A general commentary since I don't have detailed knowledge of the persons involved, but at one time providing instruction and training was a primary mission of Army Special Forces, especially in peace time.Kommander wrote:Thing is some of these guys, like Vickers and Yeager, actually have legitimate combat experience. However simply having someone try to kill you does not mean you actually know what your doing, nor does it mean that you are capable of training others.
The SF guys I knew in the 80's and early 90's spent a good part of their operations in "Foreign Internal Defense" missions, training local troops all over the world in everything from HSLD Commando stuff to basic field hygiene. Their participation in the Vietnam era MIKE Forces was basically an extension of that to active combat operations, but at the base was still a training mission.
I was lucky enough to attend some SF Reserve unit drills while in college, and a big emphasis of each weekend drill was the younger troops developing and presenting training classes to others in the unit, being graded on technical knowledge and presentation skills by the more senior NCOs. (It's where I got my first introduction to M-16 maintenance, donning and maintenance of gas masks, and military land navigation).
Things may have changed in the past 15+ years of active war operations, but at one time, being an SF NCO meant being at least a competent trainer/instructor.