#208: Small, Light, Fast, Agile...Lethal - 1st Special Forces Command BG Joseph Wortham, CSM Lee Strong, CW5 Jerry Brown

The battlefield is changing faster than ever before. Drones can find you. Technology can expose you. America’s adversaries are adapting in weeks instead of years. For U.S. Army Special Forces, rapid evolution while maintaining the people, partnerships, and culture that have made Special Forces effective for generations is the key to success on today’s battlefield.

From the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum at Fort Bragg, Fran Racioppi sat down with the command team of 1st Special Forces Command: Brigadier General Joseph Wortham, Command Sergeant Major Lee Strong, and Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jerry Brown. Together, they lead the US Army’s Green Berets, Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations, and the soldiers who enable them. Their mission - prepare, train and equip Army Special Operations Forces to win against an increasingly complex global threat.

We discuss whether the legendary 12-man ODA is still the right formation for the wars of 2030 and 2040, and why the future may not require changing its core, but building new capabilities around it. Robotics and unmanned systems are rapidly becoming part of that evolution, including the development of specialized technical expertise designed to keep pace with technology that can change in a matter of weeks.

But technology alone will never define Special Forces. We examine where Green Berets are supporting large-scale combat operations, how Special Forces can shape the deep fight for conventional commanders, and why Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, and trusted partner forces become even more important against peer adversaries. The battlefield may look different from the one this generation fought throughout the Global War on Terror, but the requirement remains the same: create options, influence the fight, and give the joint force an advantage before the enemy ever knows we’re there.

The next generation of Army Special Operations will fight with tools its predecessors could never have imagined. But its greatest advantage will remain the same: exceptional people, trusted partners, and a culture built to take on the missions others cannot.

Highlights:

0:00 Introduction

2:23 Welcome to the Jedburgh Podcast

4:05 Importance of Partnerships

8:07 Command Priorities and Readiness

11:41 Evaluating the ODA Structure

20:02 Incorporating Robotics and Unmanned Systems