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SOF<\/a> is experiencing an identity crisis, says David Maxwell<\/a>, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel who specializes in irregular, unconventional, and political warfare. \u201cJoint Special Operations Command<\/a>\u2019s mission of counterterror is never going away. It is necessary. We\u2019ve raised our counterterror capability to an exquisite level. We\u2019re going to sustain and protect that. The other side is harder to describe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But life after America\u2019s longest war for special operations is one of opportunity and provides a return to smaller missions that are just as strategic, if not more, than the big, headline-making battles of the past 20 years. SOF will build partnerships with militaries around the world and focus on great power competition \u2014 namely countering China and Russia, even as they change how they fight from capture and kill attacks to psychological warfare and influencing local politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SOF units are made up of service members from every service. In the Navy, they\u2019re SEALs. The Army has Special Forces \u2014 nicknamed Green Berets because of their iconic hats, Rangers, and soldiers specializing in civil affairs and psychological operations. The Air Force special operations is trained to rescue pilots and call in airstrikes. Marine special operations are called Marine Raiders \u2014 the nation\u2019s newest SOF community \u2014 and can do everything from reconnaissance to commando raids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the 1980s, SOF has gained prominence from pop culture icons like Special Forces soldier John Rambo<\/a> in \u201cFirst Blood\u201d and the subsequent sequels, and shows about Navy SEALs on network TV. This came after high-profile missions like the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia, made famous by Mark Bowden\u2019s \u201cBlack Hawk Down<\/a>;\u201d operations against rebels in Colombia; leading the assault in Afghanistan on horseback; and finally killing Osama bin Laden in a daring raid in Pakistan in May 2011. SOF has become the icon of the war on terrorism, and, arguably, the bearded, night vision-wearing SOF operator is a new American idol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even as special operations forces retrain for the changing mission, the road map isn\u2019t new: We\u2019ve been here before. They\u2019ll go back to training foreign armies like they did in Colombia and across the African continent. They\u2019ll gather intelligence and track suspected terrorists and conduct violent raids, but unlike what they did during the war, they won\u2019t return to a firebase in the target country. Once again, SOF fighters will sink into the shadows, their mission needing more intellect than brawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019ll play on the edge of empire,\u201d a former Marine Raider says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pentagon has already dubbed it \u201cover-the-horizon operations,\u201d alluding to drone strikes, cyberwarfare, and small-unit raids. The cadence of operations would resemble American operations in Yemen<\/a> and Somalia<\/a>, where drone strikes and lightning-fast raids with no enduring presence on the ground were the order of the day. This also plays into bigger strategic moves against China and Russia, several sources told The War Horse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across the globe, China is involved in everything from resource extraction \u2014 especially rare earth metals \u2014 to infrastructure projects like roads, dams, and energy and agriculture projects. China was one of the first countries to reach out to the Taliban government in hopes of exploiting Afghanistan\u2019s estimated $1 trillion to $3 trillion in rare earth metals<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Chinese have repeated this playbook in Africa and Latin America, leading to massive investment in exchange for mining and access to commodities. Since 2008, China has provided more than $35 billion in loans to Latin American countries<\/a>, Shamaila Khan, director of emerging market debt at Alliance Bernstein, told CNBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re not going to take China in China,\u201d says an intelligence sergeant who worked with tier-one units. \u201cYou\u2019ll take China on in Africa, Afghanistan, and in Iran and Syria.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The danger of terrorism also serves as a constant threat. SOF is arrayed to fight both with kill and capture missions, but also by partnering with foreign militaries to increase capability, several sources told The War Horse. The performance of the Afghan military at the end of the war notwithstanding, SOF has had some success mentoring militaries in Africa and Latin America, especially in Colombia versus the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It just takes a long damn time to do it right. That\u2019s why retired Adm. Bob Harward, a SEAL who led special operations units in the invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq, thinks Special Operations Command should take the reins and lead the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEver since 9\/11, what was the job of SOCOM?\u201d he says. \u201cThey were responsible for synchronizing the war on global terrorism. But it gave them no real authority. Terrorism is going to be a growing problem again, not a shrinking problem. And all the services and everyone else wants to focus on China. I think this is the perfect time for the U.S. government to designate SOCOM as the lead on the global war on terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to staying focused on a persistent threat, this move would keep SOF engaged with partners across the globe. Retired Lt. Gen. Kenneth Tovo<\/a>, former commander of Army Special Operations Command, said SOF is uniquely capable of getting on the ground, training partner forces, and understanding issues in the \u201chuman domain.\u201d Small teams of Special Forces or SEALs are the canary in the coal mine. When something does happen, the relationships and ground truth are there, according to Tovo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou need to have presences,\u201d Tovo says. \u201cWe\u2019re going to always be a crisis action force. We\u2019ve developed relationships and partners to help develop a U.S. reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n SOF exists to fight in uncertainty, but it\u2019s about to enter a world of competitors and state actors looking for an adjusted world order. One expert said the current order resembles the 19th century \u2014 not the dual-superpower Cold War. Multipolar. Global with regional actors and terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf that is the case, your next assumption is direct conflict doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d the former Army commander said. \u201cWhen they do need to act, it will be fast and limited and offset our advantages. SOF will be the deterrent. You\u2019re going to deter through shoulder-to-shoulder operations. Win by points, not by knockout.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maxwell says SOF is the military\u2019s best tool to solve complex military problems and create issues for the nation\u2019s adversaries. He imagined a scenario where local dissidents are organized and resourced to carry out operations in Russia or China. SOF can leverage populations to exploit cracks and fissures that can generate challenges for the nation\u2019s opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019d make a case for resistance in Afghanistan,\u201d Maxwell says. \u201cIt is going to emerge. There is a lot of application for that potential. Popular resistance against Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Called the resistance operating concept<\/a>, the goal is to make sure American allies can resist an invasion from a power like Russia or China. That means making sure SOF and resistance groups can plan together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Otto Fiala and others explained the concept in a two-part July podcast<\/a> produced by the 1st Special Forces command<\/a>. It looks to past examples, such as the French Resistance<\/a> during World War II and stay-behind networks<\/a> put in place to counter a Soviet invasion during the Cold War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAn adversary knowing that you have this resistance capability, there is an organization that exists, and that your people are willing to resist is a strong message of deterrence,\u201d Fiala said during the podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But SOF\u2019s hardest mission might be online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be fit and tactically proficient,\u201d Tovo says. \u201cBut this is really warfare of the mind. It is less about if you can shoot three-inch dots at 100 meters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 1951 paper examining psychological warfare in Korea concluded it was an inexpensive, effective weapon that is bound to prove more effective as we continue to learn to perfect our technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Information Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, which opened in August, stands as another step to improve technique. It will consolidate the Army\u2019s psychological operations capabilities so it could provide \u201cinfluence artillery<\/a>\u201d to forward units and teams, said Col. Ed Croot, chief of staff at 1st Special Forces Command, during a virtual presentation in February for AFCEA TechNet Augusta<\/a>, according to C4ISRNET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s a unique threat audience, a unique friendly audience, a unique neutral audience that has to do with that influence and information piece,\u201d Croot said during his presentation. \u201cIt\u2019s extremely difficult to be able to move fast in that space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The meme is the new leaflet, Maxwell says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is easier to put a hellfire on the forehead of a terrorist than put an idea between his ears,\u201d he says. \u201cWe should think not in terms of dropping commandos into China to destroy targets, but indirectly take on China in the influence realm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But one of the biggest shifts for SOF units might be the absence of a war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tovo said down in the team room there is a lot of hand-wringing because most of the force has a lot of combat time, but that will shift to peacetime engagement as SOF positions itself for strategic competition. This pause might lead to a much-needed reset. A former Marine forces special operations command<\/a> officer said special operations became a hammer when it should have remained a scalpel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou want to kick down doors, shoot bad guys in the face,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve vastly relied on SOF on the perception of reliability. We\u2019ve become so risk averse. An Army 11B or Marine rifleman can do that job. Killing people is easy. The hard part is modifying human behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it isn\u2019t just the behavior of the enemy. Cleaning up SOF culture will likely need to happen as well after several high-profile incidents that have exposed issues in SOF culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019, a SEAL platoon from SEAL Team 7 was sent home from Iraq after allegations of drinking and sexual assault<\/a>, and after six SEALs tested positive for cocaine<\/a> and other banned substances. Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Gallagher<\/a>, a former member of SEAL Team 7, faced a court martial for war crimes charges including murder, but was only convicted and later pardoned for posing for a picture with a dead body. Two SEAL Team Six operators and two Marine Raiders were convicted or pleaded guilty in events surrounding the strangulation death of a Special Forces soldier in Mali in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harward says special operations units \u2014 particularly the tier-one units like SEAL Team Six<\/a> and Delta Force<\/a> \u2014 created a caste system with those units acting above their parent conventional forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou look at some of the premier units, their longest deployment is four months,\u201d Harward says. \u201cThey train and stay in nice hotels, they travel, they have a pretty good life, where some of the heavier lifting is done from those guys who do full six-month deployments. We recognized when we first created some of these organizations, we were having those problems. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve proactively have addressed that in the fashion it needs to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A former intelligence sergeant said every decade, SOF restructures to better position itself to address current threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re overdue for something to wake us up again,\u201d a former intelligence sergeant said. \u201cWe\u2019re operating in a more complex world. We need to pull back and restructure and kill some of the current organizations and start something new from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What that new organization looks like is unclear, but it will face a new world where the meme is as important as a gun and where the adversary could be a peer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/marine-raiders-1.jpg-1.jpg\")
\u2018You\u2019re not going to take China in China\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u2018Direct conflict doesn\u2019t make sense\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u2018This is really warfare of the mind\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/nicole-waltman.jpg.jpg\")
\u2018We\u2019re overdue for something to wake us up again\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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