by PickPick » 14 Dec 2004 5:35
I always thought BUD/S was just the name of the course, while SEAL was the official designation of the units. As for SEALs or other US specwar units being the best at kicking ass, I'm somewhat doubtful. While I don't have any personal experiences in this area, I've heard quite often that they have too much of a cowboy/rambo/cooler-than-you attitude, which is something to avoid in this buisness. Personally I'd rather place my bets on SAS/SBS or maybe Israeli comandos, although the later seem to be handicapped sometimes by anti-arab rascism that leads them to underestimate their adversaries.
But to return to opening techniques, I don't think the Makita saw would be appropriate for most raids, as it creates a lot of noise as soon as it's started, before it hits the door, therefore taking away the element of surprise (or if you prefer that stupid term, shock and awe). As for picking by one way or another, I still don't think there's a place for it during raids. Pick guns appear to be very fast tools under training conditions, but as soon as you encounter a lock that maybe has too much dirt inside, it's not a 5-seconds opening anymorea and you'd better have kevlar in front of you by that time. And caring for other peoples locks and doors is cute and everything, but you can call it peacekeeping as often as you like, it's a war and it's a lost one. The battle for the hearts and minds of the population is over, now you either have them at your feet or at your throat. Therefore locksnappers, battering rams, hooligan bars and explosives should be the tools of choice. Maybe add pick axes while you're at it, because they are multi-purpose.
It's not the tools that open the lock. It's me.