Despite the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, ARSOF units have been quite active in the region, mainly conducting counterterrorism operations and training local partners. Such relationships, tailored to US strategic goals and local aims, would isolate China and increase the cost of war for Beijing.Ī level of regional partnerships already exists in the Indo-Pacific. Given their cultural expertise and interpersonal skills - most ARSOF units receive extensive language and cultural training that enables them to better operate with partner forces - ARSOF units are ideally suited to be at the forefront of enhanced regional partnerships. ARSOF units are force multipliers and can achieve a lot with little. Civil Affairs teams work with local authorities to establish resilient civic institutions. Psychological Operations teams influence audiences and try to inoculate them against foreign propaganda. On any given day, Army commandos are deployed to at least 70 countries.įor example, Special Forces detachments train and work with local conventional and special-operations units. Rangers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment fire a 120 mm mortar during training at Camp Roberts in California, January 30, 2014. In a nutshell, Army commandos can contribute to the national GPC strategy by working to prevent a conflict with China through strengthening regional partnerships and building resilience in partners or neutral countries, by providing a credible and powerful deterrent, and with their proven combat capabilities in the event of a war. Francis Beaudette, commander of US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), has said that ARSOF's value in this new era of warfare is the ability to "to wield influence and manage escalation in the competition space and enable decisive operations by the joint force in war." Finally, the 160th SOAR can fly any special-operations unit almost anywhere in the world - these are the pilots who flew the Osama bin Laden and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi missions. The Rangers are the world's premier light infantry special-operations force. Psychological Operations influence and shape the increasingly important information world for civilians and combatants alike. Civil Affairs offers a bridge between the military and diplomatic worlds. These units' capabilities cover a plethora of missions: Green Berets are masters of waging unconventional warfare and of training and working through partner forces. Some of these units and the Army Special Mission Units, such as the Delta Force, fall under the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and focus on national-level missions.