A key mission in a fight against North Korea would be neutralizing their nuclear stockpile.
This could be done by nuking the nukes — which as you might guess is pretty politically unlikely — or through subtler measures.
The fastest and quietest way to get special operators in position to recover or "disqualify" a nuclear threat would be by dropping them out of an airplane. During or after an initial bombardment, military parachuters could be tactically air-dropped high above the earth over specified targets.
A recent war game emphasized the need for "counter-weapons of mass destruction" units to complement "general purpose" ground units.
The U.S. meets this demand with nuclear-qualified and high-altitude covert operations-qualified SEALs and Special Forces troops.
Paratroopers have played an important role in gaining strategic assets from World War II to Afghanistan.
Huge airdrops of troops and supplies became quite common in World War II, notably during the Normandy invasion.
And although airborne operations occur mostly in training now ...
... They were used to seize air fields early on in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
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