Special Operations in littoral warfare

Abstract

Increasingly, changes in the international environment, coupled with a reduction in U.S. military force structure, have shrunk the size and number of deploying amphibious and carrier battle groups. The impact on the reduced size of the deploying battle groups is that they are being tasked to respond to a larger diversity of military operations. Within those operations Special Operations Forces (SOF) could provide flexibility and a wide range of capabilities which could be used by the battle group commander to increase his area of influence in operations during a peacetime crisis response. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the characteristics presented by operations in the littoral region and to examine the unique capabilities SOF provide the battle group commander in littoral operations. This thesis will then examine the degree to which mission success in littoral operations might be affected by the effective integration and use of SOF in conjunction with Naval Expeditionary Forces within the current naval carrier battle group command and control organization.