The U.S. Special Operations Command is pushing Congress to expand global partnerships and training authorities as the scheduled withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan approaches.
William H. McRaven, SOCOM commander and  Navy Admiral., told the House Armed Services Committee at a defense authority review in Washington that the command’s vision is to build a partner capacity, according to a DoD statement.
McRaven said SOCOM needs “a five-year plan or a 10-year plan because it takes time to build capacity if you want to do it right,” noting that most existing funding authorities are numerous but short-lived.
The command will also require training facilities and barracks funds that would support capacity-building in the long run, the admiral added.
McRaven said 85 percent of deployed special operations forces are back in the country serving in operations.
“This is about strengthening our alliances, building our network … and my expectation is that I’ll be able to take that capacity coming out of Afghanistan and be able to push [it] to other combatant commanders,†he added.
