I think that China could do absolutely untold damage to the American psyche and illusion of invulnerability if it simply instantly obliterated these clowns on Taiwan from hundreds of kilometers away with a cloud of drones dense enough to block out the sun. America treats the navy seals like they are all Master Chief, when in reality they are just guys who can carry a log and swim for a long time or some shit. Maybe that matters when you’re like… raiding a compound of a guy who has been on the run for decades while he’s asleep with Neon Genesis Evangelion playing on the TV, but genuinely what are these guys going to do to actually fight back against China? China will never even let them see a single PLA soldier lmao.
I honestly have no idea what special forces are supposed to do during a real near-peer war in the 21st century.
Obviously they’re supposed to murder civilians. That’s what they’ve always done
Recon in advance of movements, clear landing zones, etc. What the frogmen did in WW2. Basically nothing what they do today. Edit: and hell, these days you'd probably just use drones for the recon work.
Invade back lines
There's some footage of the Russian ones so deep into Ukraine territory they manage to ambush supply trucks basically point blank with their arms
Martyrdom for propaganda
Fight insurgents in occupied cities. Go on secret missions against non-combatant or allied nations. Train allies or insurgents. Same thing they do now, they're not gonna go near the front line. It's too risky, government has invested too much in their training when they could send grunt conscripts.
it's also just not very useful, they aren't going to be much more effective than an experienced conscript brigade when fighting on the front lines
Spotting for laser-guided bombs and other munitions, and collecting medallions awarded for committing warcrimes
Propaganda