US Special Forces Prepare for Their Worst Day 🇺🇸

The Special Forces Groups are where America’s Green Berets get to work. 5th Special Forces Group has been involved in every conflict, known and unknown, across the Middle East since its inception. Doing hard things isn’t considered an ask; it’s the standard.

To dig into the mission of The Legion, Fran Racioppi traveled to Fort Campbell, KY to sit down with the command team, COL Gabe Szody and CSM Travis Esterby, to define what Combat Power means to Special Forces and how the Army’s Warfighting Functions are applied across Special Forces detachments.

They explained why Green Beret’s regional affiliation is critical to expertise, how detachments are simultaneously preparing to combat peer adversaries and terrorist organizations, and how America is tying in cyber and space at the most tactical level.

COL Szody and CSM Esterby also share their perspective on recruiting, how technology is changing the Special Forces teams, and how they are enforcing standards at every level.

We Cover:
-The mission of 5th Special Forces Group and defining the Green Beret standard
-Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) and modern threats
-The enduring crisis in the Middle East and regional instability
-How cyber and space are now integrated at the tactical level
-Recruiting the right people and enforcing values-based standards
-Why "people" remain the superpower of Special Operations Forces

About the Guests:
COL Gabe Szody and CSM Travis Esterby lead 5th Special Forces Group, one of the most storied units in Army history. Tasked with global Special Operations, their leadership is focused on maintaining excellence, modernizing the force, and ensuring 5th Group is ready for the next fight.

Highlights:
00:45 Welcome to Gabriel Field
04:55 Mission of 5th Special Forces Group
07:33 5th Group’s Top Priorities
10:41 Regional Alignment
12:13 By, with, and through
15:47 Crisis in the Middle East
19:08 5th Group’s impact in Afghanistan
21:35 Defining LSCO
26:32 SOF’s role in LSCO
30:43 SOF-Space-Cyber Triad
32:59 LSCO decision making
36:28 Terrorist attack
39:11 Defining Standards and Fundamentals
44:45 Reinforcing the Team Sergeant
46:22 Why the Army
55:24 Special Forces Recruiting Challenges
1:02:58 Integrating New Technology
1:11:50 Daily Habits

Quotes:
“25 Medal of Honor recipients. More Medal of Honor recipients than any other O-6 headquarters. Some divisions don’t have as many.”
“5th Group’s job is to go forward and win our nation’s battles, whatever that may be.”
“The top priority is to ensure that whatever battalion is going out the door is trained and ready to execute their mission.”
“One of the things we can’t assume risk on is not being good at lethality.”
“By, with, and through, that’s where you gain your rapport.”
“I don’t think there’s a crystal ball available that could tell you what direction the Middle East is going.”
“I’m just proud to be here. I’m proud to be part of this organization and to have the history that we have.”
“If the big one kicks off, we will be what the nation needs us to be.”
“It’s our access and placement forward the line of troops that’s unique.”
“In LSCO, you got to be thinking at least 96 hours out.”
“I would rather train for my worst day than anything else.”
“You’re going to be held accountable and you’re going to deploy. Those are my two guarantees.”
“You have to have leaders willing to learn.”
“I made the smartest decision of my life when I was probably the biggest idiot, and that was to join the Army.”
“We are getting the right people. The people that want to serve, that want to be challenged. They’re doing it for all the right reasons.”
“Our secret sauce here at 5th Group is our people. That’s really our superpower.”

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@jedburghpodcast
Listen: https://pod.link/1558608802
More: https://greenberetfoundation.org/the-jedburgh-podcast/

Follow us:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jedburghpodcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jedburgh-podcast
X: https://twitter.com/JedburghPodcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedburghpodcast

The Jedburgh Podcast is an official program of The Green Beret Foundation, supporting U.S. Army Special Forces and their families.

The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by the University of Health and Performance, developing the next generation of fitness entrepreneurs from our Veterans.

The opinions presented on The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of our guests and creator and host Fran Racioppi. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy; nor does Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.

#specialforces #5thSFG #combatpower #greenberets #militaryreadiness #cyberwarfare #spacewarfare #warfightingfunctions #nationaldefense #franracioppi #jedburghpodcast