Lineage, Legacy, and Identity: What ARSOF History Tells Us About USSOF Today

The Discourse at Small Wars Journal moves at the speed of relevance—but we also look back to history to understand our past and where we’re heading. The ARSOF History Project offers essential context for understanding the origins, evolution, and future of America’s Special Operations Forces.

Explore these SWJ articles that link USSOF today with its past:

– Who We Are, What We Do: Framing the Special Forces Identity Debate

–Special Forces Identify Crisis; Déjà vu all Over Again

–Setting The Force: 10 Steps for Resolving The Special Forces “Identity Crisis”

–Special Forces Mission & Mindset: Reclaiming Unconventional Warfare in the Renewed Age of Irregular Conflict

–There is an Identity Crisis in Special Forces: Who are the Green Berets Supposed to Be?

–Statecraft, Strategy, and the Special Forces Soldier: The Philosophical Foundations of Unconventional and Political Warfare

–Defining the Special in Special Forces: A Soldier’s Perspective

–Challenging The “Problem of Special Operations and USSOF”

–The Building Blocks of A Special Forces Organism: Variation, Selective Pressure, and Replication: A Soldier’s Perspective

Across these writings runs a single thread: a search for a Special Forces and USSOF identity that honors their history, matches their missions, and equips them for the future without hollowing out their core identity.

The post Lineage, Legacy, and Identity: What ARSOF History Tells Us About USSOF Today appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.