Nigeria violence: 'Boko Haram' destroy village
Source: BBC News Africa
Suspected militant Islamists have killed more than 25 people in an attack on a village in north-eastern Nigeria, residents say.
The gunmen burnt nearly all the homes in Chikongudo, and stole food in Wednesday night's attack, they said.
This came a day after a double bombing killed 122 in the central city of Jos.
The Boko Haram group is suspected to have carried out the attacks, as it intensifies its insurgency to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.... MORE
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27526620
= new reply since forum marked as read
Remember what a Navy Seal is, he is a SCOUT. His job is to go behind enemy lines and do field intelligence work. i.e. where the enemy has concentrated his forces, his supply system, where we can land troops etc. They are trained to survive in hostile terrain. In actual combat most such special forces end up being killed or captured (The enemy is rarely dumb, they will be looking for such "Scouts" and doing their best to kill them or capture them).
Since it is much easier for small units (four men or less) to hide, such small groups are preferred. They are NOT trained to take out the enemy, for that is NOT their job. They are trained to defend themselves and to get out of any bad situation, but as a small unit action not as part of a larger unit. Given the requirements of being such a scout they are highly trained, in a one to one fight, the Navy Seal would prevail. The problem is that is rarely the situation. You have a two to four man team operating in an area, being chased by 20-40 man platoons all over the place. In most fights the Platoons, being trained as a team to fight as a member of a 20-40 man platoon (and the platoon trained to fight as part of a 100-200 man company) will wipe out the Navy Seal (and any other Special Forces in the Area).
My point is wiping out a large terrorist group like this one is NOT the job of Navy Seals.
Now, after the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979, the US Navy Developed a Special Forces unit it called "Seal Team Six", the US Army came out with its equivalent "Delta Force". The exact size of these units are classified and I can not even find a good source for a good estimate of their size. These are NOT scouts, but reinforced squad size (about 12 men) or platoon size units (Platoon 20-50). I do not think they are Company sized, for the US Army has had Rangers formed into Companies (100-200 men) and Battalions (400-1000 men) and thus if you need more then 50 men, you go with the Rangers or whatever the Marine equivalent.
According to Wikipedia, 950 Boko Haram personnel died in Captivity in Nigeria in 2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boko_Haram#History
Given the history of Nigeria, this level of deaths is possible, but given the support Boko Haram has within the ruler elite of Nigeria I have my doubts. On the other hand, it show that Boko Haram is a large organization, in thousands. That being the case to destroy Boko Haram will take more then what the above Special Forces units can do.
Wikepedia also reports that the New York Times said 79 men were involved with the attack on Bin Laden. Furthermore the Helicopters used were Blackhawks, which have the capacity of only 11 passengers (plus crew).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_UH-60_Black_Hawk
In "Normal" units helicopters would be under their own command, but that division in command was one of the reason the Hostage Rescue attempt in 1979 failed. Thus two blackhawks, each with two fire teams of four men each (Total 10 "passengers" per Blackhawk, with Pilot and Helicopter crew, 12 men per blackhawk) would be one "Platoon" of what is commonly called "Seal Term Six"
total 24 men). The newspapers report two backup units, which would be two more platoons, 72 men tied in with the Helicopters and a command structure of 7 men, a Captain, three lieutenants, and three Corpmen (Medics if we are discussing the Army's "Delta Force"
and one First Sargent (Sorry, I am ex-army, I mean "Chief Petty Officer) to keep the whole thing running (Old joke about the Army and the Navy, we do not leave officers run units, they can LEAD such units, but how they operate is up to the NCOs).
The 10 man squads probably has at least one man as a radio operator, but that job may be assign to the Helicopter crew, for remember the Helicopter crew is also part of the unit unlike normal combat units where such transport is provided by a separate unit.
Now, helicopters are maintenance headaches, thus whoever is maintaining them are also attached to the unit. The Chief Petty Officer (or if we are talking about the Army's Delta Force, the Unit's First Sargent) may be left with that support group, which should include maintenance of those Blackhawks and whatever other helicopters the unit has attached. This support element will also have to have equipment to maintain such helicopters and thus has trucks to haul that stuff around in. All of these people would have top notch classification clearance and from the reports I have read are recruited from other parts of the service (unlike the actual Seals, who tend to be people who want to be Seals, these support elements may be just recruited for their expertise in whatever thing they do, keep the Helicopters running, making sure the radio work, make sure everyone is feed). I can see such support personnel exceed the actual number of Seals in such units. At the same time we are still talking about a company size unit i.e. less then 200 men, and I suspect less then 150, of which only 72 are Seals, 76 if you include the officers).
Now, the above is my speculation based on the few facts about these two units that have emerged that can be considered reliable (a huge amount of "information" has been released about such units from various people who claim to have access to these units but I suspect it is made up or released to cover up the actual organization of both units).,
Now, Seal Team Six and Delta Force (their actual names are different, but these are the names most people call them) are NOT the "Scout" type Seals I started this paper with. At the same time, they are NOT normal size military units that can take on normal military targets. At the same time taking out such targets is NOT their job.
Both units came out of the debacle of the Iran Hostage rescue attempt. They are integrated units, Helicopter and Special Forces Pilots Helicopter crews trained to get into an area, do what is required, and get out. Going back to 1979, get the Seal Team Six and/or Delta force unit to Tehran to take back the American Embassy, kill off the captors of the Hostages and remove the hostages back to friendly hands. They job would NOT have been to hold the Embassy, not to try to replace the Government of Iran etc.
What Seal Team Six did with bin Laden is the ideal situation for them, get in, kill or capture bin Laden, get out.
The problem is with these girls, we first have to find out where they are. That is the work of traditional one to four man Seal (and Army, Air Force and Marines equivalent) units NOT "Seal team six" or "Delta Force". Once located (and if moved constantly, tracked) then deciding how to get those girls back, then a decision has to be made on HOW to get them back. If they are in range of Blackhawk Helicopters (Which have in flight refueling capacity), and the girls are guarded by less then a company of men, these units are idea.
On the other hand, if these girls are held in a location where they are held by more then a company, then the Rangers and their larger units would be preferred.
The main restriction (beside finding out where these girls are) is getting these units near enough to do their job. Will Nigeria permit US units to operate within Nigeria? Will Chad? Will Mali? Will Niger? If these all say NO, that leave Carriers and at present we have no carriers in that part of the World. Now the US does NOT need one of its Main Attack Carriers, the much smaller amphibious support carriers would suffice. The US has 9 such ships in active service, all are capable of operating Special forces. The problem is range....
In the raid against bin Laden the raiders used Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, which is 232 miles from bin Laden's compound.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Osama_bin_Laden
The Black hawk has a Combat radius of 368 mi (320 nmi; 590 km) and a Ferry range: 1,380 mi. Ferry range is with pilot and fuel and nothing else.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_UH-60_Black_Hawk#Initial_requirement
The Blawkhawks were reported to be backed up by Chinooks whose combat radius is shorter, 200 nmi (370.4 km) has a shorter Ferry range of 1,216 nmi (1,400 mi, 2,252 km) but is much larger and can carry more equipment and men
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_CH-47_Chinook#MH-47G
Possible use, the Blackhawks went to a point where they meet the Chinooks, then the actual Seals moved from the Chinooks to the Blackhawks. On the return trip did the same thing. This permitted the Seals to overload the one surviving Blackhawk to the Chinooks, which were about 30 miles away, and unload into the Chinooks (or had the Blackhawk make two trips, which actually makes more sense but the reports are unclear). The Chinooks were used to refuel the Blackhawks. Once back in Bagram Airfield, bin Laden's body was put in an Osprey and flown to a Carrier.
Please note the US Army has a "Special Operations" Unit of 12 Chinooks, all upgraded with the latest technology. The Blackhawks may be assigned to the actual units, but the Chinooks may be from this unit instead, to supply support for Seal Team Six and Delta Force.
I bring this up, for the bid Laden range is right at the end of the range for both the Chinooks and the Blackhawks. Playing games (i.e. do what was planned in 1979 in the Iran Hostage Rescue Attempt), land C-130s with fuel and troops after the Blackhawks and Chinooks had just hauled their crew to the same site, but this time do not lose so many helicopters that you have to turn back (and also do not have one of the Helicopter hit one of the C-130 with its propeller, which caused a fire). Such a procedure could be done and get the troops to where Boko Haram operates and to where the girls may be held.
All I am saying, the 900 miles from the Coast of Nigeria to Lake Chad, where the Girls are believed to be held. Is a long complicated operation. Much more like the Iran Hostage rescue attempt in 1979 then the effort to kill bin Laden in 2011. The US has no base in the area, thus operation will have to have the cooperation of Nigeria or one of its Neighbors OR from the sea. Could it be done? Yes, but you are looking at a high possibility of failure.
And all of this is moot, for the US has no carrier in the area and thus no way to get any force like Seal Team Six or Delta Force to the area.
Side Note: The French are operating inside Mali at the present time, to put down the Tureq revolt in that country. Just another option, but an option that looks unlikely for the French have had a hard time supplying its own Army in that area, and inviting the Americas in may just cause Al Queda to transfer its attacks from inside Libya to Mali. Mali, Chad and Niger, makes Afghanistan look like a modern developed country. Nigeria is barely better, but is divided. The better economy (and the Oil) is in the south, but the ruling elite of Nigeria (and the Nigerian Army) is from the Islamic North, which has always been the poor part of the country.
Just comments, that sending in the Seals, do not look like a good option at the present time. Locating the Girls is the first issue, if the Nigeria Government really wants them back, the Nigeria Military is fully capable of getting them back once we know where the girls are located (thus sending in traditional Seals and similar "Scouts" is what best to do at the present time). Once located, it will be up to Nigeria, either to free the girls themselves, have the US do it for them, or frustrate any attempt to do so. Nigeria holds the high cards, for Nigeria can rely on the distances involved to prevent anyone else from saving these girls UNLESS Nigeria agrees to such a rescue. Seal Team Six could then fly into Nigeria, use a Nigeria Military base to launch its attack and get the girls back (if for some reason the Government of Nigeria did not want its own soldiers to be the rescuers). Nigeria forces could use those same bases and save these girls, once the girls are located.
Thus the problem is first, locating the Girls, and second, to get the cooperation of the Nigeria Government in their rescue. From what I have read, the first problem has not been resolved yet, and the second problem is an open question till the first problem is solved. The Government of Nigeria can say no, and justify it on several grounds, first reject the report as unreliable or outdated, second demand that they know of the plan before hand (and then leak it to Boko Haram). third refused to permission to use a Nigeria base on the grounds it is a bad base for such operations (not enough security, to close to a town so it would be impossible to keep the operation secret, to far from a town to get needed supply (or just to house the Seals). Remember any excuse will work, if you do not want to say no, but you also do not want the operation to occur. A No would make Nigeria an international outcast, something it does not want, but they are other ways to say no without actually saying no. Given the distances involved, it is up to the Nigeria Government if these girls are rescued or not, no matter how much we want them rescued.
