam required a number of centrated, as well as perhaps the ter Reed Army Institute of Research changes to accepted tenets of Spe- most controversial, of the five basic Field Epidemiological Survey Team cial Forces medical support. The Special Forces skills. The enlisted in Vietnam, and executive officer openness of most counterinsurgency training cycle was best, with multi- and plans, operations and training medical efforts, in contrast to the ple hurdles beginning with the officer for the Surgeon Section of covert medical requirements of selection process, followed by the JFK Center for Military Assis- unconventional warfare, and the parachute, medical training and tance. From 1975 to 1978, he served necessary interface with existing Special Forces branch training. The as historian in the Medical History medical organizations and facilities, total time invested was well over 40 Unit of the Army Center for Mili- in contrast to UW’s virtual isolation weeks. tary History. from higher echelons of medical Doctrinal focus on the mainte- care, produced requirements differ- nance and improvement of the

Notes: 3 The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was formally activated 1 In a letter to the author on 24 March 1976, Col. Bank described on 11 June 1952, per General Order 33, Fort Bragg, N.C., dated 18 some of the thinking that went into organizing Special Forces teams. June 1952. See Unit History Data Card for Headquarters & Head- Many of the old OSS operatives and veterans were able to translate quarters Company, 10th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces. their knowledge and experiences into shaping the basic operational 4 Telephone conversation on 12 March 1976 with Col. Aaron Bank unit of the Special Forces, the A-team, or Special Forces operational and letter from Col. Bank to the author, dated 24 March 1976. detachment. An initial consideration of placing physicians on each 5 Herbert I. Abelson, Factors Related to the Effectiveness of Spe- operational detachment was quickly dropped when the planners cial Forces Personnel, The George Washington University Human realized the lack of available assets. Originally only one medically Resources Research Office, HumRRO Control No. A-3513, 5 August qualified team member was contemplated. Bank wrote: 1954. “Based on my OSS experience I was determined to eliminate one 6 Headquarters, Psychological Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, N.C., major flaw in the conduct and support for unconventional opera- “Weekly Activities Report,” 15 November 1952. Also see Maj. tions. That flaw was in the area of medical aid and support. I would William L. Posey, “Special Forces Medical Training,” (a student never forget how a neighboring Jed(burgh) team had lost a lieu- paper written for the Communicative Arts Program), Fort Leaven- tenant who had been dropped initially in my sector because of lack worth, Kan.: Army Command & General Staff College, April 1970, p. of trained personnel. ... No medical personnel were in the entire 1. Jed(burgh) operation. I also had noted that many of the guerrillas I 7 Headquarters, Special Warfare Center, Special Orders Number had organized had a latent fear of the consequences of getting 1119, Paragraph 1, dated 27 October 1952. wounded in action because of the lack of proper and immediate med- 8 Historical Data Card, 10th Special Forces Group. The 77th Spe- ical support. This in turn affected their efficiency and morale.” cial Forces Group was initially composed of many personnel from the 2 Headquarters, Psychological Warfare Center, Psychological War- 10th. fare Center Questionnaire, Fort Bragg, N.C., 5 September 1952. 9 According to Dr. Freeland and Lt. Elliott, the 10th Special Forces

Winter 1990 35 Group had to design and construct a suitable parachute harness for 22 Personal letter from Dr. David G. Paulsrud to the author dated Freeland to permit him to become parachute-qualified. 1 November 1976, p. 3. 10 Telephone conversation with retired Maj. Robert E. Elliott on 3 23 Lt. Gen. Leonard D. Heaton to Capt. David G. Paulsrud, 7th March 1977. Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C., 27 April 1962. Personal files 11 Beverly Lindsey, “The Center Story: Behind the Iron Curtain,” of Dr. David Paulsrud. Veritas 14 (July-September 1975) : 16, and telephone conversation 24 Special Warfare Center, Historical Report, 1963, pp. 66-67. with retired Maj. Robert E. Elliott on 3 March 1977. 25 Office of the Surgeon, Headquarters, U.S. Army Special Warfare 12 Telephone conversation with retired Col. Sigurd Bue on 23 Center, Army Medical Service Activities (RCS MED-41 (R4)), Fort March 1977. Bragg, N.C., 1963, p. 1. 13 Personnel data card (Office of the Surgeon General) for Col. 26 Interview with Col. Roger A. Juel, Medical Corps, at Fort Sam Valentine B. Sky, Medical Corps. Houston, Texas, on 17 December 1976, pp. 5-6. 14 “Tough, Triple Volunteers of the Army’s 10th Special Forces,” 27 Brooke Army Medical Center, Army Medical Service Activities Army, Navy, Air Force Journal, 1 August 1959, p. 3. Report (RCS MED-41 (R4)), Fort Sam Houston, Texas, 1963, p. 112. 15 Also known as the Surgical Laboratory, Clinical Research Labo- 28 The Surgeon General, United States Army, Annual Report, FY ratory and Advanced Medical Training School in later years. 1963, pp. 111-112. 16 SFC Drouin was a graduate of the Naval Hospital Corps School, 29 U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Center for Special Warfare (Air- the Independent School for Medical Corpsmen, Dental Technician borne), Historical Supplement, 1966, p. 63. Headquarters, Depart- School, Dental Laboratory School, the Surgical Technician School, ment of the Army, Special Forces Training Group (Airborne), Army and the Para-rescue and Survival Schools and the Medical Specialist Medical Service Activities Report (Annual) 1967, Fort Bragg, N.C., 5 Advanced Course at Fitzsimons General Hospital. March 1968, p. 3. Medical Section, JFK Center for Military Assis- 17 Personal communication from retired SFC Ralph C. Drouin to tance, Army Medical Activities (RCS MED-41 (R4)), Fort Bragg, N.C., the author on 24 February 1977. 13 April 1971. 18 Personal communication from Drouin. 30 Headquarters, Department of the Army, JFK Center for Mili- 19 Personal communication from William B. Radcliffe, M.D. to the tary Assistance, Army Medical Activities (RCS MED-41 (R4)), Fort author on 12 September 1976. Bragg, N.C., 1969 & 1970. Surgeon, JFK Center for Military Assis- 20 Personal communication from Dr. Radcliffe and interview with tance, “Special Forces Medical Training,” Disposition Form to Com- Sgt. Maj. E. Grant Madison on 1 October 1975. manding General, JFK Center for Military Assistance, 14 September 21 Capt. William B. Radcliffe, Letter of Commendation, Office of 1970. the Group Surgeon, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special 31 U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Center for Military Assistance, Forces, Fort Bragg, N.C., 16 August 1960. The letter describes in Spartan Historical Supplement, 1971, Fort Bragg, N.C., p. 41. glowing terms SFC Madison’s contributions to the operations of the 32 Army Field Manual 31-21, Guerrilla Warfare and Special Surgical Research Laboratory. Also, telephone conversation between Forces Operations, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Septem- Dr. John L. Bond and the author, 13 July 1976. ber 1961, p. 18.

36 Special Warfare NCO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The PSYOP Specialist

by MSgt. Calvin Rome

While the rest of the Army is con- “W,” psychological operations, then The next significant milestone solidating career-management with the establishment of MOS 96F will occur in September 1991 — fields and specialties and reducing in October 1985 by reclassification personnel reclassification. From authorizations, psychological opera- of other military-intelligence assets, Sept. 1-23, 1991, affected soldiers’ tions is looking for ways to expand mainly MOS 96B (intelligence ana- personnel service centers will revise and grow, and PSYOP NCOs who lyst). Initially, establishing a personnel records, publish orders plan to grow with their MOS need PSYOP specialty within CMF 96 and submit transactions on the to be aware of their professional- seemed like a logical step. But as Standard Installation/Division Per- development requirements. the MOS matured, it became appar- sonnel System, SIDPERS, the On Feb. 23, 1990, the Office of ent that a continued tie to military Armywide computerized personnel the Deputy Chief of Staff for Per- intelligence, with the SWCS acting data base. The reclassification is sonnel, Headquarters, Department as the subproponent, placed the merely a case of a number change of the Army, approved the estab- MOS in an awkward position of from 96F to 37F — soldiers’ duties lishment of Enlisted Career Man- having two masters. This prompted and assignments will not be agement Field 37, Psychological the SWCS to request assumption of changed. Operations, and Military Occupa- full proponency for 96F and to pro- Until the reclassification is com- tional Specialty 37F, Psychological pose the creation of a PSYOP-spe- pleted, the enlisted Military Operations Specialist. cific CMF/MOS. Police/Military Intelligence Branch CMF 37 is a one-MOS career The Army has established con- of the Combat Support Career Divi- management field, containing the version milestones in order to sion, Enlisted Personnel Manage- private-to-sergeant-major accession phase the new CMF/MOS into all of ment Directorate at PERSCOM will MOS 37F. The new CMF/MOS will its data bases. The first milestone continue to manage 96F/37F. Upon be formed from personnel currently of which soldiers in the field will be full implementation of CMF holding MOS 96F, PSYOP Special- aware will be the publication of the 37/MOS 37F, MOS 96F will be ist, which is currently part of CMF October 1990 Update 3, Military deleted and personnel management 96, Military Intelligence. Occupational Classification Struc- will most likely fall under the PSYOP has had a long relation- ture. The details of the CMF will enlisted Special Forces Branch of ship with MI, first with MI MOSs appear in the AR 611-201 portion of the Combat Arms Career Division being documented with the SQI the update. of the EPMD at PERSCOM.

Winter 1990 37 One of the most significant Huachuca, Ariz., to allow PSYOP changes with the implementation of specialists to continue attending Professional development CMF 37/MOS 37F will be the the Military Intelligence Advanced To meet the Army’s requirement expansion of grade authorizations, NCO Course until SWCS gets a of training and leading, the PSYOP including sergeant-major positions. PSYOP-specific ANCOC on-line, NCO must have a wide range of The operations-sergeant position in scheduled for fiscal year 1993. military knowledge and skill and the S-3 of a PSYOP group, current- Another aspect of the conversion must demonstrate job proficiency in ly graded for master sergeant, will to CMF 37 will be the requirement all aspects of psychological opera- be upgraded to a staff-sergeant- for PSYOP enlisted collar insignia. tions. Perishable skills, such as for- major position. The other sergeant- Upon reclassification to CMF 37, eign-language proficiency and air- major position provided for in the PSYOP soldiers will no longer be borne operations, must be trained, standards of grade is for the active able to wear the Military Intelli- learned and maintained on a con- component only. A master-sergeant gence branch insignia. The final tinual basis. position in the Office of the Director step of developing a PSYOP-specific Professional development for of Psychological Operations and enlisted collar insignia will make a PSYOP soldiers, with the exception Civil Affairs, J9, of the U.S. Special clean break with MI. The SWCS of MOS-specific training, is similar Operations Command will be Special Operations Proponency to that of other MOSs. Generally, upgraded to staff sergeant major. Office has sent solicitations to both the Army uses a three-level Another position which is a candi- active and reserve-component approach to professional develop- date for upgrading to staff sergeant PSYOP units asking for sugges- ment: institutional, unit and major is the position of CMF man- tions and proposals for an enlisted individual. ager in the proponency office of the collar insignia. On the institutional level, the key SWCS. Other proposals still in the early component is the NCO Education Because of the time required to stages of development for MOS 37F System. NCOs must be skilled develop new training, the SWCS include airborne training (for active trainers and leaders, able to train has signed a memorandum of soldiers) and language training as soldiers while demonstrating their agreement with the Army Intelli- part of the initial-entry training own proficiency. Trainers need gence Center and School, Fort package. enthusiasm, innovation, the ability to motivate others, and the ability to learn and communicate the subject matter. NCOES provides train- CMF 37 ing in all these areas. For the sequence of NCOES courses for the PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS PSYOP MOS, see the NCO profes- COMMAND PSYCHOLOGICAL sional-development chart (next SERGEANT OPERATIONS MAJOR SPECIALIST page). Ideally, NCOES is sequential, 00Z50 E9 progressive and provides soldiers the training they need prior to pro- 37F50 motion. (It does not, however, E8ÐE9 include functional courses such as the First Sergeant Course.) This 37F40 applies equally to all branches of E7 the Army. NCOES has four levels: • Primary. Primary-level train- 37F30 ing prepares specialists and E6 sergeants for NCO duties. The Pri- mary Leadership Development 37F20 Course is a non-MOS-specific lead- E5 ership course built around basic soldier skills. Unit commanders 37F10 select and schedule soldiers for E3ÐE4 attendance. • Basic. Basic-level training pre- TRAINEE pares sergeants for duties as staff sergeants. The Psychological Oper- ations Basic Noncommissioned Offi-

38 Special Warfare MOS 37F NCO Professional Development EXPERIENCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION YOS GRADE ASSIGNMENTS OTHER NCOES OTHER CIVILIAN 0 E2 4Ð6 MO BCT 1 E3 6Ð12 MO AIRBORNE SCHOOL BEGIN COLLEGE WITH 2 E4 12Ð26 MO 37F AIT PSYOP TM MEMBER PLDC A PERSONAL GOAL OF BASIC LANGUAGE OBTAINING A DEGREE 3 TRAINING PSYOP CRSE (ACCP) 4 E5 1 1/2Ð5 YRS 37F BNCOC 5 LOUDSPEAKER TM CHIEF CONTINUE COLLEGE WITH 6 RECRUITER INTERMEDIATE LANGUAGE E6 5Ð8 YRS AUDIO-VISUAL TM CHIEF A PERSONAL GOAL OF AN OR SECOND LANGUAGE DRILL SGT ASSOCIATE’S DEGREE 7 37F AIT INSTRUCTOR CMF 37 ANCOC 8 SENIOR SERGEANT IN: 9 ÐPROPAGANDA DEV CTR ÐTARGET ANALYSIS TM SR DRILL SGT CONTINUE COLLEGE WITH 10 JOINT PSYOP STAFF E7 9Ð13 YRS ÐPROPAGANDA OPN SECT RC ADVISOR A PERSONAL GOAL OF A ÐTHREAT ANALYSIS TM PLANNING COURSE 11 RECRUITER BACHELOR’S DEGREE 12 TAC DISSEM PSG 37F AIT INSTRUCTOR 13 1SG COURSE 14 FIRST SERGEANT 15 CONTINUE COLLEGE WITH E8 14Ð18 YRS GP/BN OPS SGT RC ADVISOR A PERSONAL GOAL OF AN 16 USSOCOM J-9 ADVANCED DEGREE OPS SGT 17 18 PREFERRED DEGREES: POLITICAL SCIENCE PROMOTION TO SGM ACADEMY 19 MOS 37F50 E9 PSYCHOLOGY SOCIOLOGY E9 18Ð22 YRS STAFF SGM 20 ROTC CADRE JOURNALISM 21 SR OPS SGT IN A INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PSYOP GP S-3 MARKETING/ADVERTISING 22 TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT USSOCOM JÐ9 GEOGRAPHY, ECONOMIC/POLITICAL 23 SR OPS SGT FOREIGN AFFAIRS 24 cers Course emphasizes PSYOP- the skills required by senior NCOs first sergeants in the published related subjects, intelligence func- in the military-intelligence environ- zone who request consideration. An tions and common-core leadership ment, along with a common core of Army selection board chooses sol- tasks. Soldiers attend PSYOP leadership training developed by diers annually for both resident and BNCOC at the Special Warfare the U.S. Army Sergeants Major non-resident schooling, and PER- Center and School NCO Academy. Academy. A Department of the SCOM schedules classes. The resi- The Army Personnel Command Army selection board chooses student course requires a permanent- nominates the best-qualified sol- dents annually, and PERSCOM change-of-station move and is 22 diers to attend training, and the controls class scheduling. The MI weeks long. The non-resident unit commander has the option to ANCOC is 10 weeks long. The course is taught in five phases. The approve, substitute for, or defer a SWCS is developing a PSYOP-spe- first four phases are completed candidate. The PSYOP BNCOC is cific ANCOC which is scheduled to through correspondence, requiring five weeks, three days long and is be taught at the SWCS NCO Acade- approximately two years. Phase conducted once per year. my beginning in fiscal year 1993. Five is a two-week resident phase • Advanced. Advanced-level • Senior. The Sergeants Major taught at the USASMA. training prepares staff sergeants Course at the Army Sergeants One of the primary considera- and sergeants first class for duties Major Academy at Fort Bliss, tions of professional development at as senior noncommissioned officers. Texas, is the capstone of the the unit level is the allocation of PSYOP specialists currently attend NCOES. Consideration for selection training time. The commander the MI ANCOC, which emphasizes is limited to master sergeants and should provide time not only for

Winter 1990 39 common-task training, primary PSYOP mission and can play an tion points, which are a major fac- MOS training and NCO-develop- important role in PSYOP-specific tor in determining if the soldier will ment-program classes, but also for professional development. be selected for promotion. Since PSYOP-related training. Language The PSYOP NCO must be the July 1, 1986, the Primary Leader- training and maintenance is a leader and the example for the ship Development Course has also prime example of an area which is soldiers under his or her care. been a requirement for promotion critical to PSYOP but rarely allo- Physical fitness and military bear- to staff sergeant. cated sufficient training time. This ing are the bedrock attributes that Under the centralized system, is because of the complexity in pro- develop a leader who projects confi- the authority for selecting and providing effective training and a lack dence, and the PSYOP NCO must moting NCOs to the top three of command emphasis. The alloca- be physically and mentally fit to grades rests with Headquarters, tion of unit training time is an fight, train and lead. Department of the Army. The cen- investment in the future of the tralized system relies completely on Army and PSYOP, and its value NCO promotions information contained in the NCO’s must not be underestimated. NCO promotions are managed Official Military Personnel File and The individual’s role is the most- through two systems, semi-central- on the NCO Personnel Qualifica- often neglected. It is the individu- ized and centralized. The semi-cen- tion Records (DA Form 2A and 2-1). al’s responsibility to “be all he can tralized system is used to select sol- To increase the possibility of be,” and NCOs are ultimately diers for promotion to sergeant and selection for promotion, PSYOP responsible for their individual staff sergeant. The centralized sys- NCOs should ensure that their development. An NCO’s ability to tem selects NCOs for promotion records reflect that they have met learn, teach, train, counsel and act to sergeant first class, master all prerequisites, as outlined in the independently is dependent on sergeant and sergeant major, and promotion board’s guidance instruc- basic education skills, including the for appointment to command tion, prior to the suspense date. ability to write and speak. One sergeant major. The DA photo is a critical part of method of improving both basic Under the semi-centralized sys- the OMPF. To be competitive, NCOs skills and PSYOP-specific skills is tem, to be selected for promotion to must present a professional person- to pursue a college degree in a field sergeant and staff sergeant, NCOs al appearance, and their uniforms related to the PSYOP mission. must appear before a local promo- must conform to standards provid- While a college degree is not a tion board. Based on an evaluation ed in AR 670-1. Height and weight requirement for promotion, a of the NCO’s past performance and should be proportional and within PSYOP NCO with a degree is more potential, the board awards promo- the limits established by AR 600-9. competitive in the selection process for promotion. (Some related degrees for the PSYOP NCO are listed on the professional-development chart.) Other educational opportunities include: • The Army Correspondence Course Program, which provides for non-resident study of military- related subjects. Courses available and their prerequisites can be found in DA Pamphlet 351-20. • Suggested professional-reading lists on general military subjects, which should be available through the unit command sergeant major. A suggested reading list on PSYOP- specific topics is available through the Special Warfare Center and School’s Co. A, 3rd Bn., 1st Special Warfare Training Group. • Individual hobbies (such as Photo by Kirk Wyckoff photography, ham radios, comput- Instructors show a student how to wear and operate a mobile loudspeaker ers, etc.), which can be directly during PSYOP advanced individual training. MOS training is only part of related to requirements within the the overall training necessary for NCO professional development.

40 Special Warfare They can also visit USAEREC at Phone numbers for PSYOP soldiers Fort Benjamin Harrison to review their files in person. Make appoint- • PSYOP enlisted assignments manager, PERSCOM; commercial ments by calling AV 699-3361, com- (703) 325-9363, AV 221-9363. mercial (317) 542-3361. • NCOES branch (BNCOC, ANCOC), PERSCOM; commercial (703) 325-5361, AV 221-5361. • MI ANCOC manager, MI Branch, PERSCOM; commercial (703) MSgt. Calvin B. Rome is current- 325-6430, AV 221-6430. ly the Psychological Operations • NCO Academy, Fort Huachuca, Ariz. (MI ANCOC); commercial and Civil Affairs Enlisted Manager (602) 538-8935/36, AV 879-8935/36. in the Special Operations Propo- • Special Operations Proponency Office, USAJFKSWCS, Fort Bragg, nency Office of the SWCS. After N.C.; commercial (919) 432-6406, AV 239-9002/6406. serving the first 10 years of his • Co. A, 3rd Bn., 1st Special Warfare Training Group, USAJFKSWCS career in Army Aviation, he trans- (PSYOP advanced individual training); commercial (919) 396-5511, ferred to Military Intelligence, AV 236-5511. where he served for five years as an • NCO Academy, USAJFKSWCS (PSYOP BNCOC); commercial (919) interrogator, MOS 97E. He later 396-2897, AV 236-2897. served as the first sergeant of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 9th PSYOP Battalion, NCOs should make sure that all are not accurate and current. and as the operations sergeant of their efforts toward professional Soldiers can receive free copies of the 1st PSYOP Battalion. His mili- development, whether institutional, their OMPF microfiche by sending tary schools include training at the unit or individual, are reflected in a personally signed request with Defense Language Institute in Chi- the OMPF. Even the most proficient name, Social Security number, and nese Mandarin and Korean, and and professional NCOs in the MOS address to: Commander, the SQI “W” Course, Psychological will not receive promotions, schools USAEREC; Attn: PCRE-FF; Fort Operations. and assignments if their OMPFs Benjamin Harrison, IN 46249-5301.

Winter 1990 41 IS FITNESS IMPORTANT FOR LEADERS?

by CSM Henry Bone

A leader must always be at the A rapid advance and unexpected forefront of the soldiers he leads. enveloping movement by the Not only in time of war, but also in Japanese had resulted in a disas- training, the leader must display trous defeat for the Chinese and and constantly set the example for British forces. The normal line of his subordinates. This is especially retreat was cut off, and there was true in the area of physical fitness. no choice but to hike through the A successful leader must project jungle. the image of mental, physical and Stilwell led the group 140 miles spiritual “wellness” to his soldiers, from Burma into India, more than adversaries and to the people of his half of that distance on foot. The country. His bearing, shown by pos- group had to contend with heat and ture, overall appearance, and man- almost incessant rain, tangled jun- ner of physical movement, is an gles, insect-ridden swamps, and outward display of the state of 7,000-foot mountains. Many inner feelings and confidence. Bear- became ill with dysentery. Some of ing can either hurt the confidence these, and those wounded prior to of soldiers or help inspire them.1 the march, had to be carried on History teaches the importance of stretchers. After 20 days, however, fitness on the battlefield. A demon- Stilwell led a well-organized and stration of the physical qualities of disciplined band into India. Stil- leadership under the most adverse well, at the age of 59, had accom- of conditions was exhibited by Lt. plished this feat through what one Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell, who orga- author has called “superb leader- nized and led the retreat from ship coupled with indefatigable Burma of an unorganized mob of energy and excellent physical men and women — Chinese, condition.”2 British, Burmese and a few Ameri- Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, who cans — in May, 1942. served as a division, corps, and

42 Special Warfare army commander, speaks of physi- times when leaders will be required tioning. These dividends come in cal fitness as one of the most impor- to function with less rest than their the form of heightened alertness, tant ingredients of leadership. soldiers. It is also likely that enemy greater self-confidence and aggres- “Because of strenuous and unremit- rear operations will pit truck sive, competitive attitudes — fac- ting physical training, I was able to drivers, clerks and cooks against tors which will be critical on any keep up with the best of my troops enemy parachutists in hand-to- battlefield. in the hottest sectors and the hand combat. Leaders have a toughest terrain and climate.”3 responsibility to ensure that they Ridgway also prescribes what he and their soldiers are physically fit, CSM Henry Bone is currently the believes the standard for comman- able to endure the rigors of combat. command sergeant major for the ders of large units should be. “The A glimpse of the future battlefield 2nd Battalion, 7th SF Group at division commander should have can be seen in the 1973 “Yom Kip- Fort Bragg. the physical endurance, stamina, pur” war. Egypt and Syria used rel- and reserves of his best infantry atively modern Soviet weapon sys- Notes battalion commanders, because tems, and Syria deployed its equip- 1 U.S. Army Field Manual 22-100, Mili- tary Leadership, p. 125. that is where he belongs — with ment using the Soviet military doc- 2 L.A. Pennington, The Officer as a Leader them — a good part of the time.”4 trine of continuous military opera- (New York: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1948), pp. Ridgway feels that a leader should tions. According to one source, 111-112. 3 Robert L. Taylor and William R. Rosen- be in excellent physical condition at “This resulted in a battlefield that bech, Military Leadership in Pursuit of all times, since at any time, he was probably unmatched in terms Excellence (Boulder, Colo.: Frederick A. could be thrust into a combat situa- of the levels of sustained terror and Praeger, 1984), p. 25. 4 Taylor and Rosenbech, p. 28. tion, and there will be no time to stress applied to soldiers and the 5 James G. Hunt and John O. Blair, Lead- get into shape. leaders of both sides.”5 ership on the Future Battlefield (New York: It is hard to predict the kinds of Physically fit soldiers are better Pergamon-Brassey’s, 1985), p. 615. physical challenges soldiers will able to withstand stress in peace or face in future wars; however, in war partly because of the psycho- almost any situation, there will be logical dividends of physical condi-

Winter 1990 43 •Have a pre-mission and post-mission checklist to ensure that nothing is left behind. •Correct all personal, individual and team errors on the spot. •Use tact when reprimanding your personnel, especially indigenous team members. If possible, take the man aside to criticize him. This enables him to react positively to the criticism, since he will not lose face, When feel ridiculed or lose self-confidence. •Conduct English classes for your indigenous personnel, especially interpreters. Conduct classes for your U.S. personnel in your indigenous team members’ language. You’re •Don’t set patterns in your operations. •Never do the obvious. •On patrol, stay alert at all times. You are never 100-percent safe until you are back home. •Have team members write down tips and lessons learned, and collect and consolidate them at the end of On each mission. •Don’t arbitrarily make all “tips of the trade” your team SOP. Always consider METT-T (mission, enemy, terrain, troops and time available). Patrol... Uniform and equipment common to all •Wear lightweight BDUs on operations: even when soaking wet at night, BDUs are remarkably “invisible” to night-vision goggles. OG-107 jungle fatigues, however, appear completely black when wet, and a man’s sil- houette can be clearly and easily seen by an enemy Editor’s note: The following article is taken from using night-vision goggles. B-720 Tips, published in 1988 by the 7th SF Group. •Don’t use luminous tape; it’s easily spotted at long B-720 Tips was, itself, based on B-52 Tips, published distances with NVGs. by the 5th SF Group in 1970, but updated to include •Wear loose-fitting and un-tailored clothing on field changes in weapons, equipment and doctrine. operations. Tight-fitting clothing often tears or rips, allowing mosquitoes and leeches easy access to Leader tips exposed parts of the body. •No individual or team can practice or train too •Tuck your jacket into your pants. You can’t use the much or too often. lower pockets because of your load-carrying equipment •Teamwork is the key to success and will only come anyway, and in a contact, you can temporarily stuff through constant training and rehearsal. expended magazines inside your shirt. •While on a mission, minimize fatigue; tired men •Gloves will protect hands from thorns, poisonous become careless. plants and insect bites, provide camouflage and aid in •If you show confidence, your team will have holding a weapon when it heats up from firing. Avia- confidence. tor’s gloves work well. •Always have an alternate plan. Think ahead. •Sew in a section of VS-17 panel to cover the inside •If you lose your temper, it will effect your judg- top of your field hat for use as an emergency daylight ment. Keep cool. position marking signal to friendly aircraft. In the cen- •Don’t be afraid to take advice from your team ter of that, sew a 2”-by-2” piece of USAF “burn tape” members. for use as a nighttime position marking signal to AC- •Realism must be injected into all phases of train- 130 gunships (2” by 2” is the size recommended by the ing, such as zeroing weapons at targets in the jungle, AC-130 low-light/night-television operators). using live training aids for prisoner-of-war snatch or •Sew the same signal pattern inside your fatigue ambush practice, etc. shirt, since hats are easily lost in firefights or pursuit •Conduct at least half of your training at night. situations. •Teams that have a good physical training program •Do not hang clothing on green bamboo if you plan have fewer health problems. on wearing it afterward; the fuzz on the bamboo is just

44 Special Warfare like itching powder. Of course, clothing should not be other, they will see glowing “cat-eyes”). removed or hung-out on patrol. •When moving at night, only every other man •If your mission requires long ropes, consider the should wear his NVGs. Point and trail always wear use of 1-inch nylon tubing instead. It is much lighter, NVGs. much more compact and just as strong. •“Starlight” NVGs and thermal viewers complement each other, and should be used in combination; e.g., LCE/ruck tips the point should wear PVS-5/7 NVGs, and the slack •Be sure that all snaps and buckles are taped. Do (the man behind the point) should use the thermal- not use paper tape. imaging sight. •Always carry a sharp knife or bayonet on patrol. •Always wear your load-carrying equipment buckled Weapons tips when not sleeping. If you’re wounded, your teammates •Never assume that your weapon is clean enough on can drag you by your LCE shoulder straps. an operation. Clean your weapon daily. •For survival, each individual should carry a cut- •Always carry rifle-cleaning equipment on opera- down MRE in his pants cargo pocket, and one tube of tions; i.e., bore and chamber brushes, cleaning rag and bouillon cubes in the first-aid pouch on his LCE. One patches, cleaning rod with handle and tip, and a small bouillon cube dissolved in one canteen of water will vial of weapons oil. A shaving brush is very useful. provide energy for one or two days. •When you fire your weapon, shoot low, particularly •Don’t use two-quart canteen covers to carry at night; ricochets will kill just as well, and most peo- 30-round magazines. You can fit eight magazines in ple hit the ground when shooting starts. one, but once you take the first one out, the others rat- •Use one magazine full of tracer during infiltration tle loudly and spill out easily. Use regular ammo and exfiltration. If taken under fire during infil or pouches. exfil, the tracers can be used to identify enemy posi- •Sew a long slim pocket on the side of your ruck to tions to friendly air support. accommodate the long antenna, or use an accessory kit •The last three rounds in each magazine should be bag clipped and tied to the side of the ruck. tracer to remind the firer that he needs a fresh maga- •Ensure that the snap link on your rucksack is zine. Alternate: The last eight rounds are three tracer snapped through the loop in the upper portion of your followed by five ball. rucksack-carrying straps or the frame, so you won’t •Quietly replace the cartridge in the chamber of lose it during exfil when you snap it on a ladder or your weapon each morning. Condensation may cause a extraction fast-rope. malfunction. •Insect repellent leaks and spills easily, so put it in •Oil the selector switch on your weapon daily and a zip-lock bag and isolate it from your other equipment work the switch back and forth, especially during the in the rucksack. Also, squeeze air from the repellent rainy season. This will prevent the common occurrence container and screw the cap on firmly. of a stuck switch. •Always use the water from canteens in or on your •Always carry your weapon with the selector switch rucksack before using water in the canteens on your on “safe.” belt. This will ensure a supply of water should you •Use a plastic muzzle cap or tape to keep water and ditch or lose your rucksack. dirt out of the barrel. •Test the shoulder straps on the rucksack before •To improve noise discipline, tape all sling swivels. packing it for patrol. Always carry some parachute •Rig the jungle sling so it is easily adjustable (for cord to repair straps on patrol. easy transition from rappel/fast-rope to carry/fire). •Use a waterproof bag in the rucksack to protect Tape a spare field dressing to the sling at the stock, equipment while on patrol. This is extremely impor- using a single strip of wide cloth tape with a quick- tant during the rainy season. release tab. •Camouflage your rucksack with black spray paint. •Check all magazines before going on an operation to ensure they are clean and properly loaded and that Night-vision-goggle tips the springs are oiled and functioning. Magazine prob- •At night, carry night-vision goggles in a claymore lems cause the majority of weapons malfunctions. bag around your neck on your chest. This allows easy •Place magazines upside down in their pouches to access and protects the NVGs from the elements. keep out dirt and water. •Always carry a spare battery for your NVGs. •Do not retrieve your first expended magazine dur- •When in an observation post at night, scan with ing contact; it will consume valuable time. NVGs for only a few moments every five minutes or so. •If you use a PAQ-4 aiming light on an M-16A2 rifle, If you scan continuously, you increase the chance of you must modify the hand guard to allow the thumb the enemy spotting your position (when two persons switch to travel far enough to activate the light. Using using NVGs in the passive mode look directly at each the serrated edge of your bayonet, file down the area

Winter 1990 45 under the thumb switch (between the eighth and 10th emplacing the mine and the other standing guard. ribs from the slip ring) about one-quarter inch. This is •Never emplace a claymore in a position that pre- not a problem on the M-16A2 carbine, because the vents you from observing it. hand guard is smaller. •Because you only emplace a claymore where you can observe it, if you are operating in dense jungle, you M-203 gunner tips may want to consider cutting your firing wire in half, •In dense jungle, carry a 3:1 ratio of buckshot to HE, since you won’t use more than 50 feet or 15 meters of with two star clusters and two star parachutes for sig- wire. This makes emplacement and recovery easier nalling aircraft. and cuts weight. •In the jungle, point and trail men should be M-203 •Claymores should be emplaced so the blast paral- gunners with buckshot in the chamber. lels the team and the firing wire does not lead straight •If you fire HE in the jungle at night, be ready to back to the team position. If the claymores are turned have it bounce off a tree limb right back at you and go around by the enemy, they will not point at the team. off in your face. •Determine in advance who will fire each claymore •Oil your M-203 with 30- or 40-weight motor oil, and who will give the command or signal to fire. especially the trigger, safety housing and slide, due to rain and humidity in the jungle. Grenade tips •Make continuous daily checks on all grenades SAW gunner tips when on patrol to ensure that the primers are not com- •Silence ammo in plastic drums by making inserts ing unscrewed. from tablet-back cardboard covered with acetate. Cut •Do not bend the pins on the grenades flat. The to fit two per drum. rings are too hard to pull when needed. •When moving, use a 30-round magazine in the •Fold paper tape through the rings of grenades and SAW. Attach a drum once in position. tape the ring to the body of the grenade. The paper •SAW drum pouches are tightly-fitted and tend to tape will tear for fast use, while plastic or cloth tape pop open when you drop into the prone; use cloth tape will not. It also keeps the ring open for your finger, with quick-release tabs to prevent this. Two-quart can- stops noise and prevents snagging. teen covers are acceptable substitutes. •All team members should carry a mixture of fragmentation, CS and white-phosphorous grenades on Claymore tips their belts for the following reasons: •Claymores are factory-packed “backward”; i.e., to be - Fragmentation grenades are good for inflicting emplaced from the firing position to the mine position, casualties. with the excess wire left at the mine. Correct by remov- - CS grenades are ideal for stopping or slowing down ing all the firing wire from the plastic spool, discard the enemy troops and dogs pursuing your team, and are spool, re-roll the wire in an “S” or figure-8 fashion, and effective in damp and wet weather, whereas CS pow- replace it in the bag so the mine can be emplaced first der will dissipate. and the wire laid back to the firing position. The clack- - WP grenades have a great psychological effect er with circuit tester attached is pre-connected to the against enemy troops and can be used for the same firing wire and stowed in the mine pouch. The unit purpose as CS grenades. The use of CS and WP at the commander must make the decision whether to prime same time will more than double their effectiveness. the mine before departing on the mission or only to put •Thoroughly train and test your indigenous troops the shipping plugs on the electric and non-electric in grenade-throwing, particularly WP. Not all of them blasting caps to speed priming during emplacement. will be adept at baseball-style throwing. •Dual-prime each claymore for both electric and •Violet and red are the smoke colors most visible non-electric firing. The time fuse should be pre-cut for from the air; however, in dense jungle or wet weather, 30-, 60-, or 120-second delay, for pursuit or break-con- use WP to signal aircraft. tact situations. However, the burn time on the fuse •Notify aircraft before signalling with WP; gunships becomes undependable the longer the fuse is exposed or fighter-bombers may mistake it for a marking rock- to wet or humid conditions. et indicating an enemy position, and attack you. •Waterproof your non-electric firing systems. •Camouflage smoke, CS and WP grenades, using •Carry the claymore in the rucksack so it’s immedi- black or OD spray paint. ately accessible; after breaking contact it can be quick- •Smoke grenades should be carried in or on the pack ly armed and emplaced on the back trail (even while and not on the LCE. You don’t fight with smoke it’s still in the ruck) to delay pursuers. grenades, and if you need one, 99 times out of 100 you •Claymores placed around your position (observa- will have time to get it from your pack. tion post, ambush, remain-overnight, etc.), should be •Each team should carry one thermite grenade for emplaced one at a time by two men, with one man destruction of either friendly or enemy equipment.

46 Special Warfare •Do not carry rubber baseball-style CS grenades; cycle the TEMIG to make sure it is “off” and not silent- they were designed for riot control on city streets and ly transmitting. are inadequate in the jungle. •Don’t try to weatherproof your hand mike with a plastic wrapper; water condenses on the inside any- Commo tips way, the wrapper rustles loudly, and at night, it shines •Commo is everyone’s responsibility, not just the like a signal light when viewed through NVGs. commo sergeant’s. •Always carry a spare hand mike in a waterproof •Always inventory and inspect your radios, kit bags, bag. secures and sensors before and after all missions. •Don’t carry your spare hand mike where it might •Place a plastic cover over your PRC-77/KY-51 and get crushed when you drop your ruck. wrap them in an additional waterproof bag. •Clean all contacts daily with the eraser end of a •Pre-set frequencies on the PRC-77 so that a quick pencil. turn of the dials will put you on the desired frequency. •Waterproof your communications-electronics oper- This is especially helpful at night when you want to ating instructions, or CEOI, and authentication tables avoid a light. by laminating them with acetate or putting them in a •Carefully inspect your X-mode cable for bent pins plastic zip-lock bag. and dirt in the female connectors. •Constantly check your CEOI to ensure your •Take along secure hand-held radios with earphones authentication tables are folded open to the page and whisper mikes for internal in-position team showing the most current set. This will prevent dan- commo during ambush and prisoner-of-war snatch gerous delays when your AC-130 requests authentica- missions. tion, especially at night. •Perform pre-mission radio checks: •Carry a single strand of claymore firing wire or - with your radio and secure packed in your ruck WD-l cut to your operating frequency for use as a field- exactly the way you will carry them in the field; expedient antenna. Secure one end (stripped of insula- - after your crypto has been loaded; tion) to the radio with an antenna base, then string - with and without the secure hooked up; the wire straight up to a branch (omni-directional), or - with your operational base, helicopters, fire sup- lay it on the ground in the direction of the receiving port, the hatchet team, other teams operating adjacent station (uni-directional). to your area of operations, and your internal radios; •Minimize radio traffic. - bending the X-mode cable while receiving/transmit- •Do not send “same” or “no change” when reporting ting to check for excessive static and/or loss of commo. team location. Always send your coordinates. •Before a mission, always place fresh batteries into •Repeat grid coordinates sent to you to ensure accu- your commo gear and sensors, especially the BA-1372 rate copy. memory battery for the KY-57. •The operational base must avoid making unneces- •Always carry spare PRC-77 and KY-57 batteries, sary, unscheduled radio checks just because they but do not remove the spares from their plastic wrap- haven’t heard from a team for a while. Be patient. ping prior to use or they may lose power. •Whisper into the hand mike while in the field. •Carry the lithium BA-5598 batteries for the PRC- Exhale first, then speak, or your transmission will 77; this cuts weight, and since the spare is in the bat- sound like a tire leaking air. To mask your voice, cup tery cover, it speeds emergency replacement. your hand over the hand-mike mouthpiece and your •Ensure the PRC-77 battery cover vent is opera- mouth. tional, because of the gases produced by the lithium •Always remain calm and professional, no matter batteries. what happens. Screaming or speaking in emotional, •Ensure the cover vent is on the same side as the angry or desperate tones will cause the operational battery connector. base to doubt your judgment and the accuracy of what- •After you put the battery in your TEMIG beacon, ever you’re saying.

Winter 1990 47 SpringEnlisted Career Notes 1989 Special Warfare

1989 E-7 selection rate The calendar-year 1989 E-7 selection rate for soldiers in CMF 18 was one 44.4 percent for CMF 18 of the highest in the Army, with an overall selection rate of 44.4 percent, compared to the Army average of 15.6 percent. From a field of 478 eligible NCOs, 212 were promoted. The following figures show how other Army CMFs fared: CMF 11 – 11.7 percent CMF 12 – 16.7 percent CMF 13 – 8.3 percent CMF 19 – 10.7 percent CMF 31 – 7.4 percent CMF 91 – 12.3 percent The average time in service for SF soldiers promoted in the primary zone was 10.5 years, while the average time from the secondary zone was 7.7 years. The Army average time in service for the primary zone was 12.7 years, and from the secondary zone, 9.5 years. Average ages for CMF 18 soldiers were 29.9 years for the primary and 28.2 years for the secondary zone, in comparison to the Army average of 32.9 and 30.0 years for those same zones. The average CMF 18 primary-zone time in grade, 4.6 years, was better than the Army average of 5.4 years, but the secondary-zone average time in grade, 2.7 years, was the same as the Army average. The following matrix shows the breakdown within the CMF by MOS:

Primary Secondary Totals MOS nr zn nr sel % nr zn nr sel % cons sel % 18B 45 40 88.9 96 33 34.4 141 73 51.8 18C 26 23 88.5 75 9 12.0 101 32 31.7 18D 11 10 90.9 68 61 89.7 79 71 89.9 18E 32 20 62.5 116 8 6.9 148 28 18.9 18F 3 2 66.7 6 6 100.0 9 8 88.9 Total 117 95 81.2 361 117 32.4 478 212 44.4

Contact enlisted branch for Questions related to professional development or assignment of SF sol- information diers in grades through master sergeant (sergeant majors have their own branch) should be directed to either Capt. Jeffery Waddell or MSgt. Thom- as Rupert at the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate at PERS- COM. Phone AV 221-8340/5497, commercial (202) 325-8340/5497, or write: Commander; USTAPC; Attn: TAPC-EPK-S; 2461 Eisenhower Ave.; Alex- andria, VA 22331-0452.

Sergeant-major branch has The command sergeants major/sergeants major branch at PERSCOM has after-hours number installed a new after-hours answering service. Senior enlisted soldiers may call the service to ask questions, voice their assignment preferences and pass along important information. The answering service will be activated between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. (eastern time) daily. Questions will be answered either by phone or in writing within three working days, according to PERSCOM. To use the service, call AV 221-7686, commercial (703) 325-7686.

48 Special Warfare PERSCOM releases The newly released list for the Special Forces Advanced NCO Course con- selection list for SF ANCOC tains the names of 194 SF NCOs. This number represents an overall selection rate of 44.8 percent, versus the average rate for combat arms of 34.5 percent. Those NCOs selected will be integrated into the current CMF 18 list and scheduled to attend class. ANCOC scheduling is now automated, and soldiers will attend the course according to primary military occupational specialty and date of rank. The Army’s goal is to have a soldier attend CMF 18 ANCOC within two years of his promotion to sergeant first class. PERSCOM will no longer delete a soldier from ANCOC without written notification from his unit. Tentative dates for upcoming SF ANCOC classes are:

Class no. Start date End date

3-90 Sept. 4, 1990 Nov. 29, 1990 1-91 Jan. 7, 1991 April 4, 1991 2-91 May 6, 1991 July 28, 1991 3-91 Sept. 8, 1991 Dec. 7, 1991

BNCOC to become Beginning Oct. 1, the Basic NCO Course will be required for promotion to requirement for SFC sergeant first class. according to the Army Personnel Command. Soldiers are nominated to attend BNCOC by PERSCOM. Unit commanders must confirm the nomination and ensure that soldiers meet the eligibility requirements in Chapter 5, AR 351-1, Individual Military Education and Training. Commanders must also ensure that soldiers attend BNCOC as scheduled — only under extreme circumstances should soldiers be deferred from the training, and if a soldier is unable to attend, his status must be reported through the chain of command to PERSCOM. Comman- ders also have the option to substitute other qualified soldiers. Sergeants first class who have not attended BNCOC and who have a date of rank of July 31, 1988 or earlier should receive priority for BNCOC training.

Army streamlines BEAR Soldiers who apply for Special Forces training through the Bonus Exten- packet for SF applicants sion and Retraining Program, BEAR, no longer need to submit an extensive packet. Under the BEAR program, the Army awards a bonus to soldiers who reclassify from an over-strength MOS to a shortage MOS. SF applicants through BEAR will now complete Special Forces Assessment and Selection before initiating their BEAR packets. After SFAS, a soldier interested in the BEAR program should provide his re-enlistment NCO a copy of his SFAS certificate of completion. The re-enlistment NCO will forward the certificate and BEAR packet to PERSCOM for processing. At PERSCOM, the Retention Management Branch, along with the Special Forces Branch, will process the application, and the soldier will be scheduled for the Special Forces Qualification Course.

Winter 1990 49 SpringOfficer Career Notes 1989 Special Warfare

FA 39 officers should check • Functional Area 39 officers are required to have either their foreign- language proficiency language proficiency or a qualifying score (85 or better) on the Defense Language Aptitude Battery posted on their Officer Record Briefs. FA 39 officers who have not yet taken the DLAB should take steps to test as soon as possible. Those who have taken the test and failed to qualify may retest after waiting six months from the date of the original test. Language qualification is important, and officers should be sure that their ORBs correctly reflect their language proficiency — officers who fail to take the DLAB or to attain a qualifying score will lose their FA 39 designation. • FA 39 officers who anticipate going to a fully-funded graduate degree program must ensure that their records at PERSCOM contain both a complete college transcript and a current score on the Graduate Record Examination. • The current time line for the FA 39 graduate program calls for classes to begin at Fort Bragg in September. There will be 30 student positions in the 12-month program. FA 39 officers interested in attending should contact their branch assignment officer now, before submitting an application, to determine whether they are competitive for selection. For further information, contact Maj. Georgia Bemis, SWCS Special Opera- tions Proponency Office, at AV 239-6406, commercial (919) 432-6406.

Major selection board An Army selection board will meet at PERSCOM from Aug. 21 to Oct. 5, to convene in August 1990 to consider captains for promotion to major. Zones of consideration will consist of eligible captains with the following active-duty dates of rank: above the zone – June 1, 1984 and earlier; promotion zone – June 2, 1984 to April 1, 1985; below the zone – April 2, 1985 to March 1, 1986. No arrival date for OERs to go before the board has been published; however, OERs normally should arrive at PERSCOM, error-free, approximately 60 days before the board convenes. The board will accept written communication from all eligible officers as long as it deals with the consideration of their records. The board will not accept communications from other parties on behalf of eligible officers or communications from officers under consideration or other parties which contain criticism or reflect upon the character, conduct or motives of any person. Communication should be addressed to President, Major, Army Promotion Selection Board; Attn: TAPC-MSB; 200 Stovall St.; Alexandria, VA 22332-0441. Correspondence should arrive not later than the convening date of the board in order to be considered. Eligible officers should review their official military personnel files and officer record briefs before the convening date of the board. The SF Branch recently mailed copies of their most-current ORB and a copy of their OMPF microfiche to all eligible SF officers. Officers who have not received a copy should contact the branch. Promotion results from the board are scheduled to be released in late January 1991.

50 Special Warfare SF Branch looking for The SF Branch is looking for Spanish-speaking volunteers for reassign- Spanish-speaking captains ment to Panama. Currently the tour for captains assigned to the 3rd Bn., 7th SF Group is one year, unaccompanied. This means that the branch requires 25 captains each year who have a minimum language rating of 1/1 in Spanish. SF captains with 36 months on-station who are interested in attending the Defense Language Institute for Spanish should contact the branch. Besides the Panama assignments, there are four exchange positions for captains in Latin America which require language-qualified officers, normally rated at 2/2. All positions are one year, unaccompanied. • Exchange officer with Colombia’s Lancero (Ranger) School — Must be airborne and Ranger-qualified and willing to attend the Lancero course. The officer serves as an instructor at the school. Position is available in March 1991, but the officer must begin school in January 1991. Lan- guage training is available. • Exchange officer at the Argentine Mountain School — Course requires a Spanish speaker, preferably with mountaineering experience. Course is one-year-long and will make the officer an expert climber and skier. Course begins January 1991. • Adviser to a Colombian special-operations unit in Bogota — Officer must be a senior captain. Position is available in June 1991. • Guest instructor at the Jungle Operations School in Manaus, Brazil — This is a new position; it will require an officer who is self-reliant and able to handle an environment which may provide little U.S. Army support. For further information on any of these positions, contact Capt. John Bone at AV 221-3175, commercial (703) 325-3175.

YG 81 officers should finish Year-group 81 officers who have not yet completed the nine-week second CAS3 Phase II this year phase of the Combined Arms and Services Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., have until the end of FY 90, according to Lt. Col. John E. McNett, CAS3 operations officer. Failure to attend may jeopardize promotion and staff-college selection. Graduation from CAS3 is now a prerequisite for enrollment in the Command and General Staff Officer nonresident Course. Phase II classes in FY90 are also open to captains in year groups 82 and later who have completed their advanced courses and Phase I of CAS3. For report dates, officers may refer to the Army Training Requirements and Resources System comput- er network or call the CAS3 operations office at AV 552-2113/2602.

SOSOC trains officers The Special Operations Staff Officer Course is an eight-week course for majors to be strategic thinkers and senior captains, designed to allow SOF officers to make the transition from operators to planners and strategic thinkers. The course is organized into three phases: national strategic policy formulation (foreign policy, national interests and power, and national strategy); USSOCOM (operational concept, roles, missions, command relationships, SOF of the various services); and doctrine (joint operations, special-operations procedures, joint-task-force planning, AirLand Battle, low-intensity conflict, SF operations, PSYOP, civil-military operations and campaign planning). There is also a guest-speaker program, briefings on regional hot spots and an automated planning command-post exercise. Stu- dents attend the course in a TDY-and-return or TDY-en-route status. The course is currently running two classes per year. For more information, contact Maj. Steve Bucci at AV 239-5608, commercial (919) 432-5608.

Winter 1990 51 SpringUpdate 1989 Special Warfare

an assistant instructor for PSYOP Army reactivates 3rd SF courses taught by Co. A, 3rd Bn. Group at Fort Bragg The Army has reactivated the SWCS seeks new 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort SF enlistment option Bragg, more than 20 years after its The SWCS is seeking approval to deactivation. implement a new Special Forces The 3rd Group was reactivated in enlistment option which will help to ceremonies at the John F. Kennedy provide long-term sustainment for Memorial Plaza June 29, becoming SF personnel strength. the fifth active-duty Special Forces The Special Forces Enlistment group. Maj. Gen. James A. Guest, Option, also known as “3 + 3,” would commander of the 1st Special Opera- identify and tag Army recruits for tions Command, uncased the unit’s future service in SF. Applicants colors with the assistance of the new would agree to serve six or more group commander, Col. Peter years active duty and two years in Stankovich, and command sergeant the individual ready reserve. They major, CSM Billie Phipps. would serve approximately three In a separate ceremony that same years in an initial-training military day at Fort Bragg’s Pike Field, the occupational specialty before being 3rd Battalion, 5th SF Group, which eligible to begin the SF selection and New 3rd SF Group beret flash had remained at Fort Bragg when training process. the 5th Group moved to Fort Camp- The Army would guarantee 3+3 bell, Ky., was redesignated the 1st SOF units name soldiers, enlistees initial training in one of Bn., 3rd SF Group. The battalion NCOs of the year nine selected MOSs, basic airborne retained its commander, Lt. Col. Special-operations units at Fort training and a slot in SF Assess- Frank J. Toney. The 3/5th colors Bragg have announced their selec- ment and Selection, according to were taken to Fort Campbell for a tions for the 1990 Soldier and NCO Sgt. Maj. Robert Gron, SF enlisted ceremony July 2 in which a new of the Year. manager in the SWCS Special 3/5th was activated under the com- The U.S. Army Special Opera- Operations Proponency Office. Sol- mand of Lt. Col. Michael D. Shaw. tions Command has chosen SSgt. diers would attend the SF Qualifi- The 3rd Group, based at Fort David L. Wein as the NCO of the cation Course if selected after Bragg, now consists of a headquar- Year and Spec. Luciano Gonzalez as SFAS. Upon completion of the ters and one battalion, but a second the Soldier of the Year. Wein is an SFQC, they would reclassify into a battalion is scheduled for activation intelligence sergeant assigned to Special Forces MOS, be assigned to in 1991, and a third in 1992. The Co. A, 2nd Bn., 7th SF Group. Gon- an SF unit and spend the remain- group will number approximately zalez is a PSYOP specialist der of their enlistment in SF. 1,400 soldiers when fully manned, assigned to Detachment A, 1st Bn., Soldiers enlisted under the plan according to Maj. Craig Barta, public 4th PSYOP Group. would also be paid an enlistment affairs officer for 1st SOCOM. The JFK Special Warfare Center bonus upon completion of advanced Originally activated at Fort Bragg and School has selected SSgt. individual training for their initial- in 1963, the 3rd Group was deacti- Donny H. Boles as its NCO of the training MOS. The amount of the vated in December 1969. The new Year and Spec. James C. Brock as bonus has not yet been determined, 3rd Group beret flash retains the its Soldier of the Year. Both soldiers Gron said. gold, red, black and white quarters of are assigned to the 1st Special War- Current plans call for the pro- the old flash, officials said, but its fare Training Group. Boles, 25, is gram to use initial training MOSs border is solid black rather than an instructor in the medical detach- of 11B (infantry), 11C (mortarman), multicolored as the old flash was. ment of Co. D, 1st Bn. Brock, 29, is 12B (combat engineer), 19D

52 Special Warfare (armored scout), 31C, G, or V (com- SF Development Branch, AV 239- diers in the Special Forces Assess- munications), or 91 A or B (medic), 5000/8286. ment and Selection Program, the Gron said. SF Qualification Course, and some Enlistees would have to be high- New SOF training facility portions of the Survival, Evasion, school graduates or equivalent, named for Col. Rowe Resistance and Escape training, U.S. citizens, have no physical pro- A $6.2-million special-operations which Rowe helped to establish. files or partial profiles, volunteer training complex near Fort Bragg Captured as an SF adviser in for airborne, SFAS and SFQC train- has been dedicated to the memory Vietnam in 1963, Rowe later orga- ing, and meet any prerequisites for of a Special Forces officer killed in nized the SERE training at Fort their initial-training MOS. the Philippines last year. Bragg based on his experiences After enlistment, they would The James N. “Nick” Rowe Spe- during more than five years of cap- have to complete basic and cial Operations Training Facility, tivity in South Vietnam. He served advanced training in their initial- dedicated Feb. 8, is located at as commander of the SWCS’s 1st training MOS, serve three years in Camp Mackall, 35 miles southwest Special Warfare Training Battalion that MOS and complete airborne of Fort Bragg. The new complex prior to his assignment to the school before being eligible for the consists of 42 buildings, including a Philippines. SFAS and SFQC. Before SFAS and At the dedication ceremony, SFQC, they would have to pass a Rowe’s widow, Susan, assisted Lt. medical exam, be able to obtain an Gen. Gary E. Luck, commander of interim secret clearance, and swim the Army Special Operations Com- 50 meters in fatigues and boots. mand, and Brig. Gen. David J. They would also have to score a Baratto, commander of the SWCS, minimum of 206 overall (with a in unveiling an eight-ton blood- minimum of 60 points in each granite rock containing a bronze event) on the Army PT test, graded plaque with a relief bust of Rowe by the standards for the 17-25 age and a memorial inscription. group, regardless of their age. Delta seeking recruits Units must now request The 1st Special Forces Opera- training products tional Detachment-Delta is current- SOF units which expect to ly recruiting worldwide for soldiers receive new soldier training prod- to plan and conduct a broad range ucts should remember that they of special operations. must now request them. Delta is the U.S. Army’s special- Since Jan. 1, 1990, the Army operations unit organized for the Publications Distribution Center in conduct of missions requiring a Baltimore, Md., no longer automat- rapid response with surgical appli- ically sends STPs to units. Instead, Photo by Kirk Wyckoff cation of a wide variety of unique the unit must identify its require- dining facility, billets, classrooms, a skills and the flexibility to maintain ments for STPs on DA Form 12-99- medical clinic, and administrative the lowest possible profile of U.S. R (used for ordering publications) and storage facilities, according to involvement. Because of this, and send the information to the Catherine Cook, chief of the Special Delta’s soldiers are carefully select- Publications Distribution Center. Warfare Center and School’s Engi- ed and specially trained. Instructions for completing the neer Branch. The new buildings Delta affords officers and NCOs form are contained in DA Pamphlet will replace metal and tar-paper- unique opportunities for profession- 25-33. covered buildings which had been al development. Both undergo the New STPs for SF communica- used for several years. same assessment, selection and tions, engineer and weapons NCOs Rowe was killed in an ambush training and, after training, are are scheduled to be fielded in Octo- April 21, 1989 in Manila, where he assigned to operational positions ber 1990. STPs include soldier’s was assigned as the ground forces within the unit. Training and experi- manuals, trainer’s guides and job director for the Joint U.S. Military ence gained while in Delta are much books and are used in training sol- Advisory Group. Communist rebels in demand, and soldiers will enjoy diers and in preparing them for later claimed responsibility for his expanded assignment opportunities. their skill-qualification tests. assassination. Delta conducts worldwide recruit- For information on SF SQTs or The new training complex, pro- ing twice a year prior to its fall and STPs, contact the SWCS Direc- viding more than 92,000 square spring assessment-and-selection torate of Training and Doctrine, feet of space, will be used by sol- courses. Recruiting for the fall

Winter 1990 53 course is currently scheduled at the Delta’s support recruiter, MSgt. chamber is 10 inches long by 7 1/2 following installations: Okinawa Fred Johnson, at AV 236-0960 or inches wide, and it can sterilize (July 16-20), Fort Campbell (July call collect on the commercial line, instruments in 30 minutes. 16-27), and Fort Bragg (throughout (919) 396-0960. With the current steam pressure July and August). cooker, instruments and surgical General prerequisites are: New field sterilizer being packs may get wet from condensa- • Volunteer developed for SF use tion, and this could lead to bacterial • Active-duty Army The Special Warfare Center has contamination of the packs, Fether- • Male performed a design and concept son said. The new sterilizer works by • U.S. citizen evaluation and requested an imme- dry heat: its sterilizing chamber is • Pass a HALO/SCUBA physical diate purchase of a sterilizer for use surrounded by a water jacket which and eye examination by Special Forces medics. in use is filled with boiling water. • No limiting physical profile SF units will use the new steriliz- The water can be heated using either • Airborne-qualified or volunteer er on surgical packs and instru- the internal 110-volt electric heater for airborne training ments in the field. The new steriliz- or a variety of external heat sources, • Pass a background security er will be a replacement for older including gas and wood. investigation and have at least a The sterilizer is now operational secret clearance and scheduled for fielding in 1991. • Minimum age of 22 For further information, contact • No history of recurring disci- James Fetherson at AV 239-1816. plinary action • Pass the five-event physical-fit- Approval pending for Civil ness qualification test (inverted Affairs MOS crawl; run, dodge and jump; push- The Army Personnel Integration up; sit-up; and two-mile run) and Command is considering a proposal 100-meter swim, all while wearing by the Special Warfare Center and fatigues and boots. School to establish a separate NCO prerequisites are: enlisted career field for reserve- • Rank of sergeant (E-5) thru component Civil Affairs specialists. sergeant first class (E-7) A CA-specific MOS would allow • Four years’ minimum time in the Army to retain soldiers’ skills in service Civil Affairs and not lose the time • Passing SQT score in primary already spent training them, ac- MOS (MOS immaterial) cording to MSgt. Calvin Rome of • Minimum GT score of 110 the SWCS Special Operations Pro- • Two years’ active service ponency Office. It would offer sol- remaining upon selection. File photo diers greater promotion and career- Officer prerequisites are: Prototype of the new field sterilizer progression opportunities within • Captain or major (branch models which have been deleted their MOS. immaterial) from the supply system. The equip- Enlisted soldiers in Civil Affairs • Advanced-course graduate ment currently being used for ster- units are currently drawn from 18 • College graduate (BA or BS) ilization is actually a steam pres- different MOSs and earn the Civil • Minimum of 12 months’ suc- sure cooker, which is too heavy and Affairs special-qualification identi- cessful command (company, battery, bulky for use by Special Forces fier “D” by attending the two-week troop, Special Forces A-detachment, units, according to James Fether- Civil Affairs Operations Course. or aviation platoon). son, equipment specialist in the Soldiers frequently return to their For information on recruiting vis- Special Warfare Center and original MOS for career develop- its, the unit, prerequisites and train- School’s Directorate of Combat ment, Rome said. ing, call Delta recruiters at AV 236- Developments. Because of their small number, 0689/0649 or call collect on the com- The prototype sterilizer was active-component Civil Affairs sol- mercial line, (919) 396-0689/0649. developed by the U.S. Army Medical diers would not benefit from a sepa- Delta is also interested in the fol- Bioengineering Research and Devel- rate MOS and were not included in lowing MOSs in a support role: opment Laboratory, Fetherson said. the proposal, Rome said. 18D, 18E, 25Z3/4, 43E3, 55R3, It is cylindrical, 10 inches wide and The SWCS submitted its proposal 63B3, 71L3/4 and 76Y3/4. For infor- 14 inches long. Constructed of an in February. USAPIC will send the mation on support prerequisites aluminum alloy, it weighs only 11 proposal to all affected major com- and assignment opportunities, call pounds when empty. Its sterilizing mands and proponents for comment

54 Special Warfare before submitting it to the Army The award applies to military Group, which conducts military free Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel personnel who were permanently fall training. for final approval. The entire assigned to joint billets, temporary The construction project also approval process should take 6-9 additional duty or temporary duty includes a 32-student classroom, an months. for 90 days or more during the cov- operator control room, communica- Upon adoption of the proposal, ered period. tions and equipment rooms and a SWCS would develop resident and parking area, according to Cather- non-resident instruction, training Construction begins ine Cook, chief of the Engineer literature, basic and advanced NCO on free-fall simulator Branch at the SWCS. The facility courses and skill-qualification tests Construction has begun at Fort will contain more than 11,000 for the new MOS, 38A. The current Bragg on a $5-million facility to be square feet. milestone for completing these used for training parachutists in Students in the Military Free Fall tasks is October 1992, contingent military free fall. Course currently train in the verti- on final approval of the CA MOS. The Military Free Fall Simulator cal wind tunnel at Wright-Patterson Under the SWCS proposal, reclas- Facility will contain an enclosed, AFB, Ohio. Besides allowing the sification would be open to reserve- vertical wind tunnel to simulate the SWCS to consolidate all its military- component soldiers of any MOS who free-fall training at Fort Bragg, the have an SQI “D.” If granted prior to new wind tunnel will be larger, pro- Jan. 1, 1990, the SQI “D” would vide greater wind speeds and have a have to have been awarded on lower noise level than the one at orders by a competent authority, Wright-Patterson, Cook said. whether the soldier was school- Work began on the free-fall simu- trained or trained through a local lator April 30; current estimates training and qualification program. call for completion in late 1991. The After Jan. 1, 1990, the soldier would new facility will be located on Gru- have to have graduated from the ber Road, near the current SWCS Civil Affairs Operations Course, motor pool. have served in a CA unit for one Since July 1988, the SWCS has year, have completed one annual been the U.S. Special Operations training period and have been rec- Command proponent for military- ommended by a CA commander. free-fall-training, responsible either For further information, contact to conduct training or approve MSgt. Calvin Rome, SWCS Propo- training techniques for all USSO- nency Office, at AV 239-6406, com- COM units. mercial (919) 4332-6406. TDY students must bring Military Group-El Salvador copies of records commended for service Artist’s sketch of the Free Fall Simulator Students who attend SWCS The chairman of the Joint Chiefs effects of free fall for students in courses in a temporary-duty-and- of Staff has awarded the Joint Meri- the Military Free Fall Parachutist return status must now bring a ver- torious Unit Award to personnel Course, taught by the Special War- ified copy of their DA Form 2A and assigned to the U.S. Military Group - fare Center and School. Suspended 2-1 when they report for training. El Salvador between Oct. 1, 1986 in a column of moving air, students Upon completion of training, sol- and June 2, 1989. will be able to learn and practice diers will have the appropriate The award, granted Feb. 5, cred- body-stabilization maneuvers in MOS, SQI or additional skill identi- its the milgroup with furthering relative safety. fier posted to their records. Stu- national-security interests and for- The wind tunnel’s fan will gener- dents who report for training in a eign-policy objectives of the U.S. in ate winds up to 132 miles per hour permanent-change-of-station or Latin America. Specifically, it cites within the training chamber, which TDY-en-route status will continue the organization for serving as the will be approximately 18 feet high to bring their records as they have focal point for economic and human- and 14 feet in diameter. The mov- in the past. For further informa- itarian relief during the earthquake ing air will be strong enough to tion, contact Sgt. Maj. Robert Gron, of 1986, supporting mayoral and support two jumpers wearing full Special Operations Proponency legislative elections, and ensuring parachute equipment and 50-pound Office, at AV 239-9002/2415. the safety of observers during the rucksacks, according to 1st Sgt. Salvadoran presidential election Johnny King of Co. B, 2nd Battal- and inauguration. ion, 1st Special Warfare Training

Winter 1990 55 SpringBook Reviews 1989 Special Warfare

Inside Spetsnaz - Soviet Special mandant of the Ryzan Higher Air- to the more prosaic air-assault Operations: A Critical Analysis. borne Forces Command School, Lt. troops. Burgess argues convincingly Edited by Maj. William H. Burgess Gen. A. E. Slyusar, and as a result that in order to understand what is III. Novato, Calif.: Presidio Press, provides reasoned insight into selec- meant by spetsnaz, one must leave 1989. ISBN 0-89141-339-1. 312 tion and training of Soviet airborne behind Western conceptions of spe- pages. $24.95. and special-ops officers. Further- cial-operations forces. Instead, one more, Kristen Amundsen’s chapter, must look at the spetsnaz in the At the beginning of the 1980s, a “Spetsnaz and Soviet Far North context of the deep battle. The Sovi- defector from the Soviet Army, writ- Strategy,” gives the reader a well- et Army is doctrinally committed to ing under the pseudonym of Viktor researched, carefully analyzed pic- fighting in depth, with certain units Suvorov, both alarmed and thrilled ture of Soviet special operations in assigned targets well behind the en- Western audiences with tales of der- Scandinavia. In particular, Amund- emy’s forward edge of the battle ring-do by a heretofore unknown sen provides a convincing explana- area. Hence, those units assigned group of super-soldiers — the spet- special targets in the enemy rear snaz. are “special purpose,” or spets- But Suvorov’s accounts of the ial’noe naznachenie — spetsnaz for spetsnaz were not much more than short. Yet, Burgess notes, while war stories gleaned from conversa- units may be special in the sense tions overheard at numerous “O- that they have a special mission club” bars. Unfortunately, much of and are special-operations capable, what Suvorov said was accepted at they are not necessarily dedicated face value. Hence, a distorted view special forces — spetsnaz. of the true nature of the Soviet spe- In spite of this blur over what con- cial-ops threat has taken hold in the stitutes a spetsnaz unit, Burgess West. does note that usually the personnel Fortunately, Inside Spetsnaz - assigned to these spetsnaz units are Soviet Special Operations: A Criti- carefully chosen and trained. But cal Analysis, is now available. This this is not always the case. For in- is a very important book, and as the stance, some of the spetsnaz brig- title suggests, analyzes critically ades assigned to fronts are made up Soviet special operations. Compiled, largely of two-year conscripts. While partially written, and edited by they may be good soldiers, two years William Burgess, a U.S. Army of training is hardly enough time to major and Special Forces officer turn a conscript into a seasoned, assigned to the John F. Kennedy well-trained, special-ops soldier. Special Warfare Center and School, tion of the motives for Soviet spet- The third major contribution of the book contains a series of essays snaz excursions into Sweden and this book is that the authors show on Soviet special ops from the Span- Norway. that Soviet spetsnaz operations are ish Civil War through Afghanistan. Second, Burgess, in his chapter, neither new nor ignored in the open The book makes three points that “Spetsnaz and the Deep Operation,” Soviet press. Owen Lock’s chapter set it apart from the majority of provides the best definition in West- on spetsnaz operations in the Span- spetsnaz books. First, it avoids the ern literature of spetsnaz. Spet- ish Civil War is a good example. The hype and hero worship often associ- sial’noe naznachenie (special pur- Soviet “pulp” press, such as Molo- ated with books on elite forces. For pose/appointment) is imprecisely daia Gvardiia and Voenizdat, has instance, a chapter by Jim Short on employed by the Soviets. On the one turned out cheap, large-run “war spetsnaz “Organization, Capabili- hand, Soviets use it to refer to elite, memoirs” for decades. Yet Western ties, and Countermeasures” was highly trained commandos, and on analysts have generally ignored based on an interview with the com- the other hand, use it in reference these personal accounts in favor of

56 Special Warfare works by more prominent figures in with a short introduction that sets at training their officers. The main prestigious presses such as Nauka. the stage and establishes the frame- problem with his scholarship is the Lock simply collected a number of work for analysis. It is here that one obvious preconceived notions that, these “pulp” memoirs and used them perceives a definite bias toward the in the opinion of this reviewer, lead to piece together an excellent picture Israeli system over the U.S. method to faulty conclusions. This in turn of Soviet spetsnaz activities during of officer development. Next, Van gives the book its weak areas. the Civil War. Creveld does the historical trace Van Creveld traces the history of James Gebhardt’s very fine study and goes into comparisons of the officer training back to the Spartans on Soviet naval spetsnaz operations German, French, British, Russian/ and Alexander the Great. This may in the Arctic during the Petsamo- Soviet and U.S. systems. His fourth be interesting, but the relevance is Kirkenes operation is another exam- chapter is titled “Problems,” and in tangential at best. He intimates ple of this approach. Moreover, Geb- it, he delves a bit more deeply into that since Alexander needed little or hardt’s study strongly suggests, systemic deficiencies that were no formal military training, why do without saying so explicitly, that it is identified earlier. Finally, in his last our officers need any? This portion possible to forecast probable Soviet two chapters, he passes judgment of the book could have easily been intentions for naval spetsnaz deploy- and offers recommendations. left out. ment in the far north in the event of The author castigates the U.S. war, based on their past employment system on two fronts. On one hand, during the Second World War. we do not select officers as the Is- Inside Spetsnaz is a “must read” raelis do: That is, making all spend for those within the special-ops com- several years as enlisted men, and munity. But it should also be read giving no value to nor having any by all those who take an interest in prerequisite for formal education. Soviet military developments and But on the other hand, he wants a capabilities. far more intellectually rigorous system of staff-officer education, such Paul H. Vivian as the Prussians used. The question Intelligence analyst is, how do you develop officers capa- 4th PSYOP Group ble of a two-year staff college that Fort Bragg, N.C. requires entrance exams, has real grades and is accredited to provide The Training of Officers: From MAs and PhDs (his recommenda- Military Professionalism to tions), if you have an officer corps Irrelevance. By Martin Van Crev- that is assessed with no formal eld. New York: The Free Press, education? 1990. ISBN 0-02-933152-8. 134 Van Creveld also concludes that pages. $19.95. the explosion of graduate study in such fields as security studies, Martin Van Creveld has produced international-relations theory and an important work in The Training foreign policy that occurred in the of Officers, if not for the accuracy of Van Creveld’s style is above-aver- U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s was a his analysis, then for the questions age in readability, and he manages direct by-product of an overabun- it raises and the issues with which to avoid being overly academic. This dance of officers who had nothing it deals. In a very short book, he is laudable, since most scholars who better to do but get civilian degrees. gives an overview of the history of fancy themselves military experts This is pure nonsense. The percent- officer training at the critical senior- are not prone to easy decoding by age of military officers in programs staff level and attempts to analyze readers. Van Creveld is straightfor- such as those noted is small, and in the problems with the American ward and clear, and he manages to many cases, nonexistent. He also system as it exists today. These are be insightful without wordiness. demeans the U.S. officer corps by ambitious and important goals. This book is clearly not light read- saying that, except on rare occa- Unfortunately, Van Creveld obvious- ing, but the style allows one to sions, officers, regardless of their ly has an agenda that he wishes to digest it without resort to extraordi- degrees, “cannot seriously hope to pursue from the outset, and one nary effort. cross swords with the real experts gets the distinct impression that his Van Creveld’s scholarship is also in government or at the universi- analysis was far from unbiased. quite good. It took a healthy ties” (p. 77). As one who has encoun- Van Creveld has organized the research effort to summarize the tered such “experts” in both areas, I book well and simply. He begins histories of multiple nations’ efforts can say that such statements are

Winter 1990 57 self-serving and false. “Experts” like sustained fear one naturally experi- Van Creveld are self-proclaimed and ences in combat. Frightened sol- often know little or nothing beyond diers tire quickly, and loads easily a bombastic exterior and a flurry of carried in training become unbear- rhetoric designed to befuddle the able in combat. listener. Not only are many educat- Marshall argues that the fighting ed officers capable of standing up soldier should carry only those intellectually to their civilian coun- items that he will need for personal terparts, but they often surpass protection and to advance against them and play key roles in policy the enemy on the first day of the and security matters. battle. Items such as entrenching A final point is Van Creveld’s con- tools, extra clothing and several tention that since most future con- days’ rations are not of immediate flicts will be of the low-intensity use to the soldier and so should be variety, our officers can no longer carried in the supply trains to be justify their education. Somehow, he delivered when needed. seems to think LIC is a simple envi- The second section of the book ronment. This, too, shows the deals with logistics from another “depth” of his “expertise.” angle. Marshall argues here that far The book does offer some good too much of the U.S. logistics system suggestions, however. The need for is concerned with providing soldiers an increase in the quality of the fac- with accessories and comforts they ulty at the Command and General don’t need. He complains that while Staff College and War College levels all effort in war should be directed is quite appropriate. This is not to The Soldier’s Load and the toward putting steel on target, the say the present faculties are unqual- Mobility of a Nation. By S.L.A. Army logistics system staggers “un- ified, but to emphasize that an as- Marshall. Reprinted Quantico, Va.: der a burden of soft drink machines, signment to one of these schools The Marine Corps Association, mammy singers, and lollypops.” should be career-enhancing, not a 1980 (Original copyright by the The consequences of burdening detriment. Van Creveld’s other rec- Association of the United States our supply lines with “mountainous ommendations, such as entrance Army, 1950). 120 pages. $2. quantities of nonessential materiel exams, two years’ staff college and can only be and must ever be that one national War College (three S.L.A. Marshall was one of the less fire is delivered upon the years), all of which should occur ear- finest American military historians enemy. A lean and strong-going lier in careers, are worth consider- of this century. Rather than dealing rifleman cannot spring fully armed ing. Several programs are already in with grand battle plans and nation- and ready from the brow of an army effect — there is a two-year program al strategies, Marshall wrote about that is elsewhere rolling in fat.” at Fort Leavenworth that leads to a things that impact on the life of the Marshall calls for a more mobile master’s in military science, and common soldier and about war as doctrine that not only streamlines there is a program to accredit all that soldier sees it. His concern was both combat and combat-service- senior service schools — but Van not with the ebb and flow of armies support units, but also reorients the Creveld seems to have been un- criss-crossing continents, but rather individual soldier to put ruggedness aware of them, and of the fact that with the trials and tribulations of and personal strength above person- civilian education is not a factor in the “dogface” or “grunt” on the line. al comfort. promotion. It is in this vein that The Soldier’s Marshall’s arguments are cogent Overall, Van Creveld opens up Load and the Mobility of a Nation is and pertinent, clear and concise. He many interesting subjects. While he written. was a soldier writing for soldiers badly misses the mark on some, he This short monograph, as the title about soldiers. The book is peppered is on-target with others. Any officer implies, is divided into two parts. In with numerous real-life examples, interested in the education of our the first, Marshall argues that the based on personal observations and peers should at least read this book American Army tends to send sol- interviews, that Marshall uses to as food for thought. It does not hold diers into battle overloaded with support his position. One of the the key, but it can start the search. excess equipment. This causes them most poignant is the number of sol- to tire quickly, decreasing their diers who lost their footing on the Maj. Steven Bucci mobility and thus their effective- beaches of Normandy and drowned USAJFKSWCS ness. Fatigue is exacerbated by the when the tide came in because they Fort Bragg, N.C. degenerative physical effects of the could not get back up under the

58 Special Warfare loads they carried. tion is by a Maj. James G. Johnson, well-placed phone calls and/or an in- The Soldier’s Load is just as rele- who has no apparent connection to quiry to the Armywide locator, the vant now as it was the day it was the battle, to Special Forces or to Veterans Administration, or both. written. To be sure, today’s Army is any other aspect of the story. For example, the author cites Sp4 undeniably better in any number of The entire relevant and available Franklin H. Dooms as “believed to ways than the Army Marshall wrote historical record is not used. Impor- be a command sergeant major still about 40 years ago. However, one tant and interesting details are left on active duty”: Sgt. Maj. Dooms only has to look about the Army to- out, e.g., that the Montagnards who was serving with the 10th Special day at soldiers marching under drifted into Khe Sanh after the bat- Forces Group at the time the book heavy rucksacks and weighted pis- tle were disarmed and then pushed was being written. In a similar tol belts to see that few of back out of the camp. One has to lapse, the author says of Lt. Col. Marshall’s warnings and recommen- read very carefully to realize that Daniel F. Schungel that “[i]t is be- dations have been heeded. It may be the Marines at Khe Sanh in fact did lieved he retired from active duty as as Marshall said that there are “too not conduct supporting fires for the a brigadier general.” many jokers down the line who still defenders during the attack. Every The author is reasonably objec- haven’t gotten the word.” major point is repeated two or three tive, but he places too much empha- times throughout the text, leading sis on the perceptions of too few ob- Lt. Col. Robert H. Van Horn Jr. one to conclude that there is enough servers, including people who did U.S. Army Element Defense material in the book to make a fair not actually participate in the battle. Representative article on the subject. Stockwell does Although the maps included with Pakistan not do a proper battle analysis to an- the text are very well done, a great swer the fundamental questions of many of the book’s photographs are Tanks in the Wire: The First whether the fall of Lang Vei was in- unintelligible. The book also lacks Use of Enemy Armor in Viet- evitable, whether it was a failure of organizational charts that would nam. By David B. Stockwell. Can- intelligence or operations (or both), have aided understanding of the ton, Ohio: Daring Books, 1989. what the fundamental problems of text. ISBN 0-938936-70-0. 204 pages. the situation were, or what the ulti- Overall, the book is extraordinari- $17.95. mate lessons for Special Forces are. ly poorly edited. The first sentence In fact, remarkably few of the book’s of the first page of the first chapter In the early morning of Feb. 7, pages are devoted to the battle itself. contains a blatant typographical 1968, North Vietnamese infantry A “where are they now” chapter error. There are nearly undecipher- supported by PT-76 light amphibi- on personalities is superficial and able sentences such as the following: ous tanks assaulted and overran the poorly put-together, with gaps and “The women and children, some U.S. Army Special Forces “A” camp loose ends that could have been 2,200 civilians who followed their at Lang Vei on the Laotian border. cured with perseverance and a few men in the tradition of poor field ar- The battle for Lang Vei was a des- mies, pitched tents, drew water and perate, bloody struggle of men prepared a midday meal while the against steel, and an epic fight for Lao colonel went inside the Special American Special Forces. As such, Forces camp to confer with Captain there has long been a place in Spe- Frank Willoughby, the camp com- cial Forces history for a book telling mander of the 5th Special Forces the full story of Lang Vei. Group (ABN).” Unfortunately, Capt. David B. The book is also loaded with irrel- Stockwell’s Tanks in the Wire is not evant, unattributed and otherwise that book. The book is unclear, poor- easily disproved hearsay such as: ly constructed, incomplete, inaccu- “One unsubstantiated, but intrigu- rate and badly researched, with too ing report exists. A 12-man detach- many confusions about names, ment was reported to have been sent ranks, units, places, events and from FOB-3 to Lang Vei consisting dates. It offers no insights into the of members of a SOG team. The battle and no lessons for the future. team was sent after the Marine re- It begins with a mediocre foreword fusal to reinforce the Lang Vei camp, by an Armor officer who was at the and the team was ambushed near siege of Khe Sanh, instead of one of Khe Sanh Village. Only three mem- the camp’s survivors or someone bers of the team survived, and they who was in the chain of command at were held prisoner in Laos for eight the time of the battle. The introduc- months until a heliborne assault on

Winter 1990 59 their POW camp rescued them.” The author links the modern-day should peruse and reflect upon it Even the press package that was followers of Saint Ignatius Loyola with great care. The author’s caveat provided by the publisher along with with liberation theology, which plac- that “there remains no hard evi- the review copy of the book was ing them at odds with capitalism dence that the world is rushing to poorly done. The lead sentence of a amidst Western democratic trap- nuclear incineration” gives credence laudatory article that appeared in pings. He characterizes them as to the belief that the Soviets are the Fort Knox post newspaper refers active participants in a worldwide using the threat of nuclear war or to “when North Vietnamese tanks Marxist revolution in the developing conventional confrontation as a rolled in Lang Vei Feb. 7, 1968, kil- world and details their formation screen for their true intention of a ling several U.S. Marine Corps and growth, together with the origin long-term indirect campaign against Green Berets (emphasis added).” of their contemporary stance against the United States — which we refer Another article from the same paper papal obedience. to as low-intensity conflict. claims that Stockwell has attended The author is especially critical of Martin places the Jesuits, togeth- the “Special Forces Operations those former Jesuits and one Mary- er with their influence on other Ro- course, and the Marine Corps’ Am- knoll who are members of the San- man Catholic orders, square in the phibious Warfare school,” when in dinista government in Nicaragua. middle of the fray, to the extent that fact, as the author freely acknowl- The Cardenal brothers, Fernado and they are aligned with other political edges, he has taken only nonresi- Ernesto, together with Miguel theorists who believe that only dent correspondence subcourses in D’Escoto, are portrayed as those who through Marxist revolutionary these subjects. Perhaps if the pub- espouse a preferential option for the struggle can true progress and jus- lisher had paid greater attention to poor (the bywords of liberation theol- tice ensue for the Third World’s getting such details straight, a bet- ogy), but who live in comfortable “have nots.” Acceptance in whole or ter book would have resulted. homes expropriated from the ousted in part of this premise exacerbates Stockwell is commended for mak- middle class in Nicaragua, who shop (if not making totally impossible) ing the effort to capture the history at specially designed hard currency the difficulties of those espousing of the battle at Lang Vei, and by stores, who dine at luxury restau- orderly democratic change, in that implication, members of the Special rants restricted to party members, Church officials once identified with Forces community are to be castigat- who enjoy unlimited supplies of gas- the conservative status quo, espe- ed for failing to do so. Yet, Stockwell oline and water and who vacation in cially at the local or parish level, has failed utterly. This book has no the mansions of the Somasa dynasty. now form an integral part of the rev- measurable utility to special-opera- Military thinkers, especially those olutionary struggle. The scope and tions or intelligence soldiers, and is concerned with revolutionary war- intensity of the warfare is at once not worthy of a place in anyone’s fare in terms of its parameters and broadened and deepened by a new library. The full history of the battle the threat that it poses, will find ally, who very well may provide the of Lang Vei remains to be written. Martin’s work indispensable and impetus for interminable Vietnams and Nicaraguas. Maj. William H. Burgess III This provocative tome caused this USAJFKSWCS reviewer to want to explore in depth Fort Bragg, N.C. the roles and political beliefs of the Christian missionary community in The Jesuits: The Society of the Third World. Are we in the de- Jesus and the Betrayal of the mocratic West contributing monetar- Roman Catholic Church. By ily to the very ideology which has Malachi Martin. New York: Lynden promised to subsume us? Are we Press, 1987. ISBN 0-671-54505-1. being subjected in the process to a 525 pages. $19.95. Soviet disinformation campaign in our own country meant to confuse us Malachi Martin, a former Jesuit in terms of the realities of the con- priest and controversial chronicler of flict? Are returning Christian mis- political intimacies inside the Vati- sionaries unwittingly or wittingly can, offers an electrifying and inci- participating in this process? Such sive account of the Jesuit Order and questions and others equally trou- its alleged fundamental shift away blesome leap from this text. The from loyalty to the Pope and toward Jesuits may prove to be the most elo- service to a “People’s Church” in quent and well-documented warning which assuaging worldly needs is concerning a relatively new Soviet paramount. global strategy which has success-

60 Special Warfare fully incorporated Marxist revolu- friendly governments invariably tionary thought, Third World counselled caution and public opin- nationalism and disinformation in ion was usually hostile. In the wake the West to the ultimate demise of of the Libyan bombings, prominent our system of government. members of the British Labour Party put out a book entitled Mad Lt. Col. David A. Decker Dogs (not referring to Khadafy and Counter-Revolutionary Warfare crew), and an eminent South Committee African liberal proclaimed that she Department of Joint and had given up all hope for the U.S. Combined Operations In no case, even in the failures in USACGSC Iran and Beirut, Bolger says, were there any significant lapses of Americans at War: 1975-1986, An courage or character, and rarely did Era of Violent Peace. By Daniel U.S. forces display anything less P. Bolger. Novato, Calif.: Presidio than a high level of professionalism. Press, 1988. ISBN 0-89141-303-0. He also points out that, again in con- 496 pages. $24.95. trast to the conventional wisdom, higher political and military A lot of U.S. critics have made a authorities did not micro-manage lot of money in the last two decades any of these operations but allowed proclaiming what is wrong with the unhurt, brushed off an admittedly the commander on the spot to get on U.S. military establishment — inept Libyan air challenge (re- with the job. Here is an instructive everything. member Col. Khadafy’s “line of contrast to Vietnam and perhaps Their writings, asserting that U.S. death”?), rescued more than 600 some evidence that we do on occasion officers never read anything and American students from a defended learn from history. that the U.S. armed services always island and battered Khadafy’s terror- A hoary journalistic maxim states try to stifle their truths, can be ists’ schemes, all at reasonable costs. that bad news sells, and the publici- found continuously on the new- Of course, none of these operations ty and sales enjoyed by America’s books racks of every service library were flawless, and Bolger doesn’t self-appointed military critics and in the country. Their plaints that no hesitate to point out our mistakes “experts” hardly undermine this one listens to their lonely voices can and to name names. In the Beirut truth. But if Bolger’s impressive be heard on nationwide talk shows. disaster, for example, he breaks new work achieves the wide and influen- Capt. Daniel P. Bolger’s Ameri- ground by laying most of the blame tial readership it deserves, it will cans at War takes on these critics on the Marine commander for his speak well for the nation. and the conventional wisdom to misbegotten concept that his troops demonstrate what really happened should be used as a “presence,” Stanley Sandler during America’s military operations rather than as a combat-ready force. Command Historian since the fall of Saigon. Bolger con- As to the Iran hostage-rescue mis- USAJFKSWCS cludes that, for the most part, they sion, Bolger concludes that this may Fort Bragg, N.C. have done quite well. He is thus a well have been something simply courageous man. beyond the military capacities of the Bolger is an active-duty officer as nation, barring an improbable run of well as a historian, and he is now on luck. He also wonders if the heli- the history faculty of the U.S. Mili- copter, cranky and vulnerable, has Book reviews from readers are tary Academy. Bolger has already much of a combat future. welcome and should address sub- established a solid reputation with But the record is the more impres- jects of interest to special-opera- his book on U.S. Army advanced sive when we realize that the earlier tions forces. Reviews should be training, Dragons at War, 2/34 operations took place in the depress- about 400-500 words long (approxi- Infantry in the Mojave. ing aftermath of Vietnam. And it mately two double-spaced typewrit- Bolger maintains that of the seven must also be remembered that these ten pages). Include your full name, U.S. military operations since 1975, operations, the successes and the rank, daytime phone number only two, the aborted Iran hostage- failures, were planned on short (preferably Autovon) and your rescue attempt and the Marine mis- notice in a Washington in which any mailing address. Send review to: sion in Beirut, can be considered fail- important secret would soon be Editor, Special Warfare, USAJFK- ures. As for the other five, the U.S. leaked by someone nursing a SWCS, Fort Bragg, NC 28307- rescued the Mayaguez and its crew grudge, and in a world in which 5000.

Winter 1990 61 Special Warfare

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