Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1467328
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 con- ducted, provided that certain circumstances emerged. For instance, during the wars in the Middle East, the Israeli SOF was able to con- duct 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 ef- fectively infiltrate the enemy territory 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 Kingdom, 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 unconven- tional 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 tailored to complete the given, unconventional tasks, adequately to the political situation and national objectives. Sometimes, the local context was also used here, involving eth- nic minorities for instance. MACV-SOG (Studies and Observation Group) that was only active during the Vietnam War is a good example of a unit as such - as well www.fragoutmag.com