Special Ops Forces Will Remain Essential, Acting Assistant Secretary Of Defense Says

By Karen Parrish, American Forces Press Service

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Aug. 30, 2011 – The nation’s special operations forces are experiencing heady but somewhat perilous times, the Pentagon official tasked with overseeing them said here today.

“The skills and capabilities of America’s elite special operators have never been more recognized by the nation – sometimes, frankly, more than I like,” Michael D. Lumpkin, acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low intensity conflict, told hundreds of people attending the National Defense Industrial Association’s Joint Missions Conference here.

Operations since 9/11, culminating in the May strike that killed Osama bin Laden, mean special operations forces are more active and more integrated across the military than ever before, Lumpkin said, with Defense Department and other agencies’ senior leader ranks now peppered for the first time with generals and flag officers raised in the special operations community.

Public awareness of special operators may fade over time, Lumpkin said, but the demand for their skills likely will remain.

As the nation faces severe budget constraints, he noted, it remains critical to train and equip a special operations force that has more than doubled in size over the past decade. Across-the-board defense spending cuts could mean the military loses capabilities it would then have to rebuild at greater expense later, he said, adding that the key challenge is to identify capabilities that must be sustained and institutionalized to prepare the force for the kinds of conflicts the nation is going to face in the future.

Trends shaping the national security environment include the growth in power of nonstate actors, increasing instability in fragile states, and ever more readily available advanced technologies, Lumpkin said.

These threats mean the intensity of operations over the last 10 years likely will be sustained for the next 10, or even 20 years for special operations forces, he said.

“We need to be cognizant of the future and current fiscal climate while ensuring special operations forces retain their edge,” he said.

In Afghanistan and other regions, he noted, criminals and insurgents are nearly indistinguishable.

“Arguably one of the most important lessons we’ve taken from … Iraq and Afghanistan is that success in counterinsurgency, counterterrorism and post-conflict stability, he said, depends upon the integrated efforts of both civilian and military organizations in all phases of the operation, from planning through execution.

The complexity of likely future operations, Lumpkin added, will require special operators to work “fluently” with agency representatives across the defense, development and diplomacy aspects of government.

Narcotics trafficking, transnational organized crime and terrorist networks form a nexus that increasingly requires an interagency and coalition approach to combat effectively, Lumpkin said.

“These networks are challenging the character of the battle space, and thus forcing us to adjust our approaches in combat,” he added.

Lumpkin said new, multi-use tools and technologies linking U.S. forces, allies and police organizations are needed to counter such hybrid threats. “Picture a … digital, coalition joint task force sharing information, including forensic and biometric data, properly controlled, but without current obstacles to sharing,” he said.

Interagency and international approaches to acquisition are inherently beneficial to special operations forces, Lumpkin said, noting that his office oversees the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office, commonly known as CTTSO.

CTTSO staff members work closely with representatives of more than 100 other state and national government, law enforcement and first-responder agencies “to gather front-line requirements and leverage the resources of multiple users for … rapid prototyping,” Lumpkin said.

As special operations forces and even regular forces face future missions likely to require small teams operating in remote locations around the world, Lumpkin said, new technologies to enhance communications, mobility and surveillance capabilities top the list of needs.

“Picture the great distances of Africa,” he told the audience. “And then consider what new technologies might be needed … to rapidly move and tactically maneuver.”

Light and rugged ground vehicles and aircraft that can be used with existing systems are critical, Lumpkin said. “Integrating new technologies with aviation support is a necessity to maintain our effectiveness in the current war and the small wars of tomorrow,” he added.

Small wars create shortfalls for the nation’s high-end defense aviation capabilities, he noted. “Mobile, rugged, high-endurance, quiet-loitering, persistent systems that can be embedded with and operated in close proximity to the user are necessary to meet warfighter needs,” he said.

Future operations will require mobility systems that can transport sensors, cargo and medical equipment to remote locations, he said, and surveillance capabilities will remain increasingly important.

“Acoustically quiet, long-dwell surveillance aircraft are critical to prosecuting high-value targets and sustaining eyes-on for extended periods of time,” he said.

A close air support aircraft that can arrive quickly with the proper ordnance and remain on station for at least four hours to support ground troops also is “operationally necessary in the irregular wars that we will fight,” he said.

“Such low-cost, highly agile aviation systems can be applied not just to special operations overseas, but to protect our borders as well,” he noted.

Innovations in aircraft design can revolutionize how aircraft are used on the battlefield, Lumpkin said.

Other key near-term needs requiring investment include fixed- and rotary-wing systems and vertical-lift capability, he said, as well as “long-range, high-speed infiltration, extraction and resupply to special operations teams in hostile, denied, politically sensitive areas, in the air, on land and on and under the sea.”

The department has established summits to bring together representatives from the military services, research labs and U.S. Special Operations Command to synchronize technology development efforts and speed and streamline new equipment acquisition for special operations forces, Lumpkin said.

“Closing these kinds of seams between Socom and the services’ acquisition processes will likely be increasingly important in the resource-constrained environment of the future,” the assistant secretary said.

Improving synchronization between Socom and the laboratories also will help to identify opportunities to work together, improve speed of transition to the field and ensure appropriate interaction with industry, Lumpkin added.

The key challenge DOD faces today is consistent for every component, Lumpkin said: balancing budget reductions with the need to preserve the “muscle and bone” of core capabilities. Defense industries must therefore be forward thinking and nimble, he said.

"Despite this fiscal climate,” he told the audience, “we need to really think big about the future of our military, and the future of special operations forces.”


Michael D. Lumpkin was sworn in as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict & Interdependent Capabilities (SO/LIC&IC) on April 25, 2011.

Mr. Lumpkin assists the ASD (SO/LIC&IC) in the development of policy regarding the capabilities and operational employment of special operations forces, strategic forces and conventional forces. He also assists the ASD on counterterrorism strategy, counternarcotics, force transformation initiatives, and special activities.

Prior to his appointment as PDASD (SO/LIC&IC), Mr. Lumpkin served as both Senior Advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). As Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations he oversaw many of the day to day operations of the second largest U.S. federal department. Prior to joining VA, Mr. Lumpkin served as Executive Director of Business Development at ATI where he led tactical systems integration efforts in support of the Department of Defense and Tactical Law Enforcement Teams.

Mr. Lumpkin has more than 20 years of active duty military service as a US Navy SEAL where he held every leadership position from platoon commander to Team commanding officer. Mr. Lumpkin has participated in numerous campaigns and contingencies throughout the world to include both Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. He is a proven combat leader who served as the former Deputy Commander, Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Mr. Lumpkin holds a MA from Naval Postgraduate School in National Security Affairs. He is a recognized subspecialist in Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict and Western Hemisphere Affairs.