Never in their history have U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) been more respected, capable, or effective than they are today. With a series of high-profile direct action missions, punctuated by the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011, these elite forces have steadily risen in the public eye and earned the trust and confidence of the nation’s leadership. While SOF will continue to conduct such missions, the Defense Department’s recent strategic guidance suggests that in the future SOF’s traditional competencies in indirect action will be of greater demand, and on a global scale.
However, if the next administration hopes to benefit from SOF successes in indirect mission areas similar to those they have enjoyed in kinetic missions, changes in SOF’s capabilities, authorities, and resource allocation will be required. The next administration must seize on SOF’s current political clout and national popularity to ensure they evolve into a truly global, full-spectrum force—and do so quickly. If SOF are mismanaged internally or externally during this period of critical transition, the next administration could lose the capabilities of this highly effective force as well as the capacity to employ it.
In coming years, SOF are likely to find themselves in new environments across the globe, conducting a variety of indirect missions intended to minimize threats before they require kinetic action. Whether training local military forces in Uganda or building relationships with villagers in Indonesia, SOF will increasingly be called on to perform missions that draw on their ability to engage with host nation forces and indigenous populations. With the proper resources and support, SOF can excel in virtually any environment, yet this new global direction presents challenges for which they are currently not fully equipped.
Due to constant operations in Title 10 combat zones where the U.S. military has the lead, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, SOF’s traditional proficiency in conducting indirect action on a global scale has atrophied. Further, with roughly 80 percent of SOF personnel deployed to the Middle East, SOF capabilities have narrowed to focus largely on one region. Rebuilding their capacity for worldwide indirect action will require SOF to not only emphasize indirect over direct action skills, but improve manpower management to ensure the force has the range and depth of regional understanding to execute its missions.
Further, SOF will need to address internal resourcing challenges as they seek to enhance the capabilities needed to operate on a global scale, most notably fixed and rotary-wing lift. It will take time and effort for SOF to rebuild the capabilities that have dissipated over the past decade, necessitating that they immediately shift their focus toward preparing for this new global mission.
Even as SOF leaders work to strengthen capabilities internally, if they are to successfully undertake missions beyond Title 10 areas and meet the requirements set forth in the Defense Department guidance, the force will require greater external support in the form of authorities and resources. SOF relationships with Geographic Combatant Commands (GCCs), which under current authorities dictate how and when SOF are employed in a given region, remain inconsistent. Regional commanders vary in their understanding of the nuanced SOF skill set and often myopically view SOF activities as too risky and problematic. As a result, SOF often find their regional mission objectives and resource requirements lost in the GCCs’ larger set of priorities.
While Admiral William McRaven, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), has put forward a vision to enhance SOF’s relationship with the GCCs, his efforts ultimately will be contingent on regional commanders’ willingness to embrace and employ such assets. The most noteworthy challenges, however, extend beyond the Department of Defense. Interagency partners such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of State wield significant power in the environments in which SOF will increasingly operate, yet their willingness to work with and support these forces, while improved during the last decade, remain sporadic. SOF will find it challenging to operate on a global scale if their governing authorities and the resources available to them keep them beholden to both the GCCs and other departments and agencies. Addressing this dearth of authorities and resources will require national-level support and will dictate SOF’s ability to succeed as a global force.
If it wishes SOF to remain optimally effective and relevant, the next administration will not only have to address these internal and external challenges, but do so within a shrinking window of opportunity. Although SOF currently enjoy the support among senior leaders necessary to affect these changes in capabilities, authorities, and resources, memory of recent victories will rapidly fade, and support for SOF along with them. As a result, quick action will be needed to capitalize on SOF’s successes.
If this transition is properly managed, SOF will present the president with options no other force can offer. Their adaptability and scalability suit them for a broad array of difficult and sensitive missions, from advising host nation forces to confronting pirates. But if these challenges are not quickly met, SOF may find themselves relegated to providing little more than support for General Purpose Forces. If SOF are not given the support necessary to quickly pivot from direct action missions in the Middle East to indirect action on a global scale, and if the GCCs, the interagency, and ultimately the president do not fully embrace SOF and their role as a global force, the next administration could rapidly lose one of the most effective tools in its national security arsenal.
(Part of the CSIS’ 2012 Global Forecast report at http://csis.org/publication/2012-global-forecast)
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