Hybrid Operations for U.S Army Conventional Forces

In the early 1980s, the United States'; Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger, ordered that all services re-emphasize special operations in their organizations. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) took this as a challenge to make changes. The USMC determined that they should add certain maritime special operations missions to the Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and commissioned a study to research the proposal. The study ended in 1985 by the USMC activating the MAU Special Operations Capable (SOC) units. The USMC decided that the nature and use of these forces should remain resident in the USMC and the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) should not consider them as sole assets. The units did work with USSOCOM to provide the regional combatant commanders a special operations capability if needed. In 1987, the units were re-designated as the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC). Since the attack on the World Trade Center in September of 2001, the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who work in special operations have been extremely busy fighting terrorism worldwide. The United States Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) has greatly increased the operations tempo (OPTEMPO) of all special operators. This is especially true in the case of Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF). The President of the United States, George W. Bush, publicly stated the GWOT will be a campaign of long duration. The war has expanded the roles of SOF units. This expansion places the Army into a position where certain stages of the campaign will require greater SOF-type missions instead of conventional operations. This will certainly dictate the expansion of certain special operations missions into heretofore strictly conventional units.

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