On Special Forces

A friend who served in the United States Army Special Forces sent me this article from Washington Examiner. It gives you a good idea of the caliber of the men serving there.

Besides the legendary physical, survival and martial training, Special Forces preparation covers a wide range of unconventional skills because Special Forces units currently serve in 40 nations overseas, often on missions that require everything from diplomatic talent in working with village elders to construction management to make sure a school being built by local contractors with U.S. assistance goes up properly. It's why Special Forces are increasingly called "warrior diplomats."

At least two members of every 12-man Special Forces unit have extensive medical training, while other pairs specialize in communications, weaponry, engineering and intelligence. Special Forces units are lethal: They've killed more Taliban insurgents than the rest of coalition forces in Afghanistan, but they've also treated an estimated 200,000 civilians with medical problems every year.

There are approximately 15,000 members of the Army Special Forces, with about 8,500 deployed overseas. In Afghanistan alone, Special Forces units conduct on average 30 operations every night.