In future years, U.S. Special Operations Forces must utilize next generation technologies and strategic partnerships to counter the threats posed by extremist groups, weapons of mass destruction proliferation and Anti-Access/Area-Denial challenges.
Highlighting a handful of impactful global technological and geo-political trends, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments also emphasized that while SOF forces will likely continue “kinetic” raids and counter-terrorism missions as needed, a greater emphasis will be placed upon foreign internal defense, building partner capacity, unconventional warfare and civil affairs.
“We see a multitude of dangers the SOF are going to have to address – ranging from the Korean peninsula to thinking about long term competition with China to thinking about growing resource and territorial disputes in places like South East Asia. We are also thinking about continued instability in places like Central Asia and the Persian Gulf,” said Jim Thomas, co-author of the CSBA study titled “Beyond the Ramparts: The Future of Special Operations.”
Overall, the SOF end strength has grown to more than 65,000, and is currently on the way to 71,000, The SOF budget has essentially doubled in the last 10 years, rising to more than $10.8 billion, the report cites.
“R&D should be a major priority for USSOCOM in the years ahead to ensure SOF will have ‘new magic’ and specialized equipment to help keep SOF special,” the report cites.
Thomas cited key statistics and accomplishments central to the SOF communities’ activities over the past decade such as the successful killing of Osama Bin Laden during the raid on the Al Qaeda compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and work with the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan in the Fall of 2001.
In particular, among the 2,000 raids conducted over roughly the last 10-years, 84-percent of them achieved their mission without any shots being fired and 83-percent of them resulted in the successful capture or kill of the intended targets, he added.