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Senate subcommittee warned SOCOM faces personnel cuts, flat budgets amid surging demand
Summary
Witnesses told the Senate Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee that U.S. Special Operations Command is operating with stagnant budgets and substantial personnel reductions while demand from combatant commanders has risen sharply, creating risks to deterrence, modernization and readiness.
The Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimony that U.S. Special Operations Command is confronting steep operational demand at the same time its buying power and manpower have declined.
In testimony before the subcommittee, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (SOLIC) Mr. Jenkins and Gen. Bryan Fenton, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), said years of flat budgets and personnel cuts are forcing trade-offs that undermine modernization and deterrence. "Representing less than 2% of the defense budget, our special operations forces provide unique and outsized effects," Jenkins said. "We must ensure SOF readiness while balancing operational demands and optimizing…
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