- After decades fighting terrorism, US Special Operations Command is reorienting to take on China.
- SOCOM is now focusing on working with partners in the Pacific to support the US military's goals.
- US special operators are aiming to create "multiple dilemmas" for China, SOCOM's commander says.
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked the most significant conventional conflict in Europe since World War II.
Despite Moscow's attack, including threats to use nuclear weapons, US officials stress China remains the biggest long-term threat to US national security.
The US military as a whole is been reorienting toward what it sees as the potential for a war with China, but US Special Operations Command may be making the most profound shift.
After more than two decades of fighting insurgents and terrorists in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, SOCOM is moving into a new era in which kicking down doors to capture or kill high-value targets is not the main measure of success.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked the most significant conventional conflict in Europe since World War II.
Despite Moscow's attack, including threats to use nuclear weapons, US officials stress China remains the biggest long-term threat to US national security.
The US military as a whole is been reorienting toward what it sees as the potential for a war with China, but US Special Operations Command may be making the most profound shift.
After more than two decades of fighting insurgents and terrorists in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, SOCOM is moving into a new era in which kicking down doors to capture or kill high-value targets is not the main measure of success.
In the Indo-Pacific, China has a home-field advantage. Much of the Western Pacific is a relatively short distance from the Chinese military's main bases, while the US military, which has several major bases in the region, is dependent on air and sea routes for major supplies and reinforcement.
The US's major allies and partners — especially Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan — are also dependent on imports, especially of food and fuel, and are both geographically and economically close to China, which Beijing has used for leverage.
During his confirmation hearing in July, SOCOM's new commander, Lt. Gen. Bryan Fenton, described how the US special-operations community would navigate those challenges in order to deter and potentially fight China.
Fenton said SOCOM's role is to work "in concert" with top US commanders to devise "asymmetric, scalable options" that can present "multiple dilemmas" to China by making use of the "placement, access, and influence" that US special operators have developed by deploying to the region and working with local forces.