Quote Originally Posted by IVIaedhros View Post
How To Raise the Force

1) Appoint an officer with a minimum rank of COL as CO. Should have a track record of thinking outside the box and good coordinator/trainer IE he knows how to teach. Primary task is to get necessary support from chain of command.
I support Ken's comment.

This concept needs a champion. A general with a bunch of stars. Then you are looking for a "fire-ball" of a young officer. Lt Col or promote a Major if he is the right kind of guy.

2) Recruit enough seasoned NCO's and field grade officers to make a platoon or at least a section. Guys from NTC/JRTC would be very useful here since they are already trained to act as the insurgents.
I support Ken's comment.

Get the best instructor NCOs (the old and bold) for the training phase. Give them a bunch of young officers and sgts... they will know what to do. The basics, the basics, the basics.

3) Using studies of current and past insurgent TTP's, wargame and refine the force at home, then deploy it for 4-9months to get the kinks out.
Yes, by using the old and bold NCOs as instructors for as long as it takes. Then deploy to Afghanistan and continue the training there until operationally competent. Then go have a ball.

Note: Am I following you correctly here? Is this first deployment an all chiefs and no indians affair?

4) Return home. The previous members of the platoon now become trainers. Recruit lower level enlisted (PFC-Sergeant) who have either qualified Ranger or have had some combat experience. The rational for not going only for more experienced men is twofold. First, it would be too great a draw on other units. Second, these men are basically going into a new MOS, like 11B to 11C or 11X. They've proven themselves enough to be relied on, but they still need to be sponges to adapt rapidly. People might argue that they're not mature enough, but the insurgents regularly use very young men with basically no combat experience and turn them into experts. Granted, their life expectancy is horrid and they've most likely grown up in harsh 3rd world conditions. This is countered by the recruit's prior training/experience and by the superior training he will receive through the returned senior NCO's and officers. Recruiting should not be difficult. Just say: it's hard, no one's done it before, and you get to wear civies+grow out your hair in the field SF style. Sold, hook, line and sinker.
Why not by the time the "leader group" returns home the 'old and bold' Snr NCOs have men ready (and trained) to allow the unit to be properly formed.

Merely put it all together get familiar with the organisation and then ship the whole caboodle off back to Afghanistan. Same sort of familiarisation training in-theater for as long as it needs then off to war.

Ken's correct, don't get hung up on Rangers (as good as they may be) and don't expect combat experience. After the first flush of newbies to fill the unit let the unit grow by introducing a trickle of new guys who can be absorbed 10% at a time to maintain the levels of experience being built up as you go along. Promote from within where you can and if necessary send your NCOs and potential NCOs back for training.

And don't forget to send the stateside Snr NCO instructors out for the odd familiarisation trip and ask them to try to keep it down to 8 beers a night

Tactics

*Basically the same as the insurgents, except they're not going to be terrorizing or really interacting with the populace any more than a normal infantry platoon. That would require more maturity and experience than we can give and is already being filled by other organizations.
*Conducts continuous, small unit actions and patrols in an AO where they can become very familiar with the terrain.
*Is entirely on foot. Avoids the roads and towns.
*Heavy emphasis on marksmanship
*Civilian clothes and haircuts to help blend in from a distance.
Let this evolve. Its hard work and a continuous process. Mistakes made by small teams normally translate into KIA.

For heavens sake you don't want your unit to become attractive for the wrong reasons i.e. growing a beard and wearing their kit and carrying their weapons. Watch out for this.

Potential Problems & Solutions

*Supply: traditionally such forces have relied upon the populace. This will be solved through the use of caches, distributed from a central FOB or aerially dropped.

*Not Enough Firepower: I disagree. This force will be trained and mobile in feigned and tactical retreat to not be overwhelmed. Also, the insurgents manage to hold their own against us. Why cannot we do better with our training and technology?

*Maturity of Soldiers: Again, I believe that, if the insurgents can do it, so can we. Initially, success will totally hinge upon careful selection. However, as the training process improves and the unit gains more experience, the implementation should become no more difficult than Ranger Bat or SF.

Well, that's a rough summary of the ideas I've got bouncing around. Anyone got anything to add, critiques, etc. I'd love to hear some thoughts on how this could be done better or why it can't be done at all.
Supply: Anything and whatever you can think of. Obviously you booby trap your caches or you can leave stuff you want them to find (dirty tricks stuff

Firepower: Carry light plus a few claymore mines to protect you when static and rely of fire support from air and arty and whatever is close by. You are right your tactics will save you and once you have been cornered once you tend to get damn clever at not being found again.

Maturity: We are talking about the maturity that counts on the battlefield (and not what mischief he can and often does get up to stateside when back amongst the civvies) There is nothing wrong with the "combat" maturity of a 18/9 year old who has 20 odd contacts under his belt involving a few hairy moments. In the end less about training and more about reaction under enemy fire. We are all different. You want to find the guys who get a buzz from being in combat.

You need to pick up the ball and run with it now. As I suggested rewrite your ideas into a version 0.2 and float that here too.

Look for a better way to rotate the troops to achieve better operational continuity. Pick up on the discussion on this thread from about post #165

Here is an effective 'stick' from the Rhodesian war days (I'm not in it) comprising two 18 year olds and two 19 year olds. The officer (standing right) was 18 at the time.