APPROACH TO THE FORMALIZATION OF THE PROCESS OF CONDUCTING SPECIAL ACTIONS BY A SPECIAL FORCES UNIT USING THE ANALYTICAL-STOCHASTIC MODEL.

The current realities of the military-political situation in the world comprise the emergence of a significant number of new contradictions of various natures between states and entire regions, and in some countries acute territorial, religious and ethnic confrontations that have led to a number of armed conflicts. In addition, international terrorism, drug smuggling, illegal arms trade and organized crime pose serious threats today. The emergence of these threats brings the necessity of drastic changes in approaches to resolving them. A significant share in the settlement of these conflicts belongs to the Special Operations Forces, which is the youngest and most advanced component of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The authors identify one of the main problems that is the lack of a unified approach to the formalization of the process of conducting special actions. The purpose of this article is to form a mathematical model of the process of conducting special actions by the unit of Special Operations Forces during the planning and conducting of special operation. The authors propose an approach to the formalization of the process of conducting special actions by a special forces unit, using an analytical- stochastic model.

RAZVOJ SPECIALNIH SIL SV IN IZKUŠNJE IZ AFGANISTANA

CONTEMPORARY MILITARY CHALLENGES ◽

10.33179/bsv.99.svi.11.cmc.17.1.3 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 47-62

Author(s):

KRISTIAN BERŠNAK

Keyword(s):

Task Force ◽

Armed Forces ◽

Special Forces ◽

Special Operations ◽

Peacekeeping Operations ◽

Basic Task ◽

International Environment ◽

History Of ◽

The Republic

Slovenska vojska je od osamosvojitve do danes dosegla velik napredek pri razvoju zmogljivosti specialnih sil, kar s svojo vrhunsko usposobljenostjo in pripravljenostjo ter interoperabilnostjo s sorodnimi enotami Nata v praksi nenehno potrjuje njena Enota za specialno delovanje (ESD). Potencial enote se kaže predvsem pri izpolnjevanju obveznosti RS v mednarodnih operacijah in na misijah. Članek na primeru delovanja ESD ponuja razmislek o povezanosti med razvojnim konceptom specialnih sil SV ter njihovo resnično »in field« uporabo. Najvidnejši primer delovanja ESD v mirovnih operacijah in na misijah je bila napotitev v sklopu dvajsetega slovenskega kontingenta v operacijo Isafa. Element ESD je kot del Desete skupne bojne skupine za specialno delovanje pod vodstvom komponentnega poveljstva specialnih sil Isafa prvič v zgodovini SV sodeloval v operacijah specialnih sil Nata, in sicer v smislu nekonvencionalnega delovanja, s temeljno nalogo vojaške pomoči afganistanskim varnostnim silam. SV je z delovanjem elementa ESD v sklopu specialnih sil Isafa potrdila svoje zmogljivosti v praksi in tako v zahtevnem mednarodnem okolju dokazala, da je strateški koncept RS, povezan z razvojem specialnih sil SV, pravilen in predvsem uresničljiv. Since Slovenia’s independence to date, the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) achieved significant progress in developing the capabilities of special forces. This is being continuously confirmed by SAF Special Operations Unit (SOU) in practice with its superior competence and readiness as well as the interoperability with similar NATO units. The unit’s potential is mainly reflected in the fulfilment of the obligations of the Republic of Slovenia in international operations and missions. Using the example of SOU operations, the article provides a reflection on the relationship between the development concept of SAF Special Operations Unit and its actual in field use. The most visible example of SOU activities in peacekeeping operations and missions was the deployment of the 20th Slovenian contingent to the ISAF operation. For the first time in the history of the SAF, the SOU element which was subordinated to the Combined Special Operations Task Force 10 led by Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command - Afghanistan participated in NATO special operations forces in terms of unconventional operations. Its basic task was to provide military assistance to the Afghan security forces. With the engagement of SOU element within ISAF special forces the SAF confirmed its capabilities in practice and proved in the international environment that the strategic concept of the Republic of Slovenia associated with the development of SAF special forces was accurate and fully implementable.

VKLJUČEVANJE ŽENSK V SPECIALNE SILE

CONTEMPORARY MILITARY CHALLENGES ◽

10.33179/bsv.99.svi.11.cmc.22.4.5 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 85-105

Author(s):

KARMEN POKLUKAR

Keyword(s):

Selection Criteria ◽

Selection Process ◽

Armed Forces ◽

Primary Concern ◽

Special Forces ◽

Gender Integration ◽

Special Operations ◽

The One ◽

Mixed Gender

Povzetek V prispevku ugotavljamo, da kljub prepoznavanju prednosti žensk pri izvajanju posebnih nalog specialnih sil še vedno ostaja precej vprašanj glede oblikovanja mešanih sestavov. Največje vprašanje predstavlja ohranjanje strogih fizičnih izbirnih meril za oba spola, ki po eni strani pomembno prispevajo k vzdrževanju kohezivnosti enote in njene elitnosti v oboroženih silah ter družbi, po drugi strani pa zmanjšujejo njeno dostopnost fizično šibkejšemu spolu. Premiki k vključevanju žensk v specialne sile so se v nekaterih državah že zgodili, v nobeni izmed teh držav pa s temi pristopi ne želijo oslabiti poslanstva in statusa specialnih sil. Prav to smo na podlagi izvedenih intervjujev ugotovili tudi na primeru Enote za specialno delovanje Slovenske vojske. Ključne besede specialne sile, ženske v specialnih silah, izbirni postopek. Abstract The article notes that although the advantage of gender integration in the conduct of special assignments has been identified, there remains a considerable dilemma with regard to the formation of mixed-gender structures. The primary concern is to maintain strict physical selection criteria for both genders. These, on the one hand, make an important contribution to maintaining the cohesiveness of the unit and enabling members of the Special Forces to preserve their status of elite forces within the armed forces and the society, and, on the other hand, reduce their accessibility for a physically weaker gender. Some states have already accomplished partial shifts in the integration of women into Special Forces. Yet, through such measures, none of these states intend, by no means, to weaken the mission and status of Special Forces. Based on the conducted interviews, the above-stated findings were established in the case of the Special Operations Forces of the Slovenian Armed Forces. Key words Special Forces, women in Special Forces, selection process.

CONCEPTUAL SCHEME SYSTEM FOR MODELING OF TACTICAL SITUATION ON THE BASIS OF GEOINFORMATION SYSTEM

Visnyk Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Military-Special Sciences ◽

10.17721/1728-2217.2018.39.78-84 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 78-84

Author(s):

V. Khirkh-Ialan ◽

V. Bakhvalov

Keyword(s):

Armed Forces ◽

Conceptual Scheme ◽

Geoinformation System ◽

Geoinformation Systems ◽

Special Operations ◽

Gis Technologies ◽

Combat Simulation ◽

Definition Of ◽

The Military ◽

Simulation Systems

The analysis of the directions of geoinformation systems use in the military sphere indicates the need to develop domestic simulation systems for combat operations simulation and the creation of a system for a tactical military situation simulation using geoinformation systems for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The article proposes a conceptual scheme of a system of simulation of a tactical situation on the basis of GIS technologies, which is proposed to be used for planning intelligence and special operations, the definition of objectives, the analysis of terrain and the mutual visibility of opposite sides, management of combat. Keywords: combat simulation system, geoinformation system, geospatial simulations.

The Drones and Issues Connected with Their Use in Contemporary Conflicts

International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION ◽

10.1515/kbo-2017-0050 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 305-310

Author(s):

Richard Stojar

Keyword(s):

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽

Armed Forces ◽

Unmanned Vehicles ◽

New Wave ◽

Special Operations ◽

Aerial Vehicles ◽

Global Space ◽

Drone Warfare ◽

The Military ◽

Further Development

Abstract The text deals with the development and methods of use of Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in contemporary conflicts or special operations. The contribution tries to present the main advantages of these vehicles as being the main reasons for their current use in armed forces of state as well as non-state actors and their dynamic proliferation in global space in past years. We can observe a new trend in the armed conflict in the last two decades - use of advanced systems of unmanned vehicles in such a range that many military and academic experts talk about a new wave of revolutionary changes in the military affairs. This wave, or we could even talk about militarytechnological breakthrough should lead to imminent use of these systems in contemporary as well as future conflicts which would result in the partial or complex robotization of the battlefield. Specific attention is dedicated to controversies tied to the use of Drones/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in socalled Drone Warfare and current discussion in the context of cultural or societal dimension of their use and perspectives for further development.

Comparative Analysis of the Hybrid Tactics Application by the Russian Federation in Conflicts with Georgia and Ukraine

Central European Journal of International and Security Studies ◽

10.51870/cejiss.a130202 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 48-73

Author(s):

Lesia Dorosh ◽

Olha Ivasechko ◽

Jaryna Turchyn

Keyword(s):

Russian Federation ◽

Hybrid Methods ◽

Armed Forces ◽

Armed Conflicts ◽

Raw Material ◽

Effective Combination ◽

The Russian Federation ◽

Will Force ◽

Hybrid War ◽

The essence and main characteristics of the hybrid war are reviewed as a means of destroying the enemy country from inside due to the effective combination of conventional armed forces, subversion, propaganda, and dissemination of misinformation. The hybrid tactics used by the Russian Federation in Ukraine and Georgia are investigated. A comparativeanalysisof the military component in the confrontation between Russia, Ukraine and Georgia is conducted, the peculiarities of informational and psychological confrontation and factors that led to the significant achievements of the Russian side in the hybrid warfare are revealed, economic aspect of the hybrid confrontation are clarified (especially regarding the factors of financial, energy and raw material dependence) and, finally, the key conditions for the widespread use of hybrid methods of confrontation during modern armed conflicts are identified. Thedifference is proved between conflicts in Georgia and Ukraine, mainly in the use of military means. It is established that the conditions for the conflict in Crimea were unique, or at least extremely rare, and they can hardly be reproduced in any other place. It is noted that in the future, hybrid war will become rather a situational phenomenon, because the implementation of aggressive actions against another state without the necessary conditions for it will lead either to a quick defeat of the aggressor state, or will force such a state to move toconventional warfare, which requires significant financial costs and inevitably will cause decline in the prestige of such a state within the international community.

Monument with a military «scar»: preservation and exhibiting practices

Yaroslavl Pedagogical Bulletin ◽

10.20323/1813-145x-2021-4-121-185-193 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (121) ◽

pp. 185-193

Author(s):

Ivan V. Leonov ◽

◽

Yanina V. Grusman ◽

Igor V. Kirillov ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Armed Forces ◽

Armed Conflicts ◽

Cultural Continuity ◽

Propeller Blade ◽

Historical Materials ◽

Places Of Memory ◽

The Status ◽

The Russian Federation ◽

The Military ◽

The Impact

The article continues the discussion of the topic related to strategies for working with historical and cultural heritage monuments that contain traces of the impact of wars and armed conflicts. Based on the exposition and funds of the CNM, the analysis of specific monuments, the form and semantic aura of which bear the «scars» of history, is carried out. Among the monuments, which are given special attention in the article, there are St. Andrew's flag from the battleship «Tsesarevich», items from the cruiser «Varyag», a fragment of the foremast from the battleship «Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky», a shot-through helmet of a marine infantry soldier found at the Sinyavino heights, a damaged propeller blade of the DB-3F bomber, etc. The article considers the status of «scarred» artifacts as «places of memory» that ensure the preservation and transmission of ideas about the military past and are an integral part of military culture. The article describes the main strategies for working with monuments whose «patina of time» contains traces of military influences. As an example of a complex artifact with a deep semantic load, symbolizing the unity of different periods of national history, demonstrating the historical and cultural continuity of its epochs (including through the synthesis of different-time military-historical materials with a high sacred component), the image of the Saviour Not Made with Hands – the main icon of the Main Temple of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is considered.

Zeszyty Naukowe Instytutu Administracji Akademii im Jana Długosza w Częstochowie Gubernaculum et Administratio ◽

Democratic control over the armed forces in the legal order of the member states of the Council of Europe

10.16926/gea.2021.01.04 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1(23) ◽

pp. 59-70

Author(s):

Jakub Robel

Keyword(s):

Security Policy ◽

Armed Forces ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

International Terrorism ◽

General Interest ◽

Council Of Europe ◽

Member States ◽

Democratic Control ◽

The control of the military is an indispensable element of a democratic government. Author of the article says that the degree and type of such control will vary considerably according to the system of government, historical traditions and also cultural values. The democratic control over the armed forces has two dimensions, which both enhance and promote confidence – building and peace. The domestic dimension implies the primacy of the civilian general interest of the principles of a democracy over the military. The international dimension prohibits in general the threat or use of force against a State. The democratic control of the armed forces is a complex matter. The author has focused in particular on aspects related to the armed forces: ‘traditional’ issues such as military expenditure or military budget and appointment of top commanders and issues which correspond to the change in the role of the armed forces, both at national and international level. Indeed, since the end of the cold war, armed forces have undeniably undergone a profound shift in both the range and focus of their role. This refocusing of defence and security policy in many Council of Europe member States has led to more national participation in international peace missions. Likewise, the changing nature of the threats posed to national security and in particular the rise of international terrorism has resulted in the re-emergence of an international role of the army in many European states, which requires a specific control of the conditions by which a state uses the army in domestic issues.

Civil-Military Relations Post-9/11

Landpower in the Long War ◽

10.5810/kentucky/9780813177571.003.0005 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 61-82

Author(s):

Donald S. Travis

Keyword(s):

Vietnam War ◽

Military Operations ◽

Military Establishment ◽

Special Operations ◽

Civil Military Relations ◽

The People ◽

The World ◽

Military Relations ◽

Post-9/11 civil-military challenges associated with sustained military operations against assorted enemies in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and other regions around the world are examined through the Clausewitzian concept known as the "paradoxical trinity" of the people, the military establishment, and the civilian government. As America's wars are conducted by a consortium of land forces that General Peter Schoomaker once characterized as a "new strategic triad" composed of the Army and Marines with Special Operations Forces (SOF), the Clausewitzian framework is employed to help reassess three interrelated lessons drawn from the Vietnam War: the legality of war, the use of advanced weapons and their associated strategies, and the persistent debates over how best to employ military power focused on conventional versus unconventional forces' roles, missions, and tactics. Potential futures of landpower and civil-military relations are identified and discussed to challenge current political and military policies and stimulate further inquiry.

Will Biden could withdraw the US forces from Afghanistan?

10.33920/vne-01-2103-02 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Stanislav Mikhailovich Ivanov

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Central Government ◽

Armed Forces ◽

The United States ◽

Armed Conflicts ◽

Islamic State ◽

Peace Agreement ◽

Military Presence ◽

The Us ◽

The article analyzes the military operation of the United States and its NATO allies in Afghanistan, which lasted for 20 years, and the prospects for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from this country. The author states that the new US President D. Biden does not abandon the foreign policy course pursued by his predecessors earlier to reduce the US military presence in Afghanistan. Moreover, the new president reaffirmed his commitment to the peace agreement between the United States and the opposition Taliban, reached in the Qatari capital of Doha in February 2020, which provides for the withdrawal of US troops and their NATO allies from the country. However, the author comes to the conclusion that due to a number of objective and subjective factors, the timing of the final withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan may be postponed indefinitely, and even the deadline recently declared by the White House on September 11, 2021, may be far from final and may be repeatedly subjected to revisions. The main obstacle to the implementation of this important clause of the bilateral agreement is the lack of progress in negotiations between the Taliban representatives and the central government, as well as the lack of security guarantees for the withdrawn contingent of the US Armed Forces, NATO and the remaining staff of Western foreign missions in Afghanistan. Not only the radical Taliban wing, but also a number of current ministers in Kabul are trying to sabotage the conclusion of a second peace agreement and the subsequent integration of the Taliban into power. Without a lasting agreement between the Taliban and the central authorities in Kabul and the formation of a new coalition government, the likelihood of a resumption of civil war in the country will remain. New terrorist attacks and outbursts of violence on the part of the radical wing of the Taliban movement against the central government and foreign troops are not excluded. The penetration of Islamic State gangs into Afghanistan, which can undermine the stability of the military-political situation from within and provoke new armed conflicts, also carries certain risks. Much will also depend on the position of one of the main external players in Afghan affairs — Islamabad. Time will show whether Pakistan will be ready to take on part of the functions of a peaceful settlement within the Afghan conflict. The US administration would like more participation in stabilizing the further situation in Afghanistan from other regional forces (China, Russia, India, Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan).

Demilitarization after Central American Civil Wars

10.5406/illinois/9780252037894.003.0010 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Philip J. Williams ◽

J. Mark Ruhl

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

El Salvador ◽

Civil Wars ◽

Armed Forces ◽

Armed Conflicts ◽

Business Interests ◽

Constant Feature ◽

Economic Elites ◽

The 1960S ◽

This chapter considers how the armed forces declined in power throughout Latin America in the early 1990s, but the processes of demilitarization in El Salvador and Guatemala were unique. While demilitarization followed civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala, these are the only two cases in Latin America in which the United Nations played a major role in brokering negotiated settlements to end the armed conflicts and in monitoring peace agreements that set in motion processes of demilitarization. In both countries political opposition to continued military domination, including armed insurgencies, was a constant feature from the 1960s onward. Moreover, economic elites who traditionally looked to the military to protect their business interests increasingly expressed concern about the liability of supporting a large, well-equipped military without a mission.