THE NEW HEAD OF SPECIALS OPS GETS IT

Vice Adm. Eric Olson will be the new head of the Special Operations Command. At his nomination hearing¹, he indicated that he understood that in the war on terror, both direct (offensive) and indirect actions are needed.

ADM. OLSON: Thank you, Senator Martinez. ... We are continuing to assess the very careful balance that has to be sustained between direct and indirect actions in this new world in which we live. We understand well that it is the indirect actions that will be decisive but the direct actions are very important in order to enable the indirect actions to have time to take their decisive effect. And so continued support for all of our components who are engaged in both direct and indirect activities, and support for our major platforms and equipment items to enable them to do the extremely demanding things that we ask them to do is how this body can best serve Special Operations Command.

ADM. OLSON: Thank you, Senator Thune.And that's a very good question. I think you've hit at the heart of something that's very important to ultimate success in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States Special Operations Command does and will continue to coordinate very closely with other agencies of government. We understand that military actions alone will not lead to success -- that it needs to be a team effort.

An AP report in the Army Times notes that this will be a change of direction from the Rumsfeld days:

Spec ops leaders want return to fundamentals

By Richard Lardner - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jun 28, 2007 17:58:15 EDT

New senior officers are expected to give greater weight to an indirect approach to warfare, a slow and disciplined process that calls for supporting groups or nations willing to back U.S. interests.

Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld turned special operations forces into a “giant killing machine,” said Douglas Macgregor, a former Army colonel and frequent critic of the Defense Department.

“The emphasis will be on, ‘If you have to kill someone, then for God’s sakes, kill the right people,”’ Macgregor said. “In most cases, you’re not going to have to kill people and that’s the great virtue of special operations. That’s been lost over the last several years.”


¹Federal News Service
June 12, 2007 Tuesday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING
LENGTH: 14109 words
HEADLINE: HEARING OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES;
SUBJECT: PENDING NOMINATIONS, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE;
CHAIRED BY: SENATOR JACK REED (D-RI);
WITNESSES: MICHAEL VICKERS, TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR SPECIAL OPERATIONS AND LOW-INTENSITY CONFLICT; NAVY VICE ADMIRAL ERIC OLSON, FOR APPOINTMENT TO THE GRADE OF ADMIRAL AND TO BE COMMANDER OF THE U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND; THOMAS D'AGOSTINO, TO BE UNDERSECRETARY FOR NUCLEAR SECURITY AT THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT AND ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION;
LOCATION: 106 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D.C.