Which American Special Operations Troops Are Effective

American Special Operations troops are not all equal, effective or even elite. Some units are not even Special Operations troops, but are commandos used for special missions.

Below is listed several categories of American combat troops, and in each category the troops will be rated with the most effective force listed in order. For example, the first listed is the best in that category.

Following are the categories of American Special Operations troops that frequently confuse people.

I. Conventional Forces –

(1) Rangers: US Army Rangers are composed of very young, reliable personnel, who can be depended upon to fight long and hard as commandos. Whether in the desant (fighting behind enemy lines) role, or in more direct combat role, US Army Rangers are America’s only conventional elite.

(2) The second most effective conventional force is US Army Paratroops. They are not very well trained, which is a huge deficit, and they are poorly organized. However, American paratroop units can be depended upon to fight longer and harder than most other conventional units.

(3) US Army Airmobile Units: These units are not well-trained, and they are not as reliable as Airborne (Paratroops) Units.

(4) US Army conventional units, including infantry, armor, and artillery. These conventional ground forces are the least effective in the US Army. They are led by many incompetent conventional minded generals, and are poorly trained. For example, the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division is not given even one day’s training in mountain warfare.

(5) The least effective American ground force is the USMC. Although tens of thousands of fine men serve in the Marine Corps, their officers are far below the competence of US Army Infantry and Tank Officers.

II. Special Operations Forces –

(1) US Army Special Forces are the best special troops and all-around warriors that the US Armed Forces deploys. Special Forces troops are older and more experienced. They are patriotic, reliable, and possess the requisite qualities it takes to be a true elite.

(2) US Army Delta Force is composed of mainly young, inexperienced personnel, who are trained too much in hostage rescue. They are not as effective as they should be in operational and strategic reconnaissance as well as direct action. Modeled after the British Army’s SAS, Delta Force has failed to measure up as it should. That failure can essentially be blamed on poor training and leadership.

(3) US Navy SEALs are the least effective of America’s Special Operations Forces. They are trained to be amphibious athletes, not elite warriors. The modern SEAL unit is nothing like the SEAL tTeam 6, led by the master anti-terrorist warrior Richard Marcinko. That team, specially hand-picked by Marcinko, had the best personnel and training possible. It was disbanded and Marcinko imprisoned because the conventional Navy is jealous of and despises special warfare elites far more than does US Army conventional generals,.
Modern SEALS are frequently sent on missions that they are not qualified for. They are sent far inland, where they are expected to carry out operational and strategic reconnaissance and direct action missions, for which they are neither trained nor motivated.
Although the SEALs, like the USMC, are supported by a very active public relations department, they constantly fall short of the mark in Special Warfare. It all begins in their initial BUDs training. They reach a high state of athleticism and those that are athletic enough go one to receive a smattering of special warfare training. Such men are frequently surprised when they are murdered by illiterate fanatics, with obsolete weapons, in some of the world’s hell-holes.

(4) The CIA’s Paramilitary Element is equal to, and sometimes better than the Navy SEALs. Their personnel are mostly drawn from experienced special operations veterans, including the SEALs. That is an advantage. The major disadvantage to the CIA’s paramilitary element, which causes it to go to the last place in the Special Operations category, is the fact that it is controlled by the CIA.

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