Knowledge Wins Episode 4 - Great Power Competition - Part 1

COL Bryan Groves and MAJ Steve Ferenzi from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command G5 Strategic Planning Division discuss "Great Power Competition" and ARSOF's role in support of the National Defense Strategy. Parts 2 and 3 of this podcast will be uploaded soon!


For background on topics discussed in the podcast, please see the following:


ARSOF Strategy (https://www.soc.mil/AssortedPages/ARS...)

Synopsis: The new ARSOF Strategy aligns efforts to achieve the 2018 Army Vision and synchronize with USSOCOM strategic guidance. Great power competition means the Nation is in conflict right now - USASOC remains ready and engaged against violent extremist organizations while also adapting to compete against Russia and China, and preparing for war as part of the Army Team.

Podcast on the ARSOF Strategy with the Army War College War Room. “Evolutionary Strategy to Combat Strategic Atrophy” (https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/po...)

Synopsis: In the realm of national security very few elements ever remain stagnant, and those that do are relegated to irrelevance. As the environment changes, capabilities are developed, motivations shift, loyalties fade, new players rise and old players fall. In order to account for those changes new guidance flows downward from the highest levels of leadership increasing in detail and specificity as it descends to the lowest echelons of the military. Bryan Groves joins A BETTER PEACE editor Ron Granieri to discuss U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s (USASOC) latest iteration of its command strategy.



"How to Win an Asymmetric War in the Era of Special Forces" (https://nationalinterest.org/feature/....

Synopsis: The idea of great power competition continues to raise questions in national leaders down to tactical Army formations - What is it? How do we "win"? What is the military's role? The article discusses the utility and limitations of Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) in competition below armed conflict.

“Unconventional Deterrence in Europe: The Role of Army Special Operations in Competition Today” (https://www.realcleardefense.com/arti...)

Synopsis: Russia’s “new generation warfare” presents critical challenges to traditional deterrence by staying below the threshold of armed conflict through proxies and information warfare. Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) offer unconventional ways to deter such activities.


National Security Strategy (NSS), https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/n...

National Defense Strategy (NDS), https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Doc...

Army Vision and Strategy, https://www.army.mil/about/

Joint Concept for Integrated Campaigning (JCIC), https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Docume...

Joint Doctrine Note 1-19, “Competition Continuum,” https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Docume...

“Harnessing David and Goliath: Orthodoxy, Asymmetry, and Competition” (SOCOM J-5), https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art...

Special Warfare, Vol. 32 Issue 3: “Resistance in the Baltics,” https://www.soc.mil/SWCS/SWmag/archiv...