by Joey Middleton | Mar 10, 2026 | SOF and Strategic Competition
By Joe Funderburke Abstract Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign launched on February 28, 2026, has destroyed significant elements of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and decapitated portions of its leadership. What it has not destroyed, and what no air...
by Joey Middleton | Mar 10, 2026 | SOF and Strategic Competition
By Nysret Buzhala A core challenge in modern great power competition is effectively responding to the ambiguous, non-military forms of activities characterized as part of the “gray zone”. Russia is actively engaging in these operations in critical areas where...
by Joey Middleton | Feb 26, 2026 | SOF and Strategic Competition
by Daniel Pullan, by Joshua Young Executive Summary In an era of strategic competition, America’s adversaries are engaged in persistent operations against US interests in a spectrum of low-intensity conflict frequently referred to as the “gray zone”. The legal and...
by Joey Middleton | Feb 23, 2026 | SOF and Strategic Competition
By Chad Machiela, by Seth Gray Department of Defense Instruction 3000.07 defines Irregular Warfare with ambiguous criteria, including indirect approaches and asymmetric activities, which are also characteristic of conventional warfare. This lack of differentiating...
by Joey Middleton | Feb 20, 2026 | SOF and Strategic Competition
By Sean Ryan, by Adib Farhadi Introduction Why Afghanistan matters for the U.S. military today is no longer a question of counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, or nation-building. Instead, Afghanistan has reemerged as a permissive or semi-permissive arena for...
by Joey Middleton | Feb 17, 2026 | SOF and Strategic Competition
Timothy Jones, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, United States John Willingham, U.S. Government, Washington, D.C., United States Kenneth Walls Jr., U.S. Navy, Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States In an era of renewed strategic rivalry, the maritime...
