OS 509 -- Special Operations Forces (SOF)

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. Comprehend the capabilities and limitations of US military forces across the range of military operations, to include command relationships, force development and organization, and the concepts of deployment, employment, sustainment, and redeployment (OPMEP Learning Area 1).

2. Comprehend the systems and understand the processes supporting 21st century battlespace and how they are integrated to achieve operational-level joint force missions (OPMEP Learning Area 5).

LESSON OBJECTIVES

509.1 Comprehend the capabilities and limitations of US military forces [I.1(a)].

509.11 Summarize the roles and responsibilities of USSOCOM.

The Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 made sweeping changes in the Department of Defense, but it did not address special operations deficiencies highlighted by Operations Rice Bowl and Urgent Fury, and concerns that the Department was not organized to meet the most likely threats of the present and future. Consequently, Senators William S. Cohen (R-Maine) and Sam Nunn (D-Georgia), supported by Representative Dan Daniels (D-Virginia), among others, sponsored an amendment to the Goldwater Nichols Act which led to the creation of two new organizations: the first was the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (ASD SO/LIC), with overall supervision of special operations and low intensity conflict activities of the Department of Defense. The second was the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), which was charged to prepare SOF to carry out its assigned missions.

USSOCOM was formally established as a unified combatant command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, on 16 April 1987, commanded by a four-star flag or general officer with the title of Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command (USCINCSOC). All SOF of the Army, Navy and Air Force based in the United States were eventulally placed under USCINCSOC's combatant command. USSOCOM's four component commands are the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) at Hurlburt Field, Florida; the Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM) at Coronado, California; the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), also at Fort Bragg.

The legislation that created USSOCOM specified certain SOF activities and assigned the command specific authorities and responsibilities. The responsibilities, similar to those assigned to the Services, include:

• Readiness of assigned forces and monitoring the readiness of overseas SOF;
• Monitoring the professional development of all SOF personnel;
• Developing joint SOF tactics, techniques and procedures;
• Conducting specialized courses of instruction;
• Training assigned forces,
• Executing its own program and budget (its funding would come directly from Congress, and not from the services); and
• Conducting research, development, and acquisition of special operations-peculiar items.
  

These last two tasks give USSOCOM great flexibility in training, equipping, and employing its forces.

SOF provide the nation with rapidly deployable and flexible joint task forces for war and peacetime activities. SOF can reinforce, augment, and complement conventional forces before, during, and after any conflict, heightening the effectiveness of the total military effort. SOF also can conduct stand-alone operations in situations where a small, discrete force provides the nation's leaders with options that fall somewhere between diplomatic efforts and the use of high-profile conventional forces. Insurgency, counterterrorism counterdrug activities, surgical counterproliferation, and counterinsurgency may be best handled by such a force. The relatively small size and the capability of highly trained, joint SOF teams to react rapidly provide the United States with options that limit the risk of escalation which otherwise might accompany the commitment of larger conventional forces.

SOF can assist a nation in creating the conditions for stable development.

SOF must select emerging targets or threats that either cannot be engaged effectively by conventional forces or can be dealt with better by small, highly specialized units. Similarly, as conventional forces add capabilities and become able to attack targets that previously belonged solely to SOF, special operations units must reorient themselves toward targets that will be vulnerable to their special capabilities.

509.12 Describe the separate forces that combine to form a Joint Special Operations Task Force.

The term Special Operations Forces (SOF) includes:

• U.S. Army Special Forces (SF), the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), psychological operations (PSYOP), and civil affairs (CA) units.
• U.S. Navy Sea-Air-Land forces (SEALs), special boat units, and SEAL delivery units.
• U.S. Air Force special operations squadrons (fixed and rotary wing), special tactics squadrons, and a foreign internal defense squadron.

509.13 Describe separate elements available to an operational commander of SOF.

• Direct special operations are those in which SOF directly engage an adversary quickly in a single action, to attain a specific strategic or operational objective. Direct special operations include direct action, special reconnaissance, the counterterrorism component of combatting terrorism (CT), and counterproliferation.
• Indirect special operations are those in which SOF are used over time, in many actions, to have a broad, general strategic or operational effect through the training, advising, or assisting of other military forces, other government agencies, friendly nations, or surrogate forces pursuing U.S. interests. Indirect special operations usually include civil affairs, psychological operations, unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, and the anti-terrorism component of CT.

509.14 Explain how SOF are dependent on new and emerging technologies and how this dependency both aids and hampers SOF.

Conventional forces now have the capability to conduct relatively surgical strikes against operational and strategic targets with precision weapons, a former SOF specialty. Therefore, correspondingly decreased SOF effort should to be devoted to maintaining such a capability. Conversely, the capability to strike targets with precision weapons does not translate into a capability to recover equipment or people from denied areas, so a direct action capability must be retained. Similarly, conventional reconnaissance capabilities are increasing rapidly with the acquisition of modern sensors. Yet there are still targets that only human eyes on the ground can see. SOF must decide which targets no longer require their attention and focus on those that cannot be handled any other way.

509.2 Comprehend the considerations of employing joint and multinational forces at the operational level of war [I.2(d)].

509.21 Describe the role of SOF at the operational level in war, MOOTW, and peace.

• The joint force commander (JFC) uses a series of tactical engagements or actions over time to reach the desired operational objectives.
  • Some strategic or operational objectives can be approached in a different manner. They can be attained either directly by forces acting in a single engagement, or indirectly-e.g., by organizing, training, and supporting an indigenous force for unconventional warfare, or through the use of psychological operations. Either way, the results can be disproportionate to the size of the units.
    

Special operations encompass the use of small units in direct or indirect military actions that are focused on strategic or operational objectives. They require units with combinations of specialized personnel, equipment, training, or tactics that exceed the routine capabilities of conventional military forces.

This definition of special operations applies to both wartime and peacetime operations. In peacetime operations, the strategic objective often is one of restoring stability to a country or a region. This can include humanitarian assistance after a natural or man-made, disaster, care of fleeing refugees, or support of peace operations. Special operations forces generally attain strategic objectives in peacetime by assisting the host nation's authorities, other government agencies, or coalition partners in restoring peace, rebuilding the infrastructure of the country, and providing disaster relief assistance.

509.22 Describe the steps involved in fielding and using SOF.

SOF are inherently joint. As demonstrated during Operation Rice Bowl, an ad hoc force that must be pulled together at the last minute for a complex mission is an invitation to disaster. SOF conduct joint and combined training regularly, both within the SOF community and with conventional forces. SOF units are organized jointly, and plan and execute joint operations routinely using SOF joint command and control elements. The SOF command and control structure can integrate SOF into Joint Force Commander (JFC) plans easily and effectively. SOF can conduct a wide range of operations in peace and war, including a surgical, rapid, world wide strike capability.

Special operations are conducted in war and peace, either independently or integrated with conventional operations. They are targeted on strategic and operational objectives (psychological and civil affairs operations are the exceptions; they normally operate at all levels simultaneously) in support of the Joint Force Commander's (JFC's) campaign plan in war, or the geographic CINC's regional plan or the U.S. ambassador's country plan in peacetime. Political-military considerations frequently shapes operations, requiring clandestine, covert, or low-visibility techniques and oversight at the national level. Special operations differ from conventional operations in their modes of employment, operational techniques, independence from friendly support, and dependence on detailed operational intelligence and indigenous assets.

The enduring, overarching purposes of SOF are derived from historical experience, Congressional legislation, and the evolving security environment. During the development of joint doctrine for special operations, certain legislated special operations activities were refined into the principal special operations missions. Other legislated activities and missions frequently assigned by geographic CINCs are grouped under the heading of "collateral activities." The ability to execute collateral activities stems from SOF's inherent capabilities to conduct principal special operations missions.

SOF may conduct several different missions and collateral activities simultaneously in a single campaign. It is important to note that strategic and operational requirements often cut across doctrinal mission lines. SOF can be tasked by the National Command Authorities (NCA) or a JFC to carry out any mission for which it is well-suited, either because of inherent capabilities or resources, or because it happens to be the most readily available force.

As the world situation changes, SOF will continually evaluate the need for each mission and will examine new and emerging missions to see if they fit within the definition of special operations. Those that do will be added; the others will not.

509.23 Explain the use of SOF in a special-operations-only arena operation.

Direct Action (DA), Special Reconnaissance (SR), Foreign Internal Defense (FID), Unconventional Warfare (UW), Combatting Terrorism (CBT), Counterproliferation (CP), Civil Affairs (CA), Psychological Operations (PSYOP), Information Warfare (IW)/Command and Control Warfare (C2W),

509.24 Explain the use of SOF as a member of the joint warfighting team.

Coalition Support, Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), Counterdiug (CD) Activities, Countermine (CM) Activities, Humanitarian Assistance (HA), Security Assistance (SA)

SOF may be tasked by the National Command Authorities, joint force commanders, U.S. ambassadors, or other government agencies to perform missions for which it is the best-suited among available forces, or perhaps the only force available. When assigned a mission by a controlling headquarters, it becomes the focus of the assigned unit, even if it is not a primary mission or a common collateral activity. Under these circumstances, SOF provide the tasking commander with a candid assessment of their capabilities, limitations, and risks associated with employment in non-traditional missions. When tasked to conduct these missions, SOF execute with the same professionalism demanded of primary missions. In an ideal world, SOF would be used only in operations for which they are specially trained and equipped. In reality, circumstances often dictate the use of SOF for other missions.

Special Forces, psychological operations, civil affairs, and most Naval Special Warfare Command and some Air Force Special Operations Command units are regionally oriented. Many of the people in these units have developed extensive expertise in the culture, language, and environment of their regions of the world. This training, which includes extensive work in cross-cultural communications, allows these SOF operators to work effectively with local military units, civilian governments, private organizations, and the populations of the countries in which they are deployed. They understand the requirement for adapting to the local environment and the local infrastructure. Repeated deployments overseas allow them to develop heightened awareness of conditions in the region, and to make contacts that can prove invaluable in working with the host nation's armed forces, government, or population. Regional expertise requires long-term, dedicated training and repeated in-country experience. It can neither be produced quickly nor replaced easily. Regional orientation, plus the low-profile nature of many SOF missions, often makes SOF the only force that is politically acceptable in nations where the presence of a larger conventional force would produce unwanted publicity and criticism

Thesis: A clear understanding of special operations and special operations forces is essential to campaign planning. SOF are involved at all levels in the spectrum of war, MOOTW, and peace. Special operators bring unique capabilities and viewpoints to the planning process. The viewpoint and considerations of an operational commander of special operations forces are invaluable to the campaign planning process.

Main Point I: USSOCOM is the Unified Command responsible for special operations. It was formed because of a documented lack of attention to special operations and operators. This left the US military lacking important capabilities or the means to effectively use those capabilities.

Main Point II: Special operations are not conventional and cannot be conducted by conventional forces. Special operations forces are trained and equipped to do those missions.

Main Point III: Special operations are truly "Joint Operations" and require the cooperation and support of all the separate services to be successful.

Main Point IV: Special operations forces are not limited to a supporting role in conventional warfare. The missions of special operations forces are varied and constantly evolving.

Main Point V: Special operations forces are deployed worldwide on a continual basis. These forces are involved in a variety of operations and contingencies. Knowledge of these operations from the perspective of the operational commander is valuable information for the student and operational planner.