The Uncertain Future of Special Ops
By Phillip Lohaus | Opinion Contributor
June 15, 2017, at 2:00 p.m.
President Donald Trump has made much fanfare over reversing course on his predecessor's policies and priorities. From health care to climate change, the president has relished taking the inverse of former President Barack Obama's positions. But this has not proved to be the case with respect to national security. When it comes to national security, Trump's policies have represented more of a change in style than a complete course correction.
That trend is not good news for America's special operations forces. While America's special operators reached new heights under Obama over the last eight years, they were also chosen for a host of missions that could just as well have been performed by conventional forces. Meanwhile, the force that receives just 1.8 percent of the Pentagon's budget continued to expand the scope and scale of its operations, taking even more resources and attention away from the already neglected disciplines of civil affairs, military information support operations and regional expertise.
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/world-report/articles/2017-06-15/trump-needs-to-course-correct-on-obamas-special-operations-forces-policy
