Special Warfare, Special Operations and SOF (US) before Trump

[SWJ Blog]

SOF Mediators: The Application of Understanding-Based Mediation as a Nonlethal Effect

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[SWJ Blog]

Author Chronicles Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command

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[pjb]

The Special Operations Research Association is pleased to announce the 2015 Annual Symposium, 11-12 December 2015, at Fort Walton Beach, FL. Events will be held on base at Hurlburt Field as well as at the beautiful Emerald Coast Conference Center on Okaloosa Island.

While we have several interesting events planned for the symposium, the primary focus is on the exchange of ideas through scholarly presentations by researchers, policy makers, and operators on the broad range of issues facing the SOF community today and in the future. We invite papers across the full range of issues related to special operations, both historically and today and in the US and globally. We encourage submissions from a diverse population of those with expertise and interests in special operations, including academic researchers, military practitioners, and policy analysts.

Potential topics include:
• National Strategy Implications of Special Operations
• The Global Proliferation of SOF
• The Debate of Special Operations Theory
• Educating SOF
• Unconventional Warfare and International Relations
• Special Operations and Non-State Actors
• Special Operations and International Diplomacy
• Comparative Perspectives on Special Operations
• Diffusion, Transformation, and Future Trends in Special Operations
• Special Operations as a Foreign Policy Tool
• Special Operations and Coercive Diplomacy

For more information, and to see the complete call for papers, please visit the website: http://www.specopsjournal.org/conference.html

[SWJ Blog]

Special Operations Research Association 2015 Conference

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[SWJ Blog]

Call for Papers - 2015 Annual Special Operations Research Association Symposium

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[SWJ Blog]

Behind the scenes with the commander of Special Ops (CNN)

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[SWJ Blog]

U.S. Weighs Special Forces in Syria, Helicopters in Iraq

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[SWJ Blog]

JCLIS Initial Special Topics Issue on Language, Region and Culture Assessment

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[SWJ Blog]

How a Navy SEAL Controversy Shows the Limits of U.S. Special Operations Strategy in Afghanistan

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[SWJ Blog]

Obama’s ‘Boots on the Ground’: U.S. Special Forces Are Sent to Tackle Global Threats

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[SWJ Blog]

Man, Computer, and Special Warfare

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[SWJ Blog]

Special Operations Chief is Obama’s Pick for Centcom, Pentagon Says

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JSOC General Expected to be Next Leader of America’s Special Operations Forces

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[SWJ Blog]

Reframing the Debate: How Rethinking Special Forces Physical Fitness Standards Can Address the Unconventional Warfare Capability Gap

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[SWJ Blog]

How Involved Are US Special Forces in Fight Against Islamic State?

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New Research Report from Joint Special Operations University

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[SWJ Blog]

Toward Operational Art in Special Warfare

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[Morgan]

Multiple articles have been written about the increased reliance on US SOF, particularly Special Forces, as global affairs continue their unpredictable course, and whether the US military will apply the lessons learned from 14 years of war or discard it as we did after Vietnam.

One of the primary lessons learned is the need for greater language and cultural proficiency/ understanding. Could SF realize this by aggressively recruiting from minority communities.....1st Group recruiting heavily from Chinese or Filipino groups, 5th Group recruiting heavily from Arabic/ Muslim communities....in essence, our SF becoming a sort of "US Foreign Legion" enabling the Groups to become far more linguistically and culturally savvy than they currently are...?

Thoughts?

[Granite_State]

Makes sense to me. A return to SF's Lodge Act/American Foreign Legion roots.

[Bill Moore]

Not exactly a new idea, we had the Lodge Act

http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/lodge_act.asp

The Lodge Act was passed in 1951. It was initially intended to enable the military to create a “foreign legion” of Soviet block expatriots to be used against a Russian invasion of Europe. When the Pentagon balked the law was used to recruit Finns and others into the ranks of Special Forces, primarily to create teams that could be dropped into Eastern Europe to organize, train and lead partisan resistance and sabotage of Soviet supply lines.

I can't recall when this act expired, but I recall some of the SF NCOs who came in under the Lodge Act. Some were legendary warriors, while others were problematic. Not unlike our selection today, so I agree the gain is greater than the risk. Also the OSS aggressively recruited French and other European expatriates to man the Jedburgh teams and conduct other operations.

I suspect other government organizations still do this, and they have the lead for UW in so called peacetime.

It is certainly an idea that should be considered seriously. It is a heck of a lot easier to produce a SF soldier than someone proficient in a foreign language with deep cultural knowledge.

On a side note, SF today is much more diverse than when I first entered its ranks over 3 decades ago.