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Originally Posted by SaintessHeart
US has a whole lot of those "Special Forces" units, each for a different purpose and theater. Unlike the one-unit designation of KSK of the Bundeswehr which performs the main backbone of covert special operations (with the Paratrooper Brigade performing the overt ones such as FOFO and raid-type assaults on FIBUA), US has 4 of those high end special forces units (Delta, ST6, 24STS & ISA) and another team dedicated to picking them up (Pararescue). The overt ones are usually done by Airborne, Rangers or Marines.
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Well, technically, if you were dealing with pirates you might want to have a good mix of everything. But what I wanted to hint at is that for example the Navy SEALs are certainly specialized forces, but only the DEVGRU (SEAL Team 6 does not exist anymore) is in my oppinion the elite (aka commando) unit of the Navy SEALs.
Furthermore the article talked about the expansion of the drones. Now, what you will definitly need for drone operation is a specialized force that can operate and maintain such drones (e.g. units from the AFSOC or ACC). However, I would not consider such units a commando unit.
Hence, the term specialized forces is less restricting for all 3 branches (especially air force).
Quote:
Originally Posted by SaintessHeart
Given how sticky missions are in Somalia, they are probably relying on the covert forces, so most of the people there are probably Delta/ST6 or maybe SAD and probably a couple of companies of Ranger/Airborne for base defence and permanently taking positions, since most of the aircraft there are meant to be dropping weapons based on hidden targeters rather than providing air support (which are usually done by helicopters).
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Honestly, if I wanted to minimize the risk, I would increase the number of drone operations way more than actual covert operations that require commando units to be in remote locations where it is difficult to send back up.
In the case of very highly important targets the risk of using commando units might be worth it though (e.g. Osama).