New Afghanistan U.S. commander represents change

This particular officer has spent his career in the shadows in special operations. In earlier eras of the U.S. Army, a Special Forces career would have guaranteed being sidelined without possibility of promotion to top rank. During his open confirmation hearings, there were a number of subjects he could not discuss. For example, other than confirming being in Saudi Arabia during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, all other aspects of his responsibilities there remain classified.

Unconventional operations are as old as warfare and have been prominent in United States history. The American Revolution involved irregulars and raiders using tactics far removed from the conventional set-piece battles of European armies. The image of British Redcoats marching in formation, while Colonial irregulars took cover and fired with great effect, is a very well established part of our folklore as well as history.

During World War II, the Office of Special Services (OSS), the predecessor of the modern CIA, was particularly effective in sabotage missions and support for anti-Nazi partisan groups in Europe. Specially trained raiders, such as Merrill's Marauders, were celebrated in film as well as the news.

Merrill's Marauders, officially titled the 5307th Composite Unit, established a particularly distinguished combat record in Burma. Modeled on the Chindits Long Range Penetration Force commanded by the British special operations expert Orde Wingate, the American unit commanded by Gen. Frank Merrill marched approximately one thousand miles from India to reach the Southeast Asia theater, then inflicted heavy casualties while disrupting supply lines of the Japanese military, while simultaneously overcoming difficult jungle terrain and weather.

The Army's modern Special Forces date from the earliest years of the Cold War, though accompanied by considerable irony. Intense anti-Communist sentiment, directed at alleged subversives at home as well as the new Soviet enemy abroad, came fundamentally to define partisan politics in America.

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