Last Pathfinder unit deactivated
Jon the Mechanic and Bobo send us links to the news that the Amy’s last pathfinder unit was deactivated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina;
Capt. Steven J. Orbon, the commander of F Company, 2nd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, and Herbst, the company first sergeant, cased the unit guidon as a final act for the 82nd Airborne Division’s pathfinder company.
“For many, today is a sad one,” Orbon said to an audience that included family, friends and veteran pathfinders whose service dated to 1957.
The deactivation was part of a larger Army transformation that saw other pathfinder units shutter last year and also marked the end of other small and specialized units known as long-range surveillance companies. But it won’t end the pathfinder story, the captain said.
“It is simply the closing of a chapter,” Orbon said.
That’s because no matter how advanced technology becomes, or how different the mission troops are called to perform, he said the military will need soldiers like those last pathfinders on display Friday afternoon at Fort Bragg.
Category: Army News
Another dumb move on the part of Big Army.
Yep.
If we ever have to fight a near-peer competitor (like Russia or China) again, it will be quite a wake-up call on the first day of battle when our commanders suddenly realize that all those UAVs and satellites and such that they have become totally dependent on are just gone.
Yet another capability that can’t be recreated overnight when its once again needed
This is the third time I’ve seen this movie since the mid 80’s.
The capability is still there, its just been moved to inside the maneuver units where it will be a secondary task until such time as the Army realizes that it needs to have one or two units which specialize in the capability again.
While I think its a good idea to have at least one and preferably two pathfinder units, I do have to ask the question, “How many times did a pathfinder unit set up a DZ/LZ behind the lines in Iraq/AFG?” If the answer is somewhere in the range of not very much, then this is the right call.
That’s assuming well3 always fight Iraq/Afghanistan over and over again
Perpetually fighting the last war is why we’re in the state we’re in to begin with
If it wasn’t used in a pretty permissive environment, what makes one think it will be used against a peer competitor?
S.T.U.P.I.D. move, Big Army.
Will the new adults in charge be able to correct this any time soon?
Not good.
Cocksuckers.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
(followed by multiple secondary explosions)
They’ll be sorry.
They gotta learn over and over. It’s what happens when ya send too many people to too many alleged “schools”- they ferget the basic shit. Find ’em, Fix ’em, Fight ’em, Finish ’em.
Well I guess it’s a good thing that technology never fails or that we will never face a first world opponent capable of taking out our tech which would make relying on old school units trained specifically for these tasks….with drones all the rage we should eliminate pilots too…if we can find some battle bots we won’t need the infantry…
Signal will rule the high tech battlefield.
Zeus and Thor will adorn the awards and decorations. HA!
Don’t forget Mercury, the messenger of the gods
I believe in almost every case the deactivation of specialized unit with rare skills is the wrong call; I of course could be wrong and do not have to make decisions based within the realities of a shrinking operational/actual budget and manpower restrictions. It’s my opinion this is a continuation of “big Army’s” disdain of any specialized organization that even remotely appears “elite.”
We get rid of Pathfinder companies and platoons, we get rid of independent Ranger companies, we deactivate LRSC and divisional LRS/LRRP capability, we forego FID and UW in SF and SWC instruction. Though the troops/operators are superb (and will remain so), we conventionalize special operations capabilities merely be forcing strcuture on them.
Bleh 🙁 Rant over.
RLTW! De Oppresso Liber.
Well shit. First LRSD, now this. Way to go Big Army.
This is similar to the demise of LRSD. Just like LRS, the concept of a Pathfinder detachment briefs well, but in practice it simply doesn’t work as advertised and is not worth the risk. We need Pathfinder qualified Soldiers, but we don’t really need the units.
Pathfinders have two major mission sets: Identifying and marking DZs for airborne operations, and identifying, marking, and running PZ/LZs for air assaults.
The concept has never really worked well for airborne operations. Look at the history. You are inserting a small team in denied territory, which means you have to be able to get them there and provide fire support. By definition you want to do this deep, which means an Army commander can’t do it alone and is depending on the Air Force to have fires and exfil aircraft on demand. Few commanders will take that risk. At that point, if it is that important to the overall plan, the Air Force or JSOTF will just take on the mission themselves- SOF, specifically CCTs are far more capable than Pathfinders.
For air assaults, while the Pathfinders will dispute this, Air Assault and airborne units train to to this mission all the time. Infantry and CAV scout platoons can run Brigade LZs, and most HQ companies can run PZs for up to a brigade air assault. While I did more air assaults when I was in the 101st, I was PZ Control for more when I was in the 82nd. I did it with a Pathfinder qualified Support Platoon Sergeant, and a bunch of cooks and mechanics that never went to Air Assault School- The NCOs and I set up the PZ, did all the ground to air and airspace control, and we trained the hook up and signal teams from scratch.
Peace time LZ’s and PZ’s are EASY to set up, no shit. Yeah, when you got time to do it, rigging is easy,etc…..
The key is having someone capable on the ground when the shit hits the fan.
So, keep the school turning out qualified Pathfinders, and ensure that they are well-salted throughout the regular forces and the various Special Ops types. Then, there will be a high likelihood of available Pathfinders for any mission.
reddevil is 100% correct and I actually did PZ control and air assault operations while I was in the 82nd ABN (HHC 325th AIR). At that time, I was a 92A (was 11B previously) and our motorpool section (no cooks on the team) along with the Pathfinder qual’d 92Y did those operations back in 1995-97, and it was a blast.
We supported a number of major training exercises, including Operation Royal Dragon (I believe most of the air assault mission was scrapped due to weather). We did a Corps Edre where we ran the PZ and then performed sling-load ops for several hours until sunrise. Yeah, we did all of this with support personnel and one Pathfinder qual’d Soldier. Do I think we need Pathfinders? Absolutely! However, I don’t think we need Pathfinder units to do the mission because every battalion sized element should have the capability to perform the mission themselves if tasked to do it.
Former 101st Pathfinder Company/Platoon/Attachment [down sized!] from the late ’80’s.
“Managers” who will NEVER be what units like Pathfinders are and represent trash great useful units all the time. “It works? Well, we can’t have that now!”
They will be back, as long as we have aviation lift assets in the army.
First In, Last Out !
Why does this remind me of the push (thankfully abandoned for now) to retire the A-10?
I served alongside these guys in Djibouti. We hung out, worked out, and spent time at the Wardroom together. I have never seen such a well-ordered and talented group of junior officers as they had. Every one was one I would want my sons to grow up emulating.