Jake Lang 6254655 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Hello RallyPoint, I hope you are all doing well. I happened to have read an article by Jack Murphy (former Army Ranger and Green Beret) about the disbanding of Green Beret CIF companies (perhaps another topic for another time). In one of his statement, he stated: &quot;even the conventional Army and Marines can do direct action&quot;. With this, I have to ask what your guys&#39; thoughts are on this? Perhaps a more specific definition of Direct Action may be needed? Either way, hope you are all doing well. 2020-08-28T15:12:10-04:00 Jake Lang 6254655

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Hello RallyPoint, I hope you are all doing well. I happened to have read an article by Jack Murphy (former Army Ranger and Green Beret) about the disbanding of Green Beret CIF companies (perhaps another topic for another time). In one of his statement, he stated: &quot;even the conventional Army and Marines can do direct action&quot;. With this, I have to ask what your guys&#39; thoughts are on this? Perhaps a more specific definition of Direct Action may be needed? Either way, hope you are all doing well.

2020-08-28T15:12:10-04:00 2020-08-28T15:12:10-04:00 SSG Private RallyPoint Member 6254849

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I&#39;m in what you would call a &quot;conventional&quot; unit, despite the majority of the division thinking otherwise. I have done direct action while here. We can absolutely do it and do it well, the question really is will the higher echelons let us do it?

2020-08-28T16:05:56-04:00 2020-08-28T16:05:56-04:00 CPT Lawrence Cable 6254896

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Absolutely correct. While I can&#39;t speak for today&#39;s Army, but in the 80&#39;s when I was a Grunt, all the light units repetitively practiced raids, ambushes and infiltration. While most regular Army Infantry and Marine Infantry units don&#39;t get the trigger time the Rangers get, they are still quite capable of doing these missions. I have a lot of respect for Rangers and will give them credit for pissing the highest up the wall, but there are a number of units that piss pretty high too. <br />SOCOM has become the problem that they were formed to solve, misuse and overextension of units that are generally not designed for sustained combat. But if you are a carpenter, every problem is a nail and every solution is a hammer.

2020-08-28T16:23:13-04:00 2020-08-28T16:23:13-04:00 SSG Brian G. 6254948

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Yes, conventional forces can do direct action. There is only two reasons they cannot... training and upper echelons. Disbanding is not necessary and quite frankly foolish. Instead, their should be a realignment of forces so that the proper force/unit is performing the proper mission for maximum effect.

2020-08-28T16:47:02-04:00 2020-08-28T16:47:02-04:00 CW2 Private RallyPoint Member 6254967

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Just because they can doesn&#39;t mean they will. SF has pulled away from DA (but it IS still one of their Core Tasks) because 1. the Rangers have it handled right now...along with the SEALs, and SMUs. SF not doing as much DA allows them to do their Core Tasks more like FID (kind of a big one right now). <br />There is also a difference between DA and Force on Force. &quot;Short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets. Direct action differs from conventional offensive actions in the level of physical and political risk, operational techniques, and the degree of discriminate and precise use of force to achieve specific objectives.&quot; That&#39;s DA, pretty solid definition already.<br />Force on Force is the usual conventional warfare - and large. What makes the difference is that second sentence. All kinds of stuff the regular 11 bang bang would not be the right person for. DA is a sensitive operation, not just anything involving what was formally known as Combat Arms.

2020-08-28T16:55:05-04:00 2020-08-28T16:55:05-04:00 CSM Michael Chavaree 6255091

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Direct action requires dedicated assets that are either organic or non-organic. One reason I don’t believe a conventional unit would be successful at direct action is the availinility of those such assets. Air movement and support, dedicated medical assets, QRF assets, targeting assets, and many other behind the scenes support. Can it be done? Yeah, effectively and sustained? In my opinion... no.

2020-08-28T17:38:05-04:00 2020-08-28T17:38:05-04:00 MSG Private RallyPoint Member 6255263

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Any raid or other form of special attack is &quot;direct action.&quot; The differences between SOF direct action and conventional are proficiency and purpose of the attack. SOF has a smaller list of missions they must be able to accomplish, so they can practice more. The purpose of SOF attacks are usually very specific and not designed to hold terrian for long periods of time. When conventional forces hit an OBJ we have the ability to hold that terrian for longer periods of time.

2020-08-28T18:47:15-04:00 2020-08-28T18:47:15-04:00 CSM Darieus ZaGara 6255326

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Listen all forces on the ground are subject to Direct Action. One would have to read the context in which he used that phrase while referencing the Army and Marines. In any case, there are situations when conventional forces perform non standard roles as well, as I said up front depending on the circumstances.

2020-08-28T19:16:00-04:00 2020-08-28T19:16:00-04:00 SFC Private RallyPoint Member 6255357

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>The Article you’re talking about is the disbanding of the CRIF companies within SF. They were a bad idea. SF wanted to have a piece of the counter terrorism pie. But the problem is we already had assets in those areas who were tasked to handle that mission, and who were more preferable and better supported. Plus the companies were a huge financial drain. It’s hard to justify one company sucking up over half the battalions budget. There are other organizations that have the assets readily available that those operators can go and work with.

2020-08-28T19:28:14-04:00 2020-08-28T19:28:14-04:00 SSG Watis Ekthuvapranee 6255415

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>My question is do they have something to replace them with? Conventional Army are dealing with BS on post more than training. Conventional Army cannot deploy on the moment notice. Conventional Army is slow to move and to long of a chain of command to make decisive action. Throughout history a conventional army are a diversion while a little pocket knife is surgically ram through the enemy vital area. A conventional Army cannot fight unconventional army. <br /><br />Remember the D-day when the rangers were tasked to take out gun on the Omaha. They were especially trained for over a year before they were trained to do their job. Even when the guns were missing on the cliff, they were still an instrumental in silencing the artillery fire. <br /><br />A conventional army have guys that would quit when things get tough, claiming, &quot;I didn&#39;t sign up for this.&quot; Special Forces mentally trained to not break where a normal man/woman will. I have seen a staff sergeant quit the 12-mile road march the second to the final task for the EIB. He saw a big freaking hill and decided to jump on the truck at a quarter mile mark. It gave me a determination not to quit no matter what. Then again, luck was not on my side.<br /><br />Anyway, let the big wigs get rid of it. Eventually, when the casualty list start going up or when our leader face with problems and start saying, &quot;Damn! I wish we have some unit that can go in there and do this without getting caught or a pocket knife that we can stab at the enemy&#39;s side.&quot;<br /><br />United States are getting carried away with being dominant force in the theater. We have not have a worthy adversary since the Cold War. We have been consistently forgetting how we pull ourselves out of the bacon and that the power that we enjoy having will be the first thing to fall victim to the worthy adversary at the initiation of war.<br /><br />Though, I am sure that the Big Wigs will have something that is similar to SF unit for such the occasion. So far we have been trying to fight the previous war thus far. We are now trying to learn to fight a future war. Let&#39;s hope that the Big Wigs will make a mistake that we can easily recover from.<br /><br />If any one wants to know more, I suggest Googleing it for the taking back of Reiland, Annexation of Austria, Pearl Harbor, Korea, Ted Offensive, and 9/11. Oh, don&#39;t forget the first Battle of Bulls Run and the war in 1812, ... what is it called again? :P

2020-08-28T19:51:02-04:00 2020-08-28T19:51:02-04:00 CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member 6257057

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>They have for years, the original operators. Takes good leaders and lots of training. Equipment aids the process. A Rifle Company with supporting fires can be a powerful tool. They can travel light and move fast. Add indirect fire, aviation, and good comms and you have a lethal unit. Same applies to a Fire Team.

2020-08-29T11:34:45-04:00 2020-08-29T11:34:45-04:00 MAJ Ken Landgren 6257309

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>What is direct action?

2020-08-29T13:12:01-04:00 2020-08-29T13:12:01-04:00 SPC John Tacetta 6263018

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Direct Action in military parlance can cover a lot of ground, but generally describes small scale raids, ambushes and the like. Regular Army units, particularly light infantry units, are quite capable of conducting these operations with appropriate training. I know that I was well schooled in patrolling, infiltration and setting up ambushes on the squad and platoon levels, so I really don&#39;t see that DA should be or is, in fact, limited to Special Operations.

2020-08-31T10:56:19-04:00 2020-08-31T10:56:19-04:00 2020-08-28T15:12:10-04:00