Download or read book Special Operations Forces in the 21st Century written by Jessica Glicken Turnley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-08-09 with total page 541 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book sets out the major social scientific approaches to the study of Special Operations Forces. Despite consistent downsizing, over the past two decades the armed forces of the industrial democracies have seen a huge growth in Special Operations Forces (SOF). Through increasing numbers of personnel and more frequent deployments, SOF units have wielded considerable influence in conflicts around the world, with senior SOF officers having led major strategic operations. This increased presence and unprecedented expansion for SOF is largely a result of the ‘new’ kinds of conflicts that have emerged in the 21st century. At the same time, even with this high profile in the military, policy and media and popular cultural arenas, there is relatively little social scientific research on SOF. This volume aims to fill this gap by providing a series of studies and analyses of SOF across the globe, since the end of World War II. Analysing SOF at the micro, mezzo and macro levels provides broad and diverse insights. Moreover, the volume deals with new issues raised by the use of such forces that include emerging modes of civilian control, innovative organizational forms and the special psychological characteristics necessitated by SOF operatives. It concludes with a discussion of a question which continues to be debated in today’s militaries: what makes SOF ‘special’? Filling a clear gap in the literature, this book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, civil-military relations, irregular warfare, security studies, and international relations.
Download or read book Force of Choice written by Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.). School of Policy Studies and published by Published for the School of Policy Studies, Queen's University and by McGill-Queen's University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Contributors, many with practical military experience, argue that strategic planners and political leaders must reconcile the historical reality of special operations with the new circumstances in which countries like Canada must now pursue international security and stability, especially when the line between special and conventional is being redrawn. [This book] considers the historical experiences of several countries to [forecast] the future of special operations and address two crucial questions: Does Canada have a special forces? Can land, sea, and air forces incorporate elements of the special to respond to new threats?"--Publisher's description.
Download or read book Special Operations from a Small State Perspective written by Gunilla Eriksson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-05-25 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Over the past dozen years special operations forces (SOF) have been one of the few areas of growth and expansion in a number of militaries. This growth and expansion, however, has not been mirrored by a comparable one in academic inquiries into the subject. Special Operations from a Small State Perspective - Future Security Challenges, which contains a wide range of perspectives from both practitioners and academics, makes a unique contribution to the literature and offers fascinating insights into the opportunities provided by and challenges confronting small states such as Swedenin their evolutionary development and use of SOF.” Dr James Kiras, Associate Professor, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, The Air University, Alabama, USA.
Download or read book Special Operations Forces written by John M. Collins and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1994 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this volume, John Collins speaks with the authority of one who was literally present at the birth of the low intensity conflict era. His long-term, intimate, and direct contact with the esoteric world of special operations has few parallels. Their roots go back in time and history considerably farther, but today's Special Operations Forces are largely products of the past three decades. Their development has been in response to the pressures of world-wide situations perceived to bear upon or which actually do affect American strategic interests. The use of raw military power may not provide solutions to the complex problems involved and may even be counter-productive. Special Operations forces, uniquely suited to fill the quasi-military gap, require the highest degree of professional competence in the application of the classical principles of war. This is a big order. It is difficult in a few words to pay John Collins the tribute he deserves for continuing efforts to educate both the Congress and the U.S. Armed Forces concerning the capabilities and limitations of special operations and the forces they involve. This latest addition to his carefully researched studies combines history, philosophy, factual data, and reference materials in a single document that should be on the desks of civilian and military leaders whose responsibilities relate in any way to special operations.
Download or read book US Special Operations Forces in Action written by Thomas K. Adams and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work argues for a shift in expectations for "unconventional warfare" with a greater willingness to accept lengthy commitments and incremental progress.
Download or read book Weapon of Choice The Operations of U S Army Special Forces in Afghanistan written by United States Department of Defense and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2023-12-25 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This eBook edition of "Weapon of Choice: The Operations of U.S. Army Special Forces in Afghanistan" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. "Weapon of Choice" presents a history of the U.S. Army special operations forces in Afghanistan from 11 September 2001 to 15 May 2002, during America's global war on terrorism. The purpose of the book is not to resolve Army special operations doctrinal issues, to clarify or update military definitions, or to be the "definitive" history of the continuing unconventional war in Afghanistan. The purpose is to demonstrate how the war to drive the Taliban from power, help Afghan people, and assist the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) rebuild the country afterward was successfully accomplished by majors, captains, warrant officers, and sergeants on tactical teams and aircrews at the lowest levels. Contents: Prelude to Terror Awakening the Giant "Subdue Without Fighting" Developing the SOF Campaign Top Draft Choices Committed to Middle East Exercises Civil Affairs to Islamabad, Pakistan Site Coordination With the Uzbeks at Karshi Kanabad Uncorking the Bottled Airlift Toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan, 19 October-7 December 2001 Jumping Into the Dark Showing American Power "Look, We Have to Get the Special Forces Teams Into Afghanistan!" On Horseback With Dostum A "Bump" and Missiles in the Abyss 500 Afghans Can Die, But Not One American Can Be Injured Al-Qaeda Uprising—Qala-i-Jangi The Karzai Way to Kandahar The Campaign in Transition, 8 December 2001-28 February 2002 Old Glory Flies Again in Kabul Taking Down al-Qaeda at the Mir Wais Hospital Politics, War, and Rapport End of Mission—Aerial Resupply in Afghanistan The New War Entering the Valley D-Day ANACONDA From the Viewpoint of Force Multipliers "Good Morrrrning, Afghannnnistan" Driving the Taliban From Power Transition and Combat Operations
Download or read book Choice of Force written by Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.). School of Policy Studies and published by Published for the School of Policy Studies, Queen's University by McGill-Queen's University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty years from now, security issues may dictate that counter-terrorism is more important than operations to secure stability and rule of law. Security at the border, ethnic demography, and the perspective of the next generation will determine what strategic choices Canada will make about special military operations and the elite forces developed to carry out special missions. In Choice of Force military and academic researchers survey what political and bureaucratic leaders expect of special operations and analyse contemporary operations, new challenges, and the factors that will shape special operations in the coming decades.
Download or read book 21st Century SOF written by Department of Defense and published by . This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this concise JSOU monograph, Dr. Rich Yarger considers the 21st century security environment, previous work on special operations theory, and various other perspectives of SOF gleaned from his research to synthesize an American SOF school of thought, which he argues provides a foundation for developing an American special operations theory for the 21st century. He offers definitions, premises, and principles that explain modern American special operations over the last 70 years and can serve SOF well into the future. Based on his research, he identifies major areas of concern for SOF leadership. As USSOCOM confronts the challenges offered by the 21st century and policymakers continue to look at SOF as a preferred means to address numerous and complex security issues, theory is essential in determining and explaining the appropriate roles and missions for SOF in the 21st century and for building and sustaining the forces. It explains the strategic utility of SOF, bolsters the strategic art within SOF, and informs doctrine. This monograph offers a basis toward such a theory. The timing for advancing a comprehensive theory of American special operations could not be more opportune for several reasons. First, with over 70 years of modern history, the American SOF reputation has never stood higher in the esteem of the public and policymakers. In the last two decades special operations have taken on a greater role in national defense, and policymakers and strategists have found utility in the kind of military power SOF projects. Such recognition is a double-edged sword. The nation has been confronted with significant challenges in the first half of the 21st century that have already strained the capacity of the United States and its strategic partners to deal with them. Policymakers and the 2012 Defense Strategy are correct to recognize the relevance of SOF to these threats and opportunities, but in advocating the greater use of special operations they clearly do not grasp what the SOF Truths imply about SOF capacity.5 As a result, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) must parley the hard-earned esteem won by special operators over the past decade to build the force for the future while advising policymakers and senior military decision makers on how best to use a qualitatively constrained SOF capacity. Concurrently, a number of people question whether the greatest strategic utility is being made of SOF power.6 This is not a questioning of SOF personnel's efforts, but a genuine concern about how unique and limited capabilities are used, or not used, and how they might best be used in the future. A unified theory would inform how best to wield the SOF sword. Second, under USSOCOM, SOF have matured into a discrete military force with many of the distinguishing characteristics that define a separate service. Theories and schools of thought explain how each service fits into the nation's security, sets the parameters for roles and missions, lays the basis for a strategic art, and informs doctrine and the professional development of the force. In the past, SOF have relied on mentoring, on-the-job experience, a limited doctrine, and a high degree of flexibility and adaptability. Notwithstanding the great need for and value of the latter, a theory and school of thought provide perspective for strategy, mission planning, and improvising when in contact with the enemy, significantly shortening and lowering the cost of the learning curve at all levels of war.
Download or read book Making Warriors in a Global Era written by Tone Danielsen and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To understand wars and armed conflicts, we need to understand the inner logic of military institutions and warrior culture. In Making Warriors in a Global Era, Tone Danielsen employs ethnographic methods to analyze and discuss current debates among both military personnel and academics about the rise of the special operations forces and their effects on how armed conflicts are handled and wars are fought. Based on a decade of research and Danielsen's unprecedented access inside a Norwegian Naval Special Operations Commando, Danielsen describes the culture, experiences, and skill sets of a special operations unit and explores the historical and political implications these types of units have on modern warfare and society as a whole.
Download or read book Weapon of Choice written by United States Department of Defense and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2024-01-18 with total page 573 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Weapon of Choice" presents a history of the U.S. Army special operations forces in Afghanistan from 11 September 2001 to 15 May 2002, during America's global war on terrorism. The purpose of the book is not to resolve Army special operations doctrinal issues, to clarify or update military definitions, or to be the "definitive" history of the continuing unconventional war in Afghanistan. The purpose is to demonstrate how the war to drive the Taliban from power, help Afghan people, and assist the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) rebuild the country afterward was successfully accomplished by majors, captains, warrant officers, and sergeants on tactical teams and aircrews at the lowest levels. Contents: Prelude to Terror Awakening the Giant "Subdue Without Fighting" Developing the SOF Campaign Top Draft Choices Committed to Middle East Exercises Civil Affairs to Islamabad, Pakistan Site Coordination With the Uzbeks at Karshi Kanabad Uncorking the Bottled Airlift Toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan, 19 October-7 December 2001 Jumping Into the Dark Showing American Power "Look, We Have to Get the Special Forces Teams Into Afghanistan!" On Horseback With Dostum A "Bump" and Missiles in the Abyss 500 Afghans Can Die, But Not One American Can Be Injured Al-Qaeda Uprising—Qala-i-Jangi The Karzai Way to Kandahar The Campaign in Transition, 8 December 2001-28 February 2002 Old Glory Flies Again in Kabul Taking Down al-Qaeda at the Mir Wais Hospital Politics, War, and Rapport End of Mission—Aerial Resupply in Afghanistan The New War Entering the Valley D-Day ANACONDA From the Viewpoint of Force Multipliers "Good Morrrrning, Afghannnnistan" Driving the Taliban From Power Transition and Combat Operations
Download or read book Into the Void written by James D. Kiras and published by Hurst Publishers. This book was released on 2024-06-06 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The moment in the sun for special operations sometimes appears to have passed, seemingly eclipsed by preparations for potential conflict under the guise of ‘great power’ competition, combined with failure in Afghanistan. Yet the war in Ukraine serves as a reminder that special operations play an even greater role today―before, during and presumably after conflict. The challenge remains dealing with current irregular and hybrid threats, at the same time as preparing for an uncertain future, as threats and technologies evolve at a dizzying pace. Focusing too much on the future of conventional warfare creates a void in national security discussions related to special operations. This book seeks to fill that gap, drawing on the expertise of scholars and practitioners in the field, from the Indo-Pacific, Europe and the United States, to answer what, if anything, special operations can or should seek to do, and how. The contributors explore such topics as proxies, non-state special forces, capabilities, innovation and transformation, artificial intelligence, and special operations in space and cyberspace. These chapters are united by their analysis that special operations will have future strategic and operational value, for allies and adversaries alike, provided that difficult choices are made in the present.
Download or read book SOF written by Jeffrey L. Putz and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Armed Forces advance National Security by applying military power as directed to shape the international environment and respond to the full spectrum of crises. These shaping and responding operations have greatly increased over the past 5 years. This paper highlights the role of Special Operations Forces (SOF) within these operations and explains why Special Operations Forces should be the engagement force of choice. This SRP explores the current Special Operations Forces apportioned to each regional CINC, and describes the unique skills and attributes that SOF personnel possess. It further describes the US Army, Air Force, and Navy Special Operations Force; their core missions, capabilities, limitations, and command and control organizations, and how these units are ideally organized, trained, and equipped to conduct the full range of engagement activities required by today's National Military Strategy. The focus of the paper is to describe each services' Special Operations Force and provide a clear understanding of the missions and capabilities of SOF, in order to demonstrate why SOF should be the engagement force of choice.
Download or read book Weapon of Choice written by Charles H. Briscoe and published by www.Militarybookshop.CompanyUK. This book was released on 2010-01 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 2003, this is the first unclassified official history authored by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command relating to Operation Enduring Freedom. Contains extensive maps and illustrations. Previously difficult to obtain, this extensive study shows what Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) accomplished to drive the Taliban from power and to destroy al-Quaeda and Taliban strongholds as part of the global war on terrorism during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Download or read book Force of Choice Perspectives on Special Operations written by David M.; Horn Last (Bernd; Taillon, J. Paul de B.) and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Casting Light on the Shadows written by Bernd Horn and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2007-02-28 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 9/11 Canadian Special Operations Forces, formerly in the shadows, have become the force of choice. This book provides a solid foundation for SOF theory, historical background, and evolution, and highlights ongoing developments in SOF.
Download or read book United States Special Operations Forces written by Christopher J. Lamb and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, two national-security experts put the exploits of America’s special operation forces in historical and strategic context. David Tucker and Christopher J. Lamb offer an incisive overview of America’s turbulent experience with special operations. Starting with in-depth interviews with special operators, the authors illustrate the diversity of modern special operations forces and the strategic value of their unique attributes. Despite longstanding and growing public fascination with special operators, these forces and their contribution to national security are poorly understood. With this book, Tucker and Lamb dispel common misconceptions and offer a penetrating analysis of how these unique and valuable forces can be employed to even better effect in the future. The book builds toward a comprehensive assessment of the strategic utility of special operations forces, which it then considers in light of the demands of future warfare. This second edition of United States Special Operations Forces, revised throughout to account for lessons learned in the twelve years since its first publication, includes two new case studies, one on High Value Target Teams and another on Village Stability Operations, and two new appendixes charting the evolution of special operation missions and the best literature on all aspects of U.S. special operation forces.
Download or read book U S Special Operations Forces SOF written by Andrew Feickert and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contents: (1) Background: Command Structures and Components; Special Operations Forces in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, and Joint; NATO Special Operations; (2) Current Organizational and Budgetary Issues: 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review Report SOF-Related Directives; 2010 USSOCOM Posture Statement; (3) Afghanistan-Related Issues; A Change of Command Relationship for U.S. SOF; U.S. SOF Direct Action Against Afghan Insurgents; Training Village Security Forces; (4) Issues for Congress: Are Current Command Relationships and Rules of Engagement Having a Detrimental Impact on Special Operations in Afghanistan?; Are We Making the Best Use of SOF in Afghanistan?
