The Special Operations Truths Edition

On function, principles, and reality

Chris Papasadero (CP) is a good friend and Special Forces vet. He’s recently started an excellent new newsletter called Ooda Soup, which focuses on translating ideas from the military to those of us in the world of entertainment and creativity. You may remember that we shouted out in the Language Compression Edition. He was kind enough to let us run an edition from this week that we really enjoyed on Special Operations Truths. We hope you enjoy as well and subscribe to Ooda Soup. - Noah (NRB)

Chris here. Special Operations Forces (including Special Forces, a.k.a. the Green Berets) are guided by a few principles that function both as a mission statement as well as help politicians, civilians—and even writers—understand how special operations are built, deployed, and function.

I don’t pretend to be the best Green Beret that ever served—or even a very good one—but I served with some of the finest men (and some women, too) who have ever lived. They were leaders, flexible and dangerous thinkers, and as disciplined and fit as any Olympian.

Why is this interesting?

The set of five “truths,” which come straight from the Special Operations Command’s own website, are helpful for understanding how these forces operate but also provide some fairly universal guidance on operating well in nearly any environment.

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Truth 1: Humans are more important than hardware

People—not equipment—make the critical difference. The right people, highly trained and working as a team, will accomplish the mission with the equipment available. On the other hand, the best equipment in the world cannot compensate for a lack of the right people.

This one goes without saying for a lot of situations, but the key to Special Operations training is the focus on the “whole man,” because more often than not when things go pear-shaped, you don’t have access to the equipment, tools, or resources you typically might. By developing skills—the most important of which are flexibility and resiliency—SOF can be relied upon to FFIO no matter what. Being inside Special Operations means that when you’re not deployed down range, you’re in schools, learning how to operate new equipment, speak new languages, or build the toolkit inside your head that you can carry with you everywhere you go.

One of the best parts about the Jason Bourne series was how the Treadstone agents were able to move about with almost nothing—a bag full of cash, your wits, your social skills, your ingenuity. The Bourne series was a referendum on laser Rolexes and golden guns—and closer to the real world as a result.

Truth 2: Quality is better than quantity

A small number of people, carefully selected, well trained, and well-led, are preferable to larger numbers of troops—some of whom may not be up to the task.

Small teams of people who are able to work in sync can change the world. I often refer to the Founders—a small group of determined businessmen and political thinkers—when I talk about small groups able to make big impacts.

An ODA of Green Berets—12 men—can and have altered the course of history. Because of their training, collaboration, and service to the greater mission, their output was decisive, targeted, and powerful. “Force multiplication” is the name of the game: how can we achieve the maximum possible output with a few small inputs?

Truth 3: Special Operations Forces cannot be mass produced

It takes years to train operational units to the level of proficiency needed to accomplish difficult and specialized SOF missions. Intense training—both in SOF schools and units—is required to integrate competent individuals into fully capable units. This process cannot be hastened without degrading ultimate capability.

Nobody shows up in Special Operations and “just gets it.” The number and diversity of skills required, the specialized training, and most importantly, the ability to work alongside other wildly different and specialized individuals, isn’t something that can be industrialized. This one is especially important for people—particularly filmmakers—to understand if/when they’re going for realism. There’s no such thing as the singleton James Bond out there running and gunning, but rather small teams of people who’ve been working together for years, training over and over and over again on their craft.

Truth 4: SOF cannot be created after emergencies occur

Creation of competent, fully mission-capable units takes time. Employment of fully capable special operations capability on short notice requires highly trained and constantly available SOF units in peacetime.

This one is more defensive in nature. It’s easy for a politician or Pentagon official to say, “We need more Green Berets and Navy SEALs.” It’s more likely that guy is out of office by the time there’s a hardened, well-trained SOF asset ready to roll.

Truth 5: Most special operations require non-SOF support

The operational effectiveness of our deployed forces cannot be, and never has been, achieved without being enabled by our joint service partners. The support of Air Force, Army, Marine, and Navy engineers, technicians, intelligence analysts, and the numerous other professions that contribute to SOF, have substantially increased our capabilities and effectiveness throughout the world.

As in filmmaking, the real heroes are the crew: the people diligently doing their jobs day in and day out in support of a director or producer’s vision. One of the most important lessons I learned as a Green Beret is that you can get a lot more done being kind to that bean counter or truck driver than just screaming for more ammo or more transport. They have the autonomy and willingness to go the extra mile for you, and I’m far more grateful to the Private First Class who did a few years shuffling paperwork to help me get the job done, than I am to some spotlight ranger who believes he ought to be worshipped for his status. (CP)

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Chris (CP)

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