Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets
In the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf conflict, special operations forces (SOF) conducted reconnaissance operations to locate hidden targets when political and other considerations prevented the deployment of conventional ground units and air power alone was unable to locate and eliminate elusive...
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| Formato: | Online |
| Lenguaje: | inglés |
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RAND Corporation
2023
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | ONIX_20231005_9780833032300_263 |
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| _version_ | 1869514490908770304 |
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| author | Rosenau, William |
| author_browse | Rosenau, William |
| author_facet | Rosenau, William |
| author_sort | Rosenau, William |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | In the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf conflict, special operations forces (SOF) conducted reconnaissance operations to locate hidden targets when political and other considerations prevented the deployment of conventional ground units and air power alone was unable to locate and eliminate elusive objectives. In Vietnam, SOF teams crossed the border into Laos to search for truck parks, storage depots, and other assets along the Ho Chi Minh Trail that were obscured by jungle canopy and camouflage. In western Iraq, British and American SOF patrolled vast areas searching for mobile Scud launchers. In both cases, the nature of the terrain combined with adversary countermeasures made it extremely difficult for ground teams to achieve their objectives. There are a number of implications for future operations. Although new technology, such as mini- and micro-unmanned aerial vehicles, may make it easier to teams to reconnoiter wide areas, using SOF in this fashion is unlikely to achieve U.S. objectives. Concerns about casualties and prisoners of war are likely to limit the use of SOF to the most vital national interests. However, unattended ground sensors could play an enhanced role in future operations. Although most will be delivered by air, some will require hand emplacement in difficult enemy terrain, a mission well suited to SOF. SOF in a battle damage assessment role could help ensure that critical targets have been destroyed. Finally, SOF might disable, destroy, or recover nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-114489 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | RAND Corporation |
| publisherStr | RAND Corporation |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1144892024-03-29T19:30:45Z Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets Rosenau, William Political Science thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPV Political control and freedoms In the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf conflict, special operations forces (SOF) conducted reconnaissance operations to locate hidden targets when political and other considerations prevented the deployment of conventional ground units and air power alone was unable to locate and eliminate elusive objectives. In Vietnam, SOF teams crossed the border into Laos to search for truck parks, storage depots, and other assets along the Ho Chi Minh Trail that were obscured by jungle canopy and camouflage. In western Iraq, British and American SOF patrolled vast areas searching for mobile Scud launchers. In both cases, the nature of the terrain combined with adversary countermeasures made it extremely difficult for ground teams to achieve their objectives. There are a number of implications for future operations. Although new technology, such as mini- and micro-unmanned aerial vehicles, may make it easier to teams to reconnoiter wide areas, using SOF in this fashion is unlikely to achieve U.S. objectives. Concerns about casualties and prisoners of war are likely to limit the use of SOF to the most vital national interests. However, unattended ground sensors could play an enhanced role in future operations. Although most will be delivered by air, some will require hand emplacement in difficult enemy terrain, a mission well suited to SOF. SOF in a battle damage assessment role could help ensure that critical targets have been destroyed. Finally, SOF might disable, destroy, or recover nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. 2023-10-05T10:07:27Z 2023-10-05T10:07:27Z 2001 book ONIX_20231005_9780833032300_263 9780833032300 9780833030719 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/114489 eng image/jpeg n/a https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/MR1408AF RAND Corporation 10.7249/MR1408AF 10.7249/MR1408AF 47ac0b54-b121-491c-a9c8-5ca6776e27cb 9780833032300 9780833030719 open access |
| spellingShingle | Political Science thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPV Political control and freedoms Rosenau, William Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets |
| title | Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets |
| title_full | Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets |
| title_fullStr | Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets |
| title_full_unstemmed | Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets |
| title_short | Special Operations Forces and Elusive Enemy Ground Targets |
| title_sort | special operations forces and elusive enemy ground targets |
| topic | Political Science thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPV Political control and freedoms |
| topic_facet | Political Science thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPV Political control and freedoms |
| url | ONIX_20231005_9780833032300_263 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rosenauwilliam specialoperationsforcesandelusiveenemygroundtargets |