Versatility at the Tip of the Spear: Food Security and the Utility of SOF

Versatility at the Tip of the Spear:

Food Security and the Utility of SOF

By Lydia Kostopoulos, PhD, Peter Cloutier, Isaiah Wilson III, PhD

The full use and utility of special operations forces has been underappreciated in the context of food security.

It is food (in)security that lies at the heart of every conflict today and yet invisible to most in its most fundamental context as a matter, and driver, of global security and defense. Special Operations Forces (SOF) offer unique capabilities that can respond best to USAID Administrator Samantha Powers’ concluding statement in the 2022-2026 U.S. Global Food Security Strategy that, “Conflict remains the single largest driver of food crises worldwide, so the Strategy also leverages investments in conflict mitigation, peacebuilding, and social cohesion.” [1] The COVID pandemic has brought our global food systems to the public eye, and it is the Russo-Ukrainian War that has made the fragility of the food system all the more visible and hard-felt.

“Conflict remains the single largest driver of food crises worldwide, so the Strategy also leverages investments in conflict mitigation, peacebuilding, and social cohesion.”

USAID Administrator Samantha Power, Feed the Future Global Coordinator

01. Introduction

02. Food Security, Food Systems - Unavoidable Threat Multiplier

03. The Utility of Special Operations Forces in relation to Food Security

04. The Use of Special Operations Inboxing the Spear Heads in the SOF Toolkit

05. Conclusion

INTRODUCTION:

Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, the global economy was suffering from the repercussions of several man-made conflicts, climate shocks, COVID-19 and rising costs— with devastating consequences for poor people in low-income and developing countries.

"The war in Ukraine—a major “breadbasket” for the world—is deepening these challenges on an unprecedented scale. In the immediate, swift and bold action is required by both wealthy and low-income nations to avert humanitarian and economic catastrophe. Looking forward, the international community should learn two key lessons from the Ukraine crisis." [2]

First, that we lie in an increasingly interconnected world and would be remiss if we ignored food insecurity and conflict challenges in any part of the globe as someone else’s problem. Secondly, it is critical for the international community to go beyond immediate stopgap measures; to not only address the root causes for these challenges but to also reexamine the agricultural and energy policies that underpin our global economy. The landscape of international conflict today is filled with examples of nation-state armed conflict such as that between Ukraine and Russia, and conflicts taking place amongst and between nation- states, terrorist organizations and mercenaries such as in the Sahel. [3] There are other layers of conflict which increasingly involve nation-state offensive cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure, economic and societal targets. The most recent Microsoft Digital Defense report illustrates this trend with their graphics showing that nation-state cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructures has doubled from 20% to 40. [4] The physical and digital terrain is widely understood as the battleground space in international conflict; however, this is only the tip of the iceberg of conflict.

What lies underneath is a large mass of interconnected and intertwined constants and currents of conflict. These include the geopolitics of economics, where goods are (and are not) adequately produced, how they are sourced, and how they are manufactured. They include sanctions that implicate all members of the sanctioned state and impair the development of populations. Increasingly more important are the impacts of climate change where adverse environmental events create ripple effects and waves around the world which are felt in different ways. For some it could be drought, for others it could be flooding. At the very primordial level of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which all other needs rest on, is the foundation of physiological needs, which includes food.[5]

Today more politicians are asking about food insecurity and more governments are inquiring about food availability in their countries. Now is the time to start talking about how the military, specifically special operations forces, or SOF, can be leveraged to be a part of mitigating, managing, preventing and anticipating food insecurity challenges.

This paper seeks to unpack the global food security challenges through the lens of the compound security dilemma, to articulate special operations competencies and core activities use cases, and highlight the key partners and allies who are an integral part of integrated deterrence in combating the precarious state of global food insecurity.

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