Insights on Industry and Innovation with General Raymond (Tony) Thomas (Retired) and Lieutenant General Francis Beaudette (Retired)

In preparation for SOF Week 2023, the Joint Operations and Innovation team for CAE Defense & Security sat down with General Raymond (Tony) Thomas (Retired) and Lieutenant General Francis Beaudette (Retired), to discuss how the emerging Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) requirements will impact the training and capabilities of Special Operations Forces (SOF) units and get their perspective on the technologies and capabilities SOF need to address the evolving nature of warfare.

The answers below reflect the combined responses of General Raymond (Tony) Thomas (Retired) and Lieutenant General Francis Beaudette (Retired).

How will emerging JADC2 requirements impact the training and capabilities of SOF units?

Improvement in the ability of Special Operation Forces to better visualize the entire operating area, include adversary strategic vulnerabilities, and coordinate battlefield effects to their fullest potential, will further enable precision, lethality, and ability to control outcomes. Training for the advent of full JADC2 integration must be comprehensive, realistic and all-encompassing. For example, Advanced Modeling and Simulation (M&S) for planning and executing irregular warfare would better prepare for uncertainty and assist SOF Commanders in reducing the risk to mission and force. SOF formations will not be able to develop the necessary expertise to see and take advantage of opportunities if certain aspects of the training are not sufficiently realistic and demanding.

What specific technological advancements or tools will SOF need to incorporate to effectively operate within the JADC2 framework?

SOF will continue to require informational capabilities, in time and at the point of need, that enable their men and women to see and seize opportunities. They must remain ahead of adversaries, be able to outthink and out-reason at speed, anticipate moves before they are made, and use every available advantage to win, often without firing a shot, by taking away the ability to act. Again, advanced M&S to replicate the information environment would be a critical training and operational capability the SOF community has not fully achieved.

How will JADC2 impact the relationship between SOF and other military branches? What steps should be taken to ensure effective coordination and communication?

JADC2 is expected to further strengthen relationships between the joint force and allow us to extend our ability to visualize and act upon opportunity. We must extend this to allies and partners, from overt formations and supporting populations, to surrogates and indigenous forces. We will be able to understand not only where everyone is in time and space, but what they are doing, are able and should do, and how it will affect outcomes. All relevant entities must be able to coordinate action, through various means and methods of communication. Everyone acting on the same sheet of cohesion will be the key to the success of JADC2.

What do you see as the most significant emerging threats SOF will need to address in the coming years?

The single greatest threat to SOF remains complacency. The incredible talent of our dedicated service members, combined with our adversaries’ quest for any sort of advantage over us, mandate we keep adapting and innovating to see every possible competitive advantage every single day. We have the talent and resources to stay on top, we need to retain the desire to do so. There are no laurels to rest on, so over-contentment with the status quo must never happen.

With the ongoing changes in the geopolitical environment and the evolving nature of warfare, how do you see the role of SOF evolving in the future?

In some shape, form or way, SOF have been a part of warfare for all of recorded human history. They will continue to be needed to solve hard problems and present dilemmas to our adversaries that cannot be mitigated. They will become even more adept at hiding in plain sight, they will become even more lethal, they will be able to operate in more discreet and unobservable methods, and they will fully grasp the importance of information dominance and will continue to perfect its use.

How important is interagency and international cooperation in addressing emerging threats? What steps are SOF taking to build and maintain these relationships?

A partnership is the key to continuous victory. SOF must remain experts at building, maintaining and enhancing U.S. interagency and international cooperation. Information dominance warrants the best network of like-minded teammates possible. Through relationship-building engagement activities, continued education, and learning together, combined problem solving will occur.

What technologies and capabilities do you see as critical for SOF to acquire or develop to address emerging threats?

SOF will always require the ability to outwit adversaries, act faster, hide in plain sight, and operate whenever and wherever needed. The technology to help them attain these advantages remains critical, particularly in training and readiness, to ensure they remain always ready.

As the nature of warfare continues to evolve, how is SOF adapting its training and selection processes to support selecting and training the best candidates for the future?

SOF assess and select individuals based on the skills, attributes and core values that most closely ensure operational success. Training must remain as realistic as possible, stress formations during times of peace, and provide for experimentation and development of new ideas, which if properly implemented can lead to operational advantage.

How does SOF balance operational security and information sharing with other agencies and partners to address emerging threats?

Operational security will always remain paramount, especially in an era of ubiquitous technical surveillance and access to information, systems and sensors. Sharing with allies and partners, if properly done, can enhance security. Modern warfare will remain as conflicts where partnerships must exist for victory. Time/space/information parameters, through the advent of modern technology, mean the geographic world is a much smaller place.

With the increasing importance of cybersecurity and information operations in modern warfare, how is SOF developing its capabilities in these areas?

SOF must be experts in information warfare and advantage. Influence operations are critical to warfare and always have been. SOF have become more adept in cybersecurity and continues to contain a majority of information warfare specialists for the Department of Defense (DoD). There is a SOF/Cyber/Space nexus that continues to develop, and relationships are becoming stronger and stronger.

General Raymond (Tony) Thomas, USA (Retired)

General (Ret.) Raymond A. Thomas III served as the 11th Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Prior to assuming command of USSOCOM, Gen. (Ret.) Thomas served as Commander, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Fort Bragg (currently Fort Liberty), N.C.

Gen. (Ret.) Thomas’ other assignments as a general officer include, Associate Director for Military Affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency; Commanding General, NATO Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan; Deputy Commanding General, JSOC; Deputy Director for Special Operations, The Joint Staff in the Pentagon; Assistant Division Commander, 1st Armor Division in Iraq; and Assistant Commanding General, JSOC. Prior to being promoted to brigadier general, Gen. (Ret.) Thomas also served as the JSOC Chief of Staff and Director of Operations. His other formative and key, joint and special operations assignments include Commander, Joint Task Force – Bravo, Soto Cano, Honduras; Commander, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Savannah, Ga.; and Commander, B Squadron, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Thomas currently sits on the CAE USA Board of Directors.

Lieutenant General Francis Beaudette, USA (Retired)

Over the course of his 32-year career in Army and Joint assignments, the majority of it as a Green Beret, LTG Beaudette served with high-performing organizations at varying levels, from a 12-man Special Forces ‘A-team’ to the 36,000 - Soldier and Civilian US Army Special Operations Command. His recent assignments were Deputy Commanding General of the 1st Armored Division, Assistant Commanding General of JSOC, CG of 1st Special Forces Command and Commanding General of the US Army Special Operations Command. His operational assignments, totaling six years of deployed time, include the first Gulf War; comprehensive Africa experience to include noncombatant evacuation operations in Sierra Leone and the Congo; multiple peacekeeping operations in Kosovo; numerous deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines, and Jordan, all during eras of war, turmoil, or crisis.

Beaudette is currently a Senior Special Operations Forces consultant for CAE.

For more information milsim@cae.com