SPECIAL OPERATIONS: Language Skills as Part of the SOF Tool Kit

No “Failure to Communicate”

A U.S. Army Non-commissioned Officer assigned to Special Operations Command South coaches commandos from the Dominican Republic on the best methods for dismounting a helicopter prior to a live exercise on how to recover a downed pilot (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Alex Licea, Special Operations Command South Public Affairs Office)

U.S. Special Operations Forces (Army Green Berets, Navy SEALS, etc.) are going to be doing a lot more of this in the future: training troops in friendly nations to handle their own internal defense against terrorists and insurgents. U.S. Special Operations Command intends to align special operators regionally with the geographic combatant commands, like Southern Command or Africa Command.

To be effective, they’ll have to concentrate on learning the culture, geography, economics — and languages — of those regions.

However, with the exception of the Green Berets — who have been doing just that since Vietnam — most special operators aren’t skilled in foreign languages, especially exotic tongues like Hausa, Kurdish or Tausug. Your 4GWAR editor’s story on technologies that can help bridge that gap appears in April’s Special Operations Technology magazine.

Click on:

http://www.kmimediagroup.com/SOTECH/magazines/articles-sotech/sotech-2014-volume-12-issue-3-april

 

ARCTIC NATION: Cold Response 2014

 Multi-National Exercise in Norway

A Swedish squad struggles through the weather on patrol. In the background is a Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicle.
(Photo credit: Lars Magne Hovtun, Norwegian Armed Forces)

For the sixth time since 2006, thousands of foreign soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen have taken to the skies, roads and waters of northern Norway for a large winter-weather military exercise: Cold Response 2014.

The goal is to conduct support and combat operations in harsh conditions while working together to create stronger bonds between the allied forces. By the Way, the above was shot in color. If you click on the image to enlarge it, notice the vehicle’s serial number and one of its tail lights are in color.

The Norwegian defense forces play host to the visitors – this year, 16,000 troops from 16 countries – during the 16-day exercise in Norway’s Arctic fastness, which ended March 22. In addition to Norway’s army, navy and air force, participants included units from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, United Kingdom and Sweden.

American participants included Matines from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division.

(Map courtesy Norwegian Armed Forces)

Why Norway? According to the Norwegian Armed Forces website, northern Norway in March “offers harsh weather which gives good training conditions and valuable experience for personnel from other countries. This part of the country is also well used to military exercises.” Unlike almost everywhere else in the world, Cold Response is held in populated areas with tanks and other armored vehicles sharing the road at times with civial cars and trucks. To help keep things running smoothly and safely, military police units from nine nations took part in the exercise.

The long-planned exercise took on additional significance with the Russia-Ukraine crisis in Crimea. Despite rising tensions among NATO member countries bordering Russia, previously invited Russian observers attended this year’s Cold Response, according to the Barents Observer website.  Norway borders Russia and the newly chosen civilian head of NATO is a Norwegian.

To see more photos from the Norwegian website, click here.

To see a short NATO video on he exercise, click here.

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ARCTIC NATION is an occasional 4GWAR posting on the High North. The U.S. “National Strategy for the Arctic Region” describes the United States as “an Arctic Nation with broad and fundamental interests in the Arctic Region, where we seek to meet our national security needs, protect the environment, responsibly manage resources, account for indigenous communities, support scientific research, and strengthen international cooperation on a wide range of issues.”