A 30-minute long podcast provides an explanation of the latest iteration of the command strategy of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). The strategy was presented in a document published in October 2019 by USASOC in an eight-page PDF entitled Army Special Operations Forces Strategy.

The podcast, published on May 8, 2020 by the War Room of the United States Army War College, features an interview of LTC(P) Bryan Groves of USASOC. He is the Chief of the Strategic Planning Division, U.S. Army Special Operations Command. He is interviewed by Ron Granieri – an Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Army War College.

Synopsis:

“In the realm of national security very few elements ever remain stagnant, and those that do are relegated to irrelevance. As the environment changes, capabilities are developed, motivations shift, loyalties fade, new players rise and old players fall. In order to account for those changes new guidance flows downward from the highest levels of leadership increasing in detail and specificity as it descends to the lowest echelons of the military.”

This strategy “charts our course to drive evolutionary changes in how we man, train and equip our formations in the Information Age.”

LTG Francis Beaudette, Commanding General, USASOC

Groves and Granieri examine how USASOC forces intend to execute their mission in support of the national defense amongst general purpose, joint and coalition forces against ever changing adversaries.

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Podcast:

Granieri, Ron, host. “Evolutionary Strategy to Combat Strategic Atrophy”, War Room, Army War College, 8 May 2020, 30 minutes.
https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/usasoc-strategy/

References:

Army Special Operations Forces Strategy, USASOC, October 2019, PDF, 8 pages.
https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/ARSOF_Strategy.pdf

Image Credit:

Image derived from cover of Army Special Operations Forces Strategy.

The Global SOF Foundation recently held its SOF Imperatives Forum in Washington, D.C. in February 2020 and released its annual SOF Imperatives Document.

The SOF Imperatives Forum featured a number of discussions and presentations by members of the Senate and House as well as current and former leaders of the special operations community. A common theme was how to find a balance between the mission of countering violent extremism while also shifting focus to the new era of great power competition as directed by the National Defense Strategy.

Included in the congressional representatives were Senator Joni Ernst and Representatives Mike Waltz, Jason Crow, and Scott Peters. Some of the leaders of the SOF community included VADM Tim Szymanski (USSOCOM), Lt Gen James Slife (AFSOC), Lt Gen (Ret) Thomas Trask, and LTG (Ret) John Mulholland. Former ASD’s of SO/LIC were also present and participated in a panel discussion: Michael Lumpkin, Brian Sheridan, and Mark Mitchell.

The Imperatives 2020 Document is distributed to congressional representatives and staffers in order to educate key leaders on specific special operations force topics. The document highlights key issues for U.S. SOF in the areas of strategy; support to operations, training, and readiness; support to the force; maritime, land forces, and aviation.

The Imperatives 2020 Document is 8-pages long and in PDF format. It is available on the Global SOF Foundation website:
https://gsof.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2020-01-30_GSOF-2020-Imperatives.pdf

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The Global Special Operations Forces (SOF) Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to build and grow an international network of military, government, commercial, and educational stakeholders in order to advance SOF capabilties and partnerships to confront global and networked threats. The foundation holds several events a year bringing together senior members of the U.S. and international SOF community.
https://www.gsof.org/

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Image: From the front page of the Imperatives 2020 Document.

The US Military Freefall Association is a collective of freefall parachutists, jumpmasters, and military freefall instructors bound by their common training, experience, and passion for military parachuting. The association seeks to promote an understanding of military freefall and to maintain a close relationship with the USAJFKSWCS Military Freefall School, veteran’s organizations, and the larger parachuting community. This is a newly formed organization that will fill a void for a selective group within the special operations community.

There are numerous veterans interest groups and organizations across the country. Some are general in nature – providing information or services to current military service members or veterans. Others are more specialized – such as the Navy SEAL Foundation that seeks to assist active and former members of the SEAL community with events, scholarships, and assistance to wounded SEALs and their families.

The Military Freefall Association (MFFA) is focused on the very technical and high-risk discipline of military freefall (MFF). One of the most technical skills in the United States armed services is MFF. It is a qualification usually restricted to the U.S. special operations community. Less than 1% of 1% of the U.S. military have received MFF training. Another purpose of the MFFA is to take actions that will memorialize fallen warriors from the MFF community.

Members Wanted

Like any newly formed organization the MFFA is looking for new members. If you are a graduate of a United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) recognized MFF school or a former schoolhouse cadre member, then you qualify to join the MFFA. What does membership in the MFFA offer? First of all, you will receive an exclusive MFFA membership packet, full of MFFA swag! But beyond the bragging rights and the ability to connect to other members, you are also helping the association support the wider MFF community through sponsorship of events, honoring sacrifices of our fallen, and supporting the MFF schoolhouse to meet requirements that cannot be paid for with appropriated funds.

In addition, the organization will pass on relevant information (reports, policy, etc.) to members via email or through its online forum. There is also a “Members Area” (requires logon and password) that will allow you to connect to other MFFA members. And you get to purchase some MFFA swag through its online store. It is easy to become a member.

Sponsors Wanted

All non-profit organizations require a certain level of funding to conduct its operations. If your organization, firm, or business would like to contribute to the work that the Military Freefall Association does then becoming a sponsor is the way to achieve that goal. Any person, business, or organization can sponsor, donate, or become an affiliate member of the Military Freefall Association. A sponsor’s help can assist the MFFA help our fellow military freefall warriors.

Upcoming MFFA Events

Military Freefall Instructor Reunion. The U.S. MFFA will host its annual Military Freefall Instructor Reunion on Friday, April 3, 2020 in Yuma, Arizona. Current and former instructors can share their stories, experiences, and challenges from across the generations of instructors since 1968.

Military Freefall Ball. The U.S. MFFA will host its annual “Freefall Ball” in Yuma, Arizona on Saturday, April 4, 2020 in Yuma, Arizona.

Military Freefall Association
https://www.usmffa.org

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Photos: All photographs and images are from the Department of Defense.

A report about special operations forces examines the role that irregular warfare will play in great power competition – with a focus on information operations. A primary focal point of the Department of Defense going forward has been defined by the 2018 National Defense Strategy as competing effectively with state adversaries.

The nations of Russia, China, Iran and others are using unconventional methodologies to attain their goals and increase their national influence. This paper by the Center for Stability & Development of CNA Analysis & Solutions outlines U.S. government efforts to compete successfully around the world using information operations (IO) and intermediary partnerships. The paper is an outcome of a March 2019 event hosted by CNA that included government, military, and academic experts that addressed how special operations forces could support U.S. government efforts in global competition.

Key Themes in the Paper:

• The US must embrace irregular warfare as inherent to modern great power competition
• SOF’s strategic role in today’s irregular battlespace must be defined and implemented
• SOF need a collaborative civilian partner for conducting information operations
• Practitioners need to study and understand the tactical and strategic toolkits for irregular operations
• The US must define the future of IW and the American narrative as key elements of its competition for global influence

The paper concludes that the U.S. must be able to compete with our adversaries in the field of influence operations and needs to be able to control “. . . the narrative surrounding that competition.” It further states that US SOF and their civilian partners are critical actors in this endeavor and provides some recommendations for the future.

SOF and the Future of Global Competition, CNA Analysis & Solutions, May 2019, PDF, 26 pages.
https://www.cna.org/CNA_files/PDF/DCP-2019-U-020033-Final.pdf

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Photo: Photograph from paper cited above.

ISTC SOF Medic Course – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has a number of special operations related courses that are conducted at a school in Pfullendorf, Germany. One of these courses conducted at the NATO International Special Training Center (ISTC) is the NATO Special Operations Combat Medical Course or NSOCM.

The 24-week long NSOCM prepares students to be able to implement over 160 NATO-recognized critical tasks in the treatment of trauma and non-trauma injuries and illness. Much of the time the SOF medics train to these skills in a tactical environment.

Injuries and wounds suffered by special operations forces personnel will likely happen in austere locations far removed from the ‘golden hour’ of medical evacuation. The SOF medics need to able to render a wide variety of lifesaving techniques to be able to meet the unique medical challenges that they will be faced with during SOF operations.

Clinical skills are a part of the training course. The students study clinical medicine as well as the treatment of battlefield injuries and wounds. Some special operations missions such as unconventional warfare (UW) will take place for prolonged periods of time (months) in denied areas with limited access to medical treatment. Learning tasks such as basic dental care (cleaning or pulling of teeth) can go a long way to ensuring a Solider’s health in an austere environment for long periods of time.

The commander of Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) – Major General Mark Schwartz – made the following comment about the ISTC SOF medic course:

“Saving more lives in combat is the NSOCM foremost intent. As NSOCM equips SOF Medic Soldiers with more advanced abilities; they take away what they learned here at ISTC to build a collective capability from medical and non-medical SOF within their organic unit.”

Many NATO SOF units send their combat medics to the NATO medic course. Rear Admiral Jan Sommerfelt-Petterson, a specialist in public health from the Norwegian Armed Forces, says:

“Being a small country, Norway has used ISTC to train our solders for many years. We gain more from the quality of education ISTC provides. The crux of the matter is ISTC takes modern medicine and educates military operators on skills to bring to combat in areas where normal medical support is unavailable”.

Graduates of the ISTC SOF medic course earn the ISTC’s NATO credentials as well as a diploma and 60 applicable college credit hours.

References:

NATO Special Operations Combat Medic (NSOCM) Course. This web page by the International Special Training Centre provides information on the scope, objectives, course length, program, eligibility, packing list, prestudy material, and additional information on the ISTC SOF medic course.
http://istc-sof.org/nato-special-operations-combat-medic/

“Inaugural NATO Special Operations Combat Medic Course Graduates 23 Students at ISTC”, by Sgt Nelson Robles, SOCEUR PA, Army.mil, March 23, 2017.

Much of the information for this story came from “SOF medics from 10 nations increase life-saving skills at ISTC”, by Sgt. Karen Sampson, U.S Special Operations Command Europe, March 9, 2018.

Over the past decade and a half the U.S. special operations community, and Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) in particular, has developed the capability and capacity to conduct surgical strike operations to degrade terrorist networks while at the same to conduct large-scale counterinsurgency operations in multiple countries.

ARSOF 2022. A United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) publication examines the future for ARSOF and provides direction, guidance, and priorities for the future path for Army special operations. Among the topics examined is the relationship between special warfare and surgical strike. Special Warfare and Surgical Strike are defined as two primary capabilities of ARSOF. The 32-page publication is entitled ARSOF 2022 and is available as a PDF on the USASOC website. [1]

The “Vision” statement in ARSOF 2022 that Army special operations forces should:

“Provide our nation the world’s premier special operations units, capable of prosecuting the most sensitive special warfare campaigns and executing the most difficult surgical strike operations, while providing seamless and persistent special operations support to joint-force commanders worldwide”. (Page 5 ARSOF 2022)

Paper on Surgical Strike supporting Special Warfare. A student at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College wrote a master thesis on the topic of special warfare campaigns that are supported by surgical strike operations. He uses four case studies to examine the topic – two from Afghanistan (OEF) and two from Iraq (OIF). He then provides key findings and some recommendations. The purpose of his study (paper) was to “. . . examine recent historical special warfare campaigns and identify how ARSOF should leverage existing surgical strike assets to more effectively wage a special warfare campaign.”. (p. 5). The author spends considerable time reviewing the large volume of books, papers, publications, studies, and reports about the inter-relationship of surgical strike and special warfare in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Afghanistan Case Studies. The paper examines two case studies from Afghanistan; both revolving around the Village Stability Operations (VSO) program established by the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A). The first case study is the SOTF-SE campaign with Uruzgan province over a six-month period in 2012. The second case study is the SOTF-E campaign in Kunar province from 2010 to 2014. The VSO program had as its centerpiece the establishment of local defense forces at the village-level called Afghan Local Police (ALP). The use of U.S.-advised ANA Commando kandaks to ‘shape’ the environment (conducting raids and clearing operations) for VSO ‘platforms’ to establish a foothold and enhance security, governance, and development in their area of operations is cited as an example of surgical strikes supporting special warfare activities. The analysis of the two VSO case studies shows a disparity of effectiveness in the support of surgical strikes to special warfare.

Iraq Case Studies. The case studies in Iraq are on Operations Lions Road and the Ninawa Campaign of 2008 and (the second) the SOF support to the Awakening and the Sons of Iraq. In the Ninawa Campaign U.S. SOF, working with ISOF, ERU, and other Iraqi SOF elements coordinated their activities through the Iraqi Ninawa Operations Center (NOC) and local intelligence fusion cells. The effectiveness of these operations enabled Coalition and Iraqi forces to establish secure zones within Mosul and the surrounding areas with holding forces. The effectiveness of SOF forces using surgical strikes in support of the Coalition’s Sons of Iraq program is outlined as a success story as well.

Conclusion. The paper concludes with thirteen key findings and provides recommendations for improvement in doctrinal improvements and organizational structure to ensure that surgical strike forces can effectively support special warfare missions in the future. The 113-page paper is a good read . . . but it is helpful to take a look at the 32-page ARSOF 2022  (if only to look at the graphics) before wading into the paper.

Assessing the Role of Surgical Strike Operations in Support of a Special Warfare Campaign, by MAJ Owen M. Broom, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, June 2017. Posted on Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).
www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD1038563

Footnotes:

[1] US Army Special Operations Command, “ARSOF 2022”, Special Warfare Magazine 26, no.2 (April-June 2013).
www.soc.mil/Assorted%20Pages/ARSOF2022_vFINAL.pdf

Photo Credit: Photo from page 5 of ARSOF 2022.

The five SOF Truths have been a basic guide for special operations forces (SOF) when conducting daily activities as well as long-range planning. Additionally they are helpful to members of the Department of Defense, other organizations and agencies of the U.S. government, and conventional force leaders and staff – informing them of the differences between SOF and conventional forces.

The Five SOF Truths

Humans Are More Important Than Hardware.

People – not equipment – make the critical difference. The right people, highly trained and working as a team, will accomplish the mission with the equipment available. On the other hand, the best equipment in the world cannot compensate for a lack of the right people.

Quality is Better Than Quantity.

A small number of people, carefully selected, well trained, and well led, are preferable to larger numbers of troops, some of whom may not be up to the task.

Special Operations Forces Cannot Be Mass Produced.

It takes years to train operation units to the level of proficiency needed to accomplish difficult and specialized SOF missions. Intense training – both in SOF schools and units – is required to integrate competent individuals into fully capable units. This process cannot be hastened without degrading ultimate capability.

Competent Special Operations Forces Cannot Be Created After Emergencies Occur.

Creation of competent, fully mission capable units takes time. Employment of fully capable special operations capability on short notice requires highly trained and constantly available SOF units in peacetime.

Most Special Operations Require Non-SOF Assistance.

The operational effectiveness of our deployed forces cannot be, and never has been, achieved without being enabled by our joint service partners. The support Air Force, Marine and Navy engineers, technicians, intelligence analysts, and the numerous other professions that contribute to SOF, have substantially increased our capabilities and effectiveness throughout the world.

History of the SOF Truths. The origin of the SOF Truths are found in a report wrote for Congress by John Collins entitled United States and Soviet Special Operations in 1987. Collins, a retired U.S. Army Colonel and then senior defense researcher for the Congressional Research Service (CRS) was looking for bullets that reflected the essence of special operations forces. In his report there were five special operations findings. [1]

In 1988, MG David Baratto, the commander of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School and Center, developed the SOF Truths as basic guidance for SOF units. An additional purpose was to inform the non-SOF audience on factors that made SOF distinct from conventional forces. It is reported that his staff (having read Collins report) suggested them to him. The fifth SOF ‘finding’ was dropped – “Most Special Operations Require Non-SOF Assistance” – and the end result was the “SOF Truths.” [2]

In 1991 Baratto briefed the SOF Truths to Wayne Downing, the commander of the Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and he was receptive to the concept.

In 2009, Admiral Eric Olson, USSOCOM commander, added the 5th SOF Truth. [3]

Footnotes:

[1] The five SOF ‘findings’ are found in the foreword (see page V) of the report wrote by Congressman Earl Hutto (D.-Fl.), Chairman of the Special Operations Panel, House Armed Services Committee. See United States and Soviet Special Operations, Congressional Research Service, April 28, 1987, Government Printing Office, (Washington: 1987).

[2] For a brief history of the five SOF Truths read “The Special Operations Truths”, Weapons Man, January 27, 2012. The blog about Special Forces and the world of weapons was authored by Chris Ryan – a former SF Weapons NCO until his death in 2017.
http://weaponsman.com/?p=729

[3] The 5th SOF Truth was rehabilitated by Admiral Eric Olson, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in recognition on SOF’s need for support by it’s conventional force partners. This fifth truth had gone unrecognized for over 21 years. Source is a news article by Sean D. Naylor published by Army Times posted on NAVYSEALS.com – “Adm Olsen Adds “Lost” 5th SFO Truth to Doctrine”.
https://navyseals.com/nsw/adm-olsen-adds-lost-5th-sof-truth-doctrine/

References for SOF Truths :

United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
www.socom.mil/about/sof-truths

United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC)
www.soc.mil/USASOCHQ/SOFTruths.html

COL (Ret) John Collins describes some of his work while a researcher for Congressional Research Service (CRS) and how he penned the SOF Truths in a report to Congress. See “The Warlord on Special Operations Forces”, War on the Rocks, September 10, 2013.

SOF Imperatives. Somewhat confusing to the general reader is the establishment of the “SOF Imperatives”. There are some Internet resources that say the “SOF Truths” were called “SOF Imperatives” at one time. Additionally, some sources indicate that the “SOF Truths” were derived from existing “SOF Imperatives”. Currently there are twelve “SOF Imperatives” and they can be viewed on the website of USASOC. www.soc.mil/USASOCHQ/SOFImperatives.html

Video – Airborne and Special Operations Museum. Watch a 7-min long video of the displays set up depicting airborne and special operations history of the United States Army. The museum is located in downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina (Fayetteville is adjacent to Fort Bragg). If you are passing the Fort Bragg area this is a good museum to visit. Drew Brooks, military correspondent with The Fayetteville Observer, has posted this video on his YouTube site.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnpDYLzzY4k