Special Forces thread

>>34467129
Don't know much about historical units but modern special forces work as we know it today was started by the SAS in world war 2. Kennedy helped jump start the SEALs and Green Berets in the early 60s.

>>34467129
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rogers%27_28_%22Rules_of_Ranging%22

if you meet anybody that is in one of the units ask them about the history because they know it. i just know in the usa it's kind of a mix of the standard special units you find in other countries, but our military kind of incorporated shit from native americans too, link related.

>>34467129
It's where you go if you're too dumb for regular forces.

>>34467129
>wake up at 4300 hours
>remove night ops baclava and insert cammo baclava
>i am assault class so i have to load up with ultra heavy 80 lbs of armor + M240 and ammo
>battlebudy is silent specops so he just gets some light clothing a basic kevlar vest and his MP5SD
>other battlebudy is scout so he gets his ghillie suit and his scoped and suppressed .50 cal and his suppressed M9
>last battlebudy is kinda weird, but he's cool. He grabs his AT4 and his grenade launchers and packs up his M4A1 SOCOM and gets his SPAS-12 with explosive rounds on his backpack
>also loads up his Glock 18
>never understood why he preferred auto or burst pistols but ok
>get up, brush our teeths under the baclavas and helmets, go 2 eat
>entire platoon is there
>taco thursday, fuck yeah
>eat and chat like always
>suddenly everything turns red and there's a siren going on
>ohshit.jpg
>we all have to either chug on tacos or trash them and rush towards the briefing room
>30 or so people bunched up together in file, all dressed and armed in front of a 7 foot 300 pound of pure muscle 50 year old general of 4 stars briefing us
>basically there's some russian communist terrorists and arab terrorists joining up on a joint attack against the US
>first target is alaska
>me and my m8s get aboard the C130 while some other guys of the platoon load up on blackhawks
>the blackhawks depart and fastrope towards the cargo ships transporting the russian and arabs and maybe some chinese
>the C130 gets us 30 000 feets on top of our drop off and we HALO our way into an oil refinery that had already fallen into the hands of the first wave of enemies
>we drop off before anyone notices and quickly dispatch of patrols in our way into the refinery
>we execute everyone in there with no issue
>radio comes alive
>we wait a while and soon enough

>>34468562
>"Rapier 1 this is Central Park (we are using codenames) we've got several hostiles approaching your position quickly, we are sending in support but its gonna take a while to get there)
>fuck.
>soon enough fucking 1980's eras APCs and Tanks and some Mi-8s and Hinds appears in a big fucking wave
>it was not gonna be easy, but we trained our whole lives for this moment
>our anti tank guy plants C4 and anti tank mines, our scout gets up an elevated position, i set up a front line defense and the dark fuck decides to set up some claymores and try to flank them
>the fucking situation was madness, we were getting hit with everything but nothing really got a good shot at us. We were outgunned but not outclassed. Those ruskies had good AK-47s but they had terrible accuracy, the arabs didn't knew how to shoot and the chinese couldn't see the sights because of how closed their eyes were
>soon enough we all 4 are able to fend some of them off but then a second wave, twice as big, comes up
>we all decide to bunch up and retreat in a second line of defense, we are running out of ammo but we are still holding them
>we wont last long
>just as they are getting dangerously close to our position i hear a sound
>BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT
>all their tanks and armor explodes
>machinegun fire from a distant AH-64D takes all the infantry off
>blackhawks come in and fastrope support
>Ospreys try to drop off more USMC reinforcements but it crashes like all the ospreys do and kill everyone inside
>get picked up and transported back to base
>go to debriefing room with general

>>34468565
>"You did fantastic, Reaper 1, you were able to hold them off while the rest of the forces took out all the incoming waves, your mission is complete and the US is safe again thanks to you, but we will black out this entire incident. Nobody but those involved are able to know about what happened there. This entire mission is top classified, understand?"
>"yeah yeah whatever, can we go back to eating tacos now?"
>"You are dismissed Reaper 1, although this operation is top secret, i will try my best to give you all a medal of honor for defending the US from an alien invasion"
>go finish our tacos
>go to sleep off the day
>decide to take the next day off
>go to Sacrement school in Michigan
>find my little brother Sam
>i love my brother Sam, he's cool and i always help him with his homework and bullies
>i find him being harassed by that fucking fat fuck tom
>i grab my gun and transform tom into fucking sweese cheese
>tell all his motorhead friends that if they ever mess with my best little brother i will make their lives miserable
>Sam looks happy
>i go eat ice cream with him and we go eat some dinner at chuck-e-cheese
>have to bid him farewell as i have to return to the line of duty
>just before i leave, my radio comes alive
>"Reaper 1, i know you had your day off, but we've got an emergency..."
>Fuck.
>Oh well, looks like its time to save the world again.
And that's what being in the SOF is really like, OP.

>>34467129
I was at the airsoft field the other day, and even though there was no chance of me dying I'll tell you what it's like.

Once you hear the first whizz go by your ear, you realize it's time to shut up or put up. You hit the decks or reach cover. By now 1 pellet became 100 pellets. Anyone who wasn't fast enough has already been taken out and escorted off the field, but you gotta keep going for them. Once you're in the relative safety of cover you assess how many guys are still with you. The entire time your heart is beating a mile a minute, your pupils dilate, and your stomach goes dormant. You are truly a warrior in this instant. You realize it's either them or you. You remember watching your buddies go mowed down by pellet fire, and a deep hatred fills your body. You let out a monstrous battle cry and hop over cover, maneuvering your way through the hell storm of pellets, you carry the memories of your buddies on your shoulder. As you charge the enemies, you flick off the safety and unleash fury upon them. Until they are all call out, and you and your remaining fireteam move onto the next battle.

That...civvie...is what it's like under fire.

Because they're special.

>>34467129

Special Forces is a bit vague when getting into ancient warfare but I'll have a go at this:

It depends. If you're asking if there's anything like the Green Berets or SAS in the ancient past, then that answer would be a no.

Now, that's not to say there weren't specialized or veteran units that acted within the various spheres of "Spec Ops" (raids, rescue, assassination, espionage, unconventional warfare, etc).

One thing you have to remember is that logistics were very different in ancient past and taking 30-500 highly competent soldiers and dropping them in enemy territory without the support of the main army would probably get them all killed. It's why most of what we might consider "special operations" would take place as an army was encamped, encircling a city, or on the march and usually only 1-3 days ride from the main host.

The formation of units that specialized in these kinds of missions would probably be formed Ad Hoc from the various ranks of the army and based on their experience and skill set. Often, it was a matter of immediate necessity.

Alexander's Companion Cavalry is a good example because fast-mounted units are excellent for scouting, skirmishing, countering raids, patrols, and enjoy extended mobility. I have no doubt one of the reasons Alexander was so effective as a commander is because his Companions were great at giving him as much information about the battlefield as possible and were experienced enough to operate independently if needed.

>>34467129
>So what exactly are 'special forces'?
The Special Forces, colloquially known as the Green Berets, are a United States Army special operations force tasked with five primary missions; unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, and counter-terrorism.
>Are they a new thing or have they been around for awhile?
They were founded in June of 1952.

I think you might mean special operations forces.

>>34469260
I think you might have autism.

whats the most special forces sidearm

>>34472216
something by hk probably

>>34472216
Oberez

>>34467129
The short answer is no, and most of the 'special forces' are spread so thin and used so much these days the term has lost most meaning. What the hell makes the rangers 'special' for example? The SeALs?

Since Iraq popped off it seems like 'special forces' just means 'really bad ass well trained infantry'.

Now I'm not saying that's the theory behind them, but that's the reality.