U.S. special operations forces are doing more things in more places than ever before. They are now active in some seventy countries and, since 2001, have seen their combined budget nearly quintuple—a trend that seems likely to continue. As the United States seeks ways to tackle a range of security threats worldwide, shore up the resilience of its friends and allies against terrorist and criminal networks, and minimize need for large-scale military interventions, the importance of special operations forces will grow.
Yet, writes Linda Robinson in this Council Special Report, the strategic vision for special operations forces has not...
The United States has arrived at a critical inflection point in the development and employment of its special operations forces. Budget pressures and exhaustion with large-scale wars now place a new premium on small-footprint operations and partnering with allies to provide cost-effective defense. Special operations forces are uniquely designed to play both of those roles. Therefore, given the likely ongoing heavy reliance on special operations forces, it is imperative that national security policymakers and defense officials ensure that these forces are prepared to perform their full range of missions. The strategic context is now shifting, and adjustments are in order....
Special operations forces comprise a wide variety of carefully selected and highly trained units from all four U.S. military services, with different histories and different competencies. Army special operations forces comprise half of all special operators and include the largest and oldest element of U.S. special operations forces, the Special Forces, which are recognizable by their green berets, as well as Rangers, aviators, civil affairs soldiers, and psychological operations troops. The navy special operations forces include the well-known SEALs (Sea, Air, Land), which marked their fiftieth anniversary in 2012, and the marines special operations command, which was formed in 2006....
Special operations forces have a complex organization, a diverse set of capabilities, and a broad range of officially assigned missions, all of which can make it difficult to understand exactly who special operations forces are and how they should be used. In many respects, it is a relatively new community, one that is still in the process of formulating in-depth answers to the questions of “who they are” and “what they do.” An outline of the organizational structure and missions provides a baseline for the discussion of a new operating model; shortfalls in the current conceptual, operational, and institutional development;...
For special operations forces to progress from a largely tactical tool to one that regularly achieves or contributes substantially to decisive and enduring effects, they must adopt a new model with two essential features. The first is a shift to make developing and operating with partners—political-military activity in all its diverse forms—their central means of achieving lasting effect. The second is adoption of a systematic approach that routinely combines their diverse special operations capabilities—civil affairs, informational, advisory, and so forth—as needed in deliberate campaigns executed over time, in concert with other military and civilian entities. Several...
The following conceptual, operational, and institutional changes, to be accomplished through a rebalancing of resources, will enable special operations forces to retool and provide even more effective security solutions at lower cost. These changes will raise the level of special operations forces’ ability to develop and work with a variety of partner forces and enable them to routinely combine their own diverse capabilities to achieve maximum impact, and in this way progress beyond their current tactical plateau.
The two most important steps that the special operations community can take to ensure that special operations mature are develop intellectual capital and...
Given the centrality of special operations forces in addressing today’s national security challenges, it is imperative that they be employed to best effect. The outcome of adopting the changes recommended in this report will be special operations forces that are better prepared to combine effectively within their own community and the wider military, as well as envision how their capabilities can contribute to the U.S. government’s national security endeavors around the world.
Current defense strategy envisions a dispersed, small U.S. footprint and emphasizes enabling partners in new ways. This strategy entails a large role for special operations forces, and the...
