Doing a final on American Special Operation units. All input welcome.

[Fucci26]

If any of you're familiar with citing work, how do I cite the information you guys gave me?

 

[Teufel]

The only Marine Special Operations element is MARSOC. It can be argued that Marine Recon is considered a special operations unit but they are not and have never been a part of SOCOM. The same can be said about ANGLICO. Honestly the only special operations capability the MEU(SOC) had (they are just MEUs now btw) revolved around the Force Reconnaissance Platoon and the Maritime Raid Force.

 

[Marauder06]

If any of you're familiar with citing work, how do I cite the information you guys gave me?

Don't. What we're doing for you in this forum is brainstorming and editing work, you don't need to cite that.

BUT

If you use some of the information from the ShadowSpear front page (e.g. the information on SOF) then you should cite the site as a whole. Does that make sense?

 

[policemedic]

Some of the TACLETS and the MSRT can stand toe to to with any SFODA, especially on the water.

High praise, that.

 

[policemedic]

goon175, I had actually turned in a draft compiling all of the ones you listed in the last sentence structure. She took a quick glance look of all about 30 seconds. Handed it back and said "Go to wikipedia, only write down the IMPORTANT Special Operations."

Your professor recommended Wikipedia? It's riddled with inaccuracies and is widely considered to be an unacceptable source by many in academia. Use it with extreme care.

 

[Fucci26]

Yes, my instructor recommended Wikipedia. It blows my mind, but she swears by it for checking in accuracy. She's new, lol.
I also understand to only cite things from the article section. Thank you. I just did not know if I should cite the examples you guys gave me. Thanks.

 

[Marauder06]

I totally use Wikipedia. In fact, it is often the starting point for my research. BUT... I never cite Wikipedia as a source. I use it for ideas and primary sources. Then I cross-check both the information and the primary sources, and if they check out, I use them (not Wikipedia) in my paper.

I'm a big Wiki fan.

 

[Fucci26]

She's a great instructor, though. One of the best I've had at my school. Very thorough, very prolonging. I learned more about English writing from that woman, than any of my three either English professors. Thanks for the article, it made a good read.

 

[TheSiatonist]

This book any good?

​

Most civilians have only a vague idea of what the U.S. Special Forces are all about—who they are, how they differ from our "normal" military forces, what they've accomplished throughout our history, and how they operate today. Fighting Elites: A History of U.S. Special Forces examines the rich and varied history of U.S. Special Forces, identifies their contributions to specific conflicts from colonial times forward, and highlights their present operational excellence.

In this first-ever reference guide to U.S. Special Forces, military historian John C. Fredriksen provides a carefully balanced presentation, describing all units in their own detailed section that discusses their origins, recruitment, training, tactics, and equipment, and defining military engagements, if known. The text also contains 20 biographical entries of noted personalities associated with special purpose activities.

 

[goon175]

This book any good?

I would say "No", since he refers to all SOF units as "Special Forces", which as we know is one specific unit, not a broad term. If he can't get that right, my confidence in the rest of the book is not very high. And good Lord, 89.00? Damn.

 

[Marauder06]

I'd cite that book, and then point out the conspicuous shortcomings.

 

[SpitfireV]

I totally use Wikipedia. In fact, it is often the starting point for my research. BUT... I never cite Wikipedia as a source. I use it for ideas and primary sources. Then I cross-check both the information and the primary sources, and if they check out, I use them (not Wikipedia) in my paper.

I'm a big Wiki fan.

That's Use Wiki Academically 101 through 301.

 

[SpitfireV]

I would say "No", since he refers to all SOF units as "Special Forces", which as we know is one specific unit, not a broad term. If he can't get that right, my confidence in the rest of the book is not very high. And good Lord, 89.00? Damn.

Authors don't often get to choose the titles though. The content is what's important. I've got a few books with dramatic and ridiculous titles that actually turned out to be really solid and informative.

 

[policemedic]

I totally use Wikipedia. In fact, it is often the starting point for my research. BUT... I never cite Wikipedia as a source. I use it for ideas and primary sources. Then I cross-check both the information and the primary sources, and if they check out, I use them (not Wikipedia) in my paper.

I'm a big Wiki fan.

That's the only way Wikipedia is useful, in my view. It can be a treasure trove of primary sources, but as you say, you have to fact-check and then cite the primary source as the reference. I do the same thing with other sources; when a solid secondary source cites something, I always refer to the primary for depth and context, then cite the primary source.

 

[policemedic]

If any of you're familiar with citing work, how do I cite the information you guys gave me?

Don't. What we're doing for you in this forum is brainstorming and editing work, you don't need to cite that.

BUT

If you use some of the information from the ShadowSpear front page (e.g. the information on SOF) then you should cite the site as a whole. Does that make sense?

This site was very helpful to me in school, particularly when professors in different disciplines wanted citations in different formats.

http://citationmachine.net/index2.php

 

[SpitfireV]

This site was very helpful to me in school, particularly when professors in different disciplines wanted citations in different formats.

http://citationmachine.net/index2.php

I had issues with formatting when I would cut and paste from that and I would end up with inconsistent looking footnotes (consistent in the specified method but I mean with font and size) that I found difficult or impossible to fix. This is likely down to me using Open Office and flicking the document between that and Word at uni though. Otherwise a bloody good site.

 

[dknob]

Google a PDF floating around out there on the Corps' "Detachment One" history.

 

[Atlas]

I would say "No", since he refers to all SOF units as "Special Forces", which as we know is one specific unit, not a broad term. If he can't get that right, my confidence in the rest of the book is not very high. And good Lord, 89.00? Damn.

That book is why I was so confused in my Intro thread lol.

To the OP. When I swore in my girlfriends mom gave me a book called 'U.S. Special Operations Forces' it was published by The Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0883631059/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Its a pictorial but its still a great book and I think you'd get alot of info from it.

 

[JustAnotherJ]

Check out Shadows in the Jungle (http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Jungle-Scouts-Behind-Japanese/dp/0451229134). Alamo Scouts were created to conduct recon missions under Gen McArther and do all sorts of other missions that would make a modern day "leader" crap their pants. Since their inception, they have been recognized as part of the Army's Special Forces. EXCELLENT book.

 

[Fucci26]

Gentlemen, this is the final copy of the paper. My apologizes on not having it up sooner. Overall, I made a 5.5/6. The negative comments about the paper involved A. repetitive B. Too wordy. C. Great information, yet to failure to reach into detail on some aspects. None the less, I passed, all that matters. I really want to say thank you for all the help you guys (or girls) gave me on this paper. Without some of the sites you guys mentioned, or history that isn't readily available, I probably would have been able to fit all of this one one page. Once again, I greatly appreciate it.