Pentagon Plans Expansion of US Special Forces

Since the start of the Global War on Terrorism, the Pentagon has taken steps to expand the role of the United States Special Operations Command and its forces. In response, the Command has transformed its headquarters to coordinate counterterrorism activities, while the Defense Department has increased funding and the number of special operations forces positions.

Although Pentagon plans to significantly increase the number of special operations forces personnel, the Special Operations Command has not yet fully determined all of the personnel requirements needed to meet its expanded mission.

While DOD has determined the number of personnel needed to increase its number of warfighter units, it has not completed analyses to determine how many headquarters staff are needed to train and equip these additional warfighters, or how many headquarters staff are needed to plan and synchronize global actions against terrorist networks—a new mission for the Command. CFP