Sublime

GENERAL OVERVIEWS OF U.S. SOF

community. That same year William McRaven, who eventually rose to command USSOCOM, published his landmark study on SOF direct-action missions (McRaven 1995). McRaven turned his master’s thesis into one of the best theoretical treatments available on how SOF direct action can exploit enemy weaknesses. He distinguishes between catching the enemy unpr

Vandergriff argues for a more decentralized system capable of deploying an army that “embraces creativity, risk-taking, and flexibility while encouraging professional service.” Over the past five to six years, the Army has adopted what it calls Outcomes-Based Training & Education (OBT&E) with the objective of developing soldiers who are ada

At Chattanooga in 1863, George Thomas refused Grant’s order to attack until he was resupplied with draft horses to pull his artillery. Grant was furious, but Thomas was right and, by refusing to attack prematurely, he probably saved Grant’s career. Ridgway and Taylor were also correct, and may well have saved Ike from certain disaster.f

Simons’s The Company They Keep: Life Inside the U.S. Army Special Forces (Simons 1998), and Dick Couch’s Chosen Soldier: The Making of a Special Forces Warrior (Couch 2007).

Ben-Gurion endeavored to base the Israeli Air Force and Intelligence Corps on a primary nucleus of regular service personnel, so that they will be able to deliver a prompt initial response.

THEORY, POLICY, AND STRATEGY FOR U.S. SOF