The Wild Bill's are still there, they come and go (very few in the military anymore, as they are quickly weeded out for being non-conformers). Our bureaucracy and risk adverse culture is crushing, so those who have the brains, creativity and balls to take the fight to the enemy the way Wild Bill's gang did are quickly disillusioned today. Instead they open businesses or engage in other activities where they can apply their talents. Remember a lot of Wild Bill's men were successful lawyers, bankers, etc.

I recall a somewhat humorous news interview (maybe a little over a year ago), where a well known national news host was interviewing a former CIA agent who wrote a book about the war on the terror (typical ex-CIA book, everyone is screwed up but me tale), and she asked him why the CIA didnt do such and such in Afghanistan prior to 9/11, and he looked at her like she was from mars, then answered her with, "it was too dangerous". She kept pressing him with, isn't that what the CIA is supposed to do? To give credit where it's due, I believe some in the CIA did some great work, but this interview definitely reflected the risk adverse culture in the U.S. government.

By now we're all too aware of what one of our four star generals told Clinton about the risk of sending Special Operations Forces into Afghanistan to get OBL when the President inquired back in the 1990's, so instead we have now endured 9/11 and the consequences since then. Exactly how is risk calculated?

I can't imagine "it's too dangerous" being the response from Bill Casey, Bill Donovon, or Bull Simmons. If it was easy, he would have asked the Air Force to do it.

The good news is there would have been no shortage of volunteers from the ranks to take those risks, so don't give up hope.