More Special Forces

I realize there is a thread called Special Forces in the Safehold forum. However, I would like to address a different aspect of this topic. My personal feeling is that all the attention on the term "Special Forces" has been generated by the recent successes and failures that have been reported so widely in recent months. Due to the amount of press coverage given to these missions by groups that we have historically not heard much about, the public has been exposed to information that has been hidden for most of the lifes of these groups. My personal opinion is that we are being given this information not to inform the American public on what has happened, but to remind every one, both friends and enemies that they do exist. The message being broadcast is simple. You can run, you can hide, you can stab us in the back but eventually we will find you and we will deal with you, one way or another.

In the Australian military their nickname is "chicken stranglers", not to belittle them but to point out how they are trained to live off the land. Knowing a number of them - SAS - clearance divers- bomb disposals I am always struck by how the US TV shows depict them as swaggering square jawed arrogant pricks. The real thing is humble, quiet, extremely competent and highly adverse to publicity or media beat ups.

KNick wrote:I realize there is a thread called Special Forces in the Safehold forum. However, I would like to address a different aspect of this topic. My personal feeling is that all the attention on the term "Special Forces" has been generated by the recent successes and failures that have been reported so widely in recent months. Due to the amount of press coverage given to these missions by groups that we have historically not heard much about, the public has been exposed to information that has been hidden for most of the lifes of these groups. My personal opinion is that we are being given this information not to inform the American public on what has happened, but to remind every one, both friends and enemies that they do exist. The message being broadcast is simple. You can run, you can hide, you can stab us in the back but eventually we will find you and we will deal with you, one way or another.

Daryl wrote:In the Australian military their nickname is "chicken stranglers", not to belittle them but to point out how they are trained to live off the land. Knowing a number of them - SAS - clearance divers- bomb disposals I am always struck by how the US TV shows depict them as swaggering square jawed arrogant pricks. The real thing is humble, quiet, extremely competent and highly adverse to publicity or media beat ups.

KNick wrote:I realize there is a thread called Special Forces in the Safehold forum. However, I would like to address a different aspect of this topic. My personal feeling is that all the attention on the term "Special Forces" has been generated by the recent successes and failures that have been reported so widely in recent months. Due to the amount of press coverage given to these missions by groups that we have historically not heard much about, the public has been exposed to information that has been hidden for most of the lifes of these groups. My personal opinion is that we are being given this information not to inform the American public on what has happened, but to remind every one, both friends and enemies that they do exist. The message being broadcast is simple. You can run, you can hide, you can stab us in the back but eventually we will find you and we will deal with you, one way or another.

Same here with our soldiers. one of our SAS (william Apiata) got a VC a year or two back for his heroic actions, and he wanted nothing to do with the publicity, and thought he didnt deserve the medal as he was only trying to save a mate while doing his job.




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its not paranoia if its justified...
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KNick wrote:I realize there is a thread called Special Forces in the Safehold forum. However, I would like to address a different aspect of this topic. My personal feeling is that all the attention on the term "Special Forces" has been generated by the recent successes and failures that have been reported so widely in recent months. Due to the amount of press coverage given to these missions by groups that we have historically not heard much about, the public has been exposed to information that has been hidden for most of the lifes of these groups. My personal opinion is that we are being given this information not to inform the American public on what has happened, but to remind every one, both friends and enemies that they do exist. The message being broadcast is simple. You can run, you can hide, you can stab us in the back but eventually we will find you and we will deal with you, one way or another.

Most of the guys i knew when i was in the military that was special forces would just have preferred never to be in the camera lights. To them it was a job that they wanted to do so their family could be that little bit safer.

I am always struck by how the US TV shows depict them as swaggering square jawed arrogant pricks. The real thing is humble, quiet, extremely competent and highly adverse to publicity or media beat ups.

The media gets a lot wrong not just the character of special forces. Scientists for example are almost always experts in every field of science from quantum physics to medicine simultaneously!!

And a good hacker can hack into the Pentagon in real-time while simultaneously getting a BJ from a beautiful woman!

biochem wrote:

I am always struck by how the US TV shows depict them as swaggering square jawed arrogant pricks. The real thing is humble, quiet, extremely competent and highly adverse to publicity or media beat ups.

The media gets a lot wrong not just the character of special forces. Scientists for example are almost always experts in every field of science from quantum physics to medicine simultaneously!!

funny you should say that. thats exactly what my degree is supposed to set me up as apparently. its a new type of degree called the bachelor of natural science, and i am required to take math, physics, chemistry, biology, business administration, ethics, philosophy, ecology and project management papers, and those are the compulsory core papers, not including the self chosen papers that you choose which direction you want to head in. the idea is you are really good in your favourite area, but also reasonably good in the other main areas of science as well, so that you can integrate everything together. so byh the end of the degree, i am supposed to be a normal physicist (my choice) but able to be a basic biologist or chemist, and if needed, take another semester or two of papers to upskill to post grad level in another discipline, say biology. not sure how its going to work out, but its fun studying all the disciplines.

I agree with the posters who said that the people involved in US spedcial operations units are very behind the scenes kind of guys.

However, one of the reasons I started this thread was to get a sense of how the forum readers felt about the message I think is being sent. That is the political one. Does anyone agree the Pres. is reminding people, other than the US, that we have this capablity and we are willing to use it to find and destroy our enemies.

KNick wrote:I agree with the posters who said that the people involved in US spedcial operations units are very behind the scenes kind of guys.

However, one of the reasons I started this thread was to get a sense of how the forum readers felt about the message I think is being sent. That is the political one. Does anyone agree the Pres. is reminding people, other than the US, that we have this capablity and we are willing to use it to find and destroy our enemies.

I don't think so. There had been a media and popular fascination with special forces for a long time, at least the Iranian Embassy siege 30 years ago. Just look at military films/books predating 2000. This is not a new thing.