Myth of the 20th Century: US Special Forces – Counter Insurgency

The popular conception of the special forces solider parachuting in behind enemy lines and single-handedly taking on entire divisions under extreme duress is one promoted by Hollywood and tacitly endorsed by the Pentagon. Given some of the more successful missions such as in Panama and the more infamous ones such as Desert One, this reputation is indeed valid, yet it paints an incomplete picture of SF’s much larger role in a general force multiplication strategy of indigenous forces where conventional US forces cannot be deployed. Tonight we are fortunate to be joined by two highly experienced special forces soldiers to dispel some of the commonly held misconceptions about their profession and give us a better understanding of the role of counter-insurgency operations from World War II though today.

Myth of the 20th Century – Episode 170 – US Special Forces – Counter Insurgency

— References —

– The Green Berets, Wayne (1968)
– THREATS AND RESPONSES: THE COST; WHITE HOUSE CUTS ESTIMATE OF COST OF WAR WITH IRAQ, Bumiller (2002) – https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/31/us/threats-responses-cost-white-house-cuts-estimate-cost-war-with-iraq.html
– The Patraeus Doctrine – The Field Manual on Counterinsurgency Operations, Joint Chiefs of Staff (2009)
– Act of Valor, McCoy (2012)
– Punished for telling truth about Iraq war, Mills (2013) – https://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/20/opinion/mills-truth-teller-iraq/index.html
– Dunford Deserves Credit For Sticking To His Guns On Women In Combat, Russell (2015) – https://taskandpurpose.com/news/dunford-deserves-credit-for-sticking-to-his-guns-on-women-in-combat
– A Good American, Moser (2015)
– Coup d’Etat: a Practical Handbook, Luttwalk (2016)
– David Petraeus And Stanley McChrystal Lead The Charge On Gun Control, Smith (2016) – https://www.captainsjournal.com/2016/06/12/david-petraeus-and-stanley-mcchrystal-lead-the-charge-on-gun-control/
– The Guerrilla Factory – The Making of Special Forces Officers, Schwalm (2012)
– How The Army Tried To Avoid Telling The Truth About Women In Ranger Training, Hasson (2019) – https://dailycaller.com/2019/08/29/us-army-accused-lowering-standards-female-rangers/
– New Marine Corps Cuts Will Slash All Tanks, Many Heavy Weapons As Focus Shifts to Lighter, Littoral Forces, Eckstein (2020) – https://news.usni.org/2020/03/23/new-marine-corps-cuts-will-slash-all-tanks-many-heavy-weapons-as-focus-shifts-to-lighter-littoral-forces
– Force Multipliers – Episode 158, Rebel Yell (2020) – https://identitydixie.com/2020/01/24/rebel-yell-158-force-multipliers/
– Force Multipliers, Part II – Episode 172, Rebel Yell (2020) – https://identitydixie.com/2020/05/04/rebel-yell-172-force-multipliers-part-ii/
– Western Rifle Shooters – https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/
– Veterans Today – https://www.veteranstoday.com/

Myth of the 20th Century

If pessimism is despair, optimism is cowardice and stupidity. -Francis Parker Yockey