This was posted on military.com - the author has said what I can never say, so I'm reposting it here - S.L.
November 18, 2011
Associated Press | by Kimberly Dozier
The U.S. Army Special Forces Green Berets get plenty of acclaim - sometimes too much. Often it's a case of mistaken identity. "Special Forces" means specifically - and only - Green Berets, as some Green Berets will tell you through gritted teeth.
All Special Operations Forces tend to get called - incorrectly - "Special Forces" and many in the military are trying to borrow their job description: training foreign forces to fight America's enemies overseas.
In a climate of shrinking budgets, the Green Berets are branding themselves as the go-to force for counterinsurgency that can do the job with fewer troops than conventional forces.
As the Pentagon divvies up money and missions, the Green Berets want to make sure their job isn't handed to someone else.
It's not that the Green Berets don't have their hands full. Some 87 percent of the deployed force is in the general area of Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Pentagon has ordered their 8,500-strong force expanded by 1,000 over the past four years because they are so much in demand, Brig. Gen. Ed Reeder, the Special Forces commander, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
But sometimes, they feel less than appreciated, especially when just about everyone gets the name wrong.
Ever since the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan earlier this year, even the Commander-in-Chief has used "Special Forces" to refer to ALL Special Operations Forces - from SEALs to Army Rangers to Air Force Special Tactics. Many inside the Pentagon don't know the difference.
The Special Forces were established in 1952, but Kennedy approved the namesake headgear in 1961.
Kennedy saw the Green Berets as key to his battle against Communism, using "unconventional warfare" - teaching local forces to overthrow the local government or leader, fighting alongside them to provide expertise, intelligence and logistical support.
When the U.S. responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Green Berets were the first military forces deployed, Reeder said, together with CIA operatives. They provided Afghanistan insurgents firepower, direction and intelligence to help unseat the Taliban in just 43 days.
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The military hierarchy screwed up using special forces as a generic term. Special operations forces is little better. Too confusing to the public and media.
ReplyDeleteIn the 60s/70s we preferred to refer to ourselves as The Special Forces rather than the Green Berets. Now I see that it has come around 180. To distinguish SF apart from other special ops forces Special Forces are referring to themselves as The Green Berets. I kinda like the Quiet Professionals myself.
Yes I remember the days we used to wince whenever the term "Green Berets" came up - it was so overdone. We were Special Forces - the green beret was what we wore on our heads. At some point in the mid-Nineties a sea change occurred and the sobriquet 'Green Berets' once again became what it always was: a mark of distinction.
ReplyDeleteA puro catel de los zetas !
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should address the last real President of the United States more repectfully-President Kennedy, you should have said.
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