Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi

I wouldn't pass psychological testing for special forces? I think our definitions of special forces are a bit different. Perhaps you're thinking too much about elite forces, wheras I'm quite aware that special forces require a psychological profile quite unlike regular people. They also tend to have abilities quite unlike regular people too, such as extra sensory perception, intensified reflexive abilities and advanced weapon skills.

Could be that your perceptions of "Special Forces" are different. In the US, Special Operations troopers ARE the elite forces. No difference between the two concepts here. I recall reading in "the Great Soviet Encyclopedia" before the Soviet collapse that they considered rocket troops and chemical troops to be "Special Forces", and that all of the US "Special Forces" were a gaggle of cutthroat mercenaries.

I giggled when I read that. They were of course talking about the guys in green beanies, and I knew without a doubt that those in the military didn't qualify as "mercenaries", since neither their motivations nor profit potential matched the profile.

But yeah, I can see how the US concept of "Special Forces" might not translate well to folks in other countries.

I wouldn't worry about the psych testing - I doubt I'd pass either, since I'm just a loon. Come to think of it, some of the SF troopers I've known tended towards the looney, too. Maybe it goes with the turf. I knew a guy in the 19th SFG, and you wouldn't believe what he kept stashed inside his binoculars as a reminder on deployments...

Now, for this part:

They also tend to have abilities quite unlike regular people too, such as extra sensory perception, intensified reflexive abilities and advanced weapon skills.

I'm not, nor have I ever been, SF, but I still feel a bit qualified to speak to that. True enough, there's a certain something there in the way of an early-warning system, but I never thought of it as "ESP". I always figured it to be the normal sense picking up on things below the threshold of conscious perception - normal senses, not "extra-sensory", but reacting to stimuli you didn't notice on a conscious level. I've got it - always have had it - but I still can't read minds or any of that "magic" junk usually associated with the term "ESP". It's just a hyper sensitivity of normal senses, nothing more.

Hyper reflexes are a given. "The quick and the dead", and all that. Folks who don't have them gravitate towards other fields, or don't make it long in that one. It's again nothing superhuman nor abnormal, just on the higher end of the range of human reflexes.

Advanced weapon skills are taught, not inborn. The reflexes and hyper-sensitivity may assist, but the skills are not inherent - they're learned.

That would be after selection.

Originally posted by FarArcher

This war on terrorism will soon enough be here at home, and I can assure you they won't be fighting to defend your kind.

"Terrorism" takes all sorts of forms, and is often in the eye of the beholder. I'm strongly convinced that you're right here - it's coming to a theater near us, sooner rather than later.

It's gonna be real interesting to see what form it takes here precisely when it decides to plant itself in earnest. I'm thinking, ever more increasingly, that it'll be an old foe, with a brand new makeover.

I'm not gonna examine it's "surgically enhanced" face, I'm gonna watch what it does, and hear how it talks. That's the way to recognize it.

Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi
Keep insulting me with your crap. I really don't care if you're on the internet claiming to be special forces. You don't know me in real life and I would really like to see you keep up with me or my people out in the mountains, because I guarentee you and your special forces "150:1 kill" ratio isn't going to save your ass from freezing or other forms of exposure while being hunted down at the same time by people born on and in tune with the land.

Geez, what is it with Canadians thinking that they are the only ones with snow in their country? Dude, trust me, there are plenty of Americans that can operate in the same snow and cold as Canadians can.

And not every Canadian is some sort of harden survivalist. I'm willing to be the majority of the population of your big cities will be just as dead as any in NYC if a disaster struck.

Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi
Seriously, typical American assumption that they know everything and everyone else is stupid or uneducated.

Pot, meet kettle.

Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi
EDIT: I don't even know why people give you stars, dude. All you do is insult people you don't agree with and talk as if you're better than them. You're better than nobody.

edit on 17-1-2011 by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi because: (no reason given)

Whatever.

I wish we lived in a world where everyone was happy and there was no killing.....If I could, I would make that happen...

Originally posted by punctual
I wish we lived in a world where everyone was happy and there was no killing.....If I could, I would make that happen...

Me too! If you ever find such a place, let me know, and I'm THERE, dude, draggin' my plow behind me!

Until that time, I have to deal with the world we're dealt. It is what it is.

Originally posted by nenothtu
I'm not, nor have I ever been, SF, but I still feel a bit qualified to speak to that. True enough, there's a certain something there in the way of an early-warning system, but I never thought of it as "ESP". I always figured it to be the normal sense picking up on things below the threshold of conscious perception - normal senses, not "extra-sensory", but reacting to stimuli you didn't notice on a conscious level. I've got it - always have had it - but I still can't read minds or any of that "magic" junk usually associated with the term "ESP". It's just a hyper sensitivity of normal senses, nothing more.

I guess there's the Hollywood version of ESP, and the actual thing. Like I said, extra sensory perception. All that means is that you can percieve things beyond touch, sight, hearing, tasting and smelling. Being able to sense another human or animal in your proximity, and even the ability to identify what it is just be instinct, is what I consider to be an ESP trait.

Personally I think any normal person has the capacity for ESP traits. It's really all about recognizing that you have the abilities in the first place, and then building on them through experience.

Psychic ability is something else. Telekinesis and telepathy are very advanced mental abilities, obviously not things that are seen outside of dark echelons of intelligence bureaus. People who can scramble your mind are definitely not people that I would want to screw with.

Originally posted by macman
That is BS.
SOF personnel are not the "Dirty Dozen", nor of they genius. They are men that are intelligent, can adapt and think on their feet. They go through a lot of training and school to become proficient in the trade.

Dude, I was told that by a member of SF while I was taking, "Introduction to Special Operations" about three years ago.

I learned early on while setting up cordon's for the SEAL team in my AO to keep a close eye on them. Disregard for fundamental safety is a big issue with the team I had the privilege to "work" with. I use that term very loosely, also. Just throwing in 2 cents.