US special forces simulate defense of Taiwan in firstBy Yang Fu-yi and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) for the first time simulated the defense of Taiwan against an invasion by China, the Military.com Web site reported on Sunday. The report, titled “Defending a Mock Invasion of Taiwan Signals Shift for Army Special Operations After Years of Counterinsurgency,” said that during its annual combat exercise last week, the USASOC landed Chinook helicopters on a concrete structure representing Taiwan, at the Range 68 training site in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Members of the US’ 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment take part in an exercise in an undated photograph. During the exercise, soldiers also demonstrated intermediate to advanced command of Mandarin or Russian, the report said. The exercise included the firing of Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles, sabotaging of tunnels and use of AeroVironment Switchblade drones.
