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Special Operations

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Small Wars Journal analysis of special operations forces: doctrine, employment, and the practitioner experience behind direct action, civil affairs, psychological operations, unconventional warfare, and counterterrorism.

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230+Articles
2007Coverage since

Featured Reading

Featured

The Third Option: How the CIA’s Paramilitary Arm Shapes the Battlefield

04.20.2026
Featured

US House Armed Services Committee Hearing: Special Operations Forces and Command Posture for FY27

03.19.2026
Featured

The Last A-Team: Special Forces Aren’t Special Anymore

06.03.2026

Recent Articles

Assessing Special Operations Forces (SOF) 2040 (Part 1): The Operator Is the Platform

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07.13.2026 at 06:00am

Operationally Detached: Why Decentralization, Not Consolidation, Is the Future of U.S. Army Special Forces

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06.17.2026 at 06:00am

Understanding the Potential Value and Risks of Arming Indigenous Groups in Support of US National Objectives

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06.16.2026 at 09:41pm

The Assumptions of Success

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06.15.2026 at 06:00am

A New Vision for Special Forces

By
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06.10.2026 at 06:00am

What Teaching Cognitive Warfare Taught Me About Cognitive Warfare

By
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06.09.2026 at 06:00am

Book Review | Fire in the Jungle: A Study of One of America’s Most Successful Unconventional Warfare Campaigns

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06.05.2026 at 06:00am

Call for Civil Affairs Issue Papers: “Civil Affairs: Securing the Victory in New Environments”

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06.04.2026 at 05:34pm

2026 Special Operations Research Topics: Academic Year 2027 Addendum

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06.04.2026 at 05:07pm

Reforming SOF Targeting Authorities to Restore Strategic Coherence and Risk Discipline

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06.01.2026 at 06:00am

Visible vs. Valuable: Why Restructuring U.S. Special Forces Won’t Fix a Failure of Perception

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06.01.2026 at 06:00am

Taking Off the Blinders Regarding Special Forces Strategic Utility

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06.01.2026 at 06:00am
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From the Archive

Archive · 2026

CIA Special Activities Center and Global Response Staff

Archive · 2025

Ukraine Special Operations Forces

Archive · 2025

Semper Paratus and Special Forces

Archive · 2026

Robin Sage: Unconventional Warfare and Special Forces

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