US Special Ops: The History, Weapons, and Missions of Elite Military Forces

323 Pages·2016·49.76 MB·English

by  Fred Pushies

US SPECIAL OPS
THE HISTORY, WEAPONS, AND MISSIONS OF ELITE MILITARY FORCES
FRED PUSHIES
© 2016 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Text © 2016 Fred Pushies
Names: Pushies, Fred J., 1952- author.
First published in 2016 by Voyageur Press, an imprint Title: US special ops : the history, weapons, and
of Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc., 400 First missions of elite military
Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.    forces / Fred Pushies.
Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Description: Minneapolis, MN : Voyageur Press, [2016] |
Includes index.
quartoknows.com Identifiers: LCCN 2015043307 | ISBN 9780760349861 (sc)
Visit our blogs at quartoknows.com Subjects: LCSH: Special operations (Military science)--
United States. |
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be    Special forces (Military science)--United States.
reproduced in any form without written permission Classification: LCC UA34.S64 P8722 2016 | DDC
of the copyright owners. All images in this book have 356/.160973--dc23
been reproduced with the knowledge and prior LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015043307
consent of the artists concerned, and no responsibility
is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any Acquiring Editor: Dennis Pernu
infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from Project Manager: Madeleine Vasaly
the contents of this publication. Every effort has Art Director: James Kegley
been made to ensure that credits accurately comply Cover Designer: Korab Design
with information supplied. We apologize for any Layout: Simon Larkin
inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve
inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent On the front cover: Navy SEALs demonstrate winter warfare
reprinting of the book. capabilities at Mammoth Lakes, California, in 2014.
US Navy photo by Visual Information Specialist Chris Desmond
Voyageur Press titles are also available at discounts in On the back cover: A US Army Special Forces soldier
bulk quantity for industrial or sales-promotional use. scans the horizon in Shah Wali Kot District, Kandahar
For details contact the Special Sales Manager at Quarto Province, Afghanistan, during a clearing operation in
Publishing Group USA Inc., 400 First Avenue North, 2011. US Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jeremy D. Crisp
Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.
On the frontis: A MARSOC Marine navigates through the woods,
armed with an M4A1 Carbine. US Marine Corps photo by Lance
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cpl. Thomas W. Provost
ISBN: 978-0-7603-4986-1 On the title pages: US Army Rangers assigned to 2nd
Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, fire at an enemy
Digital edition: 978-0-76035-153-6
bunker during training at Camp Roberts, California, in
Softcover edition: 978-0-76034-986-1 2014. US Army photo by Spc. Steven Hitchcock
Printed in China
Contents
......................................6
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
........................................................7
PREFACE
...........................................................8
ARMY
..................................................124
MARINES
....................................................168
OSS/CIA
........................................................174
NAVY
.................................................224
AIR FORCE
.....................................................266
SOCOM
....310
LIST OF ALL SOF MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS
...............................................312
GLOSSARIES
.......................................................318
INDEX
Dedication
To the Warriors—from the beginning to the upcoming.
Acknowledgments
First, I thank the Almighty God, author of liberty and freedom. Also: Victor Di Cosola, president/CEO,
and Charles Lasky, director of operations, Tactical Night Vision Company; Mark Wiggins,
Col. Arthur D. Simons Center for the Study of Interagency Cooperation and MHW Public Relations and
Communications; Darren Proctor and Dan Foukes; David Gardiner, Stars and Stripes; Angela Harrell,
Heckler and Koch; Caroline Simms, NRA Museum; Dan Dudley, Rogers’ Rangers Inc; Pam Pagac in
memory of Joe Pagac, paramarine; Travis Haley and Jon Chang, Haley Strategic Partners; Claudio Castro
and Deirdre Brinlee, S. O. Tech; John Bailey, EOTech; Alan Baribeau, Naval Sea Systems Command; Kevin
Rowlee, SAFE Boats International; Charles Pinck, OSS Society; Bill Becker, 801st/492nd Bombardment
Group, “the Carpetbaggers”; Robert E. Passanisi, Merrill’s Marauders Association; Roxanne Merritt,
curator, John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum; Robert “Bob” Stoner, GMCM (SW) (Ret.); James Gray;
Gene Mappin, HA(L)-5; Ruth McSween, curator, National Navy SEAL Museum and Memorial; Kristina
DeMilt, FN America; Andrew E. Woods, McCormick Research Center; Edward Lynch; Allan Bierlein,
Force Recon Association; Erasmo “Doc” Riojas; Al O’Canas; Lance Strahl and Todd Seigmund, Accuracy
International; Dennis Pernu, Voyageur Press; and my family for their support.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
6
Preface
When they hear the term “special forces,” many people think of the various elite units of the US
military, including the Navy SEALs, the Army Rangers, and the Green Berets. In fact, in this context
“special forces” refers exclusively to the US Army Special Forces, historically known as the Green Berets.
The broader collection of various army, navy, marine, and air force commandos (Rangers, SEALs, Green
Berets, and so on) is defined as Special Operations Forces (SOF), which comes under the command
and control of the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
This book presents details about SOF operators and their equipment, tactics, techniques, and
procedures. Before going any further, remember: when a man stands apart from his compatriots in
combat, it’s not because of the weapon he carries, the knife he has slung on his belt, or any high-tech
gadget or gizmo in his tactical vest or pack—these are mere tools in his hands. What sets a member
of the US Special Operations Forces apart is the fire in their gut, the tenacity of their spirit, and the
certainty instilled into their warrior soul, mission after mission. They are successful because they do
sweat the small stuff. Taken as individuals, each is the best of the best; as part of a team, they are
unrelenting and invincible.
Today, more than ever, the words of Gen. Douglas MacArthur apply to SOF units:

Your mission remains fixed, determined, inviolable—it is to win our wars. Everything else in your
professional career is but a corollary to this vital dedication. All other public purposes, all other
public projects, all other public needs, great or small, will find others for their accomplishment;
but you are the ones who are trained to fight; yours is the profession of arms—the will to win,
the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory.
Whether you consider the army’s Special Forces, Rangers, and Night Stalkers; the navy’s SEALs; the
marines of MARSOC; or the Air Force’s Special Operations Squadrons and Special Tactics Squadrons,
US Special Operations Forces are the tip of the spear of America’s military—they are the first in and
the last out. Once, when there was a need for saber rattling, the call went out to “Send in the marines!”
Today, you don’t have to send in the Special Operations Forces—most likely, they’re already there!
A Note about the NRA Museums
Since 1935, the NRA Museums collection has become one of the world’s finest dedicated to firearms.
Now housed in three locations, the NRA Museums offer a glimpse into the firearms that built our
nation, helped forge our freedom, and captured our imagination.
The National Firearms Museum, located at the NRA Headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, details and
examines the nearly seven-hundred-year history of firearms with a special emphasis on firearms,
freedom, and the American experience. The National Sporting Arms Museum, at the Bass Pro Shops
in Springfield, Missouri, explores and exhibits the historical development of hunting arms in America
from the earliest explorers to the modern day, with a focus on hunting, conservation, and freedom.
The Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest, at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico, is
a jewel-box museum with two hundred guns, recounting the region’s history from the earliest Native
American inhabitants through early Spanish exploration, the Civil War, and the Old West.
For more information on the NRA Museums and hours, visit www.nramuseum.org.
PREFACE
7
Major Robert Rogers
Robert Rogers (November 7, 1731–May 18, 1795) was an American colonial frontiersman and skilled
woodsman. During the French and Indian War, Rogers assembled and commanded Rogers’s Rangers,
a band of mountain men skilled in fieldcraft, wilderness skills, and shooting. Rogers trained his Rangers
to be a rapidly deployable light infantry force for reconnaissance and direct raids against the enemy.
The Rangers fought for the
British, using the techniques
and tactics of the American
Indians. They conducted long-
range reconnaissance patrols
across difficult terrain in poor
weather conditions that would
have hampered local militias
in special operations raids
against distant French targets.
Major Rogers did not invent
unconventional warfare, but
he was able to exploit tactics
and establish them in Ranger
doctrine; his “Rules for Ranging”
comprise twenty-eight tenets
for commanding such units.
A simplified set of the rules is
still taught to US Army Rangers,
who today claim Rogers as their
founder. Rogers’s “Standing
Orders” are still quoted on the
first page of the US Army Ranger
Handbook. The first rule? “Don’t
forget nothing.”
ARMY
8