Old Week
On February 4, a 24-man U.S. special forces squad raided a remote village in northern Syria, surrounding the home of Abu Ibrahim Hashemi Salahi, the leader of the terrorist group Islamic State ISIS, eventually forcing Salah to detonate a bomb to commit suicide. So, which special forces of the US military is carrying out this mission?
Figure 1: U.S. Special Forces
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On February 4, a 24-man special forces detachment of the US military raided a remote village in northern Syria, surrounding the home of Abu Ibrahim Hashemi Sarahi, the leader of the terrorist organization ISIS, and finally forced Sarahi to commit suicide by detonating an explosive bomb, without any casualties among the US troops involved in the operation. The U.S. military currently has the world's largest special operations force, with a total of 27,000 active special forces and 19,000 reserves. Each service has its own special forces, and some services have more than one special forces, so which special forces of the US military is carrying out this mission?
Lao Zhou also took this opportunity to introduce the special forces of the US military.
First, at the command level, the U.S. military has a Special Operations Command (US SOCOM), which is one of the 11 first-level joint operations commands of the U.S. military, with a fairly high rank, the commander-in-chief is the rank of general, established in 1987, headquartered at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, responsible for the tactics, technology, system, training, supervision and budget of the special forces of the whole army, as well as directing and coordinating the combat operations of the special forces of each service.
Secondly, each branch of the US military has its own special operations command, but also its own special forces, the army has a ranger, "green beret", "delta", army 160 special operations squadron, etc., the navy has a "seal", naval development and so on, the air force has the 23rd air force, the marine corps has an amphibious reconnaissance team and so on.
Figure 2: U.S. Special Operations Command logo
Due to space limitations, this article can only be briefly introduced.
Rangers, also known as rangers. During the Colonial Period of the Americas, patrols and reconnaissance around the reclamation area, and is responsible for the early warning of the scout nature of the cavalry detachment, their patrol distance is called "Range", and such a cavalry detachment is "Ranger", somewhat similar to the ancient Chinese reconnaissance, but not completely responsible for reconnaissance, so Chinese called "Ranger", or more appropriate.
The first regular Ranger unit was formed in 1756 as a 9-company cavalry unit formed by Major Robert Rogers, who placed special emphasis on mobile operations in combat, often adopting rapid guerrilla and reconnaissance tactics, sneaking behind enemy lines and achieving quite good results. At the same time, the 19 Ranger Creeds founded by Major Rogers and the tradition of wearing black berets are still in use today.
Captain Miller, played by Tom Hanks, is a Ranger in the movie "Saving Private Ryan", and the movie "Black Hawk Down" is about the task force of the 3rd Battalion B Company of the 75th Ranger Regiment, supporting the "Delta" troops on a hunting mission in Somalia and the downed "Black Hawk" helicopter crew.
However, throughout the history of the Rangers' conquests, the combat tasks they performed were more focused on reconnaissance and raids, and were not exactly the scope of unconventional operations of special forces. In the U.S. military, "Special Forces" are usually only used to define units such as "green berets" and "deltas", and only members of these forces are called "SF guys". The 75th Ranger Regiment could only be called the "Special Operations Forces," or rather, lightly armored elite infantry that was more rigorously trained than ordinary infantry units.
The reason why the 75th Ranger Regiment is subordinate to Special Operations Command is mainly because the Rangers often operate with the "Green Berets", "Deltas" and even the Navy's "SEAL" commandos, and in order to facilitate coordination, dispatch and command, the Rangers were included in the Special Operations Command. To say that the Rangers are special forces based on this alone is obviously a bit one-sided.
Figure 3: Logo of the 75th Ranger Regiment (left) and Streamer of the Ranger (right)
The real special forces should actually be the Army's "Green Berets" and "Deltas", the Navy's "SEALs" and the Navy Development Brigade. The Special Forces of the Air Force and Marine Corps are more focused on special tactical operations that are characteristic of their respective services.
Among the four special forces, there are actually two levels, the Army's "Green Beret" unit and the Navy's "Seal" commando unit are the first level, which is considered to be an elite force; while the Army's "Delta" unit and the Navy Development Brigade are further selected on the basis of the "Green Beret" and "Seal", which can be said to be the elite of the elite, whether it is equipment, treatment or degree of secrecy, it is a higher level than the "Green Beret" and "Seal".
In terms of organization, the "Green Beret" is subordinate to the Army Special Operations Command, the "SEAL" is subordinate to the Naval Special Operations Command, that is, the special forces belonging to the Army and the Navy respectively, and the "Delta" and the Naval Development Brigade are subordinate to the Joint Special Operations Command, which can be regarded as the special forces of the entire US military.
Specifically, the "Green Beret" and "SEAL" are mainly equipped with Belgian SCAR assault rifles, while the "Delta" and naval development brigades are mainly equipped with more advanced and sophisticated German HK416 assault rifles. The "Green Beret" and "SEAL" sights are usually the Eotech 553 and Specter DR, the "Delta" and the Naval Development Brigade are the expensive Eotech 551, and the "Delta" and naval development brigades are also the coolest GPNVG-18 four-eye night vision goggles available now, which is also a luxury equipment that the "Green Beret" and "SEAL" do not have.
The official name of the "Green Beret" is the U.S. Army Special Forces, because the beret has always been a symbol of the elite troops of Western countries, such as during World War II, the British airborne troops wore red maroon berets, and the Special Air Service Regiment was a khaki beret. So in June 1952, when the United States established its first professional special forces after World War II, the green beret was adopted. Since it was the first special forces, it was directly named "U.S. Army Special Forces". However, at that time, the green beret as a standard military hat has not been officially approved by the military, until 1961, the then US President Kennedy vigorously promoted the development of special forces, and believed that the green beret is "a symbol of the courage and achievement of the US army", it is under the influence of Kennedy that the US military officially approved the green beret as the standard military hat of the special forces, so the green beret has become the symbol and synonym of the US Army's special forces.
Figure 4: "Green Beret" logo
The "Green Beret" has very strict requirements for the quality of personnel, and the basic conditions for selection must be excellent soldiers with high school education or above, who have served in the military for 3 years, and who have obtained airborne qualifications. The training is also extremely harsh, in addition to the physical training beyond the limit, all kinds of skills and tactics in special operations must be mastered, and the elimination rate is as high as 70%. The personnel who have been trained are all masters of guerrilla warfare, proficient in land, sea and air amphibious operations, and not only have excellent individual tactical capabilities, but also must master at least one of the professional skills such as blasting, engineering, communications, and medical treatment, and must also have the ability to command company-level units when necessary.
At present, the "Green Beret" has a total of 5 active brigades and 2 reserve brigades, with a total strength of about 8,000 people, each reserve brigade is subordinate to a US theater command, each brigade has 4 special operations battalions, 1 directly subordinate special operations company and 1 support company, each battalion has 3 special operations companies and 1 support company, each special operations company has 6 special operations teams, each group has 12 people, which is also the most basic combat unit of "Green Berets", although there are only 12 people. However, due to its well-equipped and well-trained and quite strong combat effectiveness, it is said that it can be compared with 1,000 ordinary troops, which is really a hundred.
Since its inception, has participated in the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq War and Afghanistan War, have played an important role, especially in the Vietnam War, in the dense jungle is more prominent special operations, the famous action star Stallone starred in the "Drop a Drop of Blood" protagonist Rambo is a member of the "Green Beret" who participated in the Vietnam War.
The famous "SEAL" commando, the full name is the U.S. Navy's land, sea and air three-amphibious commando, "SEAL" (SEAL) is the abbreviation of "Sea" (Sea), "Air", "Land" (Land) trio. The Navy SEALs were formed in January 1962 as the U.S. Navy's Underwater Demolition Team during World War II, and were volunteered by various units of the U.S. Navy, the vast majority of which were from the U.S. Marine Corps. The selection and training of "seals" is known for its cruelty, especially the last week of training is called "Hell Week", and its harshness can be imagined. Only after being able to pass the selection training with a high elimination rate of 80% for up to 7 months, and then assigned to the "SEAL" after 10 months of probation, can you get the golden badge of the "SEAL" and become a real "SEAL" team member.
Figure 5: The emblem of the "SEAL" commando
At present, the "SEAL" has a total of 2 active brigades, with a total strength of about 2,000 people, which are subordinate to the Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet, each group has 3 squadrons, each squadron has about 300 people, under the jurisdiction of 2 special operations detachments and 1 support detachment, each combat detachment is composed of 16 people, which is the most basic combat unit of the "SEAL".
Since its inception, the "SEAL" has been used by the US military as a sharp knife unit for special operations because it is good at sea, land and air infiltration assault, and has not only participated in large-scale wars such as the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the Afghan War, but also participated in many small-scale secret special operations, which have won the weight of the US military.
The Delta Force is recognized as one of the best-trained, best-equipped and most well-funded special forces forces in the world today. The official name is the First Special Operations Detachment of the U.S. Army Special Forces", but the more widely known name is "Delta", although "Delta" means Delta, but in fact, the earliest name of the U.S. Military "Delta" is only to use the first letter D of this word, in order to distinguish it from the three teams A, B and C under the green beret at that time, to specifically indicate that it is not affiliated with the Army Special Forces, but it has come and gone, but the name of the "Delta" unit has become more and more popular.
Founded in November 1977, Delta, unlike the Green Berets, has been more focused on the nature of the counterterrorism force from the outset. In terms of organization, drawing on the experience of the British Special Air Service Regiment, there were only two squadrons in the early days, A and B, and only later added the C Squadron, with a total of 3 special operations squadrons, each squadron under the jurisdiction of 3 special operations detachments, each detachment under the jurisdiction of 3 special operations squads, each squad of 16 people, composed of 4 4-person teams, 4-person group is the classic organization of the British Special Air Service Regiment. At present, the total strength of the "Delta" force is about 1,000 people, but the combatants are only about 250 people, and the rest are logistics support personnel, which belong to the three support squadrons of D, E and F, respectively, the D squadron is the command figure 6 and the control squadron, the E squadron is a large unit including communications, medical and logistics support, and the F squadron is the intelligence support squadron, which specializes in providing intelligence support for the combat operations of the Delta force. Early Delta Forces relied heavily on the 160th Special Operations Aviation Group for air support, but has now established its own direct aviation squadron equipped with 12 AH-6 helicopters. The reason why delta forces have such a large logistics support unit is mainly because several special assaults in the 1980s were related to unfavorable logistics support, so the "Delta" force particularly emphasized the need to directly control all logistics support in its own hands.
Figure 6: Sign of "Delta"
Members of the Delta Force are mainly from the "Green Beret" and another Special Forces Ranger Unit of the United States Army (also called the Einsatzgruppen, wearing a black beret), which requires proficiency in the use of various light weapons, the operation of a variety of mechanical equipment and the driving of various cars, tanks, armored vehicles, large transport aircraft or helicopters, as well as the ability to grab, fight, climb, obstacle crossing and other skills. Therefore, the personnel of the "Delta" had a high starting point, but such a highly equipped and well-funded special forces force repeatedly lost their hands in the first few actual battles, especially in April 1980, when the hostages of the Tehran Embassy were rescued, 1 C-130 transport aircraft, 6 RH-53 helicopters and 8 team members were lost. It was not until the mid-1980s that he made a difference in several counter-terrorism operations, and participated in the security of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and the 1988 Western Seven Summit, gradually becoming a strong force in the fight against terrorism in the United States.
The U.S. Naval Development Brigade, fully known as the U.S. Navy Special Operations Research and Development Brigade, is known in the U.S. military for the abbreviation of "DEVGRU", although nominally responsible for special operations equipment research and tactical testing, but in fact, like the "Delta" force, mainly responsible for overseas counter-terrorism operations, in 1980 in the "Navy" commando team in the most famous 6th Squadron, so also known as "SEAL Six", is the most confidential unit among the U.S. special forces. At present, the organizational structure and personnel establishment of the Naval Development Brigade is still highly confidential of the US military, and it is said that there are 7 squadrons under its jurisdiction, all named after colors, of which the gold, silver, red and blue teams are combat units, and have been in a state of high-intensity training and shift standby attack, and the gold team is the top commando with the strongest combat effectiveness. The Grey Team is a special boat squadron responsible for transporting the commando using miniature submarines and surface boats, the black team is the intelligence support squadron, the green team is the training squadron, in addition to unconfirmed news, the Naval Development Group has its own helicopter squadron directly under its command, equipped with 18 HH-60 helicopters, responsible for providing air transport for the commando. In addition to the combat unit, there are administrative and testing departments responsible for testing and researching special weapons and equipment used in naval special operations, so that the Naval Development Brigade finally lives up to the name of equipment research and tactical testing. The Naval Development Brigade is estimated to have a total strength of about 500 men, of which about 200 are in combat squadrons.
Figure 7: Logo of the Naval Development Brigade
The members of the Naval Development Brigade are all from the "SEAL" commando team, which can really be called the elite of the elite, so it has performed extremely well since its inception, and has successfully carried out anti-terrorist operations such as hostage rescue many times. During operation Grenada in October 1983, 11 members of the Naval Development Brigade parachuted in, infiltrated the British Governor's residence in Grenada, rescued the Governor, and then fought with light weapons against the Georgian attack supported by armored vehicles and artillery, which lasted for 12 hours until reinforcements arrived.
On May 1, 2011, 23 members of the Naval Development Brigade conducted a classic special assault operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, killing al-Qaida leader Ben Bin Laden. Bin Laden has made the Navy Development Brigade famous all over the world.
Since in recent years, the "Delta" has failed in carrying out its mission, but the Naval Development Group has performed well in all operations. Special operations are originally fast and accurate, and there is no room for a little chain to be dropped at critical moments, so the US military high-level naturally trusts the Naval Development Brigade, which is a special force that is more accustomed to being called "SEAL Team Six".
The operation of beheading Sarahi, the U.S. military did not disclose which special forces carried out it. Judging from the details revealed now, the assault detachment arrived at the three-story building where Sarahi lived in a "Black Hawk" helicopter, and did not immediately attack, but the helicopter circled around the small building, and at the same time used a megaphone to shout to persuade it to surrender, until 45 minutes later, it began to use the 12.7 mm machine gun on the helicopter to strafe the small building, which forced Sarahi to detonate the suicide bomb vest on his body, and after the explosion, the assault team entered the small building, and the dead body of the team was DNA-compared, and the confirmed Sarahi quickly withdrew.
Figure 8: Schematic diagram of operation Salah beheading
This is obviously not the action style of the "SEAL Six Team", if it is the "SEAL Six Team", after the helicopter arrives, the team members will immediately launch a surprise attack, and will not engage in any tactical shouting at all. Of course, it is not easy to catch a terrorist like Salah alive with a suicide bomber like Sarahi, and it is likely to cause casualties among commandos. However, this operation was so cautious that it was likely that accurate information was obtained in advance, and such coercive tactics were used in order to avoid unnecessary losses, rather than direct assault. However, Lao Zhou still felt that this operation, the "delta" is more likely, after all, so many years to get such an important task, do not want to lose hands again, let the US military top management completely lose trust, the operation is relatively more cautious, steady word first, it is reasonable.
(The picture of this article is from the network)
Lao Zhou, whose real name is Zhou Ming, once used the network name Guangting, has long been engaged in the study of military history, and has served as a guest of military columns on Phoenix Satellite TV and Shanghai Television for many times. He has published more than 20 military books, which can be consulted and purchased in the micro-store "Zhibingtang Bookstore" and a treasure online store "Zhibingtang Bookstore". Now there is a personal column in the Himalayas, "Old Zhou Military", which produces military audio programs. In major video platforms, the "Old Zhou New Observation" video number has been opened to interpret military hotspots, please support.