SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES IN AN ERA OF STRATEGIC COMPETITION - Please join the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and its Forward Defense program for an event on “Special Operations in a New Era of Strategic Competition.”

United States Special Operations Forces (USSOF) possess a distinct and unique set of skills, competencies, and capabilities honed through rigorous training and in-depth global experience. Renowned for their light footprint and stealth approach, USSOF units operate within the shadows of conflict, executing specialized, joint operations tailored to the complexities of modern warfare. Today, they are most often known for their pivotal role in the global war on terror, but their significance transcends this narrative, particularly in the current era of strategic competition.

As the United States and its allies confront an increasingly intricate security landscape, where rivals like China and Russia leverage all facets of national power to undermine stability and prosperity, USSOF emerge as indispensable assets. In this landscape characterized by strategic competition, USSOF’s capabilities offer an opportunity to counter hostile activities and advance US strategic objectives across diverse theaters and domains. Still, USSOF’s potential is misunderstood. The United States must recognize that the expertise and specialized skills of USSOF will be essential in shaping the outcome of strategic competition and safeguarding global security in an increasingly volatile world.

This event will examine how the USSOF community—guided by the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (ASD(SO/LIC)) and US Special Operations Command (SOCOM)—and the Department of Defense writ large must adjust its operations to meet the security challenges facing the United States in the 2020s and beyond. Join us on Monday, March 7, as the Honorable Christopher Maier, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, discusses his priorities to ensure the SOF community can contribute to the National Defense Strategy’s objectives to deter, and if necessary, prevail in conflict today and in the decades to come.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 03/07/2024