Special operations are becoming the Pentagon’s future ‘normal’
“SOF is floated as a one-size-fits-all solution for a lot of problems,” said one former official.
Patrick Tucker | May 19, 2025 09:42 AM ET
Special Operations Acquisition Pentagon Security Cooperation
TAMPA, Florida—Today’s special operators are rapidly becoming the model for the rest of the U.S. military, disrupting how the Defense Department does everything from buying gear to responding to global crises.
You might not notice that trend in Washington, D.C., where the Pentagon and the congressional armed services committees generally project predictable continuity. Perhaps that’s why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the new Joint Chiefs chairman, came to the Global SOF Foundation’s conference here to outline a new, special-operations-like vision for the U.S. military: smaller teams, quicker equipping, faster operations, more autonomy.
“Special operations forces have long operated like a tech startup,” Hegseth told a crowd of elite tactical operators on May 6. “You're agile and nimble, lean and lethal. You leverage innovation…in ways that conventional formations just cannot.’”
Caine, who has spent years in special-operations assignments, said that his membership in the SOF “tribe” had prepared him to lead—and reform—the U.S. military with a startup mentality.
“You taught me how to integrate things. You taught me the importance of relationships. You taught me the importance of being an entrepreneur,” he told the audience, which reportedly included operators from more than 60 countries.
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/05/special-operations-are-becoming-pentagons-future-normal/405410/
