Special Operations from a Small State Perspective PDF Download

Author: Gunilla Eriksson
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319439618
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 198

View

Book Description
“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.

Author: Christopher J. Lamb
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231545223
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 490

View

Book Description
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.

Author: Jessica Glicken Turnley
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351802674
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 541

View

Book Description
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.

Author: Andrew Feickert
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437936490
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 14

View

Book Description
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?

Author: William H. McRaven
Publisher: Presidio Press
ISBN: 0891416005
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 433

View

Book Description
Vice Adm. William H. McRaven helped to devise the strategy for how to bring down Osama bin Laden, and commanded the courageous U.S. military unit that carried it out on May 1, 2011, ending one of the greatest manhunts in history. In Spec Ops, a well-organized and deeply researched study, McRaven analyzes eight classic special operations. Six are from WWII: the German commando raid on the Belgian fort Eben Emael (1940); the Italian torpedo attack on the Alexandria harbor (1941); the British commando raid on Nazaire, France (1942); the German glider rescue of Benito Mussolini (1943); the British midget-submarine attack on the Tirpitz (1943); and the U.S. Ranger rescue mission at the Cabanatuan POW camp in the Philippines (1945). The two post-WWII examples are the U.S. Army raid on the Son Tay POW camp in North Vietnam (1970) and the Israeli rescue of the skyjacked hostages in Entebbe, Uganda (1976). McRaven—who commands a U.S. Navy SEAL team—pinpoints six essential principles of “spec ops” success: simplicity, security, repetition, surprise, speed and purpose. For each of the case studies, he provides political and military context, a meticulous reconstruction of the mission itself and an analysis of the operation in relation to his six principles. McRaven deems the Son Tay raid “the best modern example of a successful spec op [which] should be considered textbook material for future missions.” His own book is an instructive textbook that will be closely studied by students of the military arts. Maps, photos.

Author: Tone Danielsen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781498561815
Category : Special forces (Military science)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

View

Book Description
Making Warriors in a Global Era provides ethnographic data, analyses, and discussions to infuse new debates among both military personnel and academics about the rise of special operations forces and the ways they impact how armed conflicts are dealt with and how wars are fought.

Author: Brian S. Petit
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 9781478703853
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

View

Book Description
Going Big by Getting Small examines how the United States Special Operations Forces apply operational art, the link between tactics and strategy, in the non-wartime, steady-state environments called Phase Zero. With revised and innovative operational art constructs, US Special Operations offer scalable and differentiated strategic options for US foreign policy goals. This book analyzes light footprint special operations approaches in Yemen, Indonesia, Thailand, and Colombia. When a large military presence may be inappropriate or counterproductive, Colonel Brian Petit makes the case for fresh thinking on Phase Zero operational art as applied by small, highly skilled, joint-force teams coupled with interagency partners. The past decade (2002-2012) of operations focused on large-scale, post-conflict counterinsurgency. Less publicized, but no less important in this same decade, was the emerging application of nuanced campaigns, actions, and activities in Phase Zero. These efforts were led or supported by special operations in countries and regions contested, but not at war. This book fills a gap in the literature of how to adapt the means, method, and logic of US military foreign engagements in a diplomacy-centric world with rapidly shifting power paradigms. Going Big by Getting Small is not a yarn on daring special operations raids nor a call for perpetual war. It is the polar opposite: this book contemplates the use of discreet engagements to sustain an advantageous peace, mitigate conflict, and prevent crises.

Author: Mark Moyar
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465093019
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 432

View

Book Description
Oppose Any Foe is the epic story of America's most elite warriors: the Special Operations Forces. Born as small appendages to the conventional armies of World War II, the Special Operations Forces have grown into a behemoth of 70,000 troops, including Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, Air Force Night Stalkers, Special Operations Marines, Rangers, and Delta Force. Weaving together their triumphs and tribulations, acclaimed historian Mark Moyar introduces a colorful cast of military men, brimming with exceptional talent, courage and selflessness. In a nation where the military is the most popular institution, America's Special Operations Forces have become the most popular members of the military. Through nighttime raids on enemy compounds and combat advising of resistance movements, special operators have etched their names into the nation's registry of heroes. Yet the public knows little of the journey that they took to reach these heights, a journey that was neither easy nor glamorous. Fighting an uphill battle for most of their seventy-five year history, the Special Operations Forces slipped on many an occasion, and fell far on several. Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama have enthusiastically championed Special Operations Forces, but their enthusiasm has often surpassed their understanding, resulting in misuse or overuse of the troops. Lacking clearly defined missions, Special Operations Forces have had to reinvent themselves time and again to prove their value in the face of fierce critics-many of them from the conventional military, which from the start opposed the segregation of talent in special units. Highlighting both the heroism of America's most elite soldiers and the controversies surrounding their meteoric growth, Oppose Any Foe presents the first comprehensive history of these special warriors and their daring missions. It is essential reading for anyone interested in America's military history-and the future of warfare.

Author: Linda Robinson
Publisher: Council on Foreign Relations Press
ISBN: 9780876095508
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 50

View

Book Description
U.S. special operations forces are doing more things in more places than ever before. They are now active in some seventy countries and, since 2001, have seen their combined budget nearly quintuple -- a trend that seems likely to continue. As the United States seeks ways to tackle a range of security threats worldwide, shore up the resilience of its friends and allies against terrorist and criminal networks, and minimize need for large-scale military interventions, the importance of special operations forces will grow. Yet, the strategic vision for special operations forces has not kept pace with the growing demands for their skills. Most people -- and, indeed, many policymakers -- associate the special operations forces with secret nighttime raids like the one that targeted Osama bin Laden: tactical operations against a particular individual or group. The abilities of special operations forces, however, extend much further, into military training, information operations, civil affairs, and more. As the United States shifts its focus from war fighting to building and supporting its partners, the author argues, it will become critical to better define these strategic capabilities and ensure that special operations forces have the staffing and funding to succeed. The author further calls on the Pentagon to remove bureaucratic and operational obstacles to cooperation among the special operations forces of each service, and between special and conventional forces. She also recommends that all special operations forces commands work to develop a pipeline of talented, motivated officers with expertise in these issues, and that the role of civilian leadership in budget and operational oversight be reinforced.

Author:
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 1596521562
Category : Special forces (Military science)
Languages : en
Pages : 180

View

Book Description