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- A US commander appeared to suggest UK special forces were operating in Ukraine.
- Gen. Bryan Fenton told The AP that the US was “taking a lot of lessons” from UK special forces in Ukraine.
- The UK Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the report.
A US commander has appeared to suggest that UK special forces were operating in Ukraine.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Gen. Bryan Fenton, the Commander of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), spoke about plans to restructure Green Beret teams based on lessons from British special forces in Ukraine.
“A 12-person detachment might be up-gunned,” Fenton said, explaining that as warfare becomes more high-tech, there may be a need for teams to have a cyber expert, an Air Force pilot, or a cryptologist, for example.
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US commander needs to keep his gob shut.
Careless talk costs lives.
Loose lips sink ships
I am very sure that there are British special forces in Ukraine.
After one of his visits to Ukraine, Michael Kofman was being interviewed about the possibility of soldiers going in and partway through started laughing and said “if anyone has people there, I’m sure the British do”. The interviewer asked him why he thought that and he laughed even harder and said “let’s just call it one analyst’s guess”.
My guess is that they’re present and that it’s an open secret that they’re there, but that the British government chooses not to officially announce the fact.
Later, they had that German military discussion that leaked and IIRC they said that the British had about 50 people in Ukraine, more than anyone else…IIRC we in the US had 17. The Brits were doing things like helping target British weapons (and French weapons, as IIRC the French didn’t have anyone present). The Germans were talking about having the British target their weapons too if they decided to send Taurus missiles, so that they could avoid putting anyone in-country.
Probably being present as trainers or consultants for British systems, intelligence, tactics etc. I can’t imagine they operate at the front or you’d be inevitably getting body bags back and you can only keep quiet so many.
I believe that the German discussion had something to to with programming weapons, which I assume – given the talk of Taurus and of the British dealing with French weapons and the British Storm Shadow and French SCALP having a common heritage – has to with the Storm Shadow/SCALP.
They may be doing other things too, but my guess is that that’s one thing.
IIRC Latvia also had some, don’t remember who else was on the list.
Is this keeping the British in charge of targeting so the Ukrainians don’t target the Kremlin directly with the long range weapons?
Well duh, special forces are one of our specialities.
This should not really be surprising to anyone, given that training others is a part of their mission set. Does anyone doubt MI6 is active there, pursuing the missions they’ve been trained for?
That said, I’m surprised a Green Beret team doesn’t already come with a cyber guy. I mean, yeah, that’s probably a good idea to have someone that can monitor and work in the information space when you’re doing a long-term deployment overseas. Probably want a drone/EW guy too.
Yeah the Airforce pilot reference probably means drone pilot. Can imagine the Airforce training the pilots and detaching them into other units.
Anybody who is surprised by this is either hugely naive, knows nothing about previous British military tactics or has been under a rock for the last 40 years.
When the invasion kicked off, like day 0, SF assets all over the place were ready to bounce and get in there. I know at least one GROM and UK guy who were training their counterparts in case they got told they could support.
But, as others have said, these are more akin to advisors than “behind the lines” active missions. If you don’t think everyone has someone backing up the tax dollars they’re sending, you’re naive at best.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
“A 12-person detachment might be up-gunned,” Fenton said, explaining that as warfare becomes more high-tech, there may be a need for teams to have a cyber expert, an Air Force pilot, or a cryptologist, for example.
Fenton said that British commandos have required Royal Air Force pilots’ advice on drone operations and needed navy personnel “to help them understand, more than a SOF (special operations forces) teammate could, the way a ship in the Black Sea navigates.”
Indeed, the possibility of Western powers openly sending military units to fight Putin’s forces has gained momentum in recent months, with President Emmanuel Macron saying he’d consider dispatching French soldiers.
In a statement to Business Insider, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “It is the long-standing policy of successive governments not to comment on UK Special Forces.”
Meanwhile, the radical idea of Western troops being officially sent to Ukraine has been floated by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron said he’d consider sending troops “if the Russians were to break through the front lines” or “if there were a Ukrainian request—which is not the case today.”
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