Infantry: October 13, 2003

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In the Iraq campaign, Special Forces teams played a major role in finding targets for smart bomb attacks. While thirty teams were active in the 1991 Persian Gulf war, nearly a hundred were active in 2003. Moreover, the Iraq campaign saw the teams operating in close cooperation with ground combat units. Better communications and better training enabled the Special Forces troops to keep in touch with nearby infantry and mechanized units. Special Forces provided reconnaissance assistance and targeting of enemy positions ahead of the coalition ground units. The Blue Force Tracker system, which showed the location of all coalition combat units on a computer screen, was a major factor in allowing Special Forces units to be "out there" and still operate with nearby combat units and not get shot at by friendly air or ground units.

 

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