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What is the Most Elite Special Forces Unit? - Page 8

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Grettin
Profile Joined April 2010
42381 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-27 14:33:03
November 27 2011 14:25 GMT
#141
Brazilia, Israel, and Russia has pretty sick special forces. I guess it's "easy" to say SAS or SEALs are the most elite force there is, so no wonder people think so. Might be true, might not be. Also read that middle-east/(south)Asia overall seem to have tough special forces.

Should be interesting to be part of SAS, SEAL, or any other special force to be honest. :p
"If I had force-fields in Brood War, I'd never lose." -Bisu
Eisregen
Profile Joined September 2011
Germany967 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-27 14:36:04
November 27 2011 14:33 GMT
#142
SpecOps isnt all about equipement and funding. I mean I can support a unit with a massive amount of money but still if they buy some crappy (e.g. domestic produced) weapons it is totally wasted. Also, looking at the training methods...I bet every single one of them out there are developed over years and have each their good and maybe bad points, but still prepare perfectly for the unit's tasks.
What I think is way more important is professional behaviour and attitude, not only by the person but also teached in the training and lived within the unit. And to be honest, I see a lot of SpecOps failing this part horrible.

Also you have to exclude the "elite" units like maybe the parachute troops from the real deal, like SAS, the KSK, the Seals or even the german "kampfschwimmer" (guess translating as combat divers should be fine). Those guys are far from being anywhere close to a "lower" level those elite guys operate on. I would even count the german "Fernspäher" (Recons) or recons in general more towards the SpecOps than the elite.
Photo-Noob@ http://www.flickr.com/photos/eisregen1983/
Tidus Mino
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United Kingdom1108 Posts
November 27 2011 14:38 GMT
#143
British SAS.
Head of Production at FACEITTV, ex-WW & Mouz SC2 manager
thesideshow
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
930 Posts
November 27 2011 14:41 GMT
#144
On November 27 2011 23:33 Eisregen wrote:
SpecOps isnt all about equipement and funding. I mean I can support a unit with a massive amount of money but still if they buy some crappy (e.g. domestic produced) weapons it is totally wasted. Also, looking at the training methods...I bet every single one of them out there are developed over years and have each their good and maybe bad points, but still prepare perfectly for the unit's tasks.
What I think is way more important is professional behaviour and attitude, not only by the person but also teached in the training and lived within the unit. And to be honest, I see a lot of SpecOps failing this part horrible.

Also you have to exclude the "elite" units like maybe the parachute troops from the real deal, like SAS, the KSK, the Seals or even the german "kampfschwimmer" (guess translating as combat divers should be fine). Those guys are far from being anywhere close to a "lower" level those elite guys operate on. I would even count the german "Fernspäher" (Recons) or recons in general more towards the SpecOps than the elite.


Recons troops in general are most definitely not spec ops. Their capabilities are often too limited for any special operations.
OGS:levelchange
Manit0u
Profile Blog Joined August 2004
Poland17539 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-27 14:53:04
November 27 2011 14:46 GMT
#145
I'm surprised that no one mentioned Sayeret Matkal here. They're modelled after SAS, and even though they take part in 'standard' SF operations their primary role is reconnaisance and intelligence gathering.
What is not widely known, the last part of the test to become a full member (that's after the training) is traditionally undertaken in hostile enemy territory, during a real mission. They just drop you behind enemy lines with a task and you've got to get back home on your own. The rumours say that roughly half of the people don't return from it (they're killed or captured, which is basically a death sentence too).

On November 27 2011 23:41 thesideshow wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 27 2011 23:33 Eisregen wrote:
SpecOps isnt all about equipement and funding. I mean I can support a unit with a massive amount of money but still if they buy some crappy (e.g. domestic produced) weapons it is totally wasted. Also, looking at the training methods...I bet every single one of them out there are developed over years and have each their good and maybe bad points, but still prepare perfectly for the unit's tasks.
What I think is way more important is professional behaviour and attitude, not only by the person but also teached in the training and lived within the unit. And to be honest, I see a lot of SpecOps failing this part horrible.

Also you have to exclude the "elite" units like maybe the parachute troops from the real deal, like SAS, the KSK, the Seals or even the german "kampfschwimmer" (guess translating as combat divers should be fine). Those guys are far from being anywhere close to a "lower" level those elite guys operate on. I would even count the german "Fernspäher" (Recons) or recons in general more towards the SpecOps than the elite.


Recons troops in general are most definitely not spec ops. Their capabilities are often too limited for any special operations.


What makes SAS (and the others too I guess) so elite is that they basically never stop training. SAS has at least 2 units on rotation at all times, one is training the other one is on the battle alert status. This guys are ready to spring into action 24/7 and with the amount of training they do their performance is ridiculous compared even to police AT forces. Imagine that you run a marathon every day, do other training excercises like parachuting, close combat etc. regularly and you get to the point in shooting where no one in your unit scores below 97/100 at the range.

This guys are so badass that it never ceases to amaze me that some terrorists/criminals still revert to stuff like hostage taking, knowing that they'd have to deal with this kind of guys...
Time is precious. Waste it wisely.
hns
Profile Joined January 2010
Germany609 Posts
November 27 2011 14:53 GMT
#146
I'd give it a tie between Seals, Delta Force and SAS. They have probably the best equipment on top of massive $$$ coverage. But in fact, I don't think there are really big differences at all. Delta Force (iirc) enjoys courses from the german KSK in melee combat and vice versa.
ZerO, Action, Neo.G_Soulkey & FlaSh fanboy~~
zalz
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Netherlands3704 Posts
November 27 2011 14:55 GMT
#147
The US Navy seals, various reasons.

1) Their recruitment pool is incredibly large. It only makes sense that when you have a million people to choose from, you have a better roster then when you have to choose from a 100.000 people.

2) They have the highest funding in the world.

3) They have the latest technology and they get it first hand before anyone even knows about it.

4) They see more action then any other unit. The US is present all across the globe and it has more operations running then any other country.


Just their over abundance of recruits, their constant in-field experience and masive funding secure them that top spot.

But in the end it's all just small differences. When you are running in the olympics, being 1st still means you are only 0.2 seconds faster then the other guy. I doubt the difference to the SAS for example is all that big.
Eisregen
Profile Joined September 2011
Germany967 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-27 15:01:56
November 27 2011 15:00 GMT
#148
Recons troops in general are most definitely not spec ops. Their capabilities are often too limited for any special operations.


Thats why I said more "towards" SpecOps then Elite, actually the recons in germany are grouped alongside with the KSK They do their job perfectly, in small numbers being behind enemy lines for several days, if needed those guys even can handle the jobs KSK normally handles, so their capabilities are in fact not that limited as you may think. In addition, when the german KSK was founded, recons were the first guys in there.

Small private story: When I was serving in ger. army those guys where training in the morning yelling and when I went to bed they were still out there training...fucking cost me tons of sleep :D

Though I cant say anything about foreign recons. May be different in the US, GB or elsewhere.
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol and Long Range Reconnaissance/Surveillance
Photo-Noob@ http://www.flickr.com/photos/eisregen1983/
MasterKush
Profile Joined April 2011
United Kingdom568 Posts
November 27 2011 15:01 GMT
#149
Navy Seals & SAS.

On the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast he does, he talked about a friend of his who was a marine, undergoing the training to be a Seal.

One of the activities they had setup to test you was a team of trainee's would be split up into pairs, one on land and the other person would be instructed to jump into a lake with no breathing apparatus wearing their field equipment/gear. They had it timed out so they knew when the people would begin to drown and at that point, the guys on land would have to jump in and rescue them... It's literally the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard, but Joe said his friend saw the demonstration and bottled it because he was so scared (don't blame him, what the fuck!?).
"Because, maybe, unlike what every whining kid on the internet thinks, terran actually isn't the easiest race? Shocking, I know." - Liquid`Jinro
hitthat
Profile Joined January 2010
Poland2268 Posts
November 27 2011 15:11 GMT
#150
Its imposible to say. Do we f.e. know how much propaganda is in that what we saw and how much is a fact? What about top secret units used only for suicidal missions?

And what do we know about elite units in f.e. North Korea?
Shameless BroodWar separatistic, elitist, fanaticaly devoted puritan fanboy.
alecspec
Profile Joined November 2011
Norway9 Posts
November 27 2011 15:13 GMT
#151
On November 28 2011 00:01 MasterKush wrote:
Navy Seals & SAS.

On the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast he does, he talked about a friend of his who was a marine, undergoing the training to be a Seal.

One of the activities they had setup to test you was a team of trainee's would be split up into pairs, one on land and the other person would be instructed to jump into a lake with no breathing apparatus wearing their field equipment/gear. They had it timed out so they knew when the people would begin to drown and at that point, the guys on land would have to jump in and rescue them... It's literally the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard, but Joe said his friend saw the demonstration and bottled it because he was so scared (don't blame him, what the fuck!?).


I know of some other "training tools" that are used as well.

Like running a 3 mile run with a gas mask on, that has puke in it, if its your own then you are considered lucky.

Also a diving exercise where you have to pick up an anchor from the bottom of the pool. Its too heavy for anyone too pickup to the surface. Its you go up for air you fail, if you pass out under water you fail but get another try just to fail again and pass out.

There are also a lot of beating and violence in training
Deadeight
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United Kingdom1629 Posts
November 27 2011 15:26 GMT
#152
It's hard to say, I think in different situations different teams would be the best.

For jungle warfare, definitely Gurkhas. Maybe not what I'd want in a hostage situation, but I think I would argue that they are the deadliest for their specific intended role.
FraCuS
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
United States1072 Posts
November 27 2011 15:34 GMT
#153
On November 28 2011 00:11 hitthat wrote:
Its imposible to say. Do we f.e. know how much propaganda is in that what we saw and how much is a fact? What about top secret units used only for suicidal missions?

And what do we know about elite units in f.e. North Korea?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMEgSFftU1Y&feature=related


shit's fake.

a women chopping a glass bottle in half....haha
Apink/Girl's Day/miss A/IU/Crayon Pop/Sistar/Exo K :D l Kpop and Kdrama Enthusiast
thesideshow
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
930 Posts
November 27 2011 15:36 GMT
#154
On November 28 2011 00:00 Eisregen wrote:
Show nested quote +
Recons troops in general are most definitely not spec ops. Their capabilities are often too limited for any special operations.


Thats why I said more "towards" SpecOps then Elite, actually the recons in germany are grouped alongside with the KSK They do their job perfectly, in small numbers being behind enemy lines for several days, if needed those guys even can handle the jobs KSK normally handles, so their capabilities are in fact not that limited as you may think. In addition, when the german KSK was founded, recons were the first guys in there.

Small private story: When I was serving in ger. army those guys where training in the morning yelling and when I went to bed they were still out there training...fucking cost me tons of sleep :D

Though I cant say anything about foreign recons. May be different in the US, GB or elsewhere.
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol and Long Range Reconnaissance/Surveillance



LRRPs are a different story in my opinion. Their job scope alone makes them specops in my eyes lol.

But you're right, if you take all the "elite" troops, recons (and probably sniper teams) are usually the closest to spec ops in terms of capability (behind enemy lines, small numbers, limited logistical support and autonomous operations)
OGS:levelchange
Arkless
Profile Joined April 2010
Canada1547 Posts
November 27 2011 15:39 GMT
#155
Im pretty sure it goes something like this
Navy SEALS > British SAS> Russian Spetsnav
http://www.mixcloud.com/Arkless/ http://www.soundcloud.com/Arkless
Disregard
Profile Blog Joined March 2007
China10252 Posts
November 27 2011 15:43 GMT
#156
Based on how many special forces are based or influenced by the SAS, they would be up there. But BOPE and Shayetet 13 have plenty of live combat experience due to the constant state of war and civil issues of those countries. Cue the Spetznaz GRU jokes.
"If I had to take a drug in order to be free, I'm screwed. Freedom exists in the mind, otherwise it doesn't exist."
hitthat
Profile Joined January 2010
Poland2268 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-27 15:50:55
November 27 2011 15:49 GMT
#157
On November 28 2011 00:34 FraCuS wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 28 2011 00:11 hitthat wrote:
Its imposible to say. Do we f.e. know how much propaganda is in that what we saw and how much is a fact? What about top secret units used only for suicidal missions?

And what do we know about elite units in f.e. North Korea?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMEgSFftU1Y&feature=related


shit's fake.

a women chopping a glass bottle in half....haha


Ok, I said that it can be propaganda.
But are you pretty sure that totalitarian army used to fight asimethric war will not try rise the hightly loyal, trained soldiers that can be in pair with western counterparts? (in everything but equipment?)

I am not...
Shameless BroodWar separatistic, elitist, fanaticaly devoted puritan fanboy.
Alpino
Profile Joined June 2011
Brazil4390 Posts
November 27 2011 15:51 GMT
#158
On November 27 2011 21:37 Biff The Understudy wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 27 2011 17:19 decafchicken wrote:
BOPE definitely have balls of fucking steal. From what i've seen they're pretty much the only thing that keep brazil from being ran by drug cartels.

Yeah, right. They are also known for being one of the greatest crew of murderers of all democratic nation's security forces.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR19/025/2005/en/bb459966-d49c-11dd-8a23-d58a49c0d652/amr190252005en.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batalhão_de_Operações_Policiais_Especiais#Criticism
http://www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/application/media/E_CN_4_2005_7_Add_1 2005.pdf

But if "Elite" is about killing a lot of people, having action like in a video game and having "badass" uniforms with skulls and everything, yeah, they fit the description.

Pity that for internet youth, "having balls of steal" and being a brutal murderer basically mean the same thing.


That's how it works in here. We don't have the time and the money to make a clean cut. We don't have enough qualified men and equipment to make a clean cut, so our forces need to instill fear. They need to make the drug lords KNOW that if one of our BOPE guys is killed shit will go down 100%.
20/11/2015 - never forget EE's Ember
Holgerius
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Sweden16951 Posts
November 27 2011 15:52 GMT
#159
I do not see why USA's forces would be #1 by default, as many seem to think. O_o Well, I mean first of all 99.99% of us won't really have a clue either way. I think most of us are just spurting out what we're being told by movies and video-games. XD All these stories about how bad-ass the training for Navy SEALs is, do we even have a good grasp of what the Spetsnaz go through? No, because they don't make Hollywood movies about it. :D
I believe in the almighty Grötslev! -- I am never serious and you should never believe a thing I say. Including the previous sentence.
FJ
Profile Joined April 2010
United Kingdom321 Posts
November 27 2011 15:55 GMT
#160
I have a book on my shelf called Elite Forces and it goes through them all.

I guess it's hard to bring it down to one force as the best around. The SAS, (and for arguements sake I also include SBS) is generally seen as the best, as per individual soldier, and American forces are shit hot with their tech and other forces of Europe are great in a 4 man group for specific missions.

But that's not to say any of these guys should be messed with.
Disregard females, acquire vespene gas.
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