What is it about?
During their recent operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa NATO Special Operations Forces (hereafter NATO SOF) have become the best tactical counterinsurgency force in the world, but it also fell into the trap of these experiences. While fighting insurgents and terrorists around the world NATO SOF has not encountered or more importantly have not developed effective theories against near-peer adversaries and their innovative concepts. In addition, NATO SOF has fought hard to become a recognized independent service within the alliance, but as part of this process it has gone through a very high level of “conventionalization” and almost lost its “strategic edge.”
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Why is it important?
This study finds that NATO SOF commanders and NATO Special Operations Headquarters (hereafter NSHQ) staff members mostly agree with this assertion. The analysis shows that the degradation in capability has doctrinal, organizational, training, educational, and resource-based causes.
Perspectives
For this analysis I drew information from my personal observations during my assignment to NSHQ from July 1, 2014 till June 15, 2017. During this period, I participated in command meetings and briefings multiple times each week where I was exposed to both staff level officers and high-ranking decision makers. As NSHQ`s Assessment and Evaluation Branch Head I was responsible for writing, teaching and supervising the execution of NATO SOF doctrine regarding force standards and evaluation practices. I was a co-developer and course director of NATO SOF Evaluation course between May 2015 and June 2017 where I had a chance to meet and discuss NATO SOF related issues with evaluation representatives from more than 20 NATO nations and two partner nations. I also rely on experiences and information I gathered as a senior evaluator during four major NATO exercises between 2014 and 2017.
Sandor Fabian
University of Central Florida Foundation Inc
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: NATO Special Operations Forces: Even if It Is Not Broken Yet, It Needs to Be Fixed, Special Operations Journal, July 2018, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/23296151.2018.1511084.
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