{"id":13593,"date":"2014-04-30T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2014-04-29T20:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=13593"},"modified":"2014-05-01T09:38:55","modified_gmt":"2014-04-30T23:38:55","slug":"what-to-do-with-australias-special-operations-forces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/what-to-do-with-australias-special-operations-forces\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do with Australia\u2019s special operations forces?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Special<\/a><\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, it\u2019s the big defence procurement decisions that make the headlines\u2014whether it\u2019s the choice about the future submarine<\/a> or last week\u2019s decision to acquire 58 Joint Strike Fighter<\/a>s (JSF). As the Australian Defence Force (ADF) enters into the post-Afghanistan period another issue deserves equal attention: the future of the land force that bore the brunt of the operational burden for over a decade.<\/p>\n

One critical question in this context is the future utility of special operations forces (SOF), which became the \u2018capability of choice\u2019 for Australian governments in operations such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Their ability to conduct highly sensitive missions, to operate in complex terrain, and to do so at short notice made them an attractive military instrument. As a result, the Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) received more generous funding, grew in personnel, and gained greater prominence within the ADF\u2019s institutional structure. But with the drawdown of global and regional deployments it\u2019s important to ask what to do next with the special operations capability.<\/span><\/p>\n

To inform government decisions on that issue, ASPI today released its report<\/a>\u00a0(PDF) A versatile force\u2014The future of Australia\u2019s special operations capability<\/em>\u00a0(my co-authors are ASPI colleagues Andrew Davies and Peter Jennings). The main message is that Defence should consolidate and further develop the SOF\u2019s capability to act as part of a joint force. That\u2019s because SOF will continue to provide Government with a high-value military asset\u2014useable and ready military forces. Such an asset is particularly valuable in an era where regional defence engagement and clandestine operations are likely to become more important.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any temptation to reduce the special operations capability as a cost-cutting measure should be resisted. Nor should growth be at the expense of the regular Army because regular Army capabilities complement those of the SOF; such forces work best as the top of a \u2018pyramid\u2019 of land forces that provides the personnel base and many of the required enabling force elements.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report makes a number of practical policy recommendations on how to strengthen the capability:<\/span><\/p>\n