Authorities and Permissions to Conduct Army Special Operations Activities Abroad

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jackson, Kimberly

Language:

English

Place of Publication:

RAND Corporation 2022

Summary:

The activities that U.S. special operations forces (SOF) conduct overseas in environments below the threshold of armed conflict are governed by a wide variety of statutes, laws, and legal decisions. Collectively called authorities, these parameters outline what military forces can, and cannot, do under specific circumstances. These authorities, and the non-statutory permissions that accompany them, are often the topic of policy discussions about how to leverage Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) to support broader strategic competition objectives, particularly because the sheer number of authorities that can be used often muddles understanding of what the legal basis is for a deployment in a particular region. This report outlines the basic types of authorities relevant to ARSOF's activities in environments short of war, differentiating between "steady-state" and operational authorities. Further, it summarizes the role of policy permissions in enabling military activities overseas.