Changes

The '''U.S. Special Operations Command''' (SOComSOCOM) is headquartered at Tampa, Florida. According to its former chief, [[Robert Andrews]], SOCom SOCOM is "a small outfit." The American Forces press release for Andrews' December 12, 2001 news briefing [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2001/n12142001_200112143.html December 12, 2001, news briefingnoted] noted, "The unified command's 45,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen represent only 1.3 percent of the military's total personnel. Their mission includes special reconnaissance, unconventional warfare and direct action missions." SOComSOCOM's 2005 budget was reported as $6.6 billion. [http://www.sptimes.com/2004/12/08/Business/Wanted__Ad_agency_to_.shtml]

An April 2003 ''Washington Post'' story gave 49,000 as the number of total SOCom SOCOM personnel, although "at least three quarters are in support functions, or psychological operations and civil affairs." Fewer than 10,000 SOCom SOCOM members are actual combat forces. The ''Post'' also alluded to recruitment problems, given the high standards for SOCom SOCOM members. "Special Operations does not even have on hand soldiers qualified to fill the positions it already has, let alone the new ones it is being given, a Pentagon official said. The Army is supposed to man a total of 270 Special Forces A-teams, with 12 troops each, but currently can only fill 225, he said." [http://216.109.117.135/search/cache?p=Gray+Fox,+intelligence&ei=UTF-8&vm=p&n=20&fl=0&url=8Z0yeHxuSJIJ:stacks.msnbc.com/news/902625.asp]

Andrews, a Special Forces captain in Vietnam, said SOComSOCOM's members are different than those in the regular services - "generally older and more rigorously trained." He said, "When you talk to them, you'll find that they're all motivated by a desire to do well at that which is most difficult." [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2001/n12142001_200112143.html]

Examples of SOCom SOCOM activities include the EC-130 Commando Solo aircraft, and other "airborne broadcasting studios," which "air two five-hour radio programs a day over [[Afghanistan]]. U.S. aircraft dropped over 10 million leaflets produced by the 4th Psychological Operations Group of Fort Bragg, N.C." [http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2001/n12142001_200112143.html]

== Rumsfeld and SOCom SOCOM ==

In April 2003, shortly before President [[George W. Bush ]] declared "major combat operations" over in [[Iraq]], the ''Washington Post'' reported that the apparently easy victory over [[Saddam Hussein]] had strengthened Defense Secretary [[Donald H. Rumsfeld]]'s ability "to reshape the U.S. military along the lines he has talked about since taking office, 'transforming' it into a more agile and precise force built not around firepower but around information, and willing to take risks to succeed."

Rumsfeld's transformation primarily involved "pushing the Special Operations Command from the sideshow niche it long has occupied to center stage in the '[[global war on terrorism]]' and other U.S. military operations. After the Iraq war, which featured one of the biggest missions ever for Special Operations forces, that command 'is going to be the flavor of the month,' said one defense official." [http://216.109.117.135/search/cache?p=Gray+Fox,+intelligence&ei=UTF-8&vm=p&n=20&fl=0&url=8Z0yeHxuSJIJ:stacks.msnbc.com/news/902625.asp]

The ''Washington Post'' story continued, "Army Gen. [[Tommy R. Franks]], the commander in the war, 'wouldn't have used Special Operations like he did in Iraq if Rumsfeld hadn't pushed him,' said [[Robert Andrews]], who was the top [[Pentagon ]] official overseeing the Special Operations Command until the middle of last year.

The ''Post'' story also mentioned that Rumsfeld was in the process of picking a new SOCom SOCOM chief. The leading contestants listed were the Air Force's [[Norton A. Schwartz]], the Army's [[Bryan D. Brown]], and the Marines' [[Emil R. Bedard]], although Rumsfeld "is considering some younger two-star generals who have played prominent roles on the front lines over the last two years."

In what SOCom SOCOM spokesperson Capt. [[Kenneth Hoffman]] called "market research," it was reported in December 2004 that SOCom SOCOM was trying "to determine what commercial firms might add to its [[psychological operations ]] or psy-ops." Of particular interest were advertising agencies who could produce "slick multilingual audio, video, print and Web packages to support [SOComSOCOM's] global psychological war against terrorism."[http://www.sptimes.com/2004/12/08/Business/Wanted__Ad_agency_to_.shtml]

Hoffman defined psy-ops as "providing truthful information to foreign audiences in support of U.S. [[national security ]] objectives." He gave the example of "SOCom's Superman comic book that illustrated the dangers of minefields to the children in Bosnia and Kosovo." Hoffman stressed that any advertising or other psy-ops campaign would be for foreign audiences. "By law, psychological operations cannot produce products directed toward U.S. citizens," he told the ''St. Petersburg Times''. Such efforts, he said, are totally separate from public affairs, which is "geared to informing the U.S. public." [http://www.sptimes.com/2004/12/08/Business/Wanted__Ad_agency_to_.shtml]

Former SOCom SOCOM head during the first [[Gulf War]] Retired Army Gen. [[Carl W. Stiner]] said that "his command's psy-op unit relied on in-house experts at Fort Bragg." But Stiner supported SOComSOCOM's seeking help from private businesses. "This [[war on terrorism ]] is unlike any we've ever fought before," he said. "And right now, you might say we're losing to [[Al Jazeera|Al-Jazeera]]." [http://www.sptimes.com/2004/12/08/Business/Wanted__Ad_agency_to_.shtml]

== Related SourceWatch Resources ==

*[[War on terrorismrevolution in military affairs]]

*Thomas E. Ricks, "[http://216.109.117.135/search/cache?p=Gray+Fox,+intelligence&ei=UTF-8&vm=p&n=20&fl=0&url=8Z0yeHxuSJIJ:stacks.msnbc.com/news/902625.asp Rumsfeld stands tall after Iraq victory]", ''The Washington Post'', April 20, 2003 (Cache file).