Convergence within SOCOM – A Bottom-Up Approach to Multi Domain Operations
April 9, 2020 0 Comments
By: Andrew Smith
Special Operations missions are rarely confined to a single domain of warfare, making Special Operations Forces (SOF) joint to a degree unseen across the DoD. From the cross-service interaction occurring at the individual level to the trivial but telling appearance of a “J-†(Joint) in their staff designations across all levels, SOF are experts at integrating across domains. In OTH, Chris Beets previously identified the SOF construct as a model for Multi Domain Operations (MDO) that applies even in conventional operations. However, in practice this application will not be as easy as porting the structure and procedures of United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) into a conventional context. The SOF characteristics most applicable to MDO are not SOCOM’s formal structure or its focus on the individual but rather the organic network of relationships that have developed within the organization. I argue that the DoD should replicate the unique, earned trust that SOF commanders in the lowest level units enjoy with their superiors and cement pre-established relationships within multi-service clusters of units in order to realize the MDO vision.
https://othjournal.com/2020/04/09/convergence-within-socom-a-bottom-up-approach-to-multi-domain-operations/
