[The Reaper]

• An 18A must be mentally flexible and willing to experiment and to innovate in a decentralized and unstructured environment. The effective SF officer must be able to solve the ill-defined and complex problems that are often associated with his job and, in so doing, to develop creative andnovel solutions that will produce the desired end state. The adaptability training that 18A candidates receive addresses this attribute. The officers are taught to look at circumstances and facts differently and to consider alternative solutions to problems.

There are numerous exercises throughout SF training that provide unstructured situations that encourage the 18A candidate to experiment and to develop innovative solutions. During the military-occupational-specialty phase of SF training, the officer candidates are encouraged to perform informal after-action reviews and to discuss the different ways that they chose for solving the same problems. The candidates are encouraged to learn from their peers and to develop alternative strategies for dealing with atypical problems.

• An 18A must be a self-reliant team player who can function as a leader in a tightly knit small group. This attribute “includes such things as demonstrating interpersonal flexibility; adjusting interpersonal style to achieve a goal; adapting interpersonal behavior to work effectively with a new team.” To “new team,” we could add host-nation personnel, or representatives from another agency. Many of the SF training tasks and exercises require candidates to function in small groups so that they can develop and demonstrate interpersonal adaptability. The 18A candidates who demonstrate that they can adapt their interpersonal behavior to the situation have a much higher chance of success as SF team leaders than those who don’t.

This attribute involves a strong component of situational awareness, because the 18A must identify the role appropriate for him to play in different situations and then be adaptable enough to perform that role. The issue of social intelligence has lately received a great deal of attention and discussion. Because SF team leaders will consistently interact with their team members, with host-nation personnel and with other key personnel, there is a critical requirement for 18As to be situationally aware and interpersonally adaptable. Various exercises throughout SF training provide opportunities for candidates to interact with others. The candidates later receive feedback on their interactions and developmental guidance to help them make any necessary improvements.

• An 18A must possess good interpersonal skills and display political acumen and cultural sensitivity. Mission success will often depend on SF soldiers’ ability to establish rapport and influence the attitudes and behaviors of people from a foreign culture. Recent feedback from Afghanistan indicates the importance of cultural adaptability in SF missions. Cultural adaptability continues to be an attribute that distinguishes SF from many other components of the Army. An SF team’s cultural adaptability often determines the success of the team’s mission.

Cultural adaptability includes learning such things as language (including the acronyms, slang and jargon that are unique to the culture); goals and values (formal rules and principles, as well as unwritten, informal goals and values that govern behavior); history (traditions, customs, myths and rituals that convey cultural knowledge); and politics (formal and informal relationships and power structures within the culture). But to fully integrate into a culture, the SF team must be willing to behave in accordance with the acceptable customs of that culture. Situational awareness and social intelligence have a great effect on cultural integration, because one must first recognize the need to behave in a certain manner and then be adaptable enough to act appropriately.

A culturally adaptable SF team leader will significantly enhance the probability of his team’s success, because he often sets the tone for the team. Several exercises during the training of SF officers expose the candidates to the challenges of establishing working relationships with and influencing people in other cultures. The Robin Sage exercise has a strong impact on students because they are often shocked by the cultural dilemmas that it presents.

• An 18A must be extremely physically fit. SF officers must maintain a high enough state of physical fitness to inspire their soldiers, no matter how difficult the physical environment, how high the level of exhaustion or how desperate the tactical situation, in peace or in war. During SF missions, “quickly adapting to the varied and challenging physical conditions as one moves from country to country and climate to climate is a key aspect of effective performance.”

SF officers must be able to adapt to many different physical factors, and SWCS places a great deal of emphasis on physical fitness during SFAS and throughout the SFQC, in terms of requiring candidates to perform physically demanding tasks and exercises. Various exercises throughout SFQC are designed to replicate real-world missions that require good mental and physical stamina.

• An 18A must possess unquestioned integrity. Throughout SF training, candidates are faced with dilemmas and exercises in which they must demonstrate a strong moral compass. All candidates’ behavior is evaluated along that dimension, and candidates receive clear guidance concerning the expectation of integrity for SF soldiers. Candidates who demonstrate behavior that is inconsistent with the requirement for integrity are eliminated from SF training.

• An 18A must be able to inspire others to perform effectively under stress. A key feature of the 18A training is the emphasis on self-awareness and individual development — two important components of effective leadership in the unconventional environment. All officers are given tests that address personality dimensions related to successful performance, both in SF training and in the field. The officers receive feedback on the test results. The feedback gives them a greater understanding of their strengths, possible vulnerabilities and preferred operating style. Subsequent to the tests and the feedback, 18A candidates rotate through leadership positions during exercises in SFAS and SFQC, allowing the cadre to closely observe and rate each officer in terms of the appropriateness of his actions. After the exercises, each officer’s performance is critiqued and a summary given him for his personal development.

Throughout the process, cadre work with the candidates to ensure that each candidate understands what he needs to do to improve his performance in areas that are critical for success in SF operations. The intent is to give each officer feedback on his preferred operating style (this feedback is provided by professional psychologists) and on exercise-based performance (provided by cadre members) and to help him develop a plan that will facilitate his growth and movement toward successful performance as an 18A.

• An 18A must be a war fighter. This attribute is a reflection, in part, of all of the issues addressed in this article. Many of the exercises conducted during SF training are designed to be intensely real simulations of what candidates will do in combat situations. SF believes in the adage, “You fight as you train. ”Tough, realistic training prepares the future 18A to be an effective war fighter. Realistic training gives the candidate a preview of what his life will be like as an 18A. Candidates who realize that their skills are not well-suited to the demands that are placed on an 18A have the opportunity to drop out of training and return to a part of the Army that will provide a better match for their skills and abilities.

Conclusion

The type of warfare being conducted in Afghanistan and Iraq illustrates the need for SF leaders who must adapt if they are to succeed. Based on lessons learned from Afghanistan and Iraq, SWCS is ensuring that SF soldiers will be prepared to meet the demands of future engagements. Just as the rail system of the M-4 allows it to adapt to various environments, the SFQC gives SF officers their own rail system that will allow them to adapt to the various environments that they may face in the 21st century.

There are many changes underway in the SF training pipeline — so many that they could not all be addressed in this article. Future articles will describe more fully the critical components that are being configured at SWCS to produce adaptable SF soldiers, leaders and teams.