Story by Sgt. Keaton Habeck, SOCPAC.

Royal Thai 1st Special Forces Division and U.S. Special Operations Detachment – Pacific (SOD-P) attended a Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) Joint Planning Process (JPP) course before exercise Cobra Gold 24 in Lop Buri, Kingdom of Thailand, Feb. 19 through Feb. 22, 2024.

The JSOU JPP course focused on aspects of special operations forces’ (SOF) integration for Cobra Gold 24. The JPP determines how to use military capabilities in time and space to achieve objectives within an acceptable level of risk.

“JPP allows a commander and the staff to analyze a situation, assess what the mission is and then put on paper what each of the subordinate units have to do in order to accomplish the mission,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Brown, source intelligence analyst assigned to SOD-P. “We’ve really been able to come together and focus on the mission.”

Kingdom of Thailand soldiers saw JPP from an operational level for the first time.

“Normally we use JPP at the tactical level,” said Lt. Khunanon Kumchan, assigned to Royal Thai 1st Special Forces Division. “It’s good to focus on the operational level because it’s a much bigger picture and more complicated, but it’s good that we trained with the U.S. because they have a lot of experience to share.”

The JSOU JPP course was important to Thai and U.S. SOF participants, helping to understand each other’s missions and goals.

“We can’t separate into Thai only and U.S. only,” said Kumchan. “When we come together we can have a shared understanding of what we’re doing here, and it’s that shared understanding that helps us work towards our goals.”

There were some challenges while operating in a classroom environment but both the Thai and U.S. forces were able to synergize and work together.

“The communication barrier can be difficult to overcome,” said U.S. Army Col. Dave Coughran, commander of SOD-P. “However, time and proximity ultimately leads to synergies. We’re excited to apply those during the exercise itself.”

The U.S. remains committed to the Kingdom of Thailand, promoting military-to-military relations, as well as advancing interoperability and coordination with the Royal Thai Armed Forces, to promote
regional security and stability.

“Working together is very good because we can strengthen ourselves and our allies for bigger, more complex objectives,” said Kumchan. “We can continue to build our friendship and partnership that way.”

Joint Exercise Cobra Gold, now in its 43rd year, is a Thai-U.S. co-sponsored training event that builds on the longstanding friendship between the two allied nations and brings together a robust multinational force to promote regional peace and security in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

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This story by Sgt. Keaton Habeck of U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC) was originally posted by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on March 1, 2024.

The latest edition of the Special Operations Forces Reference Manual has been published by the Joint Special Operations University Press. The document provides information on U.S. special operations forces of all the services. Topics include the SOF command structure, unit organization, equipment, and areas of responsibility.

Contents:

• Introduction to Special Operations
• Special Operations Forces Structure
• Army Special Operations Forces
• Naval Special Operations Forces
• Air Force Special Operations Forces
• Marine Corps Special Operations Forces
• Special Operations Related Definitions
• SOF Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Bibliography

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Special Operations Forces Reference Manual, Fifth Edition, Joint Special Operations University Press, MacDill AFB, Florida, November 2023, PDF, 162 pages. https://jsou.edu/Press/PublicationDashboard/240

Photo: Special Warfare Combat Crewmen conduct a maritime external air transportation system training evolution, a way to move a watercraft from a point on land or water to somewhere else, using an Army MH-47G Chinook helicopter. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher Prows, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Det)

The Joint Special Operations University or JSOU is the “Think-Do Tank” center of U.S. special operations. JSOU was founded in 2000 by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to serve as the academic center of excellence for special operations studies and research.

It offers 69 residence courses and 17 international courses. JSOU supports scholarly research and publishes monographs through the JSOU Press. It provides cutting-edge knowledge on the worldwide employment and applications of special operations forces.

Watch the video – Joint Special Operations – About JSOU, Think JSOU YouTube, October 21, 2022, 2 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBmagKmYHLE

The Joint Special Operations University (JSOU), part of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), held a forum in March 2021 entitled “Exploring SOF Identity”. The lead-in event for the two-day forum featured General David Petraeus (US Army, Ret.). He provides an informative and educational presentation augmented with a question and answer format with JSOU President Dr. Ike Wilson III.

The discussion is wide ranging – with special operations forces being the central theme of the discussion. The topics covered in this video include great power competition, the Indo-Pacific, military technology, TA3E2 missions (train, advise, assist, accompany, equip, and enable), coalition operations, international alliances, the generational fight, re-integration of CA and PSYOP into the SOF world, force structure, ASD SO/LIC, USSOCOM as a separate service, departing Afghanistan, strengthening of RC SOF (SF, CA and PSYOP) with AC SOF, CIA and SOF relationship, and much more.

In the first few minutes Petraeus provides a ‘big picture view’ of the current security environment – leading off with five post-9/11 lessons learned. However, the discussion soon gets into the world of special operations in line with the exploration of the SOF identity. Definitely worth your time to watch.

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Exploring SOF Identity
JSOU Quarterly Forum Keynote Conversation
Joint Special Operations University, USSOCOM
Forum held in March 2021
Posted by “Think JSOU” on April 1, 2021, one hour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2crdp-5fbgs

A ‘Quick Look’ report by the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) provides information that will help the special operations community understand the cyberspace domain and friendly and adversary cyberspace activities.

This report presents information about the formation and mission of CYBERCOM. It defines the cyberspace domain as the physical network layer, logical network layer, and cyber-persona layer. The activities of friendly and adversary actors in cyberspace are detailed as cyberspace security, cyberspace exploitation, and cyberspace attack.

The short pub also provides information about Joint Task Force (JTF)-ARES Operation Glowing Symphony (OGS) formed in May 2016 to counter ISIS in cyberspace by planning and executing cyberspace operations in the Operation Iraqi Resolve area of operations. OGS “started a continuous set of actions to counter ISIS in cyberspace by taking down accounts, websites, and infrastructure used to create and distribute propaganda. It also disrupted internal communication across ISIS leaders and followers, and gravely disrupted an ISIS publication which never resumed operations.”

The report goes on to explain why cyberspace operations matter to SOF, how cyber operations (CO) can support or enhance SOF missions on the ground, and how the shift to Great Power Competition highlights the usefulness of cyber operations. “Ultimately, SOF can use a foundational understanding of CO as both a planning consideration for force protection and operational enhancement to present opportunities to execute core mission areas.”

Cyber Fundamentals for SOF, JSOU Quick Look, Joint Special Operations University, March 2021, PDF, 4 pages.
https://jsou.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=60465000

The Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) has published a primer about intelligence support to special operations. It is intended to provide a brief overview of complex topic. The four-page ‘Quick Look’ presents relevant terms and definitions and some considerations for the SOF intel professional.

Major topics include:

• SOF Intelligence and the Human Domain
• Intelligence Community / Interagency Collaboration
• Supporting Competition, Targeting and Influence
• Cultivating the Special Operations Intelligence Professional
• Where Can I Learn More about SOF Intel

This is an interesting and quick read. The references and endnotes section will lead you to even more interesting readings in greater detail.

Intelligence Support to Special Operations
JSOU Quick Look
Joint Special Operations University (JSOU)
SOCOM, MacDill AFB, Florida
February 2021
https://jsou.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=60204448

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Photo: Trojan Footprint UW in Baltic States. U.S. and Danish maritime special operations forces board a ship in the Baltic Sea. Photo by SOCEUR, June 4, 2018.

A recent report published by the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) provides insights into the ways that special operations forces can assist indigenous governance structures to halt or reverse the growth of violent extremist organizations (VEOs).

The authors of the report argue that operating in the human domain requires a “. . . deep appreciation of local worldviews, modes and patterns of life, and organic institutional arrangements that make them viable”. SOF is adept at working with government leaders at the national and sub-national level; however, SOF – in many instances – is not knowledgeable about informal governance structures that can assist in the fight against VEOs.

The country faces several home-based and foreign-based terrorist groups to include Ansarul Islam, Islamic State of Iraq and ash-sham networks in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), al-Mulathamun Battalion, and the al-Qa’ida-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). More than 500 militant attacks in the past four years have killed hundreds of people. Burkina Faso had over 500,000 internally displaced persons in 2019. Terrorist attacks have taken place in the country’s capital as well as in rural areas.

Burkina Faso has augmented the size of its special terrorism detachment – Groupement des Forces Anti-Terroristes (GFAT). It has also jointed the G5 Sahel Joint Force to fight terrorism and criminal trafficking groups with its regional neighbors (Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger). In addition, it participates in the annual Flintlock exercise conducted by Special Operations Command – Africa (SOCAfrica).

The authors use Burkina Faso as an example of how SOF can support a country in its counterterrorism fight against VEOs. Local political legitimacy can be enhanced – and the influence of VEOs diminished – by working with indigenous, informal governance structures.

Report Contents:

• Chapter 1 – Governance Provides in Burkina Faso
• Chapter 2 – Islamic VEOs in Burkina Faso
• Chapter 3 – Governance Environment
• Chapter 4 – Violence and Security in Burkina Faso
• Conclusion
• Survey Methodology
• Acronyms and Endnotes

Informal Governance as a Force Multiplier in Counterterrorism: Evidence for Burkina Faso, by Margaret H. Ariotti and Kevin S. Fridy, JSOU Report 20-3, JSOU Press, July 2020, 110 pages, PDF.
https://jsou.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=55754342

Image: Derived from photo on back cover of the JSOU report and CIA map of Burkina Faso.