Rangers vs Special Forces: Hostage Rescue

A prospective client asked me all about scenarios involving airfield takedowns - all the who-where-what-why-when's & how many's . . . I told her it all depends on so many factors & variables, to include what kind of troops available . . . this led to a conversation regarding the difference between Rangers and Special Forces, and so I shared with her the following parable from the ancient sagas of US Army Special Operations . . . S.L.

The Chief of Staff of the Army asked his Sergeant Major - who was both Ranger and Special Forces qualified - which organization he would recommend to form a new anti-terrorist unit. The Sergeant Major responded to the General's question with this parable: If there were a hijacked Boeing 747 being held by terrorists along with its passengers and crew and an anti-terrorist unit formed either by the Rangers or the Special Forces was given a Rescue/Recovery Mission; what would you expect to happen?

Ranger Option

Forces/Equipment Committed: If the Rangers went in, they would send a Ranger company of 120 men with standard army issue equipment.

Mission Preparation: The Ranger Company First Sergeant would conduct a Hair Cut and Boots Inspection, while the officers consulted SOPs and held sand table exercises.

Infiltration Technique: They would insist on double timing, in company formation, wearing their combat equipment, and singing cadence all the way to the site of the hijacked aircraft.

Actions in the Objective Area: Once they arrived, the Ranger company would establish their ORP, put out security elements, conduct a leaders recon, reapply their camouflage, and conduct final preparations for Actions on the OBJ.

Results of Operation: The Rescue/Recovery Operation would be completed within one hour; all of the terrorists and most of the passengers would have been killed, the Rangers would have sustained light casualties and the 747 would be worthless to anyone except a scrap dealer.

Special Forces Option

Forces/Equipment Committed: If Special Forces went in, they would send only a 12 man team (all SF units are divisible by 12 for some arcane historical reason) however, due to the exotic nature of their equipment the SF Team would cost the same amount to deploy as the Ranger Company.

Mission Preparation: The SF Team Sergeant would request relaxed grooming standards for the team. All members of the team would spend a grueling afternoon at a quality spa ensuring physical abilities would be honed.

Infiltration Technique: The team would insist on separate travel orders with Max Per Diem, and each would get to the site of the hijacking by his own means. At least one third of the team would insist on jumping in HALO.

Actions in the Objective Area: Once they arrived , the SF Team would cache their military uniforms, establish a Team Room at the best hotel in the area, use their illegal Team Fund to stock the unauthorized Team Room Bar, check out the situation by talking to the locals, and have a Team Meeting to discuss the merits of the terrorists' cause.

Results of Operation: The Rescue/Recovery Operation would take two weeks to complete and by that time all of the terrorists would have been killed, (and would have left signed confessions); the passengers would be ruined psychologically for the remainder of their lives; and all of the women passengers would be pregnant. The 747 would be essentially unharmed, the team would have taken no casualties but would have used up, lost, or stolen all the "high speed" equipment issued to them.

STORMBRINGER SENDS

RIP SSG JEREMY A. KATZENBERGER

This one came across the wire yesterday, from a personal friend:


Sean -

We buried this warrior on Fort Leavenworth this morning. The entire post, to include the Command and General Staff College student body, the School for Command Preparation (Brigade Commanders prep course) and the School for Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) emptied their classrooms and hallways to line the roads of the post to bid a proper farewell to this hero.

We are currently running a combined training operation with the Brits (over 200 here TDY) and have over 100 international officers from around the world, who are students in CGSC Class 11-02 and 12-01. They all participated in the event and based on the muted tones and lack of cohesive gaggles, I'd say to the last man they were in awe of the way we pay respect to our soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

US Army Staff Sergeant Jeremy A. Katzenberger, 26, of Weatherby Lake, Missouri, died June 14, 2011 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. SSG Katzenberger was buried with full Military Honors at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas yesterday, 28 June 2011.

"From a Grateful Nation."

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THE RAID - Continued

Myths of the OBL raid, explored.

SEAL TEAM SIX CONDUCTED THE RAID ON OSAMA BIN LADEN's HIDEOUT

Not quite - the raid was a JSOC operation - ergo, it was a joint mission of Special Operations assets from across the services.

The SEALs were the assault element, but a raid requires more than that - who flew the helicopters, for example, and where did they come from? What about reconnaissance, sniper overwatch, and a support element to hold down blocking positions and act as a ready reserve if things went south?

The helicopters were most likely from the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment - the Nightstalkers - of Mogadushu fame.

"Night Stalkers Don't Quit".


Sniper and reconnaissance duties could have been performed by Delta, Marine Force Recon (MARSOC are recent additions to the US Special Operations Command despite the fact that they pioneered small-unit raid tactics in World War II), CIA or a combination thereof.

USMC sniper capabilities are legendary.


Outer security / blocking positions and reserve forces were most likely provided courtesy of the 75th Ranger Regiment.

75th Ranger Regiment on a recent operation in Iraq

Last but not least: who planned the raid, and who oversaw training and rehearsals of the full-blown mission profile? Not the SEALs - I guarantee you. Just ask a SEAL what are the five paragraphs of an Op Order and he'll look at you like you've got a dick growing out of the middle of your forehead.

But don't take my word for it - ask anyone who's ever worked with the SEALs and they'll tell you the same thing.




Today's Bird HERE



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SPECIAL OPERATIONS SOLDIER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN: 9th TOUR OF DUTY

SFC RONALD GRIDER, KIA

Elite warriors from the United States Special Operations Command will gather this week at Fort Bragg, North Carolina to remember one of their own.

After nine tours of duty, Sergeant First Class Ronald Grider was killed in Konduz Province, Afghanistan in September on his 30th birthday. He was the father of a young daughter.

Grider, 30, a veteran of a dozen years of military service, was on his ninth deployment to a combat zone in the current Middle East conflicts.

Grider was born in Alton, Ill. He graduated from high school in 1998. Grider enlisted in the U.S. Army as an Infantryman, a month shy of his 18th birthday,
on Aug. 18, 1998. Friends and family say despite the frequent deployments, Grider was still the happy-go-lucky kid they all called "Hank," and that he had found his calling in the military.

Grider served for three years as a grenadier, rifleman and scout team leader, in C Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

During this time, Grider attended Ranger School graduating in May 2000. He served with the 3d battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia as a rifle team leader and squad leader, deploying once to Afghanistan and three times to Iraq.

Later, Grider attended and passed the Special Forces "Q" Course. In November 2005, the Army assigned him to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Operations Command, at Fort Bragg as a Special Operations team member.

"For five years, he performed this duty, deploying four times to Operation Iraqi Freedom and once more to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom," USASOC said.

Grider served as an unofficial chaplain for older warriors in his squadron. The longer he stayed in, friends and family say, the more he sought comfort in his religion.

Grider had talked to a pastor about entering the seminary and taking his life in a new direction. He had a big thing to wrestle with: Which job would benefit other people more? The pastor said, I don't know. Ultimately, Grider opted to stay in the Army for a full to earn his retirement, and then go to seminary and come back and help the other way.

A soldier injured in the same attack that killed Aaron Grider told the family about his last moments: "He knew that he was going to die, because he was actually - he was bleeding out. He looked up at these guys that were trying to take care of him. And he said, it's OK, closed his eyes and died."

Grider's decorations include two Bronze Star Medals; he was posthumously awarded his third Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.

ANTI-WAR ORGANIZATION PHONY

Theo sent me this link to a post at THIS AIN'T HELL and I'm sorry I didn't get back to you earlier on this Theo - I've been heavily engaged. To anybody who knows the meaning of the phrase "gooks in the wire" - well, I've been involved in the corporate equivalent of that, past couple of weeks now.

This imagery is apparently from a recent anti-war protest in Seattle. Act Now to Stop the War and End Racism (ANSWER) was there, Military Families Speak Out, Veterans For Peace and some other participants.

OK the focus is on this guy: four rows of ribbons with the Combat Infantry Badge beneath them, and his pin-on Master Sergeant rank there on his pocket flap.



Any vet who was ever earned the CIB would put it above everything. Period.

OK lets take it from there: Master Sergeant rank - only enlisted rank higher is Sergeant Major - there is no way a real Master Sergeant would get his fruit salad wrong like this guy:



Top row: Korean Defense Service Ribbon, Army Commendation Ribbon, Meritorious Service Ribbon;

Second Row: Army Achievement Ribbon, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal;

Third Row: Iraq Campaign Medal, Overseas Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters - DEAD WRONG - lovingly referred to as the "Basic Training Ribbon" or "Thanks For Showing Up" there are NO Oak Leaf Clusters, numeral devices, NOTHING for the ASR - you only get one, once).

Fourth Row: National Defense Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait).

Award precedence is right to left, top to bottom - so he's all wrong there; his highest award is the MSM, which should be top right. Korean Defense, which he has as the highest award, should go below the Iraq Campaign Medal, and the National Defense would go before either of those.

If he really earned an Iraq Campaign Medal and the Saudi/Kuwait stuff, he should also have a bronze service star on the National Defense Service Medal, and a GWOT Service Medal at a minimum. The Kuwait ribbon is upside down, it also looks like the campaign star(s?) on the Iraq Campaign medal are upside down.

Now, it's possible (I suppose) for a Master Sergeant with combat infantry experience NOT to have earned a Bronze Star - but I haven't ever seen it like that.

There’s no NCO Development Ribbon - impossible to make it to Master Sergeant without picking up this one. So he thinks he’s a Master Sergeant, but got his ribbons and medals mixed up and upside down? And if I’m not mistaken, the Korean Defense Medal is for combat during the Korean War, or some of the post-war DMZ engagements - last one of those I'm aware of was a thirty-minute firefight up there in 1984.

I'm calling this guy out as a phony. This guy is a Phony Wannabe; full of Phony Baloney.

OK now, I have a question for the Veterans For Peace organization: if you've got to front up obvious fake veterans like this Bozo to promote your agenda, what does this say about the legitimacy of your cause?

There's a greater question, of course: How come none of the Batt Boys from 2nd/75th were there to kick this disrespectful sunnuvabitch's ass?


SEAN LINNANE SENDS


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THE GRAY GHOST

On 13 October 1864, Confederate partisan cavalry leader John Mosby raided Harpers Ferry. This action was a part of the 1864 Shenandoah campaign; a series of brutal clashes between Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer and Confederate Partisan Ranger John Singleton Mosby. This second Shenandoah Campaign featured numerous incidents that can only be described as atrocities and war crimes, even by Civil War standards.

Colonel Mosby and his Confederate Rangers adopted an irregular form of warfare; after a skirmish, Mosby’s men returned to their own homes rather than to camp, agreeing to meet again at a future date and place. Each man acquired his own horse, arms and uniforms, but was entitled to share in whatever public or personal property was captured. Mosby was soon the only organized military force in northern Virginia, and so firmly ruled the area that it became known as ‘Mosby’s Confederacy.’




Mosby's Rangers are considered a part of the shared lineage of modern U.S. Army Rangers and U.S. Army Special Forces.




Mosby initially spoke out against secession, but joined the Confederate army nonetheless. Many years after the war, Mosby explained why, although he disapproved of slavery, he fought on the Confederate side. While he believed the South had seceded to protect slavery, he said, in a 1907 letter, that he had felt it was his patriotic duty to Virginia. "I am not ashamed of having fought on the side of slavery —a soldier fights for his country — right or wrong — he is not responsible for the political merits of the course he fights in . . . The South was my country."

After impressing J.E.B. Stuart with his ability to gather intelligence, Mosby was promoted to First Lieutenant and assigned to Stuart's cavalry scouts. He helped the general develop attack strategies. He was responsible for Stuart's "Ride around McClellan" during the Peninsula Campaign.

Captured by Union cavalry, Mosby was imprisoned in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C., for ten days before being exchanged. Even as a prisoner, Mosby spied on his enemy. During a brief stopover at Fort Monroe, he detected an unusual buildup of shipping in Hampton Roads. He found they were carrying thousands of troops under Ambrose Burnside from North Carolina on their way to reinforce John Pope in the Northern Virginia Campaign. When he was released, Mosby walked to army headquarters outside Richmond and personally related his findings to Robert E. Lee.

In January 1863, Stuart, with Lee's concurrence, authorized Mosby to form and take command of the 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry, Partisan Rangers. This was later expanded into Mosby's Command, a regimental-sized unit of partisan rangers operating in Northern Virginia. The Confederate government certified special rules to govern the conduct of partisan rangers. These included sharing in the disposition of spoils of war. Mosby was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on January 21, 1864 and to Colonel, December 7, 1864.

Mosby's Rangers


Mosby is famous for carrying out a daring raid far inside Union lines at the Fairfax County courthouse in March 1863, where his men captured three high-ranking Union officers, including Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Stoughton. The story is told that Mosby found Stoughton in bed and roused him with a slap to his rear. Upon being so rudely awakened, the general shouted, "Do you know who I am?" Mosby quickly replied, "Do you know Mosby, general?" "Yes! Have you got the rascal?" "No, but he has got you!" His group also captured 30 or more sentries without firing a shot.

Several weeks after General Robert E. Lee's surrender in April 1865, Mosby simply disbanded his Rangers, as he refused to surrender formally. Mosbys' Rangers however were the carriers of the surrender orders and documents to Appomattox Court House.


The Gray Ghost never surrendered his colors.


After the war, Mosby served as U.S. consul to Hong Kong (1878–1885), served as a lawyer in San Francisco, worked for the Department of the Interior, and as assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice (1904–10). He knew a young George S. Patton III and enjoyed making "Battle plans" with Patton in the sand.

Mosby died in Washington, D.C. May 30, 1916

“War loses a great deal of it’s romance after a soldier has seen his first battle. I have a more vivid recollection of the first than the last one I was in. It is a classical maxim that it is sweet and becoming to die for one’s country: but whoever has seen the horrors of a battlefield feels that it is far sweeter to live for it." - John Singleton Mosby, Colonel, CSA