Thoughts on SOF deployment for deep battle HUMINT operations

[wierdbeard]

I am looking for a paper entitled "Thoughts on SOF deployment for deep battle HUMINT operations" I believe it was written in 1984 i'm not sure of the author but it was an USAWC Military Studies Program paper.

[RTK]

http://www.stormingmedia.us/27/2709/...l?searchTerms=

[RTK]

http://www.stormingmedia.us/27/2709/...l?searchTerms=

Or view it here for free...

http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA149072

[Stan]

RTK,
I love that trophy (ancient Greek or Roman victory raised on the field of battle)...did you get it drag racing (Harleys) ?

Let's go back to 1984 at FT Bragg. Attending an anti-terroist course before being deployed to Sub-Sahara on an MTT, I would meet instructors Blue and Gary. Yes, real names !

Blue would be a friend of my future DATT (Tom) and also perform a JCET in Zaire with us somewhat later.

Just when I thought things were "neither here nor there" and now years later in 2000, Gary, my SF firearms' instructor would show up in Estonia for deminers training.

Deep Battle Humint you say ?

Naaaah

[Tom Odom]

RTK,

The date 1984 suggests this goes back to the emergence of Airland Battle in 100-5. We were looking at Soviet Spetznatz as a similar threat. In some ways, MG Bob Scales resurfaced some of this thinking in his book, Yellow Smoke.

But much of what this paper discusses harkens back to the same issues: strengths and weaknesses of the OSS Jedburg teams in France. Command and control was an issue as were comms. Conflicting/overpapping missions with other special operations elements (Brit SOE for example) complicated life. Then the real damper came when the ground forces pushed east into Germany and the avaliability of a local support network/resistance really dropped to near zero.

Funny that Stan mentions "Blue" as in Blue Keller; Blue was not a FAO but was an SF officer who stayed on Africa and eventually joined the attache corps as a result. He worked with us in Goma from Kampala Uganga (he was DATT in Malawi); in the JCET Stan mentions, Blue and a certain MC130 crew became famous locally when they danced on the bar at the American Club in Kinshasa. The A/C commander and I were in the same CGSC small group. Even later in Goma the A/C commander of that episode commanded 7th Special Ops Squadron and his crews dropped pallets on my head. He now wears a star. It is a small world.

Best

Tom

[RTK]

I really had to dig into the Carlisle archives to find that article.

As for the trophy, that's THE Stanley Cup. A great story behind my procurement of the same which will come out in the rant thread very soon.

Bottom line: Got drunk one night after OIF I at my house in Colorado during the 2004 Stanley Cup finals. Fired off an e-mail to the NHL during an intermission while in a severely inebriated state. 6 months later, the Stanley Cup was in my house. More to follow....

[wierdbeard]

Much thanks for the speedy reply