Special ops equipment: Newest-and Oldest.

• Author: Kennedy, Harold
• Position: Unconventional Warriors

In their shadow war in Afghanistan, U.S. special operations troops exhibited their ability to use a wide variety of technology, ranging from some of the most modern equipment available to some of the oldest known to man.

While some special operators employed handheld laser target designators, global-positioning systems and digital radios to help Air Force and Navy precision-guided munitions hit al Qaeda and Taliban formations, others rode into battle on horseback, participating in the first cavalry charges of the 21st century.

Some--such as Army Rangers--dressed in standard khaki-colored desert camouflage battle dress, complete with lightweight Kevlar helmets and body armor. They typically armed themselves with the latest small arms from the special operations arsenal.

Others--such as Special Forces, SEALS and Delta Force--adopted the traditional Afghan look, including long, flowing robes, turbans and beards. They often wielded AK-47 automatic rifles, left behind by Soviet invaders more than a decade ago, and even swords that may have been much older than that.

The Defense Department released a declassified situation report filed by a Special Forces soldier, assigned to the Northern Alliance forces opposing the Taliban, who wrote with some amazement:

"I am advising a man on how to best employ light infantry and horse cavalry in the attack against Taliban T-55s (ranks), mortars, artillery, personnel carriers and machine guns--a tactic which I think became outdated with the invention of the Gatling gun. The Mujahadeen have done that every day we have been on the ground ...

"We have witnessed the horse cavalry bounding overwatch from spur to spur to attack Taliban strong points--the last several kilometers under mortar; artillery and sniper fire. There is little medical care if injured, only a donkey ride to the aid station, which is a dirt hut."

With his report complete, the Special Forces trooper joined his Northern Alliance commander in a cavalry charge, said Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

"In Afghanistan, a country we think of in somewhat medieval terms, our Special Forces have taken a page from the past, from the history of the horse cavalry and soldiers armed with swords and rifles, maneuvering on horseback," said Wolfowitz. "But now they use radios to direct close air support and bomber strikes, sometimes from halfway around the world."

When reporters asked Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld about the return of the cavalry...