U. S. Army Special Operation Forces Selection, Training, and Organization Issues Overview Dr Mike Sanders COL John Christian Army Research Commander Institute

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U. S. Army Special Operation Forces
Selection, Training, and Organization
Issues Overview Dr Mike Sanders
COL John Christian Army Research
Commander Institute
Selection and TrainingDr
Owen T. JacobsIndustrial College of the Armed
ForcesNational Defense University
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SOF Truths
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ASSESSMENT SELECTIONPROCESS

• Began over 20 years ago
• Adopted from several sources
• 22nd SAS Endurance
• CIA Psychological
• OSS Leader Assessment Phase

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Assessment Selection

• The mission and operational environment dictates
  the AS process. Direct Action and
  Unconventional Warfare
• Must represent the essential job elements
• Allows for a realistic assessment.
• Identifies desired qualities and training
  potential.
• Gives the candidate a preview of the job.
• The process is a demonstration of the unit and
  cadres professionalism and dedication to
  excellence
• It models the units expectations.
• It establishes the organizational culture.
• It involves unit personnel in the critical
  manning function.

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SEQUENTIAL ASSESSMENT ANDSELECTION AND
PREDICTION ELEMENTS
SCREENING
OPERATIONAL
TRAINING
ASSESSMENT
Cognitive Aptitude GT 110 Military
and Personal Fitness
Psychological, Performance, and
Appropriate Situation Mission Elements
Tests, Board Review
Mission Oriented Training Tasks
Mission Performance in Unit
Physical Fitness Tests
Selection is an ongoing process and is values
sensitive
Significant Positive Correlations with Subsequent
Selection and Training
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ASSESSMENT SELECTION

• Professional prerequisites
• Right man verses best man
• Past performance predictive of future performance
• Land navigation
• Cognitive abilities under stress
• Endurance, Motivation, Commitment, Self-Efficacy
• Psychological
• Wonderlic MATRICES Cognitive ability
• MMPI Screen Out
• NEO Personality
• TAIS Attentional Style / Focus
• TAP Test of Adaptable Personality -
  conscientiousness, tolerance for ambiguity,
  team orientation.
• CPA Ability to be comfortable in unstructured
  environments

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ASSESSMENT SELECTION

SCREEN OUT
Psychopathology Low Trainability Poor Military
and Personal Adjustment
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ASSESSMENT SELECTION
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ASSESSMENT SELECTION

SCREEN OUT
Psychopathology Low Trainability Poor Military
and Personal Adjustment
TF160 - Night Flight Performance Checkrides
160th SOAR Night Flight Performance Checkrides
25-35 Selected for Training 12-14 Complete
Training of those starting the process 99
Effective in Operational Unit
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ASSESSMENT SELECTION

SCREEN OUT
Psychopathology Low Trainability Poor Military
and Personal Adjustment
160th SOAR Night Flight Performance Checkrides
Selected for Training SMU - 14 Special Forces
- 40 160th SOAR - 60
IMPACT ON UNIT

• High Mission Training
• Completion Rates

• Greater Operational Effectiveness
• - 99 Succeed

• Fewer Negative Critical Incidents

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NCO Success Rate in Assessment and Selection
Course and Formal Training Relative to Wonderlic
Score
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ASSESSMENT SELECTION

• Leader Assessment Program
• Multiple and simultaneous tasks under stress
• Case studies, writings, briefings, job sample
  test
• Selection Board
• Evaluation of the whole man values,
  dilemmas-reasoning ability, understanding of
  self, honesty and consistency under stress
• Moral, legal, ethical Is he worth the risk to
  bring to the training course?
• Formal Training Course
• Narrow and broad (multi-task) oriented teamwork
  emphasized
• Operational Unit
• Apprenticeship
• Formal 3-year review

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What SOF lessons learned can be exported?

• Selection and Training
• Organization Culture
• Stabilization
• Shared Initiative to Lead
• Shared Ownership

Defense Transformation and the Army Profession,
Senior Conference XLI, United States Military
Academy, West Point, NY, June 3-5, 2004.
Principles For Building The Profession SOF
Experience. T. O. Jacobs, Industrial College of
the Armed Forces and Michael G. Sanders, U. S.
Army Research Institute
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• What SOF lessons learned can be exported?
• Selection and Training
• We would argue that these are of secondary
  importance, in that they would
• not have their current importance if unit
  membership were not stabilized.
• Given stabilization, selection and training now
  seem to produce a mature
• unit member who has much greater than average
  capacity to perform
• under conditions of high stress and uncertainty.
  
• While understanding that the same actual
  practices might not be
• applicable in other settings, we would contend
  that the concepts are.
• A demanding qualifying experience clearly
  related to ultimate performance
• requirements, and that stimulates respect and
  admiration for the member who has succeeded in
  something difficult is the beginning of
  ownership.
• Training that produces in-depth expertise and
  quality judgment is at the
• heart of any profession.

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• What SOF lessons learned can be
  exported?
• Organizational Culture
• Professionalism can exist only when
  individual excellence counts and the opportunity
  exists to exercise decision initiatives based on
  unique expertise.
• Stabilization
• The primary factor permitting emergence of
  professional excellence in the unit is
  stabilization of unit membership.
• This permits socialization, in-depth
  acquisition of expertise by leaders and other
  operational personnel, and the development of a
  clearly articulated and well-understood set of
  cultural mandates about performance and
  accountability for mission success.
• These same benefits could be attained at
  least to some extent by other units through
  increased unit member stabilization.

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• What SOF lessons learned can be exported?
• Shared Initiative to Lead
• This is at the heart of role sharing, which in
  turn is central to a professional,
• information-age organization.
• The essential element is mutual respect for
  expert knowledge and ability
• in the execution of a role.
• It might be argued that this is a critical
  factor in their capacity to defer to
• the situational leadership of a more capable but
  lower-ranking member,
• and their observed openness to suggestions for
  improvement in unit operations.
• All officers commanding operational troops have
  themselves succeeded
• in selection and operator training.

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• What SOF lessons learned can be exported?
• Shared Ownership
• This also is possible only with stabilization.
  It is aided by training and
• leader development practices in the unit which
  tend to produce a higher
• level of professionalism than is found in most
  conventional Army units.
• It is expressed as our unit, and reflected
  in both mutual commitment
• and the willingness to defer to the judgment of
  others with greater expertise.
• This also is an information-age concept that can
  and should be exported to combat arms unit.
• The NCO Slating Process is an example of a
  process reflecting
• and strengthening Ownership. It contrasts with
  the centralized system
• of senior NCO promotions in the conventional
  Army.
• The argument of centralized promotion
  advocates, that this produces a
• more uniform quality in the NCO ranks, is
  powerful. However, the obvious beneficial
  effects of the practice are also powerful.

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END
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SCREENING TRAITS CHARACTERISTICS
OUT
IN

• INTERPERSONAL
• TEAM PLAYER / SELF SACRIFICING
• SOCIALLY ADROIT
• INTEGRITY
• LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES
• LEGAL / MORAL CONFORMITY
• GOOD CREDIT / DEBT RATIO
• FAMILY STABILITY
• RESPONSIBLE ALCOHOL USE
• EXCEPTIONAL DUTY PERFORMANCE
• HEALTHY / FIT
• BALANCED / CONTROLLED BEHAVIORS

• INTERPERSONAL
• NARCISSISTIC
• POOR SOCIAL SKILLS
• UNETHICAL
• LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES
• CRIMINAL HISTORY
• FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
• FAMILY VULNERABILITIES
• SUBSTANCE ABUSE
• ERRATIC WORK HISTORY
• PHYSICAL VULNERABILITIES
• RISKY LIFESTYLE

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PREDICTING HUMAN PERFORMANCE

• Objective To get the right man to succeed in the
  operational environment.
• Operational environment
• Mission is clear, standards obscure
• Feedback is not available
• Confidence, commitment and motivation is key
• Excellence is demanded, degree is unknown
• Unequivocal success is mandatory