It can be said that the need to band together in groups is intrinsic to what makes us human beings. Long before the dawn of civilization, humans gathered together in like-minded groups in order to offer one another protection, defend resources, and share the mental and physical challenges of survival. Forming a cooperative group, or herd, may have been one of the earliest human advancements that would one day lead to the complex societies we live in today. But like today, whenever groups gather, conflict is never far behind.
Warfare, it would seem, was the inevitable result of humans living in groups. When one group had something another needed (or wanted), they sought to take it by force. What started as small skirmishes between tribes eventually grew into major battles between city-states, religions, and eventually, nations. The drive to fight and win wars led to countless technological developments throughout human history, but new and advanced weapons have never been the only element necessary to secure victory in a tribal spat or global conflict. Instead, finding and training the most capable war-fighters has always been a key element influencing who would go home the victor and who wouldn’t make it home at all.
Although modern special operations are, as the phrase implies, very much modern, the roots of America’s most elite war-fighting institutions can be traced back as far as warfare itself. In the Marine Corps, we would often liken the lessons we learned in combat training to those first established by the Spartans. Though our modern lineage might be more comparable to that of the British Royal Marines, our ideological ancestors hailed from another time entirely. The mindset employed by Spartan warriors, perhaps as much as their tactical expertise, set them apart from other militaries of the day—something many could attribute to the Marine Corps of today as well. Similarly, one could draw historical parallels between SOCOM’s specialized units and some of the most impressive, capable, and downright frightening warriors throughout human history.
Viking berserkers, recounted in Norse legend as men who would fight with a fury that seemed inhuman, often chose to forgo the chain mail armor of their day, instead adorning themselves with the pelts of predators such as bears and wolves or, often, wearing nothing at all. The bloodlust demonstrated by berserkers in combat granted them a far-reaching reputation, allowing them to sometimes skip the battle completely and instead simply accept an opponent’s surrender based on nothing more than their presence.
The Immortals who fought for the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, depicted in the stylized movie “300,” were the special operations forces of Persia’s multinational military machine. The Immortals were designated as such, according to Herodotus, not only because they were the most fearsome and well-equipped soldiers in King Xerxes’ army, but also because their 10,000-strong unit would immediately field replacements for any Immortal who fell to battle or sickness, ensuring the mighty Immortals retained their 10,000-strong moniker at all times.
The Batavi were a warrior people who served with the Roman military (when not rebelling against Roman rule). Like modern American Navy SEALs, the Batavi gained a reputation not only for being fearsome and brutally barbaric warriors, but for possessing an incredible strength that allowed them to swim across rivers others saw as impassable, all while wearing their armor and carrying their weapons. This tactic enabled the Batavi to attack enemy armies that had used swift waterways as a natural barrier against attack, taking them utterly by surprise.
The classic cliché of black-adorned ninjas sprinting across rooftops may not have been accurate, but the ninja’s reputation for stealth, reconnaissance gathering, and guerrilla warfare tactics is well deserved. Often disguising themselves to blend in with the civilian populace, ninjas trained with a myriad of weapons and prized adaptability in their training regimens. Ninjas were most effectively employed in specialized missions, not unlike modern special operations units.
All of these elite warriors, and countless others, helped form a common fabric of tactics, strategy, and mindset that would one day be employed by America’s elite special operators. Considering that, to a large extent, one can truly credit the breadth of warfare throughout human history with planting the seeds that would later become our modern special operations infrastructure.
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Inaweza kusemwa kwamba uhitaji wa kuungana pamoja katika vikundi ni wa asili kwa kile kinachotufanya tuwe wanadamu. Muda mrefu kabla ya mwanzo wa ustaarabu, wanadamu walikusanyika pamoja katika vikundi vya watu wenye mawazo sawa ili kutoa ulinzi kwa kila mmoja, kulinda rasilimali, na kushiriki changamoto za kiakili na kimwili za kuishi. Kuunda kundi la ushirikiano, au kundi, huenda ikawa mojawapo ya maendeleo ya mapema zaidi ya kibinadamu ambayo siku moja yangesababisha jamii tata tunazoishi leo. Lakini kama ilivyo leo, kila mara vikundi vinapokusanyika, mgogoro haupo mbali. Inaonekana kwamba vita vilikuwa tokeo la lazima la wanadamu kuishi katika vikundi. Kikundi kimoja kilipokuwa na kitu ambacho kingine kilihitaji (au kilitaka), walijaribu kukichukua kwa nguvu. Mambo yaliyoanza kama mapigano madogo-madogo kati ya makabila hatimaye yakawa mapigano makubwa kati ya majiji-majimbo, dini, na hatimaye, mataifa. """Mtazamo wa kupigana na kushinda vita umesababisha maendeleo mengi ya kiteknolojia katika historia ya binadamu, lakini silaha mpya na za kisasa hazikuwa kamwe kipengele pekee muhimu ili kuhakikisha ushindi katika mapigano ya kikabila au mapigano ya kimataifa." Badala yake, kupata na mafunzo ya wapiganaji wa vita wenye uwezo zaidi daima imekuwa kipengele muhimu kuathiri ambaye angeenda nyumbani mshindi na ambaye hangefanya hivyo nyumbani wakati wote. Ingawa shughuli za kisasa za kipekee ni, kama maneno yanavyodokeza, za kisasa sana, mizizi ya taasisi za vita za kipekee zaidi za Amerika inaweza kufuatiliwa hadi vita yenyewe. Katika Kikosi cha Wanajeshi wa Bahari, mara nyingi tulilinganisha masomo tuliyojifunza katika mazoezi ya kupigana na yale yaliyoanzishwa kwanza na Waspartani. Ingawa nasaba yetu ya kisasa inaweza kulinganishwa zaidi na ile ya Royal Marines ya Uingereza, mababu zetu wa kiitikadi walitoka wakati mwingine kabisa. Mawazo ya wapiganaji wa Sparta, labda kama vile utaalam wao wa kijeshi, yaliwatofautisha na majeshi mengine ya siku hiyo - kitu ambacho wengi wanaweza kuhusisha na Jeshi la Wanamaji la leo pia. Vivyo hivyo, mtu anaweza kuchora ulinganifu wa kihistoria kati ya vitengo maalumu vya SOCOM na baadhi ya wapiganaji wenye kuvutia zaidi, wenye uwezo, na wenye kuogopesha kabisa katika historia ya binadamu. "Wakigani Berserkers, waliotajwa katika hadithi za Norse kama ""wanaume ambao wangepigana kwa hasira ambayo ilionekana kuwa isiyo ya kibinadamu,"" mara nyingi walichagua kuachana na silaha za nyuzi za siku zao, badala yake wakijipamba na ngozi za wawindaji kama vile dubu na mbwa mwitu, au, mara nyingi, bila kuvaa chochote." "Kila wakati, ""Berserkers"" walionyesha tamaa ya damu katika mapigano, na hivyo kuwapa sifa ya mbali, na kuwaruhusu wakati mwingine kuruka vita kabisa na badala yake kukubali tu kujisalimisha kwa mpinzani kulingana na kitu zaidi ya uwepo wao." Wafuasi wa Immanuel, ambao walipigana kwa ajili ya Milki ya Achaemenid ya Uajemi, walionyeshwa katika filamu ya 300, walikuwa vikosi vya operesheni maalum vya mashine ya kijeshi ya kimataifa ya Uajemi. "Herodotus anasema kwamba ""waokovu"" walipewa jina hilo kwa sababu walikuwa askari wenye kuogopesha zaidi na wenye vifaa vizuri katika jeshi la Mfalme Xerxes, lakini pia kwa sababu kikosi chao cha 10,000 kilikuwa na uwezo wa kuchukua nafasi ya ""waokovu"" walioshindwa katika vita au magonjwa, kuhakikisha kuwa waokovu wenye nguvu waliendelea kuwa na jina lao la 10,000 wakati wote." Wabatabi walikuwa watu wapiganaji waliotumikia katika jeshi la Roma (wakati ambao hawakuwa wakipinga utawala wa Roma). Kama vile wanajeshi wa kisasa wa Marekani, Batavi walipata sifa ya kuwa wapiganaji wenye kuogopesha na wa kikatili, lakini pia kwa kuwa na nguvu kubwa sana ambazo ziliwawezesha kuogelea katika mito ambayo wengine waliona kuwa haiwezekani kuvuka, huku wakiwa wamevaa mavazi yao ya kivita na kubeba silaha zao. Mbinu hiyo iliwawezesha Wabatawi kushambulia majeshi ya adui yaliyokuwa yametumia njia za maji kama kizuizi cha asili dhidi ya mashambulizi, na kuwapiga kwa mshangao kabisa. "Kile kinachotumiwa na watu wengi kuhusu ninja wanaovaa mavazi meusi wakikimbia juu ya paa huenda hakikuwa sahihi, lakini ninja wana sifa ya kuwa ""wenye kujificha,"" ""wanaokusanya upelelezi,"" na ""wanavyopigana vita vya wapiganaji wa kuvizia.""" Ninja walipokuwa wakijifanya kuwa watu wa kawaida, walijizoeza kutumia silaha nyingi na walithamini sana uwezo wao wa kubadilika-badilika. Ninjas walitumiwa kwa ufanisi zaidi katika misheni maalumu, tofauti na vitengo vya kisasa vya shughuli maalum. Majeshi hayo yote ya kipekee, na mengine mengi, yalisaidia kuunda muundo wa kawaida wa mbinu, mkakati, na mawazo ambayo siku moja yangetumiwa na maofisa wa kipekee wa Marekani. Kwa kuzingatia kwamba, kwa kiasi kikubwa, mtu anaweza kweli sifa upana wa vita katika historia ya binadamu na kupanda mbegu ambayo baadaye itakuwa yetu ya kisasa maalum shughuli za miundombinu. Picha ya kipengele kwa heshima ya WikiMedia Commons