Special Operations Success Hinges On People, Partnerships
Talented, well trained and motivated people are key to a highly effective and capable special operations force. The other key to its success is partnerships across industry, academia and with allies and partners, said the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.
(Photo Credit : Army Spc. Jason Johnston)
Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), jump out of a C-130 Hercules aircraft over a drop zone in Germany, March 17, 2015
Undermining the confidence of potential adversaries is a particularly useful role of special operations forces, Clarke said. Information operations play a part in that, along with building resistance networks.
"Building resistance networks means that we want an adversary to think that behind every rock is an IED [improvised explosive device] and up in every tree is a sniper, that if you were willing to attack this country, you're going to be fighting all the way through," he said, mentioning the Baltic nations as one of many examples employing this strategy.
(Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke)
(Photo Credit : Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michelle Kapica)
A special operations sailor jumps into Coronado Bay for a floatation check in San Diego, Calif., March 5, 2009.
Operations
Since special operations personnel are globally deployed, working with allies and partners is a valuable skill that they bring, Clarke said. They're culturally astute and skilled in languages and customs of the country and region in which they're located.
Not only do they train with the special operations units of other nations, but they also train with conventional forces, as they've been doing recently in Norway, Ukraine, Thailand and the Philippines, Clarke said. On each training mission, U.S. teams learn new tactics, techniques and procedures, and partner nations learn from their U.S. counterparts. "Deployments are probably the best training they get," he said.
Besides training with allies and partners, special operations forces benefit from training as part of the larger joint force in some of their higher end exercises, he said.
Although the focus has shifted to Great Power competition, the lessons learned from counterinsurgency operations need to be retained because the threat to the homeland will not dissipate.
Battle Tested
(Photo Credit : Markus Rauchenberger, Army)
Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, conduct a training jump from a C-130 Hercules aircraft at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Aug. 7, 2013.
Special operations forces are probably one of the most credible, integrated, capable forces that we've ever had," Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke said.
"Working with and integrating with the joint force is absolutely critical because we want them to see us as an enabler and a capable force that helps them, whether that's through joint forced entry, or because we may be the only ones in that country that can provide them access," he said.
Special operations forces are resilient and creative, Clarke said, and their leaders listen to their ideas and respond appropriately.