•  
  •  

Home > Open Access Journals > JSS > Vol. 17 > No. 1 (2024)

 

Author Biography

Anna M. Gielas holds a PhD in History of Science from the University of St Andrews (UK) and, most recently, was as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellow at the University of Cambridge (UK). She also earned a master’s degree in Political Science and is currently working on her second doctoral thesis (Military Studies).

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.17.1.2171

Subject Area Keywords

Afghanistan, Counterinsurgency, Identity, International security, Iraq, Irregular warfare, Military affairs, Special operations forces, War studies

Abstract

The relationship between U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) and Conventional Forces (CF) has historically been challenging, leading to mission failures and the loss of lives. An unprecedented integration of the two forces was seen following 9/11 during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. This article investigates whether this intimate collaboration in Afghanistan and Iraq improved relations between SOF and CF. Drawing from a sample of 48 master’s theses authored by U.S. officers on the topic of SOF–CF integration from 1994 to 2018, this article documents a deterioration in the relationship between the two forces and identifies four underlying causes. It suggests how military leaders and decisionmakers should approach this challenging inter-force relationship.

Download

Share

COinS