Subject: Terrorizing the terrorists


Here's what we got going for us.  To be reckoned with.  And this is only
what we know.  You can be certain there is stuff that we don't know about
and don't need to.  While you're reading this some of your fellow Americans
are hard at work getting down and dirty and most of all being very nasty.
Just like in the movies, but we won't get to see this take place.  Just know
it is.

GO SPECIAL FORCES!!!

Special warriors' role: to terrorize terrorists

By STEPHEN HARRIMAN, The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot ? September 29, 2001

This week, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld told Americans and others
on a war watch not to expect a ``D-Day.'' In others words, don't look for
aircraft, ships and cruise missiles to suddenly light up the sky over
Afghanistan like they did in Baghdad in the first hours of the Gulf War.

Expect instead, the administration has been saying, a much more targeted
campaign aimed at ``smoking out'' individuals and cells of terrorists from
their mountainous hideouts.

Those who specialize in that sort of covert operation are the unconventional
warriors of the U.S. Special Operations Command. They are likely to play a
big role in this first war of the 21st century. Their mission will be to
terrorize the terrorists.

What follows is a profile of special operation forces -- units from the
Navy, Army and Air Force with a combined troop strength of between 45,000
and 50,000. The information was gleaned from publicly available material
including official Web sites.

The Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force),
headquartered in a remote section of sprawling Fort Bragg, N.C., is, like
the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (Dev Group), one of the U.S.
government's principal units charged with worldwide counter-terrorist
operations.

Both select experienced men from other special operation forces. There are
no women in special forces. Their methods of operation, too, are similar:
small groups, in and out quickly, often under the cover of darkness,
striking with speed, surprise and extreme violence.

Delta Force was created by Army Col. Charles Beckwith in 1977 in response to
numerous, well-publicized terrorist incidents in the 1970s. It is organized
into three operating squadrons, all of which are subdivided into small
groups known as troops, which can each be further divided into smaller units
as needed to fit mission requirements.

Delta also maintains support units which handle selection and training,
logistics, finance, and the units' medical requirements. Within this
grouping is a little-known but vital technical unit responsible for covert
eavesdropping and intelligence gathering.

Delta troopers are also equipped with the most advanced weaponry and
equipment available. A significant portion of their gear is highly
customized and cannot be found anywhere but in Deltas' lockers.

The Navy's Dev Group, based at the Navy facility at Dam Neck in Virginia
Beach, is an evolution of Seal Team 6, the existence of which the Navy has
never confirmed. Organization and manpower of the group is classified.
However, it is estimated that it now numbers approximately 200 operators.
There is also an administrative and testing section, which numbers
approximately 300 personnel.

It has been rumored that the unit maintains or has maintained a small number
of Black Hawk helicopters, but the majority of aviation requirements are
provided by the Army's 160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment, especially
in support of ship assaults, which frequently make use of the small MH-6
``Little Bird'' helicopters operated exclusively by the 160th.

The group is reportedly divided into five teams: Gold, Blue and Red for
assault, Gray for transportation and Black for reconnaissance and
surveillance; a sixth, the Green team, is for new personnel in training.

The Navy also brings to the table six Seal Teams with special covert
capabilities on sea, air and land. Teams 1, 3 and 5 are based at San Diego,
Teams 2, 4 and 8 at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base. Each team has a
headquarters element and eight platoons (except for Seal Team 4, which has
10) of about a dozen men each, depending on the mission.

The Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) provides
aviation support to special operation forces. The Regiment consists of
modified Little Bird light observation helicopters, Black Hawk helicopters,
and Chinook medium-lift helicopters.

The regiment is trained to work in conjunction with other special operation
forces, especially to insert, extract and resupply them, and to conduct
armed escort, reconnaissance, surveillance, and electronic warfare in
support of their missions. Its focus on night operations resulted in the
nickname ``The Night Stalkers.''

Three battalions are based at Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the 101st Airborne
Division (Air Assault), and a fourth at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. The
75th Ranger Regiment is the largest ground component of the special
operation forces. It is the premier airfield seizure and raid unit in the
Army. One of its first targets could be the large former Soviet base at
Bagram. The base, Afghanistan's only all-weather airfield, would make an
ideal forward operations base for special forces. The regiment is made up of
three 580-member Ranger battalions, based at Hunter Army Airfield, Fort
Lewis, Wash., and Fort Benning, Ga.

Each of the battalions has three 152-member rifle companies and a
headquarters element. Their capabilities include: infiltrating and getting
back out by land, sea, and air; conducting raids; recovery of personnel and
equipment, and conducting conventional or special light-infantry operations.

Ranger units have a limited anti-armor capability. Their only air defense
artillery system is the shoulder-fired Stinger missile. Ranger units
generally deploy with five days of supplies. The Army's Special Forces
soldiers (Green Berets) are carefully selected, specially trained, and
capable of extended operations in extremely remote and hostile territory.

``Foreign internal defense'' operations are designed to help friendly
developing nations by working with their military and paramilitary forces.
The Green Berets are likely to work with the various disaffected indigenous
people of the region to establish reliable intelligence.

The Special Forces Command is divided into five groups. The 5th Special
Forces Group (Airborne), based at Fort Campbell, focuses on Southwest Asia
and Northeastern Africa.

A Special Forces group has a headquarters element, a support element and
three battalions. Each battalion consists of 39 officers, 24 warrant
officers and 320 enlisted soldiers. A Special Forces company consists of
eight officers, seven warrant officers and 67 enlisted soldiers. Green
Berets are most frequently deployed in even smaller units called A
Detachments or teams of a dozen men. The Air Force 16th Special Operations
Wing is that service's major component in the U.S. Special Operations
Command, with a fleet of more than 90 aircraft, mostly MC-130s, that work
closely with Army and Navy forces in the support of unconventional warfare
missions.

Modifications to the MC-130 allow aircrews to perform clandestine missions
minimizing the chances of being detected by hostile radar systems.

The 352nd Special Operations Group, based in England, works with special
operation activities throughout the U.S. European Command and U.S. Central
Command. Other ground units that are trained to conduct similar covert
missions include Army Long Range Surveillance Units (LRSUs), the 10th
Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, N.Y., the 82nd Airborne Division based
at Fort Bragg, and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) based at Fort
Campbell.

LRSUs are specially trained and equipped to collect human intelligence. They
observe and report enemy dispositions, movements and activities, and
battlefield conditions avoiding contact with the enemy and local civilians.

The 10th, 82nd and 101st divisions are large units that would be deployed
only if an extended ground war developed. All are light divisions and are
supposed to be deployed quickly; it took 60 days to deploy the 101st and all
its helicopters during the buildup to the allied strikes against Iraqi
forces in the Gulf War.

The Marines also have special training in special operations. Each deployed
Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) -- a reinforced battalion, a composite
aircraft squadron and a service support group with about 2,200 personnel --
is certified capable of special operations.

Each MEU contains a sub-unit whose tasks include deep reconnaissance and
surveillance, hostage rescue, and demolition.