Empowered by Partnerships

Multinational cooperation grows among special operations forces

UNIPATH STAFF

In the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea, pirates hijack a 37,000-metric-ton ship on its way from Australia to the port town of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. Counterterrorism units from UAE Special Forces waste no time responding. With assistance from the UAE Air Force and Air Defense, as well as the U.S. 5th Fleet, commandos quickly retake the ship, arrest the pirates and save the crew.

In Iraq’s capital city of Baghdad, a suspect in a kidnap-for-ransom ring snatches an 8-year-old boy and attempts to terrorize the child and his family. Soldiers from Iraqi Special Operations Forces track down the kidnapper, rescue the boy and reunite him with his family.

In Afghanistan’s Nerkh district, three suspected extremists are spotted during a joint patrol by Afghan Special Operations commandos and Army troops. When the extremists try to escape, the Soldiers pounce. Nearby, the forces uncover a weapons cache with more than 90 mortars and munitions.

Across the region and around the world, highly skilled special operations forces (SOF) are dismantling criminal networks, neutralizing terrorist cells and protecting populations. These elite forces prove their effectiveness in operations that are sometimes visible to the public and sometimes hidden from view. As Afghan Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim explains: “Our commandos have the facilities, the capabilities, the modern equipment, the heavy weapons.”

In Afghanistan, Special Operations units have reached folk hero status, attracting swarms of admiring village children and prompting many adults to wear commando T-shirts in a show of support. “The commandos are the hopes of the Afghan people to bring security to this great country,” says Brig. Gen. Abdul Khaliq, deputy chief of the Afghan National Army.

Global trends

The world is asking much more of special operations forces. As budgets tighten, militaries are being challenged to do more with less. For special operations forces, that’s almost a motto. These quick-thinking, fast-moving forces are designed to leave a small footprint but make a deep impression. Operations involving only a few commandos have the capacity to foil the strategies of enemy forces.

However, the increasingly transnational, decentralized nature of criminal and terrorist organizations adds to the challenge for special operations forces, which, because of their smaller numbers, are often stretched thin. High-tech communications equipment and next-generation weaponry offer some assistance, but the enduring solution, military leaders agree, is cooperation. Across the region, special operations forces are training and conducting joint operations with international allies, partnering with other security forces within their own countries and working with local governments and civilians to achieve stability. These relationships amplify SOF efforts and extend their reach.

Moving Toward a Global Force

Pioneering the path toward global SOF cooperation is Jordan, which has invested in state-of-the art training. “I was commander of Special Operations in Jordan, so I immediately saw the tremendous possibility of an advanced training facility for my country,” King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein told CNN in 2012. “And because the Jordanian Army is so well-respected in the Middle East and slightly beyond, a lot of people in our region come to train in Jordan anyway, so having a first-class center made a lot of sense.”

The country served as host for Eager Lion, a multinational military exercise that draws thousands of troops from across the world, including special operations forces from countries such as Yemen, Iraq and the UAE. Jordan has hosted the exercise since 2011, and the multinational setting has been instrumental in building SOF partnerships throughout the region.

“Training events such as Eager Lion provide our forces with an opportunity to practice their language skills, immerse themselves in the culture, learn different tactics, techniques and procedures,” then-Maj. Gen. Ken Tovo, head of the U.S. Central Command’s Special Operations Forces, told CNN during the 2012 exercise.

Multilateral and bilateral cooperation among special operations forces is flourishing elsewhere in the region as well. In Qatar, 3,000 troops from a dozen countries gathered in April 2013 for Exercise Eagle Resolve, which also included activities in Bahrain and the UAE. In January 2013, members of the Royal Saudi Naval Special Forces partnered with their counterparts from the Pakistan Navy Special Service Group, the Pakistan Navy Maritime Special Warfare Group and the Pakistan SEAL Group to hone skills during Exercise Naseem Al Bahr in Karachi.

As militaries nurture such SOF partnerships, they gain a better understanding of allied capabilities and global threats. “Improving security performance requires reading the situation and projecting future events before they occur,” Maj. Gen. Khalid bin Gahrar Al Harbi, commander of the Saudi Special Emergency Force (SEF), explained in a report on alriyadh.com. He emphasized the kingdom’s efforts to share strategies on countering potential threats: “Saudi Arabia has a full partnership in training with most countries of the world, and the SEF are keen to obtain the education and training from other countries such as the United States, Britain, China, South Korea and Pakistan.”

Looking Inward

In addition to reaching across borders to build capabilities, many special operations forces are taking advantage of partnership opportunities within their own militaries. In nations where each branch of the military has its own special operations force, joint training and missions help eliminate duplication and encourage coordination.

Special operations forces are also pairing with regular military units and local security forces to expand their reach. Nowhere is this more evident than in Afghanistan, where Special Forces often work hand in hand with Afghan National Army Soldiers and local police.

For example, in July 2013, about 30 extremists attacked a group of Afghan National Army Soldiers, Special Forces and police officers who were shuttling food and supplies to a checkpoint in Kunduz province. The joint force successfully fought off the attackers, a feat that may not have been possible if security forces had been operating separately.

“The outcome of such cooperation and coordination between our forces has been very good,” said Capt. Ahmad Waheed Rajab, team leader of the Afghan National Army Special Forces. “It is a matter of great pride for every Afghan patriot to risk his life for local security and the security of Afghanistan. We, as sons of this nation, put on the uniform and bear arms to fight the insurgents and terrorists that come from foreign countries. They fail continually to recognize us as the effective force that we are.”

Taking the Long View

Special operations have bolstered this direct approach of partnering with their “brothers in arms” by implementing a softer strategy of building personal relationships with the men, women and children they protect. Security experts have praised the SOF trend toward “indirect” tactics such as engaging community members and building confidence in local governments. “This shift towards local and regional engagement is rooted in a desire to move SOF away from a direct approach to confronting threats — exemplified by the high-tempo direct action mission focus of the past decade — to an indirect approach,” according to a summary report from the June 2013 conference Positioning Special Operations Forces for Global Challenges. “The indirect approach focuses on strategic engagement and building partner nation capacity so that they can better handle their own internal and regional security challenges.”

Jordanian King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein proved the success of this approach when he sent imams and female Soldiers to win the hearts and minds of villagers in Afghanistan. “The people who I think really hold the power in the village, those that are going to make an impact, are the women, and nobody’s talking to them,” the king said of his reasoning in a 2012 interview with CNN. “I had a really good battalion commander who is now in charge of a special forces brigade who said, ‘Look, send me imams and send me combat women, and I’ll make a difference.’ ”

This tactic has been replicated in villages across Afghanistan, with Afghan National Army Special Forces making it a point to stop and talk with mothers, children, teachers and farmers about the daily challenges they face.

“The villagers are really receptive to security forces being in the area,” a representative for Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan explained. “Their continued presence hinders the insurgents’ ability to conduct or sustain effective operations and, more importantly, allows the spread of Afghan governance to many areas within Kandahar province historically controlled by insurgent forces.”

A Good Outlook

Whether they’re meeting elders in the villages of Afghanistan or conducting joint training operations with their counterparts on the other side of the globe, special operations are dedicated to finding new ways to expand their reach.

With communities behind them, local and national security forces beside them, and international allies ready to assist, they are finding that partnerships are one of the most powerful weapons in their arsenal.  

Sources: alriyadh.com, American Forces Press Service, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, CNN, International Security Assistance Force-Regional Command East, The National (UAE), The News International (Pakistan)