Background
Special operating forces (SOFs) are deployed to undertake different missions that range from direct combat to hostage rescue and counterterrorism. Such forces are highly trained to deal with intelligence activities in most cases. They operate secretly and in different parts of the world.
The members of such military groups have the most physically and mentally skilled personnel in their late twenties. SOFs possess high language and cultural skills, having attended advanced tactical schools that enable them to develop advanced problem-solving skills. Despite possessing such skills and knowledge, the SOFs face challenges such as strict operational management, ethical responsibility, and a lack of specificity in their operations.
Peculiarities of Special Operating Forces-Surrogate Forces Collaboration
Working through surrogate forces binds the special operation forces to the laws governing the forces they work with. In this case, the special operation forces are formed through surrogate forces under their control, making it challenging to separate from them (Ross, 2021). In such a formation, the SOFs are collectively held responsible for their surrogates’ unethical actions during an operation. While working through the surrogate forces, the special operating forces operate indirectly, acting as an agent of the surrogate forces. Therefore, actions are bound by the laws of the surrogate forces as they are deployed through the program.
When working with surrogate forces, special operations forces are deployed as reinforcement to operate alongside them. In such operations, the special operations forces are independent of the surrogate force authorities, and they can break with their surrogates to avoid the complexity of actions undertaken by their surrogates. The primary challenge of this formation is the risk of catastrophic operational outcomes if the principal decision to withdraw support is made as the team’s strength wanes. When the strategic decision for breakup fails, they may end up dying in the hands of brutal extremist forces.
Special operations forces working with the surrogate forces refer to an effect-based combat approach where the SOFs conceive the surrogates as a weapon system rather than a moral agent. In such cases, the special operations force trains and finances surrogates, using them as weapons in their operations.
Even though surrogates are moral agents of the SOFs, they sometimes use them as forces that affect only the intended target without causing death or damage beyond the intended target. Since weapon systems are not, in most cases, designed to cause collateral damage during operations, the SOFs are held responsible for the damage that is caused. Such challenges can be overcome through an evidence-based approach where the impact of special operations forces on damage development is evaluated. Through such an analysis, each force is held responsible for the collateral damage or deaths experienced during the operations. This mechanism enables the forces to take responsibility for their actions and allows them to make strategic decisions with less damage.
Conclusion
In conclusion, working through, with, and by the SOFs are military concepts mostly used in military operations, especially special operations. The strategy involves using proxies or surrogates, which enable the special operations forces to execute their secret operations effectively with minimal damage or destruction. Despite the strategy’s effectiveness, the type of partnership between the Special Operations Forces and their proxies is linked to ethical concerns, especially when the operations result in collateral damage.
References
Lewis, Steve. “Special Operations Forces’ Role in Political Warfare.” Special Operations Journal 5, no. 2 (2019): 179-187.
Orr, Scott W. Just War Theory Reloaded: The Ethics of SPF in Modern Conflict. Naval Postgraduate School, 2018.
Ross, Spencer M. “Surrogate Warfare: The Transformation of War in the Twenty-First Century.” Special Operations Journal, 7:1, 105-106.