Training for Victory: U.S. Special Forces Advisory Operations from El Salvador to Afghanistan

One of the most difficult security challenges of the post–Cold War era has been stabilizing failing states in an era of irregular warfare. A consistent component of the strategy to address this problem has been security force assistance where outside powers train and advise the host nation’s military. Despite billions of dollars spent, the commitment of thousands of advisors, and innumerable casualties, the American efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq failed catastrophically. Nevertheless, there were pockets of success. The Iraqi Special Operations Forces held back the Islamic State in 2014 long enough to allow American and allied forces to flow back into the country, and many Afghan commando units fought to the bitter end as their country disintegrated around them. In his new book Training for Victory: U.S. Special Forces Advisory Operations from El Salvador to Afghanistan, Frank K. Sobchak examines what made those units successful while the larger missions ended disastrously. Examining cases from El Salvador, the Philippines, and Colombia to Iraq and Afghanistan, Sobchak explores factors from the partner force ratio to language training to advisor involvement in combat, with findings that at times challenge existing orthodoxy.

Join New America's Future Security Program as they welcome Frank K. Sobchak to discuss his book Training for Victory and the effectiveness of Special Forces advisory operations. Sobchak is a retired Special Forces colonel who served in various assignments in war and peace during a twenty-six-year military career. He is Chair of Irregular Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute, U.S. Military Academy and a Senior Fellow at the Global and National Security Institute, University of South Florida, and a Fellow (contributor) for the MirYam Institute. In addition to Training for Victory, he is the coauthor of The U.S. Army in the Iraq War.  The conversation will be moderated by New America Vice President and Arizona State University Professor of Practice Peter Bergen.

Join the conversation online using #TrainingforVictory and following @NewAmericaISP.                                            

PARTICIPANTS

Dr. Frank K. Sobchak
Author, Training for Victory
Chair of Irregular Warfare Studies, Modern War Institute at West Point

MODERATOR

Peter Bergen
Vice President, New America
Co-Director, Future Security
Professor of Practice, Arizona State University