We all know Special Operations are the best at conducting Combat Operations. What type of unit do you feel is the best support unit?

The best support units are the ones that support GREAT combined arms units whose senior 1, 2 level up commanders understand supporters ..and only fills those leaders slots with GREAT leaders not all others, because "They are just supporters"

I had one my best platoon sergeants taken from me one deployment to fill a support platoon leader position...He was livid, take his infantry platoon from him to be a supporter? ....
Then I asked him,,,,when was the last time you had all your Bradley's up because mechanics had parts? How many times have you and your men eating MRE's for days in a row because rations were not here? Remember Being critically short on coax for two weeks because the support platoon kept forgetting that crate of ammo at the FOB?
I told him not only does YOUR platoon need YOU doing that job for now, the company needs you, the battalion needs YOU in that job.. Now go fix it, find your replacement and let me know when that platoon is ready....and I will your ass back here to your platoon.

I would disagree with your premise. Special Operations are very good at certain "Specialized" operations, general small unit in nature. I would never expect them to be the best at heavy mechanized operations for example. To answer your question, the best support unit trains with the supported unit and can anticipate the needs of the supported unit.

The one that helps the unit accomplish the mission.

"Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don’t ever let up. Don’t ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain." GEN George S. Patton

I would add that every single unit plays a vital role in the great chain.

The best support units are the successful ones that integrate themselves with the combat arms units.

The best units are the ones who do their job, accomplish the mission and take care of their people, regardless of their branch or service

To use a few Air Force flavored responses.... "Nobody kicks ass without tanker gas!" "No COMM, no bomb!"

ALL of the support units are critical IMO. The most lethal SF unit in the world won't stay that way long without resupply, MX, Comm, Medical, et al. I think we need to stop playing the "whose penis is bigger" game and realize we all have vital roles to play. To say that one is more important than the other is ludicrous.

Never heard anyone wish the Seabees weren't around....

The most important ones are the ones working the job at the time to get the mission done. Ie, mechanics getting vehicles, cooks for keeping the soldier fed, MI for getting intel to get troops out and provide SA. There is no support unit that is better than the other, but some support units are better for certain support roles than others.

Being attached to a SOF unit, as some have said above, ODAs are very good at SUT but what I feel they do best is that they integrate all support to maximize mission success. Their philosophy of what do you bring to the table and exploiting that is what makes them great. The ODAs I worked with never pretended to know what you did and would ask how you worked and what you needed to have maximum success. They constantly asked what could be done better and integrated everyone they worked with, regardless of MOS, rank or anything else.

I think that the elements that you mentioned are spot on. I would add the quality of the values of each individual assigned to a unit.

There are other factors involved in the mix but usually the best support units will have those qualities that we mentioned above.