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In an era of rising geopolitical tensions, terms like ‘hybrid threats,’ ‘grey zones,’ and ‘proxy warfare’ are frequently used to describe covert and ambiguous operations, suggesting they blur the lines between peace and armed conflict.
US special operators are shifting away from counterterrorism toward peer-adversary conflict.
There are five areas the US special operations community can focus on to best do that, new research says.
These areas harken back to the strengths of special ops in the Cold War and the War on Terror.
As the global landscape shifts into an era of Great Power Competition, characterized by unconventional threats and complex geopolitical dynamics, the need for a reimagined Office of Strategic Services (OSS) framework has never been more pressing. The revival of an OSS 2.0 would empower the Department of Defense (DoD) with enhanced Human Intelligence (HUMINT) capabilities that are critical for navigating the intricacies of Irregular Warfare (IW).
Strategic competition is likely to intensify over the next decade, increasing the demands on the United States to deter and defend against wide-ranging and simultaneous security challenges across multiple domains and regions worldwide. In that time frame, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Joint Force should more effectively leverage the competencies of US Special Operations Forces (USSOF) to compete with US strategic adversaries.
The United States is now learning that terrorism—which defined America's national security posture during the first two decades of the 21st century—was just the leading edge of a broader national security risk facing the nation. Consolidating America's approach to irregular warfare in a single high-level agency could help the United States address this larger and growing risk, and ultimately win.
Special operations forces (SOF) demand special attention due to the unique challenges and requirements faced by the community. As such, many efforts focus on developing capabilities to support these operations, ranging from enhanced human performance programs to doctrine that underpins a complex cycle of training and redeployment. One question strikes at the heart of all efforts and doctrine to utilize special forces in support of national defense: what is the purpose of special operations?
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