Special Operators Require Next-Gen Technologies.

• Author: Stewart, Jennifer

U.S. Special Operations Forces operate in an environment of global competition in which strategic adversaries have a refined and calibrated understanding of the threshold that would trigger the nation to take decisive military action. At the operational level of warfare, the United States benchmarks authorities, activities and capabilities to phasing constructs for operational plans.

Adversaries are not limited by the same construct. Daily, adversaries leverage information operations, cyber and space capabilities, unconventional operations and other elements of national power while avoiding the costs and consequences of escalation.

To prevail in this competition, the 2022 National Defense Strategy prioritizes integrated deterrence to recalibrate U.S. adversaries' risk calculations. In addition, the Joint Chiefs of Staff's recently released "Joint Concept for Competing" emphasizes the need at the strategic level of warfare for the Joint Force to re-posture from reactive operational responses to proactive strategic actions that favor U.S. long-term interests or undermine an adversary's efforts to pursue their incompatible interests.

In this context, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict and U.S. Special Operations Command are focused on adjustments to optimize SOF's role in integrated deterrence and campaigning against strategic adversaries. The United States sends these highly trained, highly disciplined men and women into the most complex and dangerous locations around the world to build partnerships, provide unique access and placement to maximize response options for senior leaders and create dilemmas for competitors and adversaries.

In addition, the National Defense Strategy is also a reflection of the Defense Department's assessment that the future character of war is being shaped by advancements in information operations, cyber activities, space operations and ballistic missile technology. Conflict is expected to spread quickly across the boundaries of geographic combatant commands, increasing the likelihood that it will be transregional, multi-domain and multi-functional.

Therefore, the functional combatant commands--in particular special operations, cyber and space--are working together to leverage their unique global reach, persistence, endurance and responsiveness. SOF often require cyber and space capabilities to sense, understand and visualize their operational...