Special operators seeking a technological advantage.

• Author: Kennedy, Harold
• Position: U.S. Special Operations Command

The U.S. Special Operations Command is looking for "leap-ahead" technologies that can give its troops a decided advantage over their adversaries in wars such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced in January that the command--made up of elite, unconventional warfare units from the Army, Navy and Air Force and headquartered at Florida's MacDill Air Force Base--is being strengthened so that it can play a bigger role in U.S. military operations.

Currently, SOCOM consists of about 47,000 personnel, including Army Special Forces, Rangers and specialized helicopter, psychological operations and civil affairs units; Navy SEAL (sea, air and land), special boat and SEAL delivery teams, and Air Force Special Operations Squadrons.

As part of the expansion, the Pentagon has requested that special operations funding be increased by more than 50 percent, from about $4 billion in fiscal year 2003 to $6.7 billion in 2004.

The increase would help SOCOM develop and acquire not only "the tools necessary to fight not only the most committed industrial-age power, but also the means to fight entities that would and could wield influence through terror by any means," Holland said.

Nearly $2 billion of that amount would go to procurement, according to the SOCOM commander, Air Force Gen. Charles R. Holland. That's more than double the figure appropriated for that purpose in 2003, he told the House Armed Services Committee.

"The current state of special operations forces' capabilities is strong, but to meet the evolving capabilities of potential adversaries, we must invest now to ensure reliable support for the defense strategy," he said.

To enhance SOCOM's force projection capabilities, "we must continue to invest in programs to improve strategic mobility, force protection, research and development and information dominance," Holland said.

The '04 budget provides for "critical improvements" to the command's aging Army special operations helicopters, he said. SOCOM's inventory of MH-47 Chinook helicopters--reduced in recent military operations--will be increased by 16 aircraft by diverting CH-47D versions of the Chinook from the Army's service life extension program. The MH-60 Blackhawk fleet will begin a major SLEP during the year.

Meanwhile, the general said, Air Force Special Operations is working to maintain the airworthiness and defensive capabilities of its MH-53 Pave Lows. Four additional AC-130U gunships will join the USSOCOM inventory, he said. MC130H Combat Talon II aerial refueling modifications are being accelerated. Aiso, the Air Force is providing 10 more C-l30Hs to be converted...