Fortifying Special Forces Operations with Intelligence and Cyber Capabilities

The fifth SOF truth states "most special operations require non-SOF support". The integration of intelligence into the SOF community and SOF's ability to collect, analyze, and action their own intelligence has progressively improved in the last 20 years resulting in an organic ability for forward deployed Special Operations Task Forces to Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, Analyze, and Disseminate (F3EAD). The cyber domain requires a similar integration of experts in the SOF formation. The requirement for cyber specialists operating within SOF possessing the capability to operate in the cyber domain to gather intelligence, disrupt and target enemy systems and communications, support Unconventional Warfare, counter our adversaries Irregular/Unconventional Warfare, and provide force protection to our personnel, systems, and allies is, and will be, paramount to SOF in the current and future operational environment. This panel of experts will discuss these very important themes.