American Special Operations Forces Are At A Crossroads
Nowhere was the great pivot to near-peer threats clearer than at this year’s special operations convention in Tampa, Florida.
BY
HOWARD ALTMAN
|
PUBLISHED MAY 12, 2024 2:20 PM EDT
American special operations forces (SOF) are at something of a crossroads. After decades of low-intensity conflict, as well as counter-insurgency and counter-terror operations, they now face a very different kind of primary threat — state adversaries, some of which are near-peer status. Transitioning its focus to a high-end fight, potentially over an enormous geographical area, is a tall order, but it's one the SOF community is very engaged in at this time. This metamorphosis now underway was glaringly clear at the SOF Week convention this week in Tampa, Florida.
In particular, the biennial mock battle that raged Wednesday outside the convention was markedly different this time around for reasons that have everything to do with the changing future of American special operations.
Gone was Tampa's mayor being “kidnapped” by 'jihadis,' only to be 'rescued' and returned to the dock in a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB), surrounded by international special operations forces (SOF) troops as they blast a fusillade of machine gun blanks. Instead, during this year’s demonstration, "adversary" drones and Marine special operations paragliders soared overhead.
https://www.twz.com/news-features/american-special-operations-forces-are-at-a-crossroads
