Symposium Agenda

Welcome to Government day of the 7th Annual Global SOF Europe Symposium!

This will be a virtual session

In an era of global operations and multi-national partnerships, effective due diligence is critical for both financial decision-making and national security. Ms. Hetherington will explain how to employ Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) methodologies to access valuable information from global corporate databases, country-specific social media platforms, and other online resources. She brings to bear over two decades of experience, having trained over 180,000 corporate security professionals, attorneys, accountants, auditors, military intelligence professionals, and federal, state, and local agencies in online intelligence practices.

Based on a “flow drill” in which tactical teams train through a sequence of actions that simulate real-world scenarios, this session requires audience participation. Dr. Yoho will set the objectives and then quickly ask attendees a series of questions similar to how operators might move quickly (i.e., “flow”) through doorways, hallways, and rooms together to accomplish the overall task of "clearing" a space. This interactive session will focus on how SOF can best operate in denied spaces.

Meet other Symposium attendees, learn about their capabilities, and "break the ice" on your week by participating in our B2B Speed Networking opportunity!

This event is open to all Symposium Attendees for FREE, however you must complete the separate Intake Form by 18 OCT 2023.

Register Here

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.

Depending on the governmental structure of a given nation, the legislative assembly can wield significant influence on national security institutions. SOF is often used prior to hostilities and often in direct support to intelligence agencies executing tactical operations of strategic importance. Many nations lack the authority to maximize their SOF especially with the rise in “Irregular Warfare”, and policymakers are changing legal restrictions to SOF support of intelligence operations. This panel will explore best practices for drafting and passing effective national security legislation to support SOF. The U.S. case study is an interesting and well known example. In the United States the creation of USSOCOM and the position of an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (ASD/SOLIC) was a result of the 1983 Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act in 1987. USSOCOM continued to evolve via subsequent National Defense Authorization Acts, continuously refining the role, responsibilities, and capability of USSOCOM as well as improving its interoperability with the other military services.

This session is closed to media

 

 

Based on a “flow drill” in which tactical teams train through a sequence of actions that simulate real-world scenarios, this session requires audience participation. Dr. Fabian will set the objectives and then quickly ask attendees a series of questions similar to how operators might move quickly (i.e., “flow”) through doorways, hallways, and rooms together to accomplish the overall task of "clearing" a space.

During his recent tenure as the president of the Joint Special Operations University at U.S. Special Operations Command, Dr. Wilson led a study and initiative titled “SOF Next”. His presentation will focus on what SOF can contribute: “left of conflict,” “left of bang,” “below the threshold of armed conflict,” or in “the gray zone”. What does successful campaigning (i.e., the conduct and sequencing of logically-linked military initiatives aimed at advancing well-defined, strategy-aligned priorities over time) look like? How do we best cooperate and collaborate with partners in order to deter armed conflict?

 

This session will be pre-recorded

Both Moscow and Beijing will increase their involvement in irregular warfare over the next five years.  Dr. Seth Jones will address the why and how, based on his experience as the director of the Transnational Threats Project and senior advisor to the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

SOF formations are operating daily around the globe to deter conflict, respond to crises, and execute kinetic missions. This remarkable panel will bring together SOF leaders from many different regions to discuss experiences, lessons learned, challenges and opportunities, as well as the way ahead from their unique perspectives.

The quantum conflict is an ominous threat to modern encryption systems posed by capable adversaries.  The impacts of failing to prepare could be catastrophic for national security and prosperity.  The time to prepare is now and the solution already exists.