An official website of the United States Government 
Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov

.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Parent Services Integration a Top Priority for Special Operations Components  

You have accessed part of a historical collection on defense.gov. Some of the information contained within may be outdated and links may not function. Please contact the DOD Webmaster with any questions.

Better integration with parent services is just one way leaders of the four service components of U.S. Special Operations Command believe they can enhance their own readiness for the future.

A military service member aims a rifle from a protected position.
Target Practice
A Marine with Marine Special Operations Support Group, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command fires at targets during the Special Operations Training Course, Dec. 7, 2010.
Credit: Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kyle McNally
VIRIN: 101207-M-D0439-003

The U.S. military spent 20 years in the middle east — in Iraq and Afghanistan — fighting a counter insurgency. It gave America's adversaries plenty of time to evaluate how the U.S. military operates and how they might go about finding ways to undermine its effectiveness.  

Now, the U.S. is largely out of the Middle East and has turned its attention to the prospects of conflict with near-peer adversaries – nation-states who, unlike combatants faced in the Middle East, may be able to match the U.S. military's prowess on the battlefield with both manpower and equipment.  

On Capitol Hill Wednesday, commanders of the four military service components of U.S. Special Operations Command discussed what they think will be necessary now to prepare for possible near-peer competition with nation-state militaries.  

"I believe that the service components of special operations forces are most effective when we're closest to our parent services," said Air Force Lt. Gen. James C. Slife, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command. "I think one of the places where we see a value proposition for SOF is enabling our — particularly in conflict-type scenarios — enabling our broader service, you know, parents, to be effective."  

A helicopter hovers over a building. Service members descend from the helicopter.
Fast Roping
U.S. Army Rangers fast rope onto a building during the capabilities exercise hosted by United States Army Special Operations Command June 5, 2017, on Fort Bragg, N.C.
Credit: Michael Bottoms, Army
VIRIN: 170605-F-YT673-005C

Slife also told lawmakers at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that within AFSOC, there's work to be done in the areas of integrated air defense and counter-space operations.  

"There are a lot of very critical capabilities our adversaries rely on in those areas that I think SOF brings unique ability to effect," he said.  

Naval Special Warfare Command said they will need to refocus their own efforts on the unique capabilities only they can bring to the joint forces fight, a departure from two decades of a focus on counter-terrorism.  

"For Naval Special Warfare, we over-rotated on counterterrorism, clearly," said Navy Rear Adm. Hugh W. Howard III, the NSWC commander. "We lost some ground in the distinctive things that only we can do — and we are moving with urgency to make the main thing, the things that only we can do in the maritime domain."  

Howard also told lawmakers that both cyber and electronic warfare are part of NSWC's future as well.  

Service members remove a panel from the side of an aircraft.
Routine Maintenance
AC-130U gunship Crew Chiefs from the 4th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, attach a panel back on to the plane during routine maintenance on Jan. 28, 2011, at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The AC-130U "Spooky" gunship is the primary weapon of Air Force Special Operations Command.
Credit: Air Force Master Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock
VIRIN: 110128-F-D0439-135

"With cyber and electronic warfare, with our proximity access to hard targets, we see ourselves as part of that kill chain, in extending the reach of the cyber and electronic warfare enterprises," he said.  

Finally, he said, is fleet integration — where he said it would be important for NSWC to make use of the larger Navy fleet and the joint force to exercise its own survivability and lethality.  

Army Lt. Gen. Lieutenant General Jonathan P. Braga, commander of United States Army Special Operations Command said the development of information operations capabilities is critical to his community.  

"Information advantage [and] information operations — I think we're watching it daily, the strategic impact that it has," Braga said. "I cannot envision a future where that does not increase in importance, affecting target audiences, general populations, governments, armies, morale and eroding their overall effectiveness."  

Braga also characterized special operations forces, space and cyber operations as a "modern-day triad."  

A helicopter hovers over water. Service members descend from the helicopter.
Insertion Training
Service members assigned to Naval Special Warfare Command conduct Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction training from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter assigned to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, July 25, 2019.
Credit: 1st Lt. Ryan DeBooy
VIRIN: 190725-A-NH731-0021

"I think we owe you the best military advice and options — and the National Command Authority — for flexible deterrence, flexible response options, that involve and optimize those three legs of the triad for options both in deterrence, but also maintaining dominance in the domains for high-end conflict in supporting the joint force," Braga said.  

Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James F. Glynn, commander of United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command said the Marine's special operations component will need to look at what it's done over the last 20 years that can be carried forward.  

"The choices that we're having to determine right now is what of the ... counterterrorism skill sets, the stuff that we've invested in, developed very well over the last 20 years — how much of it translates, how well does it translate and what else do we need to be able to do," he said.  

An area of focus for MARSOC, he said, will be both cyber and space capabilities and its integration with special operations.  

Related Stories