United States Special Operations Command's contribution to unified land operations is through United States Army Special Operations Command's critical capabilities of special warfare and surgical strike. Special warfare is unique in its reliance on indigenous war fighting capacity to stabilize or destabilize operational environments. Special warfare, as a critical capability, and the conceptual application of special warfare in and through cyberspace must address special warfare's contribution to operational art in the human domain. This study uses a qualitative content analysis to explore the linkages between special warfare operations and cyberspace operations to support joint force commanders and U.S. embassy country teams in shaping the human domain. Further, cyber-enabled special warfare is explored through a typology of human action as a framework of analysis to develop methods of integrating cyberspace operations and special warfare.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)