Project Diane: Women's Foundation of Greater Kansas City Final Report

Women's Foundation partnered with the University of Kansas researchers and included a large-scale survey and analyzed 24 focus groups with 198 Special Forces men and women in order to identify potential barriers and benefits to female integration in Special Forces. The findings can also be applied in other male-dominated professions in the civilian workforce

Codification of the “Special Forces Exception”

For the past eight years, Army Special Forces units have conducted training and operations with friendly foreign forces outside the United States. The Army has obtained funding for these operations under what has been termed the “Special Forces exception” to a 1986 General Accounting Office (GAO) opinion regarding permissible funds appropriations for foreign exercises. With the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992–1993, Congress has finally codified the Special Forces exception. Subject to a guiding principle regarding the purpose of operations, the commander of Special Operations Command and select others may draw on the Department of Defense’s (DOD) operation and maintenance funds to pay for a number of expenses related to the training of friendly foreign armed forces. Without this exception, a Special Forces unit could not fulfill a significant part of its mission—the training of indigenous forces. Therefore, operational law judge advocates must study the language of this statute carefully and brief commanders and other operators meticulously

Codification of the “Special Forces Exception”

For the past eight years, Army Special Forces units have conducted training and operations with friendly foreign forces outside the United States. The Army has obtained funding for these operations under what has been termed the “Special Forces exception” to a 1986 General Accounting Office (GAO) opinion regarding permissible funds appropriations for foreign exercises. With the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992–1993, Congress has finally codified the Special Forces exception. Subject to a guiding principle regarding the purpose of operations, the commander of Special Operations Command and select others may draw on the Department of Defense’s (DOD) operation and maintenance funds to pay for a number of expenses related to the training of friendly foreign armed forces. Without this exception, a Special Forces unit could not fulfill a significant part of its mission—the training of indigenous forces. Therefore, operational law judge advocates must study the language of this statute carefully and brief commanders and other operators meticulously

A Special Forces Human Rights Policy

The use of the United States military to promote human rights values in foreign militaries has taken on a much added significance in the post-Cold War era. Emerging democracies often look to American soldiers to assist them in establishing a law-based military whose policies, rules, and practices are rooted in respect for human rights. Major General Kenneth Bowra, United States Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) (USASFC(A)), has made the promotion of human rights in the militaries of the emerging democracies a top priority for the Army Special Forces. With regard to America’s desire to inculcate human rights values in friendly foreign militaries, Special Forces soldiers have proven themselves to be premier ambassadors. By word and deed, Special Forces promote the message that commitment to preserving human rights is the hallmark of a professional military serving the interests of a democratic nation. A window of opportunity now exists for Special Forces to make substantial contributions toward building and strengthening human rights concerns in the militaries of emerging democracies. Just ten years ago, hundreds of countries functioned under some form of nondemocratic rule. Today, the vast majority of these nations operate under properly elected civilian governments, but great nations are neither created nor sustained by accident. United States’ assistance is often required to help solidify and, in many cases, create a true commitment to promoting and preserving human rights, and the Special Forces are uniquely positioned and equipped for such a task

A Special Forces Human Rights Policy

The use of the United States military to promote human rights values in foreign militaries has taken on a much added significance in the post-Cold War era. Emerging democracies often look to American soldiers to assist them in establishing a law-based military whose policies, rules, and practices are rooted in respect for human rights. Major General Kenneth Bowra, United States Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) (USASFC(A)), has made the promotion of human rights in the militaries of the emerging democracies a top priority for the Army Special Forces. With regard to America’s desire to inculcate human rights values in friendly foreign militaries, Special Forces soldiers have proven themselves to be premier ambassadors. By word and deed, Special Forces promote the message that commitment to preserving human rights is the hallmark of a professional military serving the interests of a democratic nation. A window of opportunity now exists for Special Forces to make substantial contributions toward building and strengthening human rights concerns in the militaries of emerging democracies. Just ten years ago, hundreds of countries functioned under some form of nondemocratic rule. Today, the vast majority of these nations operate under properly elected civilian governments, but great nations are neither created nor sustained by accident. United States’ assistance is often required to help solidify and, in many cases, create a true commitment to promoting and preserving human rights, and the Special Forces are uniquely positioned and equipped for such a task

Memories of War: An Oral History of the United States Army Special Forces Actions in the Gulf War

This thesis uses memories of former members of 5th Special Forces Group as the lens to explore the impacts and context of US Army Special Forces operations and activities during the Persian Gulf War. The Persian Gulf War was the defeat of the Iraqi military in Kuwait at the hands of a technologically superior United States force. Historians have focused Persian Gulf War scholarship on three key aspects: the interpersonal relationship between the United States military commanders and political leaders, the rapid deployment of military forces to the Middle East, and the use of airpower to strike at enemy centers of power. They produced substantial scholarship on the lessons of the Persian Gulf War set against the backdrop of the end of the Cold War and the rise of a unipolar world. Missing from the conflict narrative is an accounting of the operations and actions of the United States Army Special Forces. The addition of United States Army Special Forces soldiers’ experiences to the historical narrative will allow for examination of the impacts of Special Forces operations during the conflict. It will describe how United States Army Special Forces soldiers served as trainers to six divisions of Arab armies they then led into combat against Iraqi Forces. Additionally, it will examine the impact of the reconnaissance missions Special Forces soldiers conducted in advance of the invasion, at times more than 300 kilometers behind enemy lines, to prepare for offensive operations. By drawing from the memories of Special Forces soldiers, this thesis will demonstrate the complexities inherent in Special Forces’ missions and why their roles in combat operations continue to expand today

Developing physical capability standards that are predictive of success on special forces selection courses

Free to read This study aimed to develop minimum standards for physical capability assessments (vertical jump, sit and reach, push-ups, seven-stage sit-ups, heaves, agility, 20-m shuttle run, loaded 5-km pack march, and 400-m swim) that candidates must pass before they can commence Australian Army Special Forces (SF) selection courses. Soldiers (Part A: n = 104; Part B: n = 92) completed the physical capability assessments before commencing a SF selection course. At the beginning of these selection courses, participants attempted two barrier assessments (3.2-km battle run and 20-km march). Statistical analysis revealed several physical capability assessments were associated with performance on the barrier assessments and selection course outcome (Part A); however, these statistical models were unable to correctly classify all candidates as likely to pass or fail the selection course. Alternatively, manual analysis identified a combination of physical capability standards that correctly classified 14% to 18% of candidates likely to fail, without excluding any candidates able to pass (Part A). The standards were applied and refined through Part B and included completing the 5-km pack march in ≤45:45 minutes : seconds, achieving ≥level five on the sit-up test, or completing ≥66 push-ups. Implementation of these standards may reduce attrition rates and enhance the efficiency of the SF recruitment process

Organizational Citizenship Behavior of Special Forces in the ROK Army

The unconventional nature of the working environments and tasks of the ROK Army Special Forces (“Special Forces”), as compared to regular army forces, means that Special Forces’ organizational performance is largely influenced by their behavioral patterns and mindset. This study examines the organizational citizenship behavior of Special Forces to enhance their organizational performance. Specifically, this study seeks to investigate the causal path of organizational citizenship behavior and its factors, self-leadership, and trust in the supervisor. Data was collected from Special Forces based in the Seoul metropolitan area during a two-month period, from June to July 2013. A total of 650 questionnaires were distributed, of which 647 were returned. Using 638 questionnaires, excluding those that were unresponsive or filled out incompletely, frequency analysis, reliability and factor analysis, correlation analysis, and path analysis were performed using the SPSS 19.0 and AMOS 19.0 software packages. The results showed that Special Forces’ self-leadership had a significant effect on trust in the supervisor and organizational citizenship behavior, and trust in the supervisor had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between self-leadership and organizational citizenship behavior. Accordingly, this study posits that to enhance Special Forces’ organizational citizenship behavior, it is important to strengthen their self-leadership and trust in the supervisor

Out from the shadows: the case for external oversight of UK special forces

While the UK government maintains a strict ‘no comment’ policy about the country’s special forces, allied countries, including the US, allow for parliamentary oversight of their covert military operations. Liam Walpole argues that the UK’s approach lacks democratic accountability and prevents proper evaluation of the military effectiveness of special forces. Options for reform include expanding the Intelligence and Security Committee’s remit to cover special forces