Small Wars Journal

special operations

SOF News: Special Operations News Update – Tuesday February 16, 2021

Wed, 02/17/2021 - 7:19pm

Full Post: https://sof.news/update/20210216/

Topics Include:

-Possible retirement of the Navy's Mk VI Small Boats

-Belgian SF gender mixed unit capabilities

-SOF History

-Ireland looking at a Resistance Operating Concept

-The Small Wars Journal Article "Building Partner Capacity is Great Power Competition"

-Podcasts

-And much more

SOF News: House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations

Thu, 02/04/2021 - 1:53pm

A new subcommittee under the U.S. House Armed Services Committee has been formed. The Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations will focus on specific activity areas of the Department of Defense. The new subcommittee with be chaired by Representative Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) He is a Marine Corps combat veteran who deployed to Iraq in 2005 for an eight month long deployment.

The Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations (ISO) will have the following jurisdiction:

  • military intelligence
  • national intelligence
  • countering CBR weapons of mass destruction, counterterrorism
  • special operations forces
  • counter-proliferation
  • counterterrorism
  • sensitive military operations

There are currently seven permanent subcommittees of the U.S. House Armed Services:

  • Tactical Air and Land Forces
  • Military Personnel
  • Readiness Committee
  • Seapower and Projection Forces
  • Strategic Forces
  • Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems
  • Intelligence and Special Operations

It appears that the Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee has been replaced by two new subcommittees: Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems and the Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittees.

SOFcast: CSM (Ret) Rick Lamb

Tue, 01/12/2021 - 10:16pm

Episode: https://www.spreaker.com/user/sofcast/10-csm-ret-rick-lamb-green-beret-and-ran?utm_medium=widget&utm_source=user%3A12926561&utm_term=episode_title

 

CSM (Ret) Lamb is a former Ranger and Green Beret. In this episode he discusses the Iranian Hostage Rescue, operations along the DMZ, the Invasion of Panama, Operation Gothic Serpant (Black Hawk Down) in Somalia, and serving in Haiti. 

 

SOFcast: https://www.socom.mil/SOFcast/Pages/default.aspx

SOFcast is the offical U.S. Special Operations Command podcast, hosted by Command Chief Master Sergeant Smith (current USSOCOM Command Senior Enlisted Leader) and Sergeant Major Parrish, the Senior Enlisted Leader for the USSOCOM Preservation of the Force and Family program.

U.S. Army War College War Room Podcast: Evolutionary Strategy to Combat Strategic Atrophy

Thu, 01/07/2021 - 6:23pm

Podcast: https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/usasoc-strategy/

In the realm of national security very few elements ever remain stagnant, and those that do are relegated to irrelevance. As the environment changes, capabilities are developed, motivations shift, loyalties fade, new players rise and old players fall. In order to account for those changes new guidance flows downward from the highest levels of leadership increasing in detail and specificity as it descends to the lowest echelons of the military. Bryan Groves joins A BETTER PEACE editor Ron Granieri to discuss U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s (USASOC) latest iteration of its command strategy. In the words of the Commanding General, LTG Francis Beaudette, this strategy “charts our course to drive evolutionary changes in how we man, train and equip our formations in the Information Age.” Bryan and Ron examine how USASOC forces intend to execute their mission in support of the national defense amongst general purpose, joint and coalition forces against ever changing adversaries.

The Army Special Operations Forces Strategy can be found online here or a PDF can be directly downloaded here.

LTC(P) Bryan Groves is the Chief of the Strategic Planning Division, U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

Ron Granieri is an Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor of A BETTER PEACE.

The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.

"Indo-Pacific Terrorism, Special Operations, and the Coronavirus"

Wed, 07/01/2020 - 6:12pm

Indo-Pacific Terrorism, Special Operations, and the Coronavirus

Dr. Zachary Abuza (National War College), COL(r) David Maxwell (Foundation for Defense of Democracies), and Commander Alexander Bein (US Special Operations Command) discussed current terrorism and Special Operations Forces (SOF) dynamics for the Indo-Pacific region in the era of the coronavirus. The webinar was moderated by DKI APCSS Professor Lumpy Lumbaca.

USAJFKSWCS Needs New Nerds: Dungeons and Dragons, SCI-FI/Fantasy Writers, and an Unconventional Way to Consider Irregular Warfare Training

Sat, 02/01/2020 - 6:43am
For Pineland to come alive and deliver the dynamism students should receive requires creativity beyond the Pentagon and the Ivy Leagues. This submission is not intended to be the final word on this. This is a question, or a series of questions to be considered. I look forward to a robust, conversation with others to transform the way we train influence, and transform ARSOF more broadly.

About the Author(s)

The Role of Police and Military Special Forces in Counter-terrorism Efforts in Cities

Sat, 11/02/2019 - 11:15am
Given the heightened terrorist threat, the police forces of global cities are beefing up their special forces units by adopting more militarised approaches in weaponry, tactics, culture, and organisation even as they increase the level of cooperation with the state’s armed forces. This civil-military integration in homeland security is present in Singapore where the police force and the army are conducting more joint patrols in public places besides key installations (KINS), and the Army is training more soldiers for peacetime operations.

About the Author(s)

Unconventional Warfare: Think Outside the G-Base

Sat, 06/08/2019 - 11:36am
The Green Berets are in danger of self-inflicted irrelevancy because of shortcomings in their training. Most current Unconventional Warfare (UW) training events take the Unconventional Warfare template from Robin Sage and simply impose it on other environments and threat situations. This trend has persisted despite the lack of modern UW examples that resemble Robin Sage. Green Berets should be considering other models of UW that may be more relevant today.

About the Author(s)

The Hyper-Enabled Operator

Thu, 06/06/2019 - 9:56am
Recent technological, socio-economic, and geopolitical trends, coupled with the reemergence of great power competition, complicate the future environment in which U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) must operate. SOF professionals will need to operate not only across traditional physical domains such as land, air, and sea but also in the virtual and cognitive domains. In particular, achieving cognitive dominance over adversaries will be essential to the success of future SOF missions.

About the Author(s)