Special Operations Liaison Officers: (SOLO) or Team Effort?

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Schmitt, Paul J
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
AMERICAN EMBASSIES
BILLETS(PERSONNEL)
CAREERS
CHIEF OF MISSION
COOPERATION
COUNTRY TEAMS
DEFENSE ATTACHES
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DIPLOMACY
FOREIGN AREA OFFICERS
FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS
Government and Political Science
INTEGRATION
INTERAGENCY COORDINATION
Military Forces and Organizations
MILITARY FORCES(FOREIGN)
OFFICER PERSONNEL
OVERSEAS
PARTNER NATION SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES
Personnel Management and Labor Relations
SECURITY
SECURITY COOPERATION
SECURITY COOPERATION OFFICERS
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIALS
SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES
SPECIAL OPERATIONS LIAISON OFFICERS
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Summary: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. Strategy Research Project.