JSOC General Expected to be Next Leader of America’s Special Operations Forces by Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Washington Post
… the Army’s two most senior special operations officers, Gen. Joseph Votel and Lt. Gen. Raymond “Tony” Thomas, are the Pentagon’s new picks to lead two of its most influential four-star headquarters. The moves are not yet official, but they would put Votel and Thomas in charge of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command respectively, both based in Tampa, Florida.
… Thomas’s promotion, if confirmed, would appear to affirm the primacy not only of special operations within the military, but of JSOC’s hunter-killer units within the bigger special operations community. That trend began under the George W. Bush administration — it was who Bush famously told the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward, “JSOC is awesome” — and has only intensified during the Obama years.
Thomas would be the third former JSOC commander in a row to head up SOCOM; the last time a career Green Beret held the post was more than 15 years ago, before the war on terror began, even though Green Berets account for by the far the plurality of SOCOM’s special operators and are seeing increased use from Africa to Afghanistan as the military tries to shape the war efforts of allied militaries and irregular forces…
Comments
I'd bet if you go back to read the biography of virtually every senior commander appointed to command in the GWOT you'll find the same descriptions of how clever he is or his fascinating leadership quirks and personal habits.
Is it possible that it doesn't matter who is in charge? The system rolls on and great small unit leadership can't undo faulty strategy that is driven by politics outside of the militaries purview. The hagiography that accompanies each new appointment is designed to give the false impression that this new guy has the answers and all will be well.
I mean in no way to disparage LTG Thomas or his qualifications to command USSOCOM. He absolutely is qualified.
But the highlighted excerpts say it all. There is little to no appreciation for special warfare at the national level. It may be time to include a re-look of Nunn-Cohen and conduct an objective assessment of special operations and perhaps consider that special operations should not be lumped into one command.
And TM, the author, is incorrect. There has never ever been a career Special Forces officer in command of USSOCOM. Lindsey, Stiner, Shelton, Schoomaker, and Brown were all Special Forces qualified but none had commanded from the A Team through Special Forces Group command as well as the Army SOF commands of USASOC and USASFC as well as a TSOC. The highest ranking career special forces officers have reached deputy command of USSOCOM: Tangney, Fridovich, and Mulholland.
QUOTE
But Thomas’s promotion, if confirmed, would appear to affirm the primacy not only of special operations within the military, but of JSOC’s hunter-killer units within the bigger special operations community. That trend began under the George W. Bush administration — it was who Bush famously told the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward, “JSOC is awesome” — and has only intensified during the Obama years.
Thomas would be the third former JSOC commander in a row to head up SOCOM; the last time a career Green Beret held the post was more than 15 years ago, before the war on terror began, even though Green Berets account for by the far the plurality of SOCOM’s special operators and are seeing increased use from Africa to Afghanistan as the military tries to shape the war efforts of allied militaries and irregular forces.
“Even more than other guys who’ve made the JSOC-to-SOCOM leap like Votel, Thomas has spent a disproportionate amount of his career in JSOC units,” explained Sean Naylor, a journalist whose recent book “Relentless Strike” chronicles the hunter-killer command’s rise. “If confirmed, it underlines how much senior leaders identify with the direct action side of special operations, as much lip service as they may pay to the indirect approach guys,” like Green Berets. “No president has relied on JSOC as heavily as Obama has.” END QUOTE