Michael D. Lumpkin, acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD SOLIC), and Navy Adm William H McRaven, commander of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), recently discussed future SOF budget issues in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee (HASC).
The thrust was that SOCOM is worried it will fall in the level of disrepair of the 1970s. Truth be told, ALL of the services need to worry about this. The Honorable Mr Lumpkin reiterated the five SOF truths that have been around since SOCOM’s inception over 20 years ago.
-Humans are more important than hardware
-Quality is better than quantity
-Special Operations Forces cannot be mass produced
-Competent Special Operations Forces cannot be created after emergencies occur
-Special Operations require non-SOF assistance
One of the major points of contention is that, even if the SOF budget is not affected, that SOF enablers will be cut which will in turn, adversely affect the Nation’s ability to conduct SOF missions. While the idea of SOF enablers isn’t new, the concept has become more prominent since the beginning of the war. In particular, SOF relies heavily on non-SOF expertise in three areas; Intelligence, Communications, and Logistics. The first two areas are basically self-explanatory but the last area would include transportation, material support, and base support.
Hopefully the testimony will have an impact during future budget discussions and impress the impact of non-SOF organizations on SOF missions.
If you too are concerned about the SOF budget go take a look at the Armed Forces Press Service article.
