Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

How Do Green Berets Train?

Aired February 25, 2003 - 14:09   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And a military battle can go south in an instant. When a combat unit is caught behind enemy lines, the army often sends the Army's elite green berets to the rescue. How do they train for those kinds of operations?
CNN's Kyra Phillips is finding out in an exclusive look right now -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Anderson, I hope you can hear me OK.

Right now, what you're seeing is the special forces guys. I'm going to sort of get down. This is a reclear.

Chief Brad Smith, why don't you tell us what's happening right now inside the building?

CHIEF BRAD SMITH, U.S. ARMY: OK, now, what is happening is they've already dominated the structure. They're getting ready now to exfil the structure. In order to do that, they have to reclear, as they come down from the top floor back down to the bottom floor, and that's what we're going to see right now, is a controlled exit from this building, so they can continue to move and clear this small town.

Eventually, they're going to end up reconsolidating at a reconsolidation point, and that's what we see right now. They're discussing how they're going to exfil it and what direction they're going in.

PHILLIPS: This is probably the most aggressive environment for special forces training, correct?

SMITH: Absolutely. A special forces soldier in this environment has to be aware what's going on 360 degrees. It's very violent -- this right here, obviously, is the precious cargo.

PHILLIPS: Turn around, Leon. We've got a downed pilot. Leon, hard right, there you go. This is the downed pilot.

SMITH: What they're doing right here is actually called a body barricade. They're going to get around him to provide security so they can protect him, so that in case when they're exfilling if there is somebody, a bad guy with a weapon that tries to shoot at him, they're providing a body barricade for him.

PHILLIPS: So this is a successful extraction. SMITH: Absolutely. They cleared, they located the downed crewmen, and they've exfilled him, and this, at this time is a successful clear.

PHILLIPS: Now, where exactly are they taking the downed pilot now? Why go to another building? Why not try to get him into a helicopter and out of the area?

SMITH: Well, at this time, the battle is still going. They know that this building is secure. They're going to do a temporary hold at this location. Once they know that it's clear to move him to the reconsolidation point, that's what they're going to do.

As you can see, they've gotten to the point where they can actually start controlling the noncombatants in the area. Earlier, we saw how they were running around, yelling, throwing rocks. As they continue to gain control of this small village, they can move over and start taking control of the noncombatants, what they've done here.

PHILLIPS: And, Leon, if you can get a shot of the guys down on the floor, that's what the chief is talking about, the noncombatants, meaning innocent civilians; they told them to get down.

SMITH: That's correct. They may have been making violent actions with their hands, whatever, but they don't have a weapon in their hands, so they're not presenting a threat. So they'll use verbal control on these folks, they'll tell them to get down and stay there until they can actually get to them and deal with them one-on- one.

PHILLIPS: From what I understand, I'm not quite sure if we've got this video or not, but atop the building where we were, the special forces guys were making arrests up on the roof, and I noticed that we had a Blackhawk flying around, obviously adding to intelligence. Talk to us about air support, how it helps in a situation like this, tracking an enemy on a rooftop, say.

SMITH: Right, air support is vital in this type of scenario. And if we can move over real quick, because they're exfilling here.

PHILLIPS: Yes, still clearing the building.

SMITH: And they do provide immediate intelligence to the folks that are on the grounds doing the clearing. Also, they can provide aerial platform support, if there's a pocket of resistance, and it's a target rich environment. By that, I mean they know there is no combatants in this particular area; they can actually engage from the aerial platform. Only once they know for sure that that group of folks -- they don't have any noncombatants mixed in with the combatants.

PHILLIPS: You were telling me you have so many elements you have to deal with when you make an entry into a high-threat situation like this. Take me through that again.

SMITH: OK, basically, when you go into a room, you have to process the information. When I'm presenting with a shoot/no shoot scenario, I have a target to my front, could be as close as you and I have right now. I have to decide in less than a second if you're a threat or non-threat target. I have to be on my toes, I have to see the information, process it and react to it in a timely manner.

PHILLIPS: How do you avoid making a mistake?

SMITH: Training, training, training. Over and over again. You have to reinforce the training, and that's why our special forces soldier are so successful at what they do, because they train hard.

PHILLIPS: Looking at these special forces soldier, many of them possibly already receiving their assignments, possibly heading to Iraq, how are they doing?

SMITH: Well, they're doing fine. Special forces soldiers, as you well now, are regionally oriented. They can find themselves deploying anywhere throughout the world. They're regionally oriented. So we have special forces here for advanced training that come from all the different groups.

PHILLIPS: Chief Brad Smith, thank you so much.

SMITH: Absolutely.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired February 25, 2003 - 14:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And a military battle can go south in an instant. When a combat unit is caught behind enemy lines, the army often sends the Army's elite green berets to the rescue. How do they train for those kinds of operations?
CNN's Kyra Phillips is finding out in an exclusive look right now -- Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Anderson, I hope you can hear me OK.

Right now, what you're seeing is the special forces guys. I'm going to sort of get down. This is a reclear.

Chief Brad Smith, why don't you tell us what's happening right now inside the building?

CHIEF BRAD SMITH, U.S. ARMY: OK, now, what is happening is they've already dominated the structure. They're getting ready now to exfil the structure. In order to do that, they have to reclear, as they come down from the top floor back down to the bottom floor, and that's what we're going to see right now, is a controlled exit from this building, so they can continue to move and clear this small town.

Eventually, they're going to end up reconsolidating at a reconsolidation point, and that's what we see right now. They're discussing how they're going to exfil it and what direction they're going in.

PHILLIPS: This is probably the most aggressive environment for special forces training, correct?

SMITH: Absolutely. A special forces soldier in this environment has to be aware what's going on 360 degrees. It's very violent -- this right here, obviously, is the precious cargo.

PHILLIPS: Turn around, Leon. We've got a downed pilot. Leon, hard right, there you go. This is the downed pilot.

SMITH: What they're doing right here is actually called a body barricade. They're going to get around him to provide security so they can protect him, so that in case when they're exfilling if there is somebody, a bad guy with a weapon that tries to shoot at him, they're providing a body barricade for him.

PHILLIPS: So this is a successful extraction. SMITH: Absolutely. They cleared, they located the downed crewmen, and they've exfilled him, and this, at this time is a successful clear.

PHILLIPS: Now, where exactly are they taking the downed pilot now? Why go to another building? Why not try to get him into a helicopter and out of the area?

SMITH: Well, at this time, the battle is still going. They know that this building is secure. They're going to do a temporary hold at this location. Once they know that it's clear to move him to the reconsolidation point, that's what they're going to do.

As you can see, they've gotten to the point where they can actually start controlling the noncombatants in the area. Earlier, we saw how they were running around, yelling, throwing rocks. As they continue to gain control of this small village, they can move over and start taking control of the noncombatants, what they've done here.

PHILLIPS: And, Leon, if you can get a shot of the guys down on the floor, that's what the chief is talking about, the noncombatants, meaning innocent civilians; they told them to get down.

SMITH: That's correct. They may have been making violent actions with their hands, whatever, but they don't have a weapon in their hands, so they're not presenting a threat. So they'll use verbal control on these folks, they'll tell them to get down and stay there until they can actually get to them and deal with them one-on- one.

PHILLIPS: From what I understand, I'm not quite sure if we've got this video or not, but atop the building where we were, the special forces guys were making arrests up on the roof, and I noticed that we had a Blackhawk flying around, obviously adding to intelligence. Talk to us about air support, how it helps in a situation like this, tracking an enemy on a rooftop, say.

SMITH: Right, air support is vital in this type of scenario. And if we can move over real quick, because they're exfilling here.

PHILLIPS: Yes, still clearing the building.

SMITH: And they do provide immediate intelligence to the folks that are on the grounds doing the clearing. Also, they can provide aerial platform support, if there's a pocket of resistance, and it's a target rich environment. By that, I mean they know there is no combatants in this particular area; they can actually engage from the aerial platform. Only once they know for sure that that group of folks -- they don't have any noncombatants mixed in with the combatants.

PHILLIPS: You were telling me you have so many elements you have to deal with when you make an entry into a high-threat situation like this. Take me through that again.

SMITH: OK, basically, when you go into a room, you have to process the information. When I'm presenting with a shoot/no shoot scenario, I have a target to my front, could be as close as you and I have right now. I have to decide in less than a second if you're a threat or non-threat target. I have to be on my toes, I have to see the information, process it and react to it in a timely manner.

PHILLIPS: How do you avoid making a mistake?

SMITH: Training, training, training. Over and over again. You have to reinforce the training, and that's why our special forces soldier are so successful at what they do, because they train hard.

PHILLIPS: Looking at these special forces soldier, many of them possibly already receiving their assignments, possibly heading to Iraq, how are they doing?

SMITH: Well, they're doing fine. Special forces soldiers, as you well now, are regionally oriented. They can find themselves deploying anywhere throughout the world. They're regionally oriented. So we have special forces here for advanced training that come from all the different groups.

PHILLIPS: Chief Brad Smith, thank you so much.

SMITH: Absolutely.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com