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The Utility of SOF in Strategic Competition

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  • By JSOU

TOPIC SPONSOR: JSOU

Within the realm of strategic competition, what are SOF activities that could support the overall joint force in the deterrence of large-scale armed conflict and/or escalation of crisis? What are different ways SOF can have utility in strategic competition, and how can they be researched? Can historical case studies of the Cold War-era help shed light on the current situation? Or must researchers use their imaginations to conceive of ways new technologies (including cyber and AI) may be employed both in operations below the level of armed conflict and in inter-state conflict? 

  • Belcher, Brandon, "Special Operations in Somalia: Strategies for Success in the Horn of Africa," AFGC thesis, 2025, 36 pgs. 
    • Belcher notes that while SOF's historic utility in Somalia has relied heavily on direct action missions and remote drone strikes for decapitation strategies, these methods cannot solve a long-term insurgency alone. Instead, he suggests SOF should utilize Civil Affairs Operations (CAO) by engaging directly with trusted clan leadership. Because Somalis prioritize clan identity over national identity, Belcher argues that a bottom-up approach—treating each region as its own entity to establish local governance—has a higher utility for rooting out al-Shabaab than trying to force a westernized central government upon the population.
  • Bendokas, Maj. Jehon N., "OA-1K SKYRAIDER II: How AFSOF Airpower Will Redefine the Strategic Environment," AFGC thesis, 2025, 32 pgs. 
    • Bendokas argues that SOF and the OA-1K play a decisive, cost-effective role in the "gray zone" (below the threshold of armed conflict). By utilizing the aircraft's modular payload capabilities for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), close air support (CAS), and psychological operations (PSYOPS), SOF can deter adversaries and manage crises without escalating to large-scale confrontation. Furthermore, employing the OA-1K in this manner frees up the military's expensive, niche conventional aircraft to focus solely on pacing threats and high-end conflicts.
  • Brewer, Capt. Jonathan T., "Beyond the Endgame: Sustaining SOF Success with Infinite Game Tactics," AF Global College, 2025, 46 pgs. 
  • Flori, Alexander D., "'Back to the Future': Using History to Define the Key Characteristics of Special Operations Aviation," SAASS thesis, 2025, 114 pgs. 
    • Flori answers this by directly analyzing Cold War-era conflicts—specifically the Korean War and the Vietnam War, alongside World War II—to establish the "value proposition" and "strategic utility" of SOF aviation. He answers the question of utility by concluding that SOF aviation historically provides policymakers and joint force planners with two master claims of strategic utility: "economy of force" (achieving significant results with limited forces) and "expansion of choice" (broadening options without escalating to total war). He demonstrates that this utility is achieved by operating from austere fields, tailoring capabilities to specific missions, and working interdependently with allies and partners.
  • Lutz, Conrad, "Next Generation ISR Dominance: Utilizing Lessons Learned from SOF ISR TTPs in the Global War on Terror for a Near-Peer Conflict," SOS AUAR 2021, 11 pgs. 
     
  • Roman, Lt. Col. Karri A., "Counterinsurgency Is Here to Stay," AWC Strategic Studies Paper, 2020, 17 pgs. 
  • Towal, Maj. Erik, "A Rheostat of Utility: The Value Proposition of Special Operations in Past, Present and Future Conflict," SAASS thesis, 2022, 121 pgs.