Protecting the future of the special operations forces enterprise
Michael T. Hall
The similarity between special operations forces (SOF) and Dixie Cups is not immediately obvious, but it is a comparison many inside the special operations community reluctantly make. Dixie Cups come in a seemingly unlimited supply, you can use them when you need them — often at the last minute — and then you can throw them away. Unfortunately, the lack of long-term investment in special operations can feel like the same treatment.
SOF have typically been proposed, created or built up in times of crisis. Government leaders and the military services, to a certain extent, support these periods of SOF growth in either capability or capacity. Money, people, and equipment flow in. But, inevitably, long-term resources are not made available to sustain, maintain, and grow the new capability. And at some point, usually gradually, the political perception of the seriousness of the crisis recedes. And as a result, the resources that were directed to SOF are easily moved to other priorities, especially because they seldom included long-term investments.
https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2020/05/23/protecting-the-future-of-the-special-operations-forces-enterprise/
