Who We Are, What We Do: Framing the Special Forces Identity Debate
Who We Are, What We Do: Framing the Special Forces Identity Debate
By Lt. Col. Gordon Richmond, U.S. Army Goodpaster Scholar at UC San Diego Special Warfare Journal
Sept. 18, 2025
“Our nation will require answers without even knowing
the questions—but answer you will.”
Introduction
“Over the past year, a public debate has emerged over the Special Forces Regiment’s identity: who Green Berets are, what missions define us, and how we remain relevant in great-power competition. The conversation is occurring beyond official channels in LinkedIn® posts, podcasts, and professional journals—an indicator that the community is wrestling with foundational questions.
In 2020, during his senior service college fellowship at Duke University, retired Colonel Ed Croot surveyed active-duty Green Berets to capture how they saw their missions and identity. He publicized his findings upon completion of the fellowship, appearing on multiple podcasts with the endorsement of 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)—including a joint interview alongside then-commanding general Maj. Gen. John Brennan, who expressed support for his conclusions.02 Despite this initial publicity, and the obvious relevance to the Special Forces Regiment, the results were never addressed openly through Special Forces professional forums. Four years later, Croot’s research reemerged in his 2024 Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) monograph There Is an Identity Crisis in Special Forces, which contends that Special Forces drifted from its foundational mission, producing three competing sub-identities and a measurable decline in commitment to unconventional warfare.03 The JSOU publication prompted three written replies in less than a year’s time.
The identity conversation in Special Forces is less about choosing sides in the debate than about sustaining a professional discourse on who we are and what we contribute in service to the nation. That discourse should be inclusive, drawing on voices from across the Special Forces community, and vigorous, welcoming professional disagreement. This article offers three considerations to help frame it in ways that are both productive and relevant to today’s challenges.”
Image depicts the Special Forces Patch from the different generations of the force. (Image provided by USASOC History office, Veritas Vol.3 No 3)
At Small Wars Journal, we are privileged to be led by two former Green Berets—Col. David Maxwell (Ret.) and Col. Jan Gleiman (Ret.)—and to belong to a larger community of Green Berets that grapple with the same kinds of foundational questions that Who We Are, What We Do raises: Who are we? What defines us? What missions, values, and experiences shape our identity going forward?
That article frames the identity debate as cyclical but essential. Each strategic shift brings new tensions over mission, culture, generations, and doctrine; drawing on that framing, we believe Small Wars Journal should be a space where these debates are welcomed and seen as signs of a healthy community.
We invite submissions by active and retired Green Berets that engage with these issues of identity, change, continuity, and purpose. Let’s wrestle together with what it means to be Green Beret in this moment.
