Home

Foreword

Australian and
U.S. Forces
Strengthening
Regional Security

Philippine and U.S. Forces Provide Disaster Relief for Typhoon Victims

International HIV/Aids Conference

Building Global Networks to Combat Security Threats

Building Global Networks to Combat Security Threats
By Maj. J.C. Lumbaca, USA, and Cpt. Joseph Coslett, USAF
Maj. J.C. Lumbaca, USA, is a Special Forces officer assigned to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Cpt. Joseph Coslett, USAF, is assigned to U.S. Special Operations Command Public Affairs.

Special Operations Forces (SOF) representatives from 58 countries around the world – including Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand – attended the first International Special Operations Forces (ISOF) Week conference in Tampa, Florida, to discuss how growing security threats – the Global War on Terrorism and transnational crimes, such as drug trafficking and piracy – around the world require global cooperation and global solutions. Hosted by General Bryan D. Brown, Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the theme of the June 2005 conference was “Partners in International Security.”

Opening Remarks
Opening the conference, General Brown told participants, “Through many years of tough, persistent training, as well as through our wealth of shared experiences in coalition operations, your nations and ours have built highly trained and motivated Special Operations Forces that – together – can operate across a spectrum of operations from pre-crisis to post crisis. We live in a global environment and now is the time to take our cooperation to a higher level.” General Brown added that because of the need for global security cooperation, bringing together a coalition of international SOF is vitally important. “In times of crisis, many governments turn first to their special operations units,” he said. “Superb training, physical conditioning, specialized skills, and equipment put these forces on the leading edge of the security battle. USSOCOM wants to hear what our partners have to say, and we will find ways to help each other win this battle [against terrorism].”

Guest speakers from the Asia-Pacific region included Republic of Korea Lt. Gen. Kun Ki Baek, commanding general of the Korean Special Warfare Command, and Australian Army Maj. Gen. Michael Hindmarsh, Commander of the Special Operations Command. Other guest speakers included U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William B. Wood; Mr. Thomas W. O’Connell, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict; U.S. Marine General Peter Pace, then Vice Chairman, now Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; U.S. Navy Admiral William J. Fallon, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command; and Mr. Thomas Friedman, New York Times reporter and author of “The World is Flat; A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century.”

Secretary O’Connell told participants that while the [Global War on Terrorism] we are fighting today is an ideological one, it is increasingly becoming a “war of wills” as well: He who perseveres will win. “We are likeminded people with the same problems,” he said. “The face-to-face networking will allow us to focus on trends at the regional level. In addition, coalitions and partnerships are about trust and what is needed to operate and build SOF global networks.”

Maj. Gen. Hindmarsh agreed. “Every country will have its own constraints when fighting terrorism; however, the long-term effort will build government relations to form one line of response,” he said.

Admiral Fallon reminded participants that, “along with the great capability and skills that they [SOF] have been empowered with comes the obligation to use that power responsibly. The SOF must ensure their plans are credible, that their people are capable and ready, and to never forget that … at the end of the day, it all comes down to results.”

Lt. Gen. Baek described his country’s cooperation with security partner nations from Asia to the Middle East to Africa. He noted that the collaborative efforts of ROK special operators around the world have helped enhance the combined capabilities and mission successes of cooperating nations. Lt. Gen. Baek gave the example of ROK special operations support to Operation Iraqi Freedom that helps “gain the trust of the local population [in Iraq], supports overall mission success, and contributes to greater world peace-keeping efforts.”

Mr. Friedman explained that we are experiencing just the beginning of a time where everyone, including our enemy, is interconnected and networked. One result of this is that smaller groups, and even individuals, now have the capacity to generate global impacts.

Special Forces Equipment and Technology Displays
Following the opening remarks, participants visited the exhibit hall floors. More than 350 exhibits featuring SOF equipment and technology displays, including static displays of equipment in the U.S. SOF inventory, offered conference members the opportunity to talk with operators and industry personnel from around the world, and see the latest technologies under development to secure peace.

Panel Discussions
During the conference, international panels discussed global security. “Terrorism is a subject today, a problem today, a challenge today, and one nation, one army, one unit cannot do it by himself,” said Lt. Gen. Sher Karimi, Chief of Operations of the Afghan National Army General Staff. “To be successful against terrorism, you have to be well-trained, specially trained, particularly to fight against terrorism in the cities, and you must have good intelligence training.”

ISOF Week brings an understanding we are a global village, said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Richard W. Mills, commanding general, U.S. Special Operations Command, Korea. “We have a global commitment to fight the Global War on Terrorism [GWOT].” Brig. Gen. Mills noted that the definition of GWOT might not be the same for every country. Terrorism is different for Iraq than it is for South Korea, “However the truth is terrorism acts against the good nature of the state or acts against humanity.” He added that nations around the world can come together collectively to obtain a better understanding of the problem and conquer the threat of terrorism.

All attendees agreed that the threat of terrorism is a shared threat, not the problem of a single nation, government, military force, or other element of national power. Senior SOF participants from the Asia-Pacific region recognized the effects of terrorist acts on citizens, international commerce, and national sovereignty, and discussed the global effects of these acts.