Check Out This New Wish List for U.S. Special Ops
Check Out This New Wish List for U.S. Special Ops by Mark Thompson, Time Magazine
The U.S. military’s commandos are among the best in the world. But they can always get better. That means faster, lighter, deadlier, cheaper. So that’s why U.S. Special Operations Command issued a formal request for “Advancement of Technologies in Equipment for Use by U.S. Special Operations Forces” on Monday.
“USSOCOM is interested in receiving white papers from all responsible sources from industry, academia, individuals, and Government laboratories capable of providing the design, construction, and testing of SOF related technologies,” Special Ops headquarters in Tampa, Fla., says.
Many of the wished-for technologies simply improve on existing gear. But others seem like blue-sky fantasies…
My wish list would include sufficient O&M funding and authorities for sustained long term deployment to both train for and conduct special warfare.
“Special Warfare is the execution of activities that involve a combination of lethal and nonlethal actions taken by a specially trained and educated force that has a deep understanding of cultures and foreign language, proficiency in small-unit tactics, and the ability to build and fight alongside indigenous combat formations in a permissive, uncertain, or hostile environment.”
Most of the equipment in the article will support the lethal aspects of special warfare but the priority for USSOCOM, as evidenced by this wish list, seems to remain on surgical strike.
“Surgical Strike is the execution of activities in a precise manner that employ special operations in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover or damage designated targets, or influence adversaries and threats.”
From my perspective, this wish list only adds to the technological overmatch we already have against our near-peer adversaries. While it is great to continuously push the envelope of technological advancement, it is hardly the most important component of keeping US SOF as a dominant force capable of shaping the environment on a strategic scale.
Additional O&M funding would be a great start to push more forces into theatre and gain better understanding of the environments they will be working in. Along with that, more funding for civilian education and inteagency collaboration would be invaluable. SOF often finds themselves operating under COM authority in countries around the world. Therefore, it is crucial to build operators who understand not just the DOD, but the other masters that they will invariably work for once Afghanistan finally shuts down. Moving from a VSP in Afghanistan to an Embassy in SE Asia can be a particualarly tricky move for a young “operator” who is more accustomed to direct action than attending the ever so politically nuanced civ-mil working groups that take place in U.S. Embassies globally.
Bottom line, education and immersion will be the keys to future SOF Dominance. Sure, there will still need to be “shooters” who have the most efficient means of dispatching the enemy. However, the other 75% of SOF needs to be dual hatted warrior diplomats who are adept shapers and mitigators in the grey area between diplomacy, defense, and development. This comes only from experience and education, not new weapons and optics.