During the past two decades, SOF have conducted innumerable counterterrorism and direct-action activities around the world in places like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The taxing operational tempo and unforgiving dwell time of operational units resulted in former USSOCOM Commander Admiral William McRaven standing up the Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF) initiative to ensure readiness, longevity, and performance of SOF and to strengthen family readiness. How effectively has POTFF addressed the needs of special operations personnel during the long wars? Has the new challenge of strategic competition changed how USSOCOM should approach sustainability of the force? What are the greatest challenges today for retention of quality people and the approach required to maintain their efforts? Does support to resilience and resistance undertakings pose unique challenges for sustaining special operations personnel both today and tomorrow? What is the optimal balance for dwell time in support to SRR? Does SRR pose distinctive ethical dilemmas for personnel that need to be addressed? How does the SOE secure its own resilience against external forces and factors?
What is the long-term impact of the current defense drawdowns on the future SRR force structure? Are conventional forces prepared and integrated into organizational design for SRR? Should SRR comprise a U.S. Army Special Operations approach, or should it include the other special operations service components? What does the SRR organizational structure look like at the tactical, operational, and strategic level? Which metrics should be utilized to analyze SRR force structure?
- McDaniel, Lt. Col. Michael, "Building the Force: A Historical Look at the Elements of Successful Military Mobilization," AWC Strategic Studies paper, 2020, 28 pgs.
- Miller, Maj. Rachel J., "Families in the Fight: AFFORGEN's Impact on Dual-Career Families," AFGC thesis, 2025, 37 pgs.
- Miller identifies the implementation of the new AFFORGEN deployment construct as a significant challenge to family readiness. While AFFORGEN was intended to provide predictability by replacing the older AEF model with a standard 24-month, four-phase cycle, Miller explains that the unpredictable training and joint exercises during the "Prepare" and "Certify" phases actually create up to 18 months of uncertainty for families. This unpredictability strips dual-career spouses of the flexibility needed to plan their own career deconflictions, forcing many members to separate from the military or accept less impactful jobs to meet family needs. She concludes that without focused support for dual-career families, the model inadvertently harms institutional readiness by driving away quality personnel.
- Werner, Maj. Philip B., "Keeping Reserve Defenders Ready to Fight," AF Global College thesis, 2024, 35 pgs.