“We foresaw the increasing need to expand our Special Warfare understanding and capability, and have established graduate-level Special Warfare Operations Design and Special Forces Network Development programs to increase Special Forces contribution to regional campaign planning efforts, and host nation capabilities. Additionally, we have expanded the Advanced Special Operations curriculum to include tasks designed to increase the overall capability and effectiveness of our operators across the entire spectrum of conflict, and are institutionalizing intelligent training programs that leverage our interagency partners,” Fox said.
U.S. Army Special Forces Command (SFC)
“As a regiment and command, we are prepared to assume any mission or engage emerging threats presented to us,” said Brig. Gen. Darsie Rogers, who spent 2013 as the deputy USASOC commander prior to being named commander of SFC and the SF Regiment. “The Special Forces are a force unlike any other in our military; how we train, organize, equip, resource, and ready our force has been tested, modified, and validated time and again through 12 years of sustained combat operations and increased operations through the Global SOF Network. We persistently re-evaluate how we train and prepare this force in order to ensure Special Forces soldiers are not only trained to address the current threat, but also adaptable, knowledgeable, and capable of meeting future challenges.”
“The ODA structure has survived the test of time and numerous conflicts throughout the world due to the flexibility and comprehensive special skill sets that are resident in each ODA.”
Those challenges continue, Rogers acknowledged, but added that SFC continues to adapt in overcoming them.
“We have addressed the need for growth and change – not in numbers but in capabilities – through a structured reorganization of the 4th Battalion at each group,” Rogers said. “The 4th Battalion redesign was conceived in response to the changing operational environment, and to meet the ARSOF 2022 priority to ‘Invest in Human Capital.’ The 4th Battalion transformation increases the capability and versatility the Special Forces Regiment provides our nation.”
A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier reacts to contact in Mya Rasul Baba village, Sarobi District, Kabul province, Afghanistan, Dec. 8, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Sara Wakai
He noted, though, that the traditional structure of the Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha (ODA), will remain the same.
“It has always been the center of gravity for the global Special Warfare mission set, and will continue to endure through the ARSOF 2022 transformation. The ODA structure has survived the test of time and numerous conflicts throughout the world due to the flexibility and comprehensive special skill sets that are resident in each ODA. These include: operations, intelligence, weapons and target engagement, communications, medical, engineering expertise, and regional expertise specific to each SFG, based on their regional alignment within the Global SOF Network. These core skills remain the foundation of the SF ODA. As we look forward, the ODA will remain the primary element required to support the vision for ARSOF 2022.”
In addition to growing the command and improving the training and manning side of the equation, major advances in equipping the Special Forces soldier have been made in recent years.
“In the past decade, industry has supported Special Forces soldiers with some amazing technological advances,” Rogers said. “This support has helped enable the SF soldier to outperform anyone that we have encountered on the battlefield, bearing in mind that the first ‘SOF Truth’ is ‘Humans are more important than hardware.’ Our communications have advanced [in] form, fit, and function while increasing capabilities. Software-defined radios are now more capable of data and voice transmission than earlier predecessors. The Special Forces will see a reduction in the constant cycle of replacements of C4I [command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence] equipment as a direct link to being able to upgrade capabilities with software updates. Industry, with the help of SOF subject matter experts, has focused on lightening the load of ammunition carried by the soldier while increasing the lethality and accuracy of our soldiers through emerging technologies – such as polymer-cased ammunition and improved bullet co-efficiencies. SOF body armor and protective gear such as our uniforms, ballistic plates, and helmets has become lighter by approximately 25 percent while providing increased ballistic protection. We are on the verge of seeing new fabric breakthroughs that will add more capability with a lightened load.
“We make the effort to utilize modernization through sustainment; as new technologies emerge in current programs of record, we begin to field those items after proper testing to replace worn equipment and gear, thus making the most of our equipment while remaining fiscally prudent. Our focus remains providing the best support to the soldier.”
A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier assigned to B Company, 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), jumps from a C-130H Hercules into the Atlantic Ocean during an airborne water jump in Key West, Fla., Dec. 7, 2013. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Craig Norton, 382nd Public Affairs Detachment
Rapid change and growth in meeting extensive commitments across the globe, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, have been hallmarks of the past decade, and Rogers acknowledged the probability that new and unexpected challenges lie on the horizon.
“The rate of change across USASOC since my arrival has been significant. I applaud our commanders for their agility and vision as we shape our force to face the uncertainty ahead and offer solutions to the nation’s most difficult and sensitive problems,” he said, but emphasized his pride in Special Forces’ accomplishments.