I tend to think you have identified a sub-set of the SOF community and a mentality present within that. But, that is not reflective of the body of SOF.
“The United States now faces potential conflicts with near-peer adversaries like Russia and China—adversaries that deploy conventional military forces on a massive scale. These adversaries employ combined arms tactics, cyber operations, advanced missile systems, and comprehensive logistics networks to maintain a sustained military presence and firepower. Special forces, while still crucial for specialized missions, will not be decisive in battles that involve thousands of armored vehicles, intricate artillery coordination, drone swarms, and sustained air superiority efforts.”
As a biased former SOF guy, this premise posits we are going to be in direct combat with one or two nuclear armed adversaries. That might occur. But, it is equally likely that the conflict will play out along the seam states, much like Cold War 1.0. That is the Green Berets’ foundational mission. I like the “Quiet Professional” mantra more than not, but that is also why the louder one are dominating parts of the conversations.
You are not wrong that GWOT caused a weird change in SOF. It became more present in society in a way that is not always positive. It is also true that to a hammer everything looks like a nail. But, there are plenty of people in SOF that saw what happens when we overreach and try to be all things to all men and resist that fully.
This fixation does nothing to address what I have seen firsthand decades as the major flaw in US strategic planning - the repeated failure of the leaders of the Armed Forces to explain to the suits that military force cannot give them the desired outcome, at least not military force alone.
While I agree with your overall points about panaceas and have noticed it for years we got here over decades.
In fact the supernatural hero has been with mankind for all of history.
“SOF (and what I call SOF-adjacent) dominate the national security policymaking team: the deeper issue is that under Trump, the national security and foreign policy apparatus has become disproportionately shaped by a subculture ill-equipped for the nuanced, deliberative nature of strategic policymaking. “
Yes. But it’s Trump and Hegseth’s fault? BTW Leaders have to inspire the Led, especially politicians. Napoleon’s pageantry did not make him a bad commander.
SOF became Mythical cure all Under Trump? The mythic super warrior as fix it all goes back to JFK if not the SAS, OSS, Jedburghs. Certainly it goes Hollywood in the 1960s and remains there today.
Not that people have needed much suasion since what, Hercules? Sargon of Arkad?
You’re putting a lot on Trump.
He’s certainly not responsible for the de industrialization of America, which certainly narrows our options to The Super Hero.
As far as politicians staging pageantry and photo ops…
C’mon man !
When calling for perspective, Optometrist prescribe thyself.
Yes we need everything you mention, however we don’t get there by blaming the current steward of the Republic, in particular casting shade on every public appearance of leaders trying to boost morale.
So, your take away is...don't speak truth to power? Don't look at the people who could adjust fire and say, "hey have you thought about this"? Who should we be looking at to make the changes necessary for long term strategic goals here? Who holds the keys? Such a short sighted take. "Don't blame them! They're just the ones who happen to be in charge for the next 3 years and 9 months! They can't do anything to stop what's happening!" Grow up.
The SECDEF never attended Command and General Staff College and it shows. If he had he would have learned that strategy eats tactics for lunch all day every day. The tactical means support the strategic ends. If we don’t have strategic ends, what are we even doing here?
The SECDEF didn’t attend Command And Staff School.
🟰3 words; Ways, Means, Ends.
Well no, he didn’t. He did war instead. Lots of that happened.
Lol 1) education is a scam for the Support The Warfighter ™️ “demographic.” He did War Fighting instead. He or she who warfights shall be denied schools to end career at mid level, this true of NCOs as well. Ponder we all know this at the golf course this afternoon. Ponder it FAILED.
Command and Staff (lol) is 3 words: Ways, Means, Ends.
🟰Ways have failed, Means are missing but quite traceable, and this is The End. 💀👋🏻
2) the SECDEF got locked out of Command And Staff School as per his own biopic The War On Warriors and ended career as Major. Notice however the gate is gone… Gatekeeper.
3) The SECDEF is there to clean out corruption for which DEI / CRT etc is of course a diversion and smoke screen. The invertebrates who wiggled in under DEI CRT shall now gladly sing the Chorus of Denunciation at they whose accounts fail math. 🧮 🟰💀
4) The only thing the SECDEF needs to do is put Teeth and Handcuffs into the Audit. If he cannot others are already.
5) The SECDEF like his Boss Orange 🍊 Crush 😡 is the pawn ♟️ that made it to the far side of the Chessboard. The current Queen is Musk, speaking of which DOGE is looking at the books…
SECDEF and the rest are just the pawns at the other side in reserve , who shall be Queened as needed. Most importantly young cadres are created by the thousands. Generations are now in echelon. That is victory. Notice that no one cares where they went to school. BTW serious private sector Enterprises were discarding Education more than 20 years ago.
“In America it’s not who is he but what does he do? “
- Ben Franklin 1762.
6) It’s over. And thanks to endless attacks in every direction, no refuge exists in this world.
Perhaps pray.
Ways have failed, Means are missing but quite traceable, and this is The End. 💀👋🏻
Another good thought provoking article. The increasing significance of the SF community and way thinking during the GWOT is a trend across all Western militaries. However, I think the trend is older dating back to books like War and Anti War that postulated a world without conventional war, one in which small highly-trained militaries would be the weapon of choice. A thesis that now appears less strong, but that's influence means Western militaries need to rapidly relearn the skills of conventional war.
The Falklands War is an interesting study of SF mindset versus conventional operations. The UK force commander Admiral Sandy Woodward experienced, and needed to manage significant tensions within one of his SF components.
Lack of experience, knowledge, and appropriate cross-training gets us exactly what most folk know it gets us: incompetent planning, incompetent leadership, and failed deployment and execution. As the self-inflicted economic crises continue to escalate nationally, there is likely to be difficulty funding their dangerous agandas.
I tend to think you have identified a sub-set of the SOF community and a mentality present within that. But, that is not reflective of the body of SOF.
“The United States now faces potential conflicts with near-peer adversaries like Russia and China—adversaries that deploy conventional military forces on a massive scale. These adversaries employ combined arms tactics, cyber operations, advanced missile systems, and comprehensive logistics networks to maintain a sustained military presence and firepower. Special forces, while still crucial for specialized missions, will not be decisive in battles that involve thousands of armored vehicles, intricate artillery coordination, drone swarms, and sustained air superiority efforts.”
As a biased former SOF guy, this premise posits we are going to be in direct combat with one or two nuclear armed adversaries. That might occur. But, it is equally likely that the conflict will play out along the seam states, much like Cold War 1.0. That is the Green Berets’ foundational mission. I like the “Quiet Professional” mantra more than not, but that is also why the louder one are dominating parts of the conversations.
You are not wrong that GWOT caused a weird change in SOF. It became more present in society in a way that is not always positive. It is also true that to a hammer everything looks like a nail. But, there are plenty of people in SOF that saw what happens when we overreach and try to be all things to all men and resist that fully.
This fixation does nothing to address what I have seen firsthand decades as the major flaw in US strategic planning - the repeated failure of the leaders of the Armed Forces to explain to the suits that military force cannot give them the desired outcome, at least not military force alone.
OK, the only thing the average voter understand is "kill!" "smash!"
Sir,
While I agree with your overall points about panaceas and have noticed it for years we got here over decades.
In fact the supernatural hero has been with mankind for all of history.
“SOF (and what I call SOF-adjacent) dominate the national security policymaking team: the deeper issue is that under Trump, the national security and foreign policy apparatus has become disproportionately shaped by a subculture ill-equipped for the nuanced, deliberative nature of strategic policymaking. “
Yes. But it’s Trump and Hegseth’s fault? BTW Leaders have to inspire the Led, especially politicians. Napoleon’s pageantry did not make him a bad commander.
SOF became Mythical cure all Under Trump? The mythic super warrior as fix it all goes back to JFK if not the SAS, OSS, Jedburghs. Certainly it goes Hollywood in the 1960s and remains there today.
Not that people have needed much suasion since what, Hercules? Sargon of Arkad?
You’re putting a lot on Trump.
He’s certainly not responsible for the de industrialization of America, which certainly narrows our options to The Super Hero.
As far as politicians staging pageantry and photo ops…
C’mon man !
When calling for perspective, Optometrist prescribe thyself.
Yes we need everything you mention, however we don’t get there by blaming the current steward of the Republic, in particular casting shade on every public appearance of leaders trying to boost morale.
So, your take away is...don't speak truth to power? Don't look at the people who could adjust fire and say, "hey have you thought about this"? Who should we be looking at to make the changes necessary for long term strategic goals here? Who holds the keys? Such a short sighted take. "Don't blame them! They're just the ones who happen to be in charge for the next 3 years and 9 months! They can't do anything to stop what's happening!" Grow up.
💩 go away cliche bot
Excellent and very interesting 👍.
The SECDEF never attended Command and General Staff College and it shows. If he had he would have learned that strategy eats tactics for lunch all day every day. The tactical means support the strategic ends. If we don’t have strategic ends, what are we even doing here?
The SECDEF didn’t attend Command And Staff School.
🟰3 words; Ways, Means, Ends.
Well no, he didn’t. He did war instead. Lots of that happened.
Lol 1) education is a scam for the Support The Warfighter ™️ “demographic.” He did War Fighting instead. He or she who warfights shall be denied schools to end career at mid level, this true of NCOs as well. Ponder we all know this at the golf course this afternoon. Ponder it FAILED.
Command and Staff (lol) is 3 words: Ways, Means, Ends.
🟰Ways have failed, Means are missing but quite traceable, and this is The End. 💀👋🏻
2) the SECDEF got locked out of Command And Staff School as per his own biopic The War On Warriors and ended career as Major. Notice however the gate is gone… Gatekeeper.
3) The SECDEF is there to clean out corruption for which DEI / CRT etc is of course a diversion and smoke screen. The invertebrates who wiggled in under DEI CRT shall now gladly sing the Chorus of Denunciation at they whose accounts fail math. 🧮 🟰💀
4) The only thing the SECDEF needs to do is put Teeth and Handcuffs into the Audit. If he cannot others are already.
5) The SECDEF like his Boss Orange 🍊 Crush 😡 is the pawn ♟️ that made it to the far side of the Chessboard. The current Queen is Musk, speaking of which DOGE is looking at the books…
SECDEF and the rest are just the pawns at the other side in reserve , who shall be Queened as needed. Most importantly young cadres are created by the thousands. Generations are now in echelon. That is victory. Notice that no one cares where they went to school. BTW serious private sector Enterprises were discarding Education more than 20 years ago.
“In America it’s not who is he but what does he do? “
- Ben Franklin 1762.
6) It’s over. And thanks to endless attacks in every direction, no refuge exists in this world.
Perhaps pray.
Ways have failed, Means are missing but quite traceable, and this is The End. 💀👋🏻
Another good thought provoking article. The increasing significance of the SF community and way thinking during the GWOT is a trend across all Western militaries. However, I think the trend is older dating back to books like War and Anti War that postulated a world without conventional war, one in which small highly-trained militaries would be the weapon of choice. A thesis that now appears less strong, but that's influence means Western militaries need to rapidly relearn the skills of conventional war.
The Falklands War is an interesting study of SF mindset versus conventional operations. The UK force commander Admiral Sandy Woodward experienced, and needed to manage significant tensions within one of his SF components.
Lack of experience, knowledge, and appropriate cross-training gets us exactly what most folk know it gets us: incompetent planning, incompetent leadership, and failed deployment and execution. As the self-inflicted economic crises continue to escalate nationally, there is likely to be difficulty funding their dangerous agandas.
back in 2023 they had 15 operators at Bragg pee in 15 cups, 13 popped hot. The next step is admitting the problem.