In addition to the tactical aspects of the plan, psychological operations and civil affairs played a vital role to ensure the support of the people. The entire effort had to be truly integrated, with the parts supporting the whole.
Of course, I had already started civil affairs work within the community by providing selected guerrillas to work with people like the dairy farmer whose wife had cancer. But more could be done — such as medical assistance missions, for example, where our medic treated minor illnesses in the more remote parts of the county where medical help was scarce. We also had guerrillas (free labor) clean up playgrounds and cemeteries and the like. And to widen and strengthen my intelligence net and base of support, I provided guerrillas (in pairs) to the city and county maintenance departments.
The A-Detachment itself had been augmented with a psychological operations specialist, who (among other things) could produce leaflets (though in a very rudimentary way compared with what we can do today). Nevertheless, we produced and distributed leaflets designed to degrade the will, loyalty, and combat effectiveness of the counterinsurgency force, and to bolster and widen our support among the people.
We distributed our leaflets by airdrop at night, or by hand; and they were amazingly effective, especially in inhibiting the counterinsurgency force. For example, landowners and farmers would prevent them from using or even crossing their land — while at the same time harboring us and providing support.
1 guess this was the beginning of my understanding of the real power of psychological operations. If you can influence and control people's minds, then you are well on the way to winning, while keeping the loss of lives to a minimum.
By the end of the first week, the training of the guerrillas was going well, and they were hitting one point target (a bridge, for instance) each night. Meanwhile, local farmers, bread-delivery distributors, and the county maintenance department were providing trucks for our transportation — and were even scouting some targets for us. By the end of the second week, the guerrillas had progressed to platoon-size (thirty to forty men) raids on larger targets. By the third and final week, they were making even larger raids.
Throughout all this activity (while operating in a community we had never known before), we didn't lose a single man to the counterinsurgency force — although they chased us day and night. Nor did we have a single bad incident from either our A-Detachment soldiers or the guerrilla force. Nobody did anything we would not be proud of.
As a result of our operations, the leftist government of Pincland was overthrown and replaced by a democracy.
Was it now time for the A-Detachment to go home? Not quite yet.
An important aspect of unconventional warfare is bringing it to closure. Quite simply, no new government can exist for long without the support of the force that helped to bring it to power, nor can they risk having a formidable armed band running around out of control. The best way to deal with these possibilities was for our guys to work out a plan to disarm and disband the "G" force. And they had to do it before they could go home. (In real life, the smoothness of this operation usually depended on concessions made by the new government to the guerrilla leader.)
And so ended the Q Course of 1964. I'm proud to say that all the SF students who participated earned the "flash" that made them fully qualified as Green Berets.
SPECIAL FORCES TRAINING TODAY
In recent years, Special Forces mission areas have expanded. As this has happened, so has the scope of the selection process and the training program. Thus today, the initial phase of formal qualification training lasts between twenty-four and thirty-six months, depending on the MOS of the student.
Applicants are all volunteers. They must be airborne-qualified, in good physical condition, and have nothing in their backgrounds that would prevent a security clearance to at least the SECRET level.
The Special Forces Qualification Course breaks down as follows:
Phase I (Camp MacKall): SF Assessment and Selection—25 days
Phase II (Camp MacKall): Land Navigation, Small-Unit Training, Live Fire—48 days
Phase III (Fort Bragg): MOS Training: 18B (Weapons)—2 months18C (Engineers)—2 months18D (Medic)—12 months18E (Commo)—4 months
Phase IV (Camp MacKall): Training to include Robin Sage (2 weeks)—39 days
SERE: Survival, Escape, Resistance, and Evasion (Camp MacKall): 19 days
Graduation: Flash Awarded Language Training: 4–6 months
The toughest part physically is the SF assessment and selection phase, during which soldiers are continuously assessed to determine whether or not they have what it takes. The first week is designed to evaluate a soldier's emotional and psychological makeup, mainly by means of written and practical tests. The second week is structured to test the soldier's endurance, strength, will, and mental toughness. It involves a complete range of physical tests, including timed runs, obstacle courses, rucksack marches, day and night land navigation, and swimming wearing uniform and boots. During this week, the soldier's ability to function effectively in a high-stress environment is also evaluated by means of sleep deprivation and more psychological testing. The third week evaluates his leadership abilities as an individual and as part of a team.
At the end of the three weeks, a board of impartial senior officers and, NCOs reviews each candidate's performance record and makes the final determination about his suitability for Special Forces training. The board also recommends a military occupational specialty for each soldier.
The Assessment and Selection course is conducted eight times a year. In the past, the average selection rate has averaged about twenty-nine percent. Recently, however, the rate has risen to fifty percent. A more stringent preliminary screening process and better-quality applicants have meant that the higher rate has been accomplished without sacrificing quality. Soldiers who fail to make the selection are sent bach to their units with a letter of commendation. Some are allowed to try again, and some of them will make it on the second go.
Meanwhile, those who were selected mill enter the Q Course (Phase II), where they must satisfactorily complete whatever their MOS requires (including Robin Sage and SERE training).
After graduation and award of the "flash," each soldier is assigned to a unit, but before he joins his A-Detachment, he must complete six months (or more) of language training (depending on his unit's area of orientation).
Now he has mastered the basics, but as a member of a team his training continues for the rest of his career. His next formal course of instruction (which comes very soon) will likely he military free-fall (parachute) or combat diver (scuba) training. Additionally, he will hegin to receive intense formal instruction in the culture of his area of focus.
CARL STINER, GREEN BERET
During the two months after graduation from the Q Course, Stiner attended Jumpmaster School (two weeks at Fort Bragg) and continued to improve the proficiency of his A-Detachment in field-training exercises in the Uhwarrie National Forest.