With an end strength of slightly more than 26,000 personnel, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) is one of the smallest major Army commands. Belying USASOCs assigned strength, however, is the large footprint that Army special operations forces have left on every operation since 9/11 in support of the global war on terrorism, especially over the past year.
As demonstrated in combat operations during this time, USASOC soldiers are trained and equipped to fight secretive and hidden enemy forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hot spots around the globe.
In 2003, during the largest deployment in the history of Army special operations forces, this command balanced intense combat operations with the difficult mission of planning for the training and equipping of the future USASOC force.
Now, in 2004, we remain heavily engaged in Iraq, Afghanistan and countries throughout the world-yet because of this command's vision and adaptability, we have enjoyed unprecedented mission successes.
It is our continued commitment to soldiers that will enable us to harness their unrelenting determination to prosecute the global war on terrorism as USASOC continues its Transformation into a more deployable and lethal force.
USASOC has continued to orchestrate the largest deployment of Army special operations forces in the history of the command. Of particular note was the deployment of more than 100 Special Forces operational detachments to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), which exceeded the number deployed into Vietnam during the height of hostilities there.
The global war on terrorism requires a near-total commitment of Army special operations forces to accomplish the many and varied missions not only in the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) theater of operations, but in dozens of other spots around the world.
Remarkably, while managing the priority mission of supporting USCENTCOM and Special Operations Command Central, USASOC maintained extensive support to operations in the Philippines, Colombia, Haiti and other countries around the world.
In Afghanistan, where the operational tempo remains high, two Special Forces battalions are engaged in combat operations against anticoalition forces. Tactical psychological operations (PSYOPs) companies provide support by disseminating PSYOP products in remote areas. Regular rotations of assets from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) (Airborne) provide the lift support dictated by operations in the high-altitude conditions of Afghanistan. One civil affairs brigade provides humanitarian and civil assistance to the transitional Afghan national government, and its establishment of new provisional reconstruction teams is a major step in the process.
A similar commitment of USASOC forces is present in Iraq. In the rebuilding of Iraq's post-war infrastructure, Army special operations forces (ARSOF) are performing their doctrinal missions throughout the country. Special Forces units, working in conjunction with the special operations aviation assets, continue to focus on high-value targets and key personnel to ultimately reduce the threat to coalition forces operating there. A civil affairs command and two civil affairs brigades are now operating in Iraq to provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance and to help pave the way for the transition to a self-governing Iraq. Psychological operations soldiers also are playing a key role in the production and dissemination of media products that are an essential link in communication with the Iraqi populace. In fact, from the onset of the global war on terrorism, these information warriors have been heavily engaged with the production, distribution and dissemination of a wide variety of operation-related PSYOP products. During Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, PSYOP forces produced more than 170 million leaflets and thousands of hours of television and radio broadcasts.
The 75th Ranger Regiment has been engaged continuously in combat operations since Operation Enduring Freedom began in October 2001. In fact, more than 70 percent of the Rangers assigned to the regiment have participated in multiple combat deployments.
Over the last year, the 75th Rangers have conducted combat operations (mounted infiltrations behind enemy lines, heliborne assaults, complex urban raids and rescue operations) with other special operations forces, conventional and coalition forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Crucial to all the special operations missions already mentioned is the extraordinary combat support and combat service support provided by the soldiers of the U.S. Army Special Operations Support Command (Airborne). The Sentinels, as they are known, have deployed with USASOC forces to every corner of the globe, supplying them with the communications, logistical and medical support needed to sustain operations in unforgiving environments.
In both Afghanistan and Iraq, Army special operations forces have played, and will continue to play, significant roles in the global war on terrorism.
The MH-47, a modified version of the Chinook heavy assault helicopter, is a superb aircraft flown by the 160th SOAR. Examples of the MH-47D and MH-47E variants' superior performance abound in Afghanistan, where its functionality at night in zero-visibility weather conditions has become legendary. Despite the historically superior performance of those models, the 160th SOAR, in May of this year, rolled out its newest weapon in the war on terrorism-the MH-47G.
With its aerial refueling capability and other highly specialized mission equipment, including the new common avionics architecture system cockpit, the MH-47G will provide unsurpassed support to special operations forces under some of the most challenging mission scenarios and conditions ever realized. As the Army moves toward joint interoperability in its conventional aviation fleet, the MH47G is already joint-interoperable, with an advanced, integrated navigation and communications suite.
The world's first A/MH-6 Little Bird helicopter combat mission simulator, which will soon be operational, will be among the most advanced helicopter simulators ever designed and will integrate with existing MH-47 and MH-60 Black Hawk simulators to give the 160th SOAR enhanced mission rehearsal and training capabilities.
As USASOC's organizational requirements are expanded to keep up with its operational tempo, one of the most critical resourcing objectives is to increase institutional training at the U.S. Army John E Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. To support the upcoming growth of Special Forces (SF) units, the institutional training base must be augmented. In order to keep up with projected growth and current manning demands, the SF training pipeline itself must expand.
In addition, the bulk of USASOC's Army Reserve assets are in civil affairs and psychological operations. The Special Warfare Center and School will continue to produce soldiers in those specialties to meet mission demands and force design update requirements.
Historically, SF soldiers' abilities to converse with local nationals while deployed have been a tremendous operational asset, and institutional special operations language training has kept pace with current demands. In fiscal year 2004, seven war-related target languages were added to the schoolhouse's list for immediate development, and language training proficiency standards have been raised, requiring greater speaking skills.
This institutional agility to increase Army special operations student production and simultaneously add courses like the Special Operations Tactical Air Controllers Course is indicative of the adaptive, creative problem-solving USASOC soldiers are empowered to bring to the fight.
Over the last several years, USASOC has worked closely with the Combined Arms Center, the U.S. Army Forces Command, and the Army's combat training centers (CTCs) to make significant improvements to the interoperability and integration of Army special operations forces with conventional units during training at the CTCs. Some of the major improvements include seamless integration of unit training objectives, concurrent rotational timelines, integrated after-action reviews and the collection of integration-specific lessons learned for the Center for Army Lessons Learned. These improvements have enabled the identification of integration friction points and will ultimately lead to the development of tactics, techniques, procedures and doctrine for increased interoperability and integration.
In addition, USASOC will soon establish a joint special operations task force (JSOTF) training program at Fort Bragg, N.C., to train special operations forces on JSOTF operations in an unconventional warfare environment. The program will be linked to the Army's battle command training program and will integrate ARSOF with Army conventional force operations in a simulated training environment.
Interoperability with conventional forces was a hallmark of the OIF campaign, and this capability will make USASOC soldiers even more effective in future contingency operations.
When deployed, Special Forces battalion and group headquarters elements are tasked with establishing forward operating bases, Special Forces operational bases or joint special operations task force headquarters. To operate on the modern battlefield, these headquarters elements require high bandwidth connectivity from their remote, deployed location to other headquarters elements located throughout the theater of operations and beyond. To address this requirement, Army special operations forces have developed the special operations forces tactical assured connectivity system program (SOFTACS), which is a state-of-the-art tactical communications system designed to automate the command, control, communications, computers and intelligence information flow throughout the deployed ARSOF community and to worldwide strategic assets.
USASOC is currently fielding the SOFTACS systems to each of the Special Forces groups. The addition of this equipment will have an immediate and significant impact on the groups' ability to conduct global war on terrorism operations using organic assets.
From the pine-forested training grounds at Fort Bragg, N.C., to the sun-baked sands of Iraq, to the snow-capped terrorist havens on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the soldiers of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command are more relevant to the joint operations team than ever before and stand ready to confront both traditional and unconventional enemies on any battlefield, any time.
Our commitment to accessing the best soldiers in the Army and providing them with the best training and equipment possible for the long term is a promise that we must keep. The soldiers and family members who place their lives on hold and at stake, in the name of freedom, deserve nothing less.
It is this principle-and the respect demanded and earned by the quiet professionalism of USASOC soldiers during the global war on terrorism-that keeps me confident that this war will one day come to an end.
[Author Affiliation]
By Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr.
Commanding General,
U.S. Army Special Operations Command
[Author Affiliation]
LT. GEN. PHILIP R. KENSINGER JR. assumed command of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) in August 2002. Before commanding USASOC, he was the Army's Deputy G-3/5. Gen. Kensinger received his commission as a second lieutenant in June 1970, after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy. His general officer assignments include commanding Special Operations Command, Central; deputy commanding general and chief of staff of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command and commanding general, U.S. Army South at Fort clayton, Panama, and Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. Gen. Kensinger has also served as reconnaissance platoon leader, later S-I (Adjutant), 3rd Battalion, 36th Infantry, 3rd Armored Division, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany; executive officer, later commander, Operational Detachment, C Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Abn.); commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade, Wist Airborne Division (Air Assault); S-I (Adjutant), Headquarters, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); Commander, A Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); S-I (adjutant), 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); military observer, Operations Directorate (J-3), United States Southern Command; commander, Special Forces Battalion Task Force, Joint Task Force-11, Honduras; executive officer, 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Gulick, Panama; career program manager, Career Programs Branch, U.S. Army Military Personnel Center; commander, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Abn.); operations staff officer, later chief of Special Programs Branch, Operations Directorate (J-3), U.S. Special Operations Command; and commander, 3rd Special Forces Group (Abn.) He earned a master's degree from Louisiana State University and A&M College in 1980. Gen. Kensinger's military education includes the U.S. Army Aviation School, Infantry officer advance course, Defense Language Institute and the School of International Studies. He also attended the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service Institute.
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