SCOOP: Navy veterans in Congress lay out future of Special Operations Forces
THE LOWDOWN:
Sen. Tim Sheehy (R., Mont.), a former Navy SEAL, and Rep. Jake Ellzey (R., Texas), a former Navy Fighter pilot, laid out the stakes of not modernizing our military at an event hosted by Veterans on Duty (VOD) this week — and they could not be higher.
“We need to build our military like we did in 1941,” Ellzey said. “We don't have years to develop this, we have to win now. We don't have years to develop this if 2027 is the date. We don't have years, we have a year.”
Sheehy seconded the urgency, and said that America needs to reframe strategic conflicts between it and countries like China from “near-peer competition” to “peer competition.”
Sheehy singled out countries like China for their actions. China “has been going after Taiwan for years…to weaken it…to scare off global corporations,” he said.
Two Navy veterans in Congress warned that America needs to both reassess its strategy to compete with adversaries and modernize its military within a year in order to “win now.”
Sen. Tim Sheehy (R., Mont.), a former Navy SEAL, and Rep. Jake Ellzey (R., Texas), a former Navy Fighter pilot, laid out the stakes at an event hosted by Veterans on Duty (VOD) this week — and they could not be higher.
“We need to build our military like we did in 1941,” Ellzey said. “We don't have years to develop this, we have to win now. We don't have years to develop this if 2027 is the date. We don't have years, we have a year.”
“The whole idea of war is transforming itself,” he said. China, for example, wages “complete war” when it chooses to do so. Ellzey nevertheless had reason for optimism, due to companies like Palantir and Anduril, which he singled out for praise.
But, there are reforms he wants made quickly. There are too many flag officers, for example. When four star generals come to Capitol Hill, they have larger staffs than he does, he quipped.
Ellzey also opposes the reflex to fire Navy staffers even after at times high-profile blunders. “Nimitz ran a ship aground as a lieutenant…and then got five stars, and then he undoubtedly helped us win a war in the Pacific,” he said. When the Navy relieves a skipper and puts the news in the Navy Times, it sends all the wrong messages, he said.
Sheehy seconded the urgency, and said that America needs to reframe strategic conflicts between it and countries like China from “near-peer competition” to “peer competition.”
“We need to think in terms of peer competition, and if we're near-peer, we're probably the one behind,” Sheehy explained. “The reality is China, Russia, and many of our adversaries are networking their defense capabilities better than we do, they're making things faster than we're making them, they're making them for cheaper than we're making them, and they have more people than we do. In almost every single category we are behind.
“We have to be ready to accept the fact that we are going to be outmatched on the battlefield,” he added.
Sheehy singled out countries like China for their actions. China “has been going after Taiwan for years…to weaken it…to scare off global corporations,” he said.
“The war has already begun,” even if it’s not militarily. The recent conflict between India and Pakistan was the first opportunity to see Chinese technology in a conventional battlefield, and the results were better than many expected. Open source intelligence showed that Pakistan shot down five Indian jets.
VOD’s team shared their thoughts on the future of Special Operations Forces (SOF) following the event. “Our Special Forces operators have been the tip of the spear for the past two decades and will be needed more than ever in the years to come,” Garrett Exner, a VOD board member, said. “Our SOF are capable and adaptable, but often the acquisition process that supports them is exactly the opposite. As a Marine Special Operations officer, it was refreshing to hear from Senator Sheehy and Congressman Ellzey that Congress is taking steps to advocate and fund our SOF community.”
“Our SOF community will play a crucial role in deterring and if necessary, fighting in the Indo-Pacific,” Hooff Cooksey, VOD’s executive director, said. “Senator Sheehy and Congressman Ellzey provided incredible insight into the steps forward to strengthen SOF and to grow our military capabilities."
Finally, Jeremy Hunt, VOD’s chairman, explained the role his organization plays in the broader veterans’ community. “Veterans On Duty advocates for a robust national defense to ensure our nation remains safe, strong, and free,” he said. “Whether facing threats from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, or any other adversary, the American people deserve a defense budget that adequately supports our SOF community and all service members, enabling them to deter and defeat multiple enemies.”
