What Could U.S. Troops Be Used For In Iran?
While I have no idea what the US ground elements (MEU, Airborne, SOF) are actually tasked with, any reasonably well informed observer can tell what they are good for in principle. So I’ll give it a shot.
First of all the ground units in theater are completely unsuitable for any invasion or conventional land battle because they lack numbers, artillery and a firm logistical base for that role.
However what they could conceivably do is:
1) Seize a Hormuz Strait island or similar;
2) Raid a nuclear or secret weapon facility;
3) Raid the coast to take out anti-ship weapons;
4) Take out missile bases or leadership sites too deep for aerial weapons; and
5) Operationally support a hybrid uprising against the Islamic Republic.
Let’s consider #5 as this is rarely discussed. What is a hybrid uprising? A hybrid uprising is a joint assault by protest networks, ethnic armed groups, exile opposition (MEK, monarchists), and crucially, defecting units from the regular Iranian Army (Artesh) upon the regime. The Artesh—historically less ideological and more nationally oriented than the IRGC/Basij would provide the insurgency with potential access to heavy weapons, command structures, logistics, and conscript manpower that pure guerrilla forces lack.
A hybrid insurgency would make it possible, with alliance air and drone support, to oppose each regime mosaic element, being similarly organized from the start. It could create “liberated” areas from which an alternative government would contest the regime’s internal legitimacy. Most importantly, it would serve as a set of visible nuclei around which to rally oppositionists.
The US ground assets in the theater are relatively well suited to support a hybrid uprising through:
1) SOF advisory missions;
2) SOF + Marine/82nd Airborne elements might conduct short-duration raids to seize key border crossings, airfields, or infrastructure to support insurgents
3)Providing medical, intelligence and above all C3 support that will work when regime equivalents won’t.
Since the biggest challenge will come at the outset when the hybrid insurgency proclaims itself as that is when the insurgency and defectors will be most vulnerable there may be some reluctance to jump the gun. So we might see the regime pounded some more. The first day of the uprising will be, to a steal a phrase, the Longest Day.
