January - March 2014 | Volume 27 | Issue 1 On the Cover Special Operations in the U.S. Pacifc Command Area of Responsibility Cover and Left: A Philippine Army Special Forces Soldier teaches a jungle survival training course to fellow Philippine Special Forces and a Special Forces Operational Detach- ment - Alpha. U.S. Army photo. ARTICLES DEpaRTMENTS 08 1st Special Forces Group in the PACOM AOR 04 From the Commandant 16 Q&A with COL Robert McDowell and CSM Brian Johnson 05 Updates 21 1st Special Forces Group Support Battalion 07 Training Updates 26 Relationship Building 71 Career Notes 30 1st SFG(A) Operational Cycle 74 Fitness 34 The Case for India 38 Zamboanga Crisis 75 Book Review 46 Operation Enduring Freedom - Philippines 52 Operation Damayan 59 Preparing for ODA Level Initial Entry UW Operations in Korea 62 Foal Eagle 66 A Company In the LSF 68 UW in Cyberspace Special Warfare U.S. ARMY JOHN F. KENNEDY Commander & Commandant SPECIAL WARfaRE CENTER AND SCHOOL Brigadier General David G. Fox MISSION: The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Center of Excellence, trains, Chief, Strategic Communication educates, devleops and manages world-class Civil Affairs, Psychological Lieutenant Colonel April Olsen Operations and Special Forces warriors and leaders in order to provide the Army special operations forces regiments with professionally trained, highly educated, innovative and adaptive operators. Editor Janice Burton VISION: Professionalism starts here. We are an adaptive institution characterized by agility, collaboration, accountability and integrity. We promote life-long learning and transformation. We are THE Special Operations Center of Art Director Learning whose credibility in producing the world’s finest special operators is Jennifer Martin recognized and sustained by every single member of our three regiments. SubmISSIONS Special Warfare welcomes submissions of scholarly, independent research Special Warfare is an authorized, official quarterly publica- from members of the armed forces, security policy-makers and -shapers, defense tion of the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special analysts, academic specialists and civilians from the United States and abroad. Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, N.C. Its mission is to promote the professional development of special-oper- Manuscripts should be 2,500 to 3,000 words in length. Include a cover letter. ations forces by providing a forum for the examination of Submit a complete biography with author contact information (i.e., complete established doctrine and new ideas. mailing address, telephone, fax, e-mail address). Views expressed herein are those of the authors and do Manuscripts should be submitted in plain text, double-spaced and in a digital not necessarily reflect official Army position. This publica- file. 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All submissions will be reviewed in a timely manner. Special Warfare reserves the right to edit all contributions. Special Warfare will attempt to afford authors Published works may be reprinted, except where copy- righted, provided credit is given to Special Warfare and an opportunity to review the final edited version; requests for changes must be the authors. received by the given deadline. Official distribution is limited to active and reserve Articles that require security clearance should be cleared by the author’s chain special-operations units. Individuals desiring private of command prior to submission. No payment or honorarium is authorized for subscriptions should forward their requests to: Superin- publication of articles. Material appearing in Special Warfare is considered to be tendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, in the public domain and is not protected by copyright unless it is accompanied Washington, D.C. 20402. Special Warfare is also available by the author’s copyright notice. Published works may be reprinted, except where on the Internet (http://www.soc.mil/swcs/swmag/). copyrighted, provided credit is given to Special Warfare and the authors. By order of the Secretary of the Army: Raymond T. Odierno General, United States Army Chief of Staff Submit articles for consideration to: For additional information: Official: Editor, Special Warfare; Contact: Special Warfare Attn: AOJK-PAO; USAJFKSWCS, Commercial: (910) 432-5703 DSN: 239-5703 3004 Ardennes St., Stop A, Fort Bragg, NC 28310 GERALD B O’KEEFE or e-mail them to [email protected] Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army 1335002 Headquarters, Department of the Army FROM THE Throughout the month of November, the Philippines dominated international news; not for COMMANDANT the hard won success of its government to combat violent extremist organizations and trans- national terrorists, but rather for Typhoon Haiyan, the mega storm that wreaked havoc on the country’s central region. While reading about the storm, you probably didn’t read about the efforts of the men and women of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command to open airfields and get aid to the people in the affected region. But they were there, quietly, professionally going about their jobs, just as they have been for the past 12 years operating under the auspices of Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines. JSOTF-P, which was established by Special Operations Command-Pacific in July 2002, has as its mission support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines as they wage their war against terror- ism. Prior to the establishment of JSOTF-P, members of the U.S. Special Operations Command operated under the auspices of Joint Task Force 510. The mission of JSOTF-P, which operates at the request of the Government of the Philippines, is to work alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and other designated units to defeat terrorists and create the conditions necessary for peace, stability and prosperity in the Southern Philippines. Over the past decade, the men and women of JSOTF-P have done a magnificent job in fulfill- ing the mission, making it one of the most successful unconventional warfare missions of this century. It has occurred without much fanfare, but rather with the determination and hard work of the U.S. advisers working in the area. In this issue of Special Warfare, you will not only read about the success of JSOTF-P, you will also read about the larger role of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) in the PACOM area of operations. The Soldiers of the 1st SFG(A) have spent the past decade quietly conducting mis- sions in countries throughout their AOR. They have remained tied to the historical role of Special Forces, advising and assisting our partner nations, and in doing so have developed a strong understanding of the unique cultures of the countries within their region. Far from the flagpole, the 1st SFG(A) has embraced its historic lineage and serves as a stabiliz- ing force in the Pacific realm, supporting our partners and building relationships with developing countries throughout the region. Brigadier General David G. Fox 04 Special Warfare UPDATE Task Force Dagger Memorialized The sacrifice, patriotism and heroism of the service members of Task Force Dagger was com- memorated at Meadows Memorial Plaza on Nov. 7, 2013 during a paver dedication ceremony. Task Force Dagger was the first operational task force in Afghanistan from October 2001 to April 2002, which led to the fall of a terrorist government in Central Asia and eviction of al-Qaeda leadership from Afghanistan. “I would like to thank each and every one of you who made it out here today to this great event in honor of some great men,” said Lt. Gen John F. Mulholland, deputy commanding general, U.S. Special Operations Command. “This day, the men of Task Force Dagger are truly walking in the footsteps of giants as we are recognized with the COMMEmoRATION The memorial stone for Task Force Dagger was unveiled Nov. 7, during a ceremony other members of special operations forces in this honoring the task force. The memorial stone was placed in the U.S. Army Special Operations Com- memorial plaza.” mand’s Memorial Plaza alongside other stones telling the history of special operations forces. Photo Soon after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Task by Staff Sgt. Marcus Butler . Force Dagger was directed to conduct special operations missions in support of a number of was all starting from scratch,” said Mulholland. units earned six Presidential Unit Citations and four Northern Alliance commanders in Afghanistan, and “The ladies of the 5th Special Forces Group had Valorous Unit Awards. to work with them to gain their active assistance in to figure that out. For the exceptional job that they “The nation is truly in debt to these men, overthrowing the Taliban regime. accomplished, I would like to say thank you. from the 5th Special Forces Group and the Night “As we rolled that task into one machine it was “This day is about the commemoration of Task Stalkers who flew incredibly perilous missions; absolutely phenomenal.