We need to talk about the Special Forces

Angry Planet

Matthew Gault

War, Politics, Conflict, Government, History, News

4.3 • 882 Ratings

🗓️ 6 July 2017

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

U.S. Special Operations forces worked and fought in more than 130 countries across the world in 2016 alone (hyperlink source). In 2017, America’s elite troops are doing even more (hyperlink source). From East Africa, to the Middle East and beyond, U.S. operators are more than just the tip of the spear, they’re the entire vanguard. That’s not necessarily a good thing. This week on War College, Tim Lynch – a retired Marine and former contractor in Afghanistan – walks us through his experiences in Afghanistan where he had a front row seat for U.S. Special Operations Forces boldest experiments. According to Lynch, America’s elite troops aren’t always great at their job, often misunderstand Afghan culture and sometimes pick fights when they should be building bridges. By Matthew Gault Produced by Bethel Habte

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Love this podcast.
0:02.0	Support this show through the A-Cast supporter feature.
0:05.0	It's up to you how much you give and there's no regular commitment.
0:09.0	Just click the link in the show description to support now.
0:20.0	The views expressed on this podcast are those of the participants, not of Reuters News. I'm not saying that they didn't learn lessons and get more effective later.
0:24.0	I'm just saying that they didn't and the one in conflict, focusing on the stories behind the front lines.
0:44.0	The world.
0:47.0	Hello and welcome to War College. I'm your host Matthew Gall. This week we're
0:58.2	going to talk about the U.S. Special Operations Forces, the Army Rangers, the
1:01.8	Green Berets, Delta Squad, and of course the Navy Seals.
1:05.0	These are the premier teams of America's global war on terror, the elite tip of the spear that keeps America safe and helps it win hearts and minds. Here to help us understand America's
1:14.0	special operations forces and their role in its various wars
1:18.0	is former Marine Corps officer Tim Lynch.
1:20.0	After retiring from the Marine Corps,
1:22.0	Lynch spent seven years in Afghanistan as a contractor.
1:25.0	And during those years, he visited every province in the country and gained a working knowledge of Afghan culture.
1:30.0	He wrote about the experience and continues to write about the military as website Free Range International.
1:35.3	Tim, thank you so much for joining us.
1:37.3	No, no worries Matt, thanks for having me on.
1:39.3	So you had a front row seat for the Afghan war and also the U.S. Special Operations Forces role in it.
1:45.0	And it's my understanding that these elite soldiers come into a country, they learn the culture,
1:49.6	operate with precision, and minimize civilian casualties, that they are in fact the best at what they do.
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