Introduction
It is my distinct privilege to present the Special Operations Research Topics 2026 (SORT) booklet . This year’s SORT team, under the leadership of Doug Jordan, Associate Professor of Practice in the Joint Special Operations University’s (JSOU) Department of Applied Research, consists of representatives from the organizations and institutions that make up the United States Special Operations Enterprise (SOE) . They have developed an exceptional set of topics and questions that promises to enable research, study, and innovative thinking on key topics of interest to United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the joint force, and the SOF community . While reviewing the previous editions of the SORT to come up with a brilliant introduction, I came to the realization, however obvious, that the SOE has always been asked to prepare to operate on a no-fail basis, against a variety of major threats, in an environment with growing threats and dwindling resources, and where the stakes are extreme . This nature of the SOF mission is the reason the SORT exists—it helps the SOE tap into a broad network of smart people who are able to think through many of the wicked problems that the U .S . encounters continuously . As with previous editions, the objective of this SORT is to provide a list of salient topics, grouped by theme, to serve as a starting point for research that is timely, relevant, and of immediate and longterm value to the SOE . As part of this endeavor, several questions contained in this volume dig into specific subtopics determined to be of particular interest to the SOF enterprise . However, while you may address these specific questions, also feel free to modify the topics to f it your specific circumstances and subject matter expertise. iiThe SORT also serves to provide potential topics for both SOF and non-SOF students at professional military education (PME) institutions . Moreover, SOF operators and enablers, military and nonmilitary scholars and writers, foreign partners and allies, and other patriotic and altruistic scholars are encouraged to use these topics to create scholarship that better informs the SOE on topics that matter . To facilitate this, we encourage you to consider submitting to the Joint Special Operations University Press or sharing your successful publications with us so that we can review and potentially provide them to decision-makers within the SOF enterprise . Timothy W. Clark, PhD Director, Department of Applied Research.
DEVELOPING THE TOPICS
The 2026 SORT booklet is the 17th edition and is published by the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) Press, a component of United Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) . To develop content for this edition, the research department at JSOU conducted a two-day virtual workshop in April 2025 . A few weeks prior, participants received an online survey tool, which was used for both submitting topic ideas and adjudicating final topics . The topics included in this volume were submitted by 29 representatives from the USSOCOM community as well as partners and colleagues . The ideas in the SORT should serve as prompts for academic research not only for graduate students and scholars but also for anyone interested in SOF-related research . Before the workshop, all submitted topics were provided to confirmed participants, including representatives from Headquarters, USSOCOM; SOF components; SOF school houses; the Space Force; and NATO SOF Headquarters (HQ)—for review . During the virtual workshop, participants were given an opportunity to discuss each topic that had been submitted, along with topics they were interested in, through a combination of open plenary sessions and small group breakouts . Afterward, participants completed an online survey that asked them to rank each topic on a scale from 1–10 based on the value of the topic to the SOF research community . Using basic statistical analysis, the mean, median, and mode of each topic was assessed . The topics were then ranked by average collective score . ivv As a result, the topic listed first in each category was determined by participants to be the most important topic . The remaining topics are ranked accordingly . All proposed topics are included, as all have the potential to spark ideas and research . The methodology used is similar to previous methodologies used for topic development for the SORT, but this was the first time the process was conducted virtually. As the lead facilitator this year, I would like to thank all participants, especially the JSOU Research Faculty for their support of this process: Dr . Tim Clark, Dr . Patrica Blocksome, Dr . Thomas Searle, Dr . Ehlmedi Yessef, Ms . Christiane Thompson, and Ms . Maggie Bess . Additionally, the support from JSOU’s Department of Analysis, particularly Mr . Eddie Edwards and Mr . Steve Davis, was critical . Finally, thanks to Mr . Frank Reidy for providing support for the technical aspects of running the online collaboration and technology tools . If you have any questions about the SORT or JSOU research, please reach out to us at jsou_research@socom .mil . Douglas E. Jordan Associate Professor of Practice Department of Applied Research.