Are America's special operations forces in crisis?

Interviews with former operators point to troubling signs within the military's most elite troops
By John Knefel, Vocativ | October 16, 2014

Frustrations with the never-ending U.S. war on terror are mounting among the country's elite fighting forces. These top-level troops — called special operations forces — are fraying at the edges after more than 13 years of near constant deployments, according to public comments by current and former leaders at the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Now, as the U.S. is poised to broaden its offensive against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (better known as ISIS) in ways that will undoubtedly require a heavy presence of special operations forces, there are serious questions about whether waging a war without end is sustainable for these go-to fighters.

Special operations forces come from all branches of the military and include groups like Navy SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed Osama Bin Laden, as well as Army Rangers and Marine Reconnaissance teams. Operators, as they're called, are reportedly working in up to 80 countries on any given day, and they're tasked with carrying out the military's most secretive and specialized missions, including assassinations and training foreign troops — the chief job of the 300 special operations "advisers" President Obama sent to Iraq this summer.

But interviews with former operators point to troubling signs within special operations forces, and suggest that these units have been pushed too hard for too long, for military victories that are often fleeting. "These guys realize they've been fighting and dying out there — they've seen their friends die — and there's been very little discernible return on investment," says Jack Murphy, a former Army Ranger. "It's not like we liberated Holland and they threw a party for you like in World War II."

Some operators point to the counterterrorism raids they've conducted in Afghanistan as particularly futile. "They realize we can go and hit this target, and we can fight and die, and for what?" says Murphy, referring to the deadly night-raid campaign that has failed to quell the Afghan insurgency. "Where does that leave us?" The constant demand for special operations forces since 9/11 — not only in Afghanistan and Iraq but also in Africa and Asia — has resulted in near constant deployments, with some operators serving more than 10 tours of duty in the past 12 years. The hectic deployment schedule has taken a toll, admits the newly appointed commander of SOCOM. "SOF members are subject to no-notice recall and immediate deployments without clear end dates which adds unpredictability to the families," Gen. Joseph Votel said in written testimony before his Senate confirmation hearing this summer.

https://theweek.com/article/index/269972/are-americas-special-operations-forces-in-crisis