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Banner illustration for An Institutional Home for ARSOF Robotics: Establishing a SORD-Training Company for Standards, Training, and Doctrine (Illustration by Special Warfare Journal staff.)An Institutional Home for ARSOF Robotics:
Establishing a SORD-Training Company for Standards, Training, and Doctrine

ARSOF requires a dedicated institutional organization to develop, standardize, and sustain robotics training, doctrine, experimentation, and Special Operations Robotics Detachment (SORD) support. Currently, these functions are scattered across schools, MOS pipelines, ad hoc initiatives, and unit-level efforts. Each group builds SORD capabilities independently with its own standard and its own assumptions, which means the force has many versions of "trained" and no agreed definition of it. Standardization of institutional training is an explicit role at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS). A SORD Training and Integration Company (SORD-T) within SWCS would provide the missing connective tissue between MOS pipelines, advanced robotics courses, operational detachments, and emerging technology. This article is not focused on any singular course it presents a force-design proposal, focusing on a sustainable, neutral, institutional home for robotics capability generation.
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Banner Image for Relationships Forged in Fire. A Green Beret advises Colombian National Police Carabineros on basic rifle marksmanship at the International Police Training School of Colombia in 2009. Photo credit: CW4 W. Bryant"

May 20, 2026

Relationships Forged in Fire

Editor’s Note: This is the first time that this story has been documented from the U.S. side. The Soldiers in this story were never recognized for their actions; they did it selflessly because it was the right thing to do. This historical vignette is applicable to every Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) Soldier in our formation, especially as members of the Army’s premier partner force.

Banner image for A Team Room Discussion on the SOF-Space-Cyber Triad.

Dec. 11, 2025

A Team Room Discussion on the SOF-Space-Cyber Triad

The SOF-Space-Cyber Triad marks a critical evolution in how U.S. Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) prepare for strategic competition, crisis, and conflict. It is a practical concept that weaves space-based capabilities, cyber effects, and deep-sensing platforms into Detachment-level operations. The emphasis is not on developing bespoke technology for its own sake, but to extend the operational reach, survivability, and decision-making agility of forward Detachments.

Banner image for Getting Small: Institutionalizing Split-Team Operations for Large Scale Combat Operations. A Soldier assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) prepares his night vision lens prior to a weapons validation exercise at Fort Johnson, La., Apr. 26, 2025. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Oscar Reyes.)

Nov. 24, 2025

Getting Small: Institutionalizing Split-Team Operations for Large Scale Combat Operations

Modern battlefields are characterized by intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)-saturated and electronic warfare (EW)-contested environments. Large formations are vulnerable to drone swarms, rapid counter-battery fire, and automated targeting, making agility, dispersion, deception, and timely action critical for survival. Special Forces (SF) employ these necessary characteristics of modern warfare through split-team operations – dividing into small, independent elements, even down to singleton operators – to achieve stealth, autonomy, seamless integration with joint fire support, and increased operational coverage.

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