Naval postgraduate school monterey, california thesis

II. THE 
RESCUE 
OPERATION 
The rescue operation is the climax of a war, which must be resolved in a 
single military act…the success, or failure of such an operation means the 
victory or defeat in that war (Gazit, 1981, p.113).
Hostage rescue operations are dominated by political motives, making them 
unique from conventional military operations in wartime. They require tactics, 
techniques, and procedures not normally employed by military forces, and therefore not 
trained to execute. Embarking on a rescue operation should be the last resort in trying to 
resolve a crisis. Nevertheless, every attempt must be made to allow for the hostage crisis 
to develop and its intelligence picture to take shape, in order to facilitate the execution of 
a deliberate assault by the rescue force. Otherwise, the rescue party will be limited to the 
conduct of an emergency assault in a vacuum of information, with the hostage takers 
having the upper hand. 
A. 
ANATOMY OF A RESCUE 
Strategic special operations present specific characteristics. The highest 
civilian and military authorities in the White House and the Pentagon 
closely monitor the preparation and execution of such raids…. Strategic 
special operations, moreover, are usually joint endeavors involving several 
U.S. military services and civilian government agencies…. They are also 
high-risk ventures for they seek to achieve difficult objectives in a single 
bid, with deliberately limited means. Because failure in such operations is 
typically both highly visible and dramatic, the ensuing damage to U.S. 
prestige tends to be great… (Vandenbroucke, 1993, p. 4). 
The most important consideration prior to the start of any rescue preparation is the 
question of operational feasibility: Does the country responsible for handling the crisis 
have a dedicated unit capable of responding to such incidents? Does the political 
environment allow for the use of military action to resolve the crisis? Are the rescue 
unit’s operational and/or tactical limitations too great, preventing them from executing 
the rescue? 
Most countries have a dedicated military or police hostage rescue unit. These 
types of units are composed of combat seasoned individuals who are highly skilled and 
experienced in clandestine operations, operations that require creative thinking, 
flexibility, improvisation, and demand unusual requirements of the operator. Their lines 

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of command are very narrow to bypass all bureaucratic channels that can slow reaction 
times. To achieve this high level of professionalism and specific expertise takes time, 
resources, and equipment, not usually encountered in a standard military outfit.
Furthermore, to combine such unique individuals into one cohesive unit that can operate 
as a whole on a specific mission takes great time and resources. 
The success criteria of any hostage rescue operation can vary depending on the 
operation and the uniqueness of the incident. For our purposes, success for the hostage 
rescue operation is defined by these three specific conditions:
(1) The safe rescue of all hostages alive
(2) Minimal damage to the rescue force’s personnel or equipment (any casualties 
should be restricted to the terrorists)
(3) The politico-military ramifications at the completion of the operation do not 
outweigh the risks involved in launching the rescue 
Due to the criticality and sensitivity of hostage rescue operations, whatever the 
situation might be, the overall responsibility for absolute command and control should 
rest with the political leadership from start to finish. They must decide whether to go 
ahead and conduct the rescue. They must dictate the constraints and limits for any 
military operations. They must also approve the final and detailed plan for the 
operations. They must decide the abort criteria in advance and any deviations from the 
plan. Finally, they must be in constant contact with the task force, in case it needs to 
make timely interventions according to new developments (Gazit, 1981, pp. 133-134). 
Hostage rescue operations, for the most part, can be broken down into three major 
phases: Phase I, the 
planning
, 
preparation
, and 
rehearsals
; Phase II, the 
approach
and 
assault
; and Phase III, the 
post assault
. These phases vary depending on the type of 
hostage scenario; barricaded hostage takers, hostage takers out in an open area or in a 
hijacked plane, or a lone suicide terrorist, but essentially remain the same throughout.

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