Podcasts
THE POLITICS OF SPECIAL FORCES
The Politics of Special Forces is a 10-part limited series, co-hosted by Kevin D. Stringer and H. Christian Breede. The series examines the ways in which the return to great power competition might impact how decision makers think about employing special operations forces in the future. Through long-form discussions with experts from academia as well as practitioners from both Canada, the United States, and elsewhere, this series seeks to propel a conversation on the potential for a changing role for special operations forces in the context of competition between major powers. This series is sponsored in part by the Kingston Consortium on International Security through the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP) at Queen’s University.
In episode 1 Christian Breede & Kevin D. Stringer lay the foundation for this limited series by presenting a conceptual framework for understanding what Special Operations Forces (SOF) does and how that might need be recast in light of the refocusing of security attention to great power competition.
In this episode we have a wide-ranging discussion on the concept of counter-threat finance. We are joined by the US Army Special Operations Command Comptroller, COL Sara Dudley, who explains the security implications of finance and the role the SOF can play in this space. In particular, COL Dudley explains how threat finance is part of the broader intelligence function within defence and security.
In this episode we have a wide-ranging discussion on the concept of counter-threat finance. We are joined by the US Army Special Operations Command Comptroller, COL Sara Dudley, who explains the security implications of finance and the role the SOF can play in this space. In particular, COL Dudley explains how threat finance is part of the broader intelligence function within defence and security.
In this episode we have a fascinating discussion on the evolution of Belgian Special Operations Forces. In this episode, we pull out several key take aways to include the importance of having and maintaining a national, integrated SOF capability, as well as the idea that SOF never works alone, both in terms of working with other SOF units from around the world as well as within a national, joint context.
We were blessed to be able to speak with the Deputy Commander of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM), Brigadier General Steven Hunter. Over the course of our conversation, we do a deep dive into the question of Special Operations Forces integration. The conversation looked at how CANSOFCOM works within the Canadian context, with allies, and with partners. Several key take aways included the idea that SOF never works alone and that expanding SOF capabilities is something that needs to be done carefully and the caution that growth can come at the expense of agility.
In this episode we have a wide-ranging discussion on the concept of counter-threat finance. We are joined by the US Army Special Operations Command Comptroller, COL Sara Dudley, who explains the security implications of finance and the role the SOF can play in this space. In particular, COL Dudley explains how threat finance is part of the broader intelligence function within defence and security.
In this episode, our first for 2022, we had a fascinating discussion about the concept of narrative and how it relates to SOF employment concepts. Over the course of the conversation, Dave presents a working definition of narrative as a collection of ideas and concepts that codify meaning to events and behaviours. The conversation then directly connects narrative to the concept of special operations, making a cogent argument for a reconceptualization of what constitutes a special operation and even a special operation force.
Guests: Dr Eyal Ben-Ari & Dr. Eitan Shamir
This episode serves a primer of sorts for the role of special operations forces within the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). While the episode begins with a reflection and updated of the analytic framework that the guests first introduced in 2016, it turned into an incredibly valuable discussion on the origins of IDF SOF as well as the challenges facing this organization in the future. Indeed, this episode – for those who are not familiar with the IDF – provides a unique perspective to the way in which SOF is generated and employed today.
Brigadier General Maciej Klisz
In our ninth episode, we speak with the deputy commander of the Polish Territorial Defence Forces (TDF), Brigadier General Maciej Klisz. Our conversation examines what constitutes the TDF and draws connections between territorial defence and unconventional warfare, suggesting that territorial defence – especially in militaries that have focused on expeditionary operations, is in many ways a form of special operation.
For our tenth and final episode in this series, we have a fascinating chat with two retired American Special Forces operators who now lead projects on technology, organizational culture, and decision making. Derek Jones and Dan Leaf join us to discuss the implications of a potential over-reliance upon technology within the special operations force community. They suggest that the idea of a hyper-connected operator will be challenged by the realities of peer and near-peer conflict and that we all need to become far more comfortable with operating without the comforts of constant communications. Indeed, we will see ourselves returning to a reliance upon initiative and trust. Are we ready?
Decisive Point Podcast
Kevin D. Stringer and Jelle J. H. Hooiveld Urban Resistance to Occupation: An Underestimated Element of Land Warfare`
Due to a global trend toward urbanization and Russian and Chinese aggression toward Ukraine and Taiwan, respectively, urban resistance to occupation merits greater study. The research here presents a much-needed and unique analysis of Dutch-language primary sources on the Netherlands’ World War II urban resistance to occupation. It provides deeper insights into the occupation experiences of a highly urbanized, densely populated country in which clandestine underground and auxiliary elements played paramount roles in resistance efforts for most of the occupation period. It also illustrates the feasibility of overt, guerrilla-based activity in urban environments during the final phase of a conflict and offers insights into an understudied Landpower activity that modern at-risk countries should develop and hone.
Youtube
ThinkJSOU Panel: Update on the Ukraine / Russia Conflict
On 3 October 2022 the Joint Special Operations University Office for Strategic Engagement hosted a ThinkJSOU panel, highlighting the current Ukraine/Russia situation. Mr. Brian Petit, JSOU faculty member, served as moderator, facilitating a discussion between three subject matter expert panelists: Dr. Chris Marsh, Russia & Ukraine Expert, Dr. Kevin Stringer, Eastern European Expert, and COL Jerry Jablonski, NATO Expert. This panel features U.S., NATO, and Polish perspectives on the conflict in Ukraine followed by a question and answer session.
In the News
How Ukraine is using resistance warfare developed by the US to fight back against Russia
As the war in Ukraine has passed the six-month mark, US and European officials say Ukraine has successfully used a method of resistance warfare developed by US special operations forces to fight back against Russia and bog down its vastly superior military.
The Resistance Operating Concept was developed in 2013 following Russia’s war with Georgia a few years earlier but its value was only realized after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014. It provides a blueprint for smaller nations to effectively resist and confront a larger neighbor that has invaded. In a series of recent attacks and explosions at Russian positions in Crimea, Kevin D. Stringer, a retired Army Colonel who led the development team for the resistance concept, sees signs of its use.