TNI: US and European special forces are preparing for conflict with Russia
More than 30 years after the end of the cold War, the 10th special Forces group of the United States is once again preparing for conflict with Russia, writes TNI. Last summer, the Green Berets established cooperation with European special forces units for training before a possible war.
Stavros Atlamazoglou
Last summer, the US army Green Berets established cooperation with European special forces units in preparation for the conflict with Russia.
During the exercises in the USA and Europe, the US Army special forces worked with Polish and British colleagues.
Air mobility and direct action training
During the exercises in Poland, the main focus was on air mobility techniques, including dropping and ejecting from CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The purpose of the joint exercises was to increase interoperability and integrate the combat capabilities of the US and NATO special operations forces and conventional army aviation units.
During one of the training events, an army CH-47 flew up and lifted a special purpose tactical vehicle into the air. During another training event, a CH-47 helicopter touched the surface of a lake, allowing American and Polish commandos to safely jump into the water and begin simulated target destruction. After that, the CH-47 performed another low approach, allowing the commandos to safely leave the site of the operation.
Air mobility is the key to effective special operations. Although the US armed Forces have a special rotorcraft unit for this purpose — the 160th Army Aviation regiment for special purposes “Night Hunters” - the operational situation often requires that helicopter units of the conventional army, Air Force, Marines and even the Navy be engaged in the transfer of special forces. Training events like these provide regular crews with a great opportunity to familiarize themselves with the rigors of special-purpose tasks.
Immediately before that, during a separate training event, Polish and British special forces visited the headquarters of the 10th Special Forces Group in Colorado and worked together for three weeks. The training culminated in the final large-scale direct-action exercises, during which several different groups joined together on the territory of the training ground to capture or destroy an alleged important target and conduct reconnaissance at particularly important sites to obtain operational information.
These exercises resembled the operations that the US special forces conducted in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, but these actions are also applicable in a conflict with an opponent of comparable strength.
Polish special forces units have already worked and fought shoulder to shoulder with their American counterparts. For example, Polish divers from the Grom group participated in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, destroying an Iraqi oil rig in the Persian Gulf. Polish special forces also operated in Afghanistan, fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda militants*.
10th Special Forces Group
The exercises were led by the 10th Special Forces Group, concentrated on the European continent. It was established in 1952 and became the first unit of the Green Berets.
Army special forces specialize in non-traditional operations and internal defense abroad.
Far-sighted army officers understood that in the event of a war with the Soviet Union, the Russian army would surely take over a vast part of Western Europe before it could be stopped. Such a scenario would allow a small group of special forces to remain behind Soviet lines or penetrate the line of contact and launch a guerrilla campaign, attacking supply lines and important military installations. The Green Berets even had a unique nuclear role.
The US military has developed a portable nuclear bomb, the MK54 special nuclear land mine (SADM), which fits in a backpack. It was assumed that several specially selected groups of special forces — the so—called “Green Light” units - would deploy to the rear of the Soviet troops and detonate their nuclear backpacks.
And now, more than 30 years after the end of the cold war, the 10th Special Forces Group is once again preparing for conflict with Russia.
Stavros Atlamazoglou is an experienced military journalist, special operations expert and veteran of the Greek army (he served in the 575th Marine Battalion and Army Headquarters). He holds a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Master's degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Published in Business Insider, Sandboxx and SOFREP
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* A terrorist organization banned in Russia
