A series of scandals that have rocked the SEAL community in recent years and two decades of land-based counterinsurgency have led some in the military to worry that the Navy special operators are not ready for new challenges, Business Insider reported on Wednesday.
With the apparent waning of major American involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. military is concentrating its efforts on potential conflicts with China and Russia.
The scandals in recent years, including drug abuse and accusations of war crimes, have some concerned that SEAL Teams, despite pride in their selective nature and accomplishments, have developed an arrogant culture.
The special forces “need to find a way to remind their members that they need to uphold the reputation of 'Quiet Professionals,'" one former operator said. "It's important that people are there for the right reasons. It's OK … to be confident and proud of the community they are a part of, but it can't lead to arrogance. Humility is everything."
A conflict with China in the Pacific would particiularly involve to a great extent operations in and around water, but for the past 20 years, SEALs have been fighting on land.
"I don't think they are ready right now," a SEAL officer said. "They're underprepared, but this is historically true for the military. We always train for the last war."
However, he sounded a note of optimism by stressing that "the knife might be a bit rusty, but it's not dull. You can already see the sea changes on the platoon level."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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