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Analysis of Operation Gothic Serpent: TF Ranger in Somalia (Https:Asociweb.Soc.Mil/Swcs/Dotd/Sw-Mag/Sw-Mag.Htm) Special Warfare The Professional Bulletin of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School PB 80–03–4 May 2004 Vol. 16, No. 4 From the Commandant Special Warfare In recent years, the JFK Special Warfare Center and School has placed a great emphasis on the Special Forces training pipeline, and much of our activity has been concerned with recruiting, assessing and training Special Forces Soldiers to enter the fight against terrorism. Less well-publicized, but never- theless important, are our activi- ties devoted to training Special Forces Soldiers in advanced skills. These skills, such as mili- focus on a core curriculum of tary free-fall, underwater opera- unconventional warfare and tions, target interdiction and counterinsurgency, coupled with urban warfare, make our Soldiers advanced human interaction and more proficient in their close- close-quarters combat, has combat missions and better able proven to be on-the-mark against to infiltrate and exfiltrate with- the current threat. out being detected. Located at Fort Bragg, at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., and at Key West, Fla., the cadre of the 2nd Battal- ion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group provides such training. Major General Geoffrey C. Lambert Not surprisingly, the global war on terrorism has engendered greater demand for Soldiers with selected advanced skills. Despite funding constraints and short- ages of personnel, SWCS military and civilian personnel have been innovative and agile in respond- ing to the new requirements. The success of Special Forces Soldiers in the global war on ter- rorism has validated our training processes on a daily basis. Our PB 80–03–4 Contents May 2004 Special Warfare Vol. 16, No. 4 Commander & Commandant Major General Geoffrey C. Lambert Features Editor 2 2nd Battalion, 1st SWTG: Sharpening the Edge of the Spear Jerry D. Steelman by Lieutenant Colonel Sean P. Mulholland Associate Editor 5Blending Technology With Warrior Skills: Co. A, Janice L. Burton 2nd Battalion, 1st SWTG Graphics & Design by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Bruce R. Watts Bruce S. Barfield 8Training SF Advanced Skills in the Air: Co. B, 2nd Battalion, 1st SWTG by Major Buck Dellinger 11 The SF Underwater Operations School: Co. C, 2nd Battalion, 1st SWTG by Major David K. Hsu 14 Providing Relevant Training for the GWOT: Co. D, V E AS R I RT T A E S LI B 2nd Battalion, 1st SWTG E T by Major Shannon Boehm Special Warfare is an authorized, official quarterly of the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Its mission 19 SF Warrant Officers to Become Part of SF Officer Branch is to promote the professional development of special- by Chief Warrant Officer 5 William A. McPherson and operations forces by providing a forum for the examination of established doctrine and new ideas. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Douglas Jenkins Views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official Army position. This 20 The Cody Conference: Discussing the War on Terrorism publication does not supersede any information presented in other official Army publications. and the Future of SF Articles, photos, artwork and letters are invited and should be addressed to Editor, Special Warfare, by Major General Geoffrey C. Lambert USAJFKSWCS, Fort Bragg, NC 28310. Telephone: DSN 239-5703, commercial (910) 432-5703, fax -3147. Special 28 The 18X Program: Ensuring the Future Health of Special Forces Warfare reserves the right to edit all material. Published works may be reprinted, except where by Command Sergeant Major Michael S. Breasseale copyrighted, provided credit is given to Special Warfare and the authors. 32 Evaluating Psychological Operations: Planning Measures Official distribution is limited to active and reserve special-operations units. Individuals desiring private of Effectiveness subscriptions should forward their requests to: by Sergeant First Class Robert H. Kellogg Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Special Warfare is also available on the USASOC internal web 38 Analysis of Operation Gothic Serpent: TF Ranger in Somalia (https:asociweb.soc.mil/swcs/dotd/sw-mag/sw-mag.htm). by Major Marshall V. Ecklund By Order of the Secretary of the Army: 48 ‘Father of Special Forces’ Dies at Age 101 in California Home Peter J. Schoomaker General, United States Army Departments Chief of Staff 50 Enlisted Career Notes Official: 51 Officer Career Notes 52 Foreign SOF Joel B. Hudson 54 Update Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army 56 Book Reviews 0332802 Headquarters, Department of the Army Cover: Underwater photo and photo of Soldiers in kayak copyright David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes. 2nd Battalion, 1st SWTG: Sharpening the Edge of the Spear by Lieutenant Colonel Sean P. Mulholland hile the Special Forces pipeline execution of special-operations courses. trains Soldiers in the SF basic There are many challenges within SWCS Wskills, SF advanced skills make that outsiders never see — challenges such Soldiers more lethal, better able to gather as providing manpower, resources and facil- intelligence and harder to detect during ities for expanding training in SOF skill infiltration and exfiltration. Advanced- sets. This challenge is especially daunting for skills training is the job of the 2nd Battal- 2nd Battalion because it is the last priority in ion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group. SWTG. Many Soldiers are impressed, and right- The battalion does, however, enjoy two ly so, by training in advanced skills, such unique benefits. One benefit is that in certain as sniper operations, military free-fall and companies, cadre members and students are underwater operations. But those who members of other services, and the variety of have never been assigned to the Special their experience and terminology lends a Warfare Center and School, or SWCS, or to joint nature to the training. Another benefit the 1st Special Warfare Training Group, or is the large number of retired SOF soldiers SWTG, have no appreciation of the train- who serve as civilian instructors throughout ing apparatus “behind the waterfall.” They 2nd Battalion. Their special-operations expe- may not be aware of the difficulties of rience and their teaching experience are training management or of the day-to-day invaluable to the success of 2nd Battalion’s training. Training modifications Over the past two years, 2nd Battalion has modified its courses, equipment and instruction in order to remain relevant for its customers — U.S. special-operations forces. The battalion has made great strides in opening communications with the U.S. Special Operations Command, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, the U.S. Army Special Forces Command, and U.S. Army photo the rest of the SOF community in order to Graduates of the SF Warrant Officer Basic Course are prepared to serve as assistant SF detachment validate current instruction or to make commanders. changes based on customer feedback. In 2 Special Warfare An SF Soldier learns to coordinate close air sup- port in the Special Oper- ations Terminal Attack Control Course. U.S. Army photo making those changes, the battalion works development of the Special Operations Ter- closely with various elements of the SWCS minal Attack Control Course (in conjunction Directorate of Training and Doctrine. with the U.S. Marine Corps) and the Special Using feedback from operational units and Forces Intelligence Sergeant Course; the from instructors who have just come from plans for doubling the number of student operational units, 2nd Battalion follows the slots in ASOT before fiscal year 2005; the innovate, change and execute process, or ICE. ICE is constant, dynamic and cyclic, and it applies to every course taught by 2nd Bat- talion. Examples of innovation are the recent changes to the program of instruction in the Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis, Exploitation Techniques Course, the Special Forces Warrant Officer Basic Course, the Special Forces Warrant Officer Advanced Course, the Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant Course, the Individual Terrorism Awareness Course and the Com- bat Diver Qualification Course, or CDQC. Other examples include instructor assistance for CDQC pre-scuba; the integration of com- puters into the Advanced Special Operations Techniques Course, or ASOTC; cadre adjust- ments for larger class sizes in the Military Free-Fall Parachutist Course, CDQC, ASOTC and the Special Operations Target Interdiction Course; and the creation of the Military Free-Fall Challenge Course for Spe- cial Forces. In some cases, the changes have been Photo copyright David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes more drastic, affecting methods of instruc- SF Soldiers practice waterborne-infiltration skills in the SF Underwater Operations School at Key West, Fla. tion, course content or the courses them- selves. Examples of those changes are the May 2004 3 dents succeed, there is attrition in 2nd Bat- talion’s courses. The battalion’s instruc- tors, as all instructors in SWTG, do not lower or compromise standards in any course. The cadre drops students who com- mit safety violations or fail to follow proce- dures. Some students withdraw or fail because they lack proper pre-training and preparation, or because they have extreme difficulty learning or lack a sufficient desire to train. But despite their adherence to high standards, the battalion’s instructors have reduced attrition in all courses over the past 18 months. As a result, the 2nd Bat- talion is producing more graduates of SF advanced-skills training than ever before, U.S. Army photo giving commanders more options for mis- Students practice urban- development of the Advanced Regional sion accomplishment and making the force combat operations dur- Studies Course; the change in the automat- more lethal and more undetectable. ing the Special Forces ic-opening device used in SWCS military Advanced Reconnais- free-fall operations courses; and the plan- sance, Target Analysis, ning and development of the Special Opera- Lieutenant Colonel Sean P.
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