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The Future of Special Operations Beyond Kill and Capture Linda Robinson

November 9th, 2012 | Add a Comment

I’ve selected Linda Robinson’s article from Foreign Affairs (behind a pay wall so included in entirety below) as it gets to a belief I’ve had since 9/11 in that SOCOM must prioritize Special Warfare to the extent they do Surgical Strike.  Funding, authorities, and organization must become a priority for the command if they are to continue the momentum of countering threats in a period of fiscal austerity and in regions where we are less likely to conduct direct actions in other nation’s sovereign territory.  This will not be easy as it is difficult to ascertain the immediate results of Special Warfare that our populace and government demand, but we can look to Colombia and the Philippines as successful examples of Special Warfare.  The relative low cost of Special Warfare … Read entire article »

Filed under: COIN, Defense Policy, FID, Special Forces, UW

10 Books That Are Better Than The Art of War

October 3rd, 2012 | Add a Comment

I’ve chosen this article for a number of reasons.  First, I like the recommended reading list.  I think it augments the one mentioned that West Point put out, not beats it as suggested in some articles.  I like that it focused on Irregular Warfare topics as that is very topical today and also shows that the US has a long association with this type of fighting. While the classics should be studied, I see nothing wrong with branching out for other viewpoints.  Again, I think Arguilla’s list is a nice compliment to the classical one put out by West Point.  I also like that this list for its brevity.  Too often, the Services, educational institutions, and/or various GOs put out lists that would take a lifetime to read.  In today’s world … Read entire article »

Filed under: COIN, Defense Policy, FID, Military Education, UW

Casebook on Revolutionary Warfare and Insurgency Volume II: 1962-2009

July 9th, 2012 | Add a Comment

Received the below from COL (ret) Dave Maxwell. I was able to paste the link into web browser and successfully downloaded the electronic version of “Casebook on Revolutionary Warfare and Insurgency Volume II: 1962-2009″. This is a must for every student of Unconventional Warfare and Irregular Warfare. This is for anyone who is interested in studying as well as operating in the Human Domain (and with an interest in Unconventional Warfare, Irregular Warfare, Insurgency and Counterinsurgency). At this link (to my public dropbox) you can download the casebook (888 pages and about 15-19 MB depending on how it downloads for you) that has been produced in partnership between the US Army Special Operations Command and The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab National Security Analysis Department. This has been a 4 year project … Read entire article »

Filed under: COIN, Defense Policy, FID, Special Forces, UW

Warfare Center Welcomes Special Forces CSM (ret.) William (Billy) Waugh

June 27th, 2012 | Add a Comment

WarfareCenter.com is honored to have Billy Waugh agree to post some anecdotes of his experiences throughout 50 years of service to this nation.  William “Billy” Waugh (born December 1, 1929), is a retired American Special Forces Sergeant Major and Central Intelligence Agency Paramilitary Operations Officer who served more than 50 years between the U.S. Army’s Green Berets and the CIA’s Special Activities Division.  He was awarded 8 purple hearts for operations in Vietnam along with a Silver Star and 4 Bronze Stars.  Billy is credited with finding and pulling close target reconnaissance on Carlos the Jackal in the Sudan that directly led to his capture.  In his 70s, Billy infiltrated into Afghanistan with a Special Forces “A” team to conduct operations soon after 9/11.  Billy is a member of the … Read entire article »

Filed under: COIN, FID, Special Forces

Duffy Sends 18 April 2012 – IMPORTANT!!! Read Before Invasion…

April 18th, 2012 | Add a Comment

I chose Roger Carstens article on considerations before intervening in Syria mainly as it lays out a checklist on requirements prior to any decision to enter the fray. While not necessarily a fan of check lists as each conflict is different, at least Roger lays out a model to consider where I’m not aware of one existing. Dr Rebecca Johnson does lay out nicely the tenets for justifiable war in her draft remarks here http://endeavortopersevere.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/some-thoughts/, but in our ADD world I think Roger’s bumper sticker approach will at least remind folks that there should be at least some sort of guideline before engagement. Every pundit should have these simple rules tacked up on their cubicle, in particularly the UN to temper R2P (responsibility to protect) desire that would have intervention ongoing in … Read entire article »

Filed under: COIN, Defense Policy, FID, Special Forces, UW

Duffy Send – 26 Mar 12: The Best Doctrine Never Read…SOF FID

March 26th, 2012 | 1 Comment

As Afghanistan winds down (and not fast enough) I look for our OCONUS engagements to return to pre 9/11 models with foreign internal defense (FID) being the dominate engagement method for all of DoD, in particular SOF. It is encouraging that SOF has excellent doctrine on FID, although I really wish people would read it. It was surprising to learn that within the past year USASOC had briefly considered changing the UW definition yet again to include SOF FID somehow. I would have been curious to see how that would have turned out, but fortunately common sense prevailed and Special Warfare was deemed to be the more apt term to describe USASOC activities. Nevermind that the new UW definition barely has the ink dry and that USASOC just spent a year … Read entire article »

Filed under: COIN, Defense Policy, FID, Special Forces, Training