Today’s special operators are rapidly becoming the model for the rest of the U.S. military, disrupting how the Defense Department does everything from buying gear to responding to global crises. You might not notice that trend in Washington, D.C., where the Pentagon and the congressional armed services committees generally project predictable continuity. Perhaps that’s why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the new Joint Chiefs chairman, came to the Global SOF Foundation’s conference here to outline a new, special-operations-like vision for the U.S. military: smaller teams, quicker equipping, faster operations, more autonomy. “Special operations forces have long operated like a tech startup,” Hegseth told a crowd of elite tactical operators on May 6. “You’re agile and nimble, lean and lethal. You leverage innovation…in ways that conventional formations just cannot.’”
Special operations are becoming the Pentagon’s future ‘normal’ – Defense One
