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The advantage that the U.S. had for decades in being able to “sense the enemy before they sense us” has eroded with the proliferation of modern technologies among great powers and terrorist and criminal groups, said Maj. Gen. Peter Huntley, who leads the Marine Forces Special Operations Command.
In terms of warfighting, there needs to be an equilibrium between readiness, modernization and operations, said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Shane Shorter, senior enlisted leader of Special Operations Command, during a panel discussion at the National Defense Industrial Association's 35th annual Special Operations Symposium in Washington, Feb. 20, 2025.
After years of training, a recon commando marches into the briefing room and declares, “I’ve got little flying drones, cyber forensic tools, and a long-range rifle. I want a target.” The boss looks at the commando and replies, “Look, scout, you don’t have the authorities to use any of those fancy tools, take a seat in the back.” The commando nods and sits. Then an intelligence collector speaks to the boss: “I have a target, I just need a way to access it from the ground.”
The selection of John Daniel Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may signal a new emphasis on irregular warfare, covert and clandestine operations, enabling swifter action with fewer legal constraints and less congressional scrutiny, say former military and senior defense officials who have worked in the intelligence community, special operations, the Defense Department, and the White House.
U.S. surveillance flights cut through the skies probing for fentanyl plants in Mexico. American soldiers string barbed wire along the Southern border. The State Department just designated six Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTO). Donald Trump’s promised war on Mexico’s cartels is ramping up.
As officials and experts are calling for more integration of irregular warfare capabilities to defeat adversaries, a new modern “triad” concept for the U.S. military is being touted as a jumping-off point for deterrence.
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