SEALs and Rangers specialize in “direct action” and “special reconnaissance.” Meanwhile, Special Forces is focused on “foreign internal defense” and “unconventional warfare.”  That means preventing or assisting an insurgency. So, plain and simple, SF guys need a lot of people skills.

"Since the work often involves working as a team or in a cross-cultural environment, the Special Forces are looking for candidates who have good interpersonal skills— men who are open to listening and working with other people and foreign communities. More crudely put, it may come down to whether a man is more comfortable in shooting people or trying to make friends with them. Some soldiers are very proficient in a tactical situation and very comfortable behind the gun, but they don’t really want to make the effort to communicate with someone different from themselves." - Mike Kenny, Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel with 22 years of service including 18 Alpha (Special Forces Officer) and Special Operations Forces liaison to the School of Advanced Military Studies.

Read the full interview here.