History UsefulNotes / YanksWithTanks

In the past, a lot of wars involved situations where two sides were "symmetrical" in composition, being endowed with roughly equal equipment, disposition and manpower (read: "[[WeHaveReserves reserves]]"). Under those circumstances, whoever was the better commander would generally win, but in the meanwhile [[CrapsackWorld a lot of death and blood would happen]]. Today, America fights [[strike:dirty]] [[CombatPragmatist pragmatically]], lowering American casualties by exposing as few of them as possible to (effective) enemy fire—that is, If they can hurt you, ''don't attack them'', call someone else to hit them who can do so with impunity. With that in mind, there's a ''lot'' of cross-communication in an American war: if the enemy's trying to attack ''your'' weak point, you can (and should) call for help from [[TacticalRockPaperScissors whichever branch of the armed forces would be the best counter]]. (Think the ''{{Film/Transformers}}'' movie: Army calling for help from Air Force; Air Force calling for help from... [[{{Dissimile}} Giant transforming robots]], giant transforming robots calling for help from {{Action Survivor}}s played by ShiaLabeouf, and Action Survivors calling for help from the Army.)

* The '''F-22 Raptor''' is the world's first combat-ready Fifth Generation fighter, designed during the ColdWar in anticipation of newer aircraft being produced by emerging superpowers like Russia and China. The F-22 Raptor is loaded down with the latest aerospace technologies including stealth, thrust vectoring, supercruise (the ability to break the sound barrier without the use of afterburners), as well as the most advanced avionics available. Like the Eagle, the Raptor is designed to be a pure air superiority fighter, and in simulated exercises, it has been shown that a dozen F-22s can shoot down ''hundreds'' of aircraft ''without a single loss''. Simulated dogfights have also shown that America's current premier air superiority fighter, the F-15, can't even touch the F-22. Currently, the Raptor's only apparent disadvantage is its astronomical building cost, which is approximately $138 million, each.\\
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Because of its hefty price tag, [[BrokenBase there's a lot of debate about whether or not the F-22 is really needed]]. Detractors claim that the trend of recent wars (specifically, the success of the whole "asymmetrical warfare" thing) means there will never be a need for an air superiority fighter ever again. Recent information on the F-22's contenders (such as the Russian [=PAK FA=]) suggest its cost range is to be expected of the new fifth generation fighters, though--and like the F-15 before it, the F-22 can adapt to other missions, despite the "not one pound for air-to-ground" philosophy shared by both planes.
* Members of the ArmchairMilitary also enjoy "[[FlameWar debating]]" whether the F-22's combat simulations were accurate, as opposed to being rigged to make the plane look good. Of course, the ''point'' of asymmetrical warfare is to rig the fight in favor of America, so maybe biased sims are the right way to go about it. Besides, while a hundreds-to-zero win/loss record looks BeyondTheImpossible, the F-15 already achieved that in RealLife. Suffice it to say that the debate is ongoing, and may never be resolved... not even after the F-22 is retired to make way for a sixth-generation fighter.

In the past, a lot of wars involved situations where two sides have to fight each other using roughly equal equipment, disposition and manpower (read: "[[WeHaveReserves reserves]]"). The America of today fights [[CombatPragmatist pragmatically]] to lower American casualties by exposing as few of them as possible to (effective) enemy fire. With that in mind, there's a ''lot'' of cross-communication in an American war: if the enemy's trying to attack ''your'' weak point, you can (and should) call for help from [[TacticalRockPaperScissors whichever branch of the armed forces would be the best counter]].

The ''{{Film/Transformers}}'' movie is perhaps the best example of this in recent history: Army calling for help from Air Force; Air Force calling for help from... [[{{Dissimile}} Giant transforming robots]], and giant transforming robots calling for help from Army and/or {{Action Survivor}}s played by ShiaLabeouf.

The stereotype is nothing new, but what sets this apart from previous wars is that due to the current electronic age where everything is meticulously recorded and tracked, it is much easier to trace where a stray 500-pound smart bomb came from. Also, heavily increased media coverage has contributed as well, with more emphasis on friendly-fire incidents than successful missions simply because [[RatingsStunt it draws more attention]]. Increases in lethality and accuracy of the weapons used, and improvements in battlefield sensor technology mean it happens less often than it did in WorldWarII (in which the US Army Air Corps was rumored to bomb friendly targets as often as not), but tends to be more lethal to the unfortunate recipients when it does happen.

The '''United States [[SemperFi Marine Corps]]''' are part of the Department of the Navy, but operates fairly independently. In addition to foot soldiers, they have many of the same resources as the Army and Air Force, (armored vehicles, tanks, artillery, helicopters, and jets) just not as many of them. The Marine Corps is the smallest ("only" a quarter million of them), but arguably the [[BloodKnight most motivated]], branch of the US Armed Forces. It has been said that while the other branch's recruiting campaigns tell the prospective recruits about the training, benefits, money, education, etc., the Marines' recruiting campaign primarily promises the recruit the chance to [[TrainingFromHell try to]] become a Marine.

The '''National Guard''' is a reserve made up of each state's organized militia, and includes both Army (Army National Guard) and Air Force (Air National Guard) units that can be mobilized by their respective state governments or "federalized" by the U.S. Department of Defense. Like each service's individual and organized reservists, the National Guard is made up of ordinary citizens--including veterans of active-duty Air Force and Army service--who (after having completed intensive basic and advanced training) serve one weekend a month plus two weeks a year. As troops of their respective state governments, they're primarily employed in peacetime for the suppression of civil disorder (the Army is legally barred from doing this) and assistance in handling natural disasters, but are relied upon by the Army and the Air Force both as combat forces and support elements in time of war.

In addition to the National Guard, there are 27 active '''State Defense Forces''' which serve as separate state militias. They operate with the Governor as their commander-in-chief. Typically, have the same duties as the National Guard, such as the suppression of civil disorder and the handling natural disasters. Unlike the National Guard the state defense forces cannot be federalized without consent of the state's governor and sometimes legislature. This is because they're meant to provide the governor with a trained military force when the state's National Guard units are deployed elsewhere. Members with prior service experience retain their ranks and can advance in grade as awarded by the state, so the rank structure is somewhat inflated with the idea that they'll form a trained unit cadre (core) should a worst case scenario happen. During WWII and the Cold War, they were expected to defend their states from foreign invasion, but today they serve to help respond to national security issues, and are generally trained to be equal to their National Guard counterparts. The actual results vary with each state due to funding, local culture, local needs and interests.

The '''United States Special Operations Command''' is technically not a branch of the US Armed Forces, USSOCOM (the namesake of the video games) has control over all deployed Special Operations Forces units, regardless of what branch or organization they stem from. The list includes but is not limited to: Delta Force, the "Green Berets" (Army Special Forces), Army Rangers, the Navy's [=SEALs=] ([=SEa=], Air, Land), and many other groups not as well known. They also partner with intelligence agencies like the CIA (which has its own Special Activities Division). Also, the Secretary of Defense has the power to grant USSOCOM total control of all Special Operations Forces units, usually in cases of open war.

The '''United States Air Force''' has over 6,000 manned aircraft and a massive proportion of the US's [[PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower Superior Firepower]], and is also making increased use of unmanned vehicles as well (much to the chagrin of its pilots). The USAF is the only air force in the world with truly stealth aircraft. Said to have the smartest enlisted men of all the services, because they somehow convinced the officers to let them stay at the base while the officers went out to pick fights with the enemy. Did we mention they fight {{IN SPACE}}? (No, they haven't [[CrazyAwesome sent up a pilot to punch out a Cosmonaut]]. Yet.) In fact, with the Air Force taking responsibility for defense of computer networks as well as assets in space, its mission has been partially re-branded as "[[http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123030505 preserving the freedom of access and commerce]]," in the air, space, and cyberspace.
* The US Air Force is very good at its job. Since it's founding in 1947 (when it was split off from the Army), not a single US solder has even so much as been wounded by an enemy aircraft in any war since.

America currently practices "asymmetrical warfare," which involves exploiting TacticalRockPaperScissors and "{{attack its weak point}}" strategies to maximize effectiveness. In the past, a lot of wars involved situations where two sides have to fight each other using roughly equal equipment, disposition and manpower (read: "[[WeHaveReserves reserves]]"). But the America of today fights [[CombatPragmatist pragmatically]] to lower American casualties by exposing as few of them as possible to (effective) enemy fire. With that in mind, there's a ''lot'' of cross-communication in an American war: if the enemy's trying to attack ''your'' weak point, you can (and should) call for help from [[TacticalRockPaperScissors whichever branch of the armed forces would be the best counter]].
* The "Assymestrical Warfare" is a natural evolution of the American style of warefare developed in the wake of the horrific losses on the AmericanCivilWar. Basically, it was designed in the War Department that it was far better to expend money and material than lives.

* The US Air FOrce is very good at it's job. Since it's founding in 1947 (when it was split off from the Army), not a single US solder has even so much as been wounded by an enemy aircraft in any war since.

Part of the reason why it seems so common with American forces in the WarOnTerror is that there's ''just that many American forces'' compared to everyone else. There were three times the American forces compared to British soldiers during the Iraq War, for example. Additionally, only American forces have the necessary equipment for certain responsibilities (for example, no other country fields an attack aircraft similar to the A-10), and so American forces are often called in to support units of other nations. These factors make the probability of Americans being involved in a friendly fire incident ''much'' higher. If other nations had committed more forces, then they would accordingly be involved in more friendly firce incidents.

Sadly, this fact was partially what motivated the Department of Defense to not only retire the Tomcat but to [[ShootTheDog completely destroy nearly all the retired planes]], in order to ensure that Iran doesn't have access to the parts needed to maintain their own F-14 fleet. There are rumors that CorruptCoporateExecutives may be supplying them with reverse-engineered copies to replace what can't be repaired.

Sadly, this fact was partially what motivated the Department of Defense to not only retire the Tomcat but to [[ShootTheDog completely destroy nearly all the retired planes]], in order to ensure that Iran doesn't have access to the parts needed to maintain their own F-14 fleet. There are rumors that the Russians may be supplying them with reverse-engineered copies to replace what can't be repaired.

[[folder:WWII-era Fighters]]

* The '''A-10 Thunderbolt II''' takes the opposite approach of the F-117A, being the MightyGlacier of aircraft. More widely known as "Warthog" or "Hog", the A-10 is designed to kill tanks, armored vehicles--and everyone in them. It can carry up to eight tons of bombs or missiles, but its primary weapon is the [[GatlingGood GAU-8 Avenger Gatling gun]]. A seven-barreled, 30mm cannon with '''[[BeyondTheImpossible UNIMAGINABLE]]''' [[MoreDakka amounts of dakka]]; you do ''not'' want to be on the receiving end of it.\\

That's not all. Despite its abilities, [[TheUnfavorite The Air Force never liked it and tried to retire it twice]] (before both Gulf Wars), but has given up on the notion after being proven twice (during said Gulf Wars) that for some missions, durability and firepower are more important then electronics and speed. Currently, the 170-strong fleet is in the process of being extensively upgraded and is expected to be in service well into the 2030s, some 50 years after entering service (that's like P-51 Mustangs being kept in service till the 80s). Some have even proposed converting them to UCAV's after retirement. ''That'' is durability.

The '''United States Air Force''' has over 6,000 manned aircraft and a massive proportion of the US's [[PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower Superior Firepower]], and is also making increased use of unmanned vehicles as well (much to the chagrin of its pilots). The USAF is the only air force in the world with truly stealth aircraft. Said to have the smartest enlisted men of all the services, because they somehow convinced the officers to let them stay at the base while the officers went out to pick fights with the enemy. Did we mention they fight {{IN SPACE}}? (No, they haven't [[CrazyAwesome sent up a pilot to punch out a Cosmonaut]]. Yet.)

** The Air Force's mission has been partially re-branded as "[[http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123030505 preserving the freedom of access and commerce]]," in the air, space, and cyberspace.

Part of the reason why it seems so common with American forces in the WarOnTerror is that there's ''just that many American forces'' compared to everyone else. There were three times the American forces compared to British soldiers during the Iraq War, for example. Further compounding matters is that, in many cases, only American forces have the necessary equipment for certain responsibilities (for example, no other country fields an attack aircraft similar to the A-10), and so American forces are often called in to support units of other nations. These factors make the probability of Americans being involved in a friendly fire incident ''much'' higher--as mentioned in the last paragaph with the Falklands War, if other nations had a dominant role instead of the United States, their forces would accordingly be more involved in friendly fire incidents.

Part of the reason why it seems so common with American forces in the WarOnTerror is that there's ''just that many American forces'' compared to everyone else. There were three times the American forces compared to British soldiers during the Iraq War, for example. And, in many cases, only American forces have the necessary equipment for certain responsibilities (for example, no other country fields an attack aircraft similar to the A-10), and so American forces are often called in to support units of other nations. That makes the probability of Americans being involved in a friendly fire incident much, ''much'' higher.

Part of the reason why it seems so common with American forces in the WarOnTerror is that there's ''just that many American forces'' compared to everyone else. There were three times the American forces compared to British soldiers during the Iraq War, for example. And, in many cases, only American forces have the necessary equipment for certain responsibilities (for example, no other country fields an attack aircraft similar to the A-10), and so American forces are often called in to support units of other nations. When America fires ten times as many bullets as its allies, you'd expect America to hit ten times as many things, hostile or otherwise--and that's what's happening.

The '''United States CoastGuard''' is officially part of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime. In wartime, they switch over to the Department of Defense. They're also a federal regulatory agency. In any case, they do both military and law enforcement. Specifically, the Coast Guard handles things such as maintaining aids to navigation, marine safety, both military and civilian search and rescue, port security, and maritime interception operations. They can also law enforcement expertise if, for instance, the Navy is going after pirates. In WWII, the Coast Guard manned destroyers and landing craft. Recently, they signed an agreement with the navy allowing a limited number of Coast Guardsmen to serve with the [=SEALs=].

America currently practices "asymmetrical warfare," which involves exploiting TacticalRockPaperScissors and "{{attack its weak point}}" strategies to maximize effectiveness. In the past, a lot of wars involved situations where two sides have to fight each other using roughly equal equipment, disposition and manpower (read: "[[WeHaveReserves reserves]]"). But the America of today fights [[CombatPragmatist pragmatically]] to lower American casualties by exposing as few of them as possible to (effective) enemy fire. With that in mind, there's a ''lot'' of cross-communication in an American war: if the enemy's trying to attack ''your'' weak point, you can (and should) call for help from whichever branch of the armed forces would be the best counter.

The ''{{Film/Transformers}}'' movie is perhaps the best example of this in recent history: Army calling for help from Air Force; Air Force calling for help from... [[{{Dissimile}} Giant transforming robots]], and giant transforming robots calling for help from Army and/or {{Action Survivor}}s played by Shia LeBeouf.

Part of the reason why it seems so common with American forces in the WarOnTerror is that there's ''just that many American forces'' compared to everyone else. There were three times the American forces compared to British soldiers during the Iraq War, for example. And, in many cases, only American forces have the necessary equipment for certain responsibilities (for example, no other country fields an attack aircraft similar to the A-10), and so American forces are often called in to support units of other nations. When America fires ten times as many bullets as its allies, you'd expect America to hit ten times as many things, hostile or otherwise—and that's what's happening.

The '''United States CoastGuard''' is officially part of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime. In wartime, they switch over to the Department of Defense. They're also a federal regulatory agency. In any case, they do both military and law enforcement. Specifically, the Coast Guard handles things such as maintaining aids to navigation, marine safety, both military and civilian search and rescue, port security, and maritime interception operations.

* The Coast Guard acts as a maritime law enforcement agency, with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters. Also provides law enforcement expertise if, for instance, the Navy is going after pirates. In WWII they manned destroyers and landing craft. Recently, they signed an agreement with the navy allowing a limited number of Coast Guardsmen to serve with the SEALs.

Part of the reason why it seems so common with American forces in the WarOnTerror is that there's ''just that many American forces'' compared to everyone else. There were three times the American forces compared to British soldiers during the Iraq War, for example. And, in many cases, only American forces have the necessary equipment for certain responsibilities (for example, no other country fields an attack aircraft similar to the A-10), and so American forces are often called in to support units of other nations. When America fires ten times as many bullets as its allies, you'd expect America to hit ten times as many things, hostile or otherwise—and that's what's happening.

* The Coast Guard acts as a maritime law enforcement agency, with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters.

Part of the reason why it seems so common with American forces in the WarOnTerror is that there's ''just that many American forces'' compared to everyone else. There were three times the American forces compared to British soldiers during the Iraq War, for example. And, in many cases, only American forces have the necessary equipment for certain responsibilities (for example, no other country fields an attack aircraft similar to the A-10), and so American forces are often called in to support units of other nations. When America fires ten times as many bullets as its allies, you'd expect America to hit ten times as many things, hostile or otherwise—and that's what's happening.

* The '''F-22 Raptor''' is the world's first combat-ready Fifth Generation fighter, built in anticipation of newer aircraft being produced by emerging superpowers like Russia and China. The F-22 Raptor is loaded down with the latest aerospace technologies including stealth, thrust vectoring, supercruise (the ability to break the sound barrier without the use of afterburners), as well as the most advanced avionics available. Like the Eagle, the Raptor is designed to be a pure air superiority fighter, and in simulated exercises, it has been shown that a dozen F-22s can shoot down ''hundreds'' of aircraft ''without a single loss''. Simulated dogfights have also shown that America's current premier air superiority fighter, the F-15, can't even touch the F-22. Currently, the Raptor's only apparent disadvantage is its astronomical building cost, which is approximately $138 million, each.\\

Because of its hefty price tag, [[BrokenBase there's a lot of debate about whether or not the F-22 is really needed]], claiming that the trend of recent wars suggests there will never be a need for an air superiority fighter ever again. Recent information on the F-22's contenders (such as the Russian [=PAK FA=]) suggest its cost range is to be expected of the new fifth generation fighters, though--and like the F-15 before it, the F-22 can adapt to other missions despite the "not one pound for air-to-ground" philosophy.

However, the Nighthawk has been retired from US service, as the F-22 and B-2 have surpassed it in capability--unlike those planes, the F-117A has relatively little it can do to defend itself against attacks once discovered, making it a GlassCannon. When a Serbian commander figured out how to modify their radars to lock onto and shoot one down during the KosovoConflict, that sounded the death knell for the Nighthawk. Nevertheless, it had one hell of a service record, and it has featured in a lot of media because it's a CoolPlane.

That's not all. Despite its abilities, [[TheUnfavorite The Air Force never liked it and tried to retire it twice]] (before both Gulf Wars), but has given up on the notion after being proven twice (during said Gulf Wars) that for some missions, durability and firepower are more important then electronics and speed. Currently, the 170 strong fleet is in the process of being extensively upgraded and is expected to be in service well into the 2030s, some 50 years after entering service (that's like P-51 Mustangs being kept in service till the 80s). Some have even proposed converting them to UCAV's after retirement. ''That'' is durability.

The stereotype is nothing new, but what sets this apart from previous wars is that due to the current electronic age where everything is meticulously recorded and tracked, it is much easier to trace where a stray 500 pound smart bomb came from. Also, heavily increased media coverage has contributed as well, with more emphasis on friendly fire incidents than successful missions simply because [[RatingsStunt it draws more attention]]. Increases in lethality and accuracy of the weapons used, and improvements in battlefield sensor technology mean it happens less often than it did in WorldWarII (in which the US Army Air Corps was rumored to bomb friendly targets as often as not), but tends to be more lethal to the unfortunate recipients when it does happen.

Part of the reason why it seems so common with American forces in the WarOnTerror is that there's ''just that many American forces'' compared to everyone else. There were three times the American forces compared to British soldiers during the Iraq War, for example. In many cases, only American forces have the necessary equipment for certain responsibilities (for example, no other country fields an attack aircraft similar to the A-10)--thus, American forces are often called in for support as opposed to units from other nations. Because of all this, the probability of Americans being involved in a friendly fire incident is much, ''much'' higher.

This topic is a mess, partially because the Navy and Coast Guard uses one set of ranks (the ones from ''StarTrek'') and the Army, Air Force and USMC use another. Even better, both sets of ranks have "Captain" in them... but at different points on the ladder; a sea-going Captain is an officer of some repute, but a landlubber Captain is barely halfway up his climb. This leads to seniority issues in situations where people from one service have command of people from another, like ''{{Halo}}'' and ''WingCommander'', which base their rank structures on the American military.

For example, does a [[SpaceMarine Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy]] outrank a Sergeant Major in the Marines? (No, they hold the same comparative rank; but since the Master Chief is a SuperSoldier, not to mention the PlayerCharacter, Johnson is happy to defer to him.) Does a Colonel from the [[strike:Air]] Space Forces outrank a Naval Captain? (No, but only because Captain Eisen is ''[[TheCaptain The]]'' [[TheCaptain Captain]]; under other circumstances, Blair's rank would equal his, and the fact that he's [[MarkHamill Luke Skywalker]] would probably give him seniority over [[HeyItsThatGuy the judge who sentenced]] [[LiarLiar Jim Carrey]].) Does a Master Chief outrank a Naval Lieutenant? (No; John-117 is holds the highest Enlisted rank it's possible to get and has been fighting for longer than Haverson has been alive, but Officers outrank Enlisted. Period. Fortunately, Haverson is GenreSavvy enough to let John take operational command in a fight.)

InterserviceRivalry is another major aspect of American military culture--there are '''countless''' jokes putting one branch on a pedestal at the expense of another (or ''all'' of them). A number of the stereotypes people outside the military have of specific branches are also shared by other branches. For example, the Navy's air corps pilots refer to themselves as ''Aviators'', and look down their nose at the Air Force's mere ''pilots''--one claim being that USAF pilots lack the skill to land on a carrier. (DosGringos, by the way, [[http://dosgringosrocks.com/music-15.html shot that claim down from beyond visual range]] and tossed in a comeback while they were at it.) (Not Quite: When landing at an airfield your runway doesen't suddenly drop or rise several feet just before touchdown (Except maybe in California, Japan, etc.), nor is it drifting to the right at 30mph with associated cross wind. Naval Aviators do these landings as baby steps before going out to sea because you can go so much slower. It's like riding a bike with training wheels before you get the rwo wheeler of recovering on board a carrier where the landing is so rough that Air Force landing Gear would snap (Compare F-15 & F-18 landing gear). While at sea Naval Aviators operate on a War Footing, ready for combat at all times. When Air Force pilots are deployed on a War Footing, they live in dirty, dusty tents.) Meanwhile, the "dumb jarhead" stereotype that other branches have of the Marines probably originated from the WorldWarII; the Marines were the only branch that would accept recruits who couldn't read or write.

InterserviceRivalry is another major aspect of American military culture--there are '''countless''' jokes putting one branch on a pedestal at the expense of another (or ''all'' of them). A number of the stereotypes people outside the military have of specific branches are also shared by other branches. For example, the Navy's air corps pilots refer to themselves as ''Aviators'', and look down their nose at the Air Force's mere ''pilots''--one claim being that USAF pilots lack the skill to land on a carrier. (DosGringos, by the way, [[http://dosgringosrocks.com/music-15.html shot that claim down from beyond visual range]] and tossed in a comeback while they were at it.) Meanwhile, the "dumb jarhead" stereotype that other branches have of the Marines probably originated from the WorldWarII; the Marines were the only branch that would accept recruits who couldn't read or write.

Part of the reason why it seems so common with American forces in the WarOnTerror is that there's ''just that many American forces'' compared to everyone else. There were three times the American forces compared to British soldiers during the Iraq War, for example--and in many cases, the only the US forces have the necessary equipment for certain responsibilities (for example, no other country fields an attack aircraft similar to the A-10)--and so American forces are often called in for support as opposed to other nations. Because of all this, the probability of Americans being involved in a friendly fire incident is much, ''much'' higher.

The '''United States CoastGuard:''' Officially part of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime. In wartime, they switch over to the Department of Defense. They're also a federal regulatory agency. In any case, they do both military and law enforcement. Specifically, the Coast Guard handles things such as maintaining aids to navigation, marine safety, both military and civilian search and rescue, port security, and maritime interception operations.

The '''United States Special Operations Command''' is technically not a branch of the US Armed Forces, USSOCOM (the namesake of the video games) has control over all deployed Special Operations Forces units, regardless of what branch or organization they stem from. Also, the Secretary of Defense has the power to grant USSOCOM total control of all Special Operations Forces units, usually in cases of open war. By the way, in contrast to General Purpose Forces (like regular army, naval, and air force units), Special Operations Forces are suited to handle missions like counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, unconventional warfare, reconnaissance, infiltration, "direct action" (raids), and search and rescue.

* USSOCOM controls all of the American special forces, including but not limited to: Delta Force, the "Green Berets" (Army Special Forces), Army Rangers, the Navy's [=SEALs=] ([=SEa=], Air, Land), and many other groups not as well known. They also partner with intelligence agencies like the CIA (which has its own Special Activities Division).

Sadly, this fact was partially what motivated to not only retire the Tomcat but to [[ShootTheDog completely destroy nearly all the retired planes]], in order to ensure that Iran doesn't have access to the parts needed to maintain their own F-14 fleet. There are rumors that the Russians may be supplying them with reverse-engineered copies to replace what can't be repaired.

The middle ground is filled with soldier victims, who started as type 1 but then realized that the war wasn't so just after all. ''Rambo: First Blood'', all Vietnam films, some modern WorldWarII films...you get the idea. Often the rank and file are [[RedShirts cannon fodder]] under [[TheNiedermeyer incompetent officers]].

It is worth noting that, especially in recent times, the US Military (particularly the Air Force) has become synonymous with friendly fire in other English-speaking nations. If you ask the average person in one of these nations about who has killed more of their own country's soldiers, they are likely to say American Jets over Terrorists.

What sets this apart from previous wars is that due to the current electronic age where everything is meticulously recorded and tracked, it is much easier to trace where a stray 500 pound smart bomb came from. Also, heavily increased media coverage has contributed as well, with more emphasis on friendly fire incidents than successful missions simply because [[RatingsStunt it draws more attention]]. Increases in lethality and accuracy of the weapons used, and improvements in battlefield sensor technology mean it happens less often than it did in WorldWarII (in which the US Army Air Corps was rumored to bomb friendly targets as often as not), but tends to be more lethal to the unfortunate recipients when it does happen.

The other thing that foreigners pointedly ignore when insisting that the American military is a synonym for "friendly fire" is that [[NeverMyFault it happens in other national militaries]] as well--and not just in recent wars. For example, the Falklands War saw some spectacular cases of British-on-British friendly fire--and there were no Americans around to blame in any of those cases. Part of the reason why it seems so common with American forces in the WarOnTerror is that there's ''just that many American forces'' compared to everyone else--thus the probability of Americans being involved in a friendly fire incident is much, ''much'' higher.

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