Admiral McRaven is an all-star in the White House’s mind and many across the services like his brand of special operation doctrine. His new and intriguing idea of a confederated approach to addressing special operations needs around the world sounds like a great idea. Building stronger military ties, especially in the special operations community, is a fantastic way to bring countries closer together and more mindful of each others fears and needs. Further, by working together on a whole new level of international “jointness” that will span borders across the globe, there will be new synergies realized for multinational training and standardization as well as intelligence gathering and sharing. Additionally, high end assets, such as UAV’s and insertion craft could be integrated jointly in an international fashion. For instance, a particular operation in Malaysia that America has a special interest in could be carried out by indigenous Malaysian special forces operators who are trained in common US technologies and procedures, while satellite imagery, Predator over-watch and advanced communications could be supplied by the United States.
Such a concept, possibly analogous to NATO’s military organization but on a geographically broader yet administratively miniaturized level, could amount to America carrying less of the world’s special operations burden. A possibility that is all to enticing after almost a decade constant American special operations engagements around the globe.
