Special Operations Liaison Officers: (SOLO) or Team Effort?
Abstract
U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has significantly increased its roles, responsibilities, and resources since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism's operations in September 2001. This resultant growth has complimented, and occasionally competed with, existing U.S. conventional military and other government agencies' security capabilities. The growth of USSOCOM has the potential to collide with the long-standing Department of Defense (DoD) foreign engagement presence in U.S. embassies, especially in an era of increasing austerity. This paper will review existing DoD security cooperation positions within embassies, and the special requirements that resulted in the creation of Special Operations Liaison Officers (SOLOs). The paper concludes that SOLOs impart a specialized, high-demand capability and create cooperative ties useful to our allies and partners that the United States can leverage in future conflicts. To maximize their utility, DoD, DoS, the Geographic Combatant Command (GCCs), and USSOCOM must pay special attention to SOLOs' integration into existing embassy security cooperation and military-diplomatic structures, training, and career-long utilization of embassy experience.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA590755
Entities
People
- Paul J. Schmitt
Organizations
- United States Army War College