Special Forces Interest Sparked by Navy SEAL Raid on bin Laden Compound

In 2010, a record number of US Navy SEALs passed selection and training

 

In a far less well-documented recent incident, members of the Australian special forces killed the prominent insurgent leader Hayat Ustad during an Afghan police led operation in Uruzgan province on 29 April.

A concerted campaign against insurgents with the Provincial Response Company–Uruzgan began last month, and the killing of Ustad was said to simply mark the most recent successful operation in which an insurgent leader has been killed or captured.

There were no civilian casualties or collateral damage during the raid and the work of the small team with special forces training is thought to have impacted upon two district-level cells and a larger regional-level insurgent group.

Growing numbers of special forces units

In 2014, international forces are set to hand over control of much of Afghanistan to local security forces.

Conventional troops will begin pulling out of the country this summer, but Army special forces teams would remain behind to continue to train and mentor their Afghanistan counterparts.

According to reports, during the past 12 months the United States has become reliant on its teams equipped with special forces gear and training, which General Petraeus says have not only helped neutralise insurgent leaders, but are also offering special forces training to members of the Afghan forces.

The reported plans would see the number of conventional troops on the ground decrease from 100,000 today to 20-30,000 by the end of 2014. The US special forces contingent, however, would remain at 10,000.

Around 4,000 of these members of the US Army Special Forces are said to be involved with direct action, while the remaining 6,000 help train Afghan officers and police forces, with strong results.

Petraeus told the Associated Press: "Targeted intelligence-driven operations are increasingly led by Afghan special operations forces". These raids were said to now amount to three to four operations each week in the capital Kabul.

Recruiting special forces

Outside Afghanistan, countries are having much greater issues finding the necessary number of recruits for Special Forces selection for elite teams like the British SAS.

Brigadier Richard Dennis, in a letter which was seen by the Daily Telegraph, highlighted Special Forces recruiting is being hampered by the increasing pressures the military is finding itself under.

Dennis described the "unrelentingly demanding" operations within Afghanistan as being among the factors which were combining to "mitigate against Special Forces recruitment".

The head of infantry said he was satisfied that the infantry "delivers sufficient officer and soldier volunteers", however, he added: "I am less confident about how we guarantee better depth of quality to increase selection pass rates.

"Indeed, for any measure to be successful you might consider that Army action is essential if we are to increase selection success and the enduring quality of our SF [Special Forces] community."

Figures reported by the newspaper suggested the British special forces are now short of one-third of its frontline SAS staff. A source indicated to the newspaper that the high levels of casualties among UK special forces, and large numbers coming to the end of their career or switching jobs were all causing problems.

The United States has also previously experienced issues recruiting members of its marine special forces and army special forces, but this is something it believes it is now addressing.

USA Today reported that in 2010, 277 Navy SEALs graduated, which is a record high. An additional 1,141 people signed up for Special Forces training.

Capt. Adam Curtis, director of Naval Special Warfare recruiting, told USA Today: "We have definitely ramped up production — mentoring and prepping physically and mentally the guy in a way that has only been done for a few years, and I think we're seeing benefits from that."

In spite of this trend, problems remain with retaining SEALs and this is an area which, if left unaddressed, will eventually affect the kind of operational capability that saw through the successful raid against bin Laden’s Pakistan compound.