{"id":55027,"date":"2019-05-17T14:00:23","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T14:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/05\/17\/where-do-special-forces-fit-in-the-national-defense-strategy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:07:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:07:19","slug":"where-do-special-forces-fit-in-the-national-defense-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/05\/17\/where-do-special-forces-fit-in-the-national-defense-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Where do special forces fit in the National Defense Strategy?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The most valuable role for U.S. special operations forces<\/a> within the National Defense Strategy<\/a> is to build relationships with countries in hot spots around the globe to keep Russia and China at bay. But that effort can\u2019t be at the expense of its counterterrorism mission, which remains the No. 1 priority of special forces, according to leadership within U.S. Special Operations Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SOCOM plans to issue a report to Congress on a comprehensive review of its roles and missions this month, according to Mark Mitchell, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, who was speaking during a recent hearing with the House Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main priorities for SOCOM is to carry out counterterror missions, but the National Defense Strategy focuses on great power competition against near-peer adversaries Russia and China, so House lawmakers wanted to know how special forces fit in a strategy that focuses less on counterterrorism and more on powerful adversaries<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been the tip of the spear on the [counterterror] fight,\u201d SOCOM Commander Gen. Richard Clarke said during the hearing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, moving forward, particularly in great power competition, our special operations forces are not necessarily going to be in that fight because the whole idea of the strategy is to avoid a kinetic\u201d confrontation, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clarke said he\u2019s examining SOCOM relationships with U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Transportation Command as well as the global combatant commanders to see \u201chow we can best integrate our forces and provide support to those in other domains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the special operations community is uniquely suited to build networks of partners and allies around the globe to put us in a position, first of all, to compete for that influence and legitimacy in peacetime,\u201d Clarke added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special forces also have an important role to play within the military information support operations center in Tampa, Florida, which is aligned with the State Department\u2019s Global Engagement Center, which \u201callows us to compete in the space ahead of time and make sure that we\u2019re countering some of the vitriol that\u2019s coming out of Russia at this time and the falsehoods,\u201d Clarke said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Clarke and Mitchell, it\u2019s unlikely the reach of special forces around the globe will wane.<\/p>\n\n\n\t