19 Mar 15. Special Operations Leaders Voice Sequestration Concerns. Challenges caused by limited resources, fiscal uncertainty and the changing nature of threats have forced the military’s special operations forces to operate creatively, the Defense Department’s top special operations officials told Congress yesterday. Michael D. Lumpkin, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, and Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, appeared before the House Armed Services Committee’s emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee to discuss Socom’s fiscal year 2016 budget request. Fiscal uncertainty requires creativity in bridging gaps between resources and national security objectives, Lumpkin said. Meanwhile, he added, the changing nature of threats demands the attention and engagement of special operations forces through agile authorities that enable the force to remain ahead of adversaries. Lumpkin said special operations forces are navigating a challenging fiscal environment through enhanced oversight. “As the service-like secretary of U.S. Socom,” he said, “I provide oversight and supervision of SOF resources, develop SOF policies for counterterrorism to counter narcotics, and preserve and protect our special operations force. This role becomes ever more challenging in a constrained budgetary environment in which we must use limited resources efficiently and effectively so that SOF is globally postured to support the combatant commands.” With sequestration-level spending cuts scheduled to take effect in fiscal year 2016, which begins Oct. 1 of this year, Lumpkin said Socom continues to strengthen its budget management to maximize the return it provides on the taxpayer dollars the command receives. When agile authorities are available, he added, special operations forces can be most effective in handling the changing nature of threats they face.
“From [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] to pro-Russian rebel forces in Ukraine,” Lumpkin said, “the United States and our international partners face a diverse set of unconventional threats worldwide centered within the physical terrain, the human domain, information environment and financial cyberspace.
“Additionally,” he continued, “our response efforts often require security force assistance missions in nonpermissive and politically sensitive areas where the host nation demands a discreet U.S. footprint.”
Due to their unique, irregular and unconventional capabilities, Lumpkin noted, special operations forces routinely become the force of choice, and agile authorities maximize their capabilities in their operations. Lumpkin also emphasized to the subcommittee that taking care of special operations forces is a top priority.
“Protection and preservation of SOF is of utmost importance,” Lumpkin testified. “Our people are the foundation of special operations, and we strive to ensure our force and their families have a support system necessary to ensure their long-term prosperity and health.
“We seek to ensure the physical and mental resilience of the individuals who make up our force,” he continued. “Continual combat deployments, combined with the demanding training regimen needed to keep the force sharp, have caused stress on the force and with their families.” Votel lauded the “amazing actions” special operations forces take every day.
“Alongside our conventional force partners,” he said, “the 69,000 quiet professionals of Socom are committed to values-based excellence and service to our nation. They relentlessly pursue mission success, and today, roughly 7,500 of them are deployed to roughly 90 countries worldwide supporting geographic combatant commander requirements and named operations.”
Special operations forces have been heavily deployed over the past 14 years, he said, and have paid a significant physical and emotional price.
“We are very appreciative of the support we’ve received from Congress,” V