Frag Out! Magazine

by squads as such also meant that means were being developed to detect their activities and launch a counter-operation - with the use of territorial defense forces (national guard), MP, or other, paramilitary measures. The high tempo of the undertaken operations meant that the situation could change rapidly. This also referred to the nature of tasks to be completed. Thus, reconnaissance was the main mission of the Cold War SOF. These units were to complement other reconnaissance assets, including airborne and ELINT/SIGINT/satellite reconnaissance means. Direct action had a limited significance, but operations as such could have been conducted against the nuclear weapons carriers, such as the tactical ballistic missile launchers. In the local wars between two states, it turned out that similar operations could have been effectively conducted, provided that certain circumstances emerged. For instance, during the wars in the Middle East, the Israeli SOF was able to conduct many complicated operations, from long-range recon to port assaults, where technologically advanced assets such as missile boats were destroyed. However, the arena of operations and the enemy were well- known, while the quality of intel collected beforehand was very high. The Americans were not so lucky, as during a raid to capture the Son Tay POW camp in North Vietnam they were able to effectively infiltrate the enemy ter- ritory and attack the facilities designated, but the intel did not contain one, key information - the camp was empty during the attack. The British SAS and SBS also have conducted numerous, successful operations against the Argentinians during the Falklands War. But the ambitious operation aimed at neutralizing the aircraft carrying the Exocet missiles at their bases did not happen, as it was viewed almost as a suicide. The nations involved in proxy wars in the third world - France, United King- dom, United States - also discovered another important niche for SOF. Conflicts where armored divisions and nuclear warheads were not usable, but it was required to support local forces in the fight against guerilla, or to organize irregular warfare to overthrow a government supported by the opposing block - here any unconventional measures and forces came in handy. Hence the training special operations forces undertook prepared them to work outside Europe - geographically (jungle) and culturally. The training of the US „Green Berets" placed a major emphasis on linguistic competence and the advisory role. This had an impact on the structure of the smallest ODA element, as well as the whole elements as such, and the regional specializations of the individual brigades. This yet again was aligned with the ad hoc establishment of elements tai- lored to complete the given, unconventional tasks, adequately to the polit- ical situation and national objectives. Sometimes, the local context was also used here, involving ethnic minorities for instance. MACV-SOG (Stud- ies and Observation Group) that was only active during the Vietnam War is a good example of a unit as such - as well as the LRRP units established at the infantry brigades and divisions. For political reasons, the superpowers also frequently resorted to using other irregular units - involving emigrants (Cuba and the attempt to overthrow the Castro regime), or even mercenar- ies. Special Forces played a training and advisory role in this setting. The last of the important Cold War missions, since the 1970s, were the counter-terrorism and hostage rescue operations. This referred both to the military units, as well as to police units, established to fit that purpose - mainly to handle the domestic operations. The experiences gathered during the local conflicts meant that the SOF components - initially of obscure and niche profile - started to grow, with permanent command and support structures put into place. In the US, fol- lowing the failed attempt at conducting a hostage rescue operation in Iran, Joint Special Operations Command was established, with Direct Action and Counter-Terrorist elements subordinated. Then, following the troublesome intervention in Granada, as further evolution happened, a new SOCOM oper- ational command was established to oversee all of the special operations. The conflicts that happened later constitute proof that Special Operations Forces remain very effective. From the Western point of view, Operation „Desert Storm" has been especially important here. During that operation, the SOF component was tasked with missions assigned to it during the Cold War - however, these tasks were carried out in a desert environment, and against a different adversary. The commando units dealt with recon, hunted ballistic missile launch assets, while SOF helicopters supported the first strikes against the Iraqi radars. Furthermore, as Hussein took a lot of hostages in, used as in a role of „human shields", there was an assumption that a large-scale hostage rescue operation would also take place. This, however, did not happen. Two types of tasks - unconventional warfare in local conflicts, and CT oper- ations, have become a vehicle that brought the SOF into the new, post-Cold War reality. When the threat posed by the Warsaw Pact armor disappeared, it turned out that new problems emerged, resulting on the grounds of the dissolution of the states that had existed before. Terrorist organizations have become much more active - primarily nationalists or religious fanat- ics, such as Al-Qaeda. In the 1990s, the number of MBTs ready became less important than the state's capacity to conduct a hostage rescue opera- tion, combat drugs, and arms trade, or catch war criminals and terrorists in the Balkans, Caribbean, Asia, or Africa. At the same time, force integration measures were being implemented continuously, to facilitate joint opera- tions between the conventional, and SOF elements. As the conventional and nuclear arsenals suffered from more cuts, more 48 www.fragoutmag.com

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