SOF Support to Governance

Academic Associate

Kalev Sepp, Ph.D.
Root Hall, Room 205C
[phone]
[e-mail]

Brief Overview

This curriculum educates military personnel and civilian officials of the United States, its Allies, and Partners to better defend the national interests and prevent, prepare for, and prevail in conflicts by effectively assessing and influencing governance capacity in semi-permissive, denied environments and conflict regions. The SOF-G curriculum develops an understanding of how adversarial nation-states, third party malign state actors and guerilla groups undermine established government systems and supplant with their own governance activities as part of a larger UW campaign. 

Requirements for Entry

The SOF Support to Governance curriculum is open to all branches of the military, federal employees, international military officers, and government-sponsored civilians. A baccalaureate degree earned with above-average academic performance and a minimum APC of 265 is required. US officers must be eligible for a TOP SECRET clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information based on a Special Background Investigation completed within the last five years.

Convenes

The SOF Support to Governance curriculum is a six-quarter course of study with entry dates in January and July. If further information is needed, contact the Academic Associate.

Degree

The Master of Science in Defense Analysis - SOF Support to Governance, degree will be awarded in accordance with the following degree requirements:

1. This degree requires forty-five quarter-hours of graduate-level work, of which 15 hours must represent courses at the 4000 level.
2. Completion of an acceptable thesis or capstone project.

The Chairman of the Defense Analysis Department and the Academic Associate of the Information Strategy and Political Warfare curriculum approve each individual program.

Subspecialty

Completion of the degree program qualifies officers in multiple special operations governance support and Foreign Area specialties. The curriculum sponsor is the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy (OSD-P) and the United States Army Special Warfare Center and School.

Typical Subspecialty Jobs

Command and staff positions at the MAJ/LCDR level and above on service staffs, SOJTFs, JTFs, and combatant commands.

Typical Course of Study

Quarter 1

Course Number	Title	Credits	Lecture Hours	Lab Hours
DA3882	Coercion and Competition in World Politics		4	0
DA2010	Technical Writing and Composition		4	0
MN3121	Organizational Design for Special Operations		4	0
DA2410	Modeling for Military Decision Making, I		4	0

Quarter 2

Course Number	Title	Credits	Lecture Hours	Lab Hours
DA3101	Conflict in the Information Age		4	0
DA3410	Modeling for Special Operations II		4	0
DA4038	SOF Support to Governance		4	0
NW3230	Strategy & War		4	2

DA4038 ought to be taken before other government/governance focused classes. This is to act as a foundational class to help engage future classes in the DA and NSA Departments.

Quarter 3

Course Number	Title	Credits	Lecture Hours	Lab Hours
DA4107	Psychological Influence		4	0
DA4106	Trust, Influence and Networks		4	0
NS4225	Civil-Military Relations and Transitions to Democracy		4	0
NW3285	Theater Security Decision Making		4	0

Quarter 4

Course Number	Title	Credits	Lecture Hours	Lab Hours
DA3750	Anthropology of Conflict		4	0
NS3235	Civil Wars		4	0
NS3620	Survey of Asian Politics		4	0
NS4260	Hybrid Warfare		4	0

Quarter 5

Course Number	Title	Credits	Lecture Hours	Lab Hours
DA3801	International Terrorism		4	0
DA4600	Dark Networks		4	0
NS4667	Political Economy and Security in South Asia		4	0
NW3275	Joint Maritime Operations - part 1		4	0

Quarter 6

Course Number	Title	Credits	Lecture Hours	Lab Hours
DA4104	Militaries and Technological Change		4	0
DA4710	Critical Thinking and Ethical Decision Making		4	0
NS4642	Chinese Foreign Policy		4	0
NW3276	Joint Maritime Operations - part 2		2	2

Educational Skill Requirements (ESR)

SOF Support to Governance

Subspecialty Code: None

1. Military Art and Operations: Graduates will understand the organization, formulation, and execution of national security strategy and national military strategy; the effects of technical developments on warfare; the capabilities and roles of military forces throughout the entire spectrum of conflict; and current defense issues.
2. Emerging Security Challenges: Graduates will explore major security issues among states and between states and non-state actors, with emphasis placed on examining the sources of instability and violence including ethnic conflict, insurgency, and terrorism.
3. Special Operations Support to Governance: Graduates will understand the role of governance and post-military end state political objects in winning wars and achieving favorable political outcomes. To operate effectively in the Civil environment, graduates need to competently integrate governance-related capabilities in concert with other lines of operations to:
   1. Analyze how transitional governance and governance support operations influence at the operational and strategic levels of war and how they impact both military and political outcomes of war and conflict.
   2. Evaluate the principles, capabilities, and limitations of Special Operations Forces' support to governance across the range of military operations, to include during competition, conflict and consolidation of gains.
   3. Creating relationships, linkages, and dependencies between intelligence and governance operations.
   4. Analyze the contributions of the interagency community to operations in the civil and governance environment.
   5. Employ a deep cultural and historical understanding of governance vs government systems through the paradigm of regional examples and case studies.
   6. Utilize research methods such as statistical analysis, anthropology, and geographic models and apply those methods towards governance implementation, to include resources in austere, developing, and developed environments.
   7. Apply the principles of effective governance, including regional/geographic models of governance based on historical case studies and best practices.
   8. Develop governance execution priorities for functions such as revenue, services, dispute resolution, and feedback mechanisms.
   9. Employ the principles of adapting governance advising and assisting to local population characteristics to enhance existing governance functions and characterize shortfalls.
4. Information Strategy: Graduates will understand the role of information in winning wars and achieving favorable political outcomes. To operate effectively in the information environment, graduates need to competently integrate information-related capabilities in concert with other lines of operations to:
5. Analytical Methods and Applications: Graduates will have a foundation in analytical methods and their application to military modeling, simulations, and gaming. Close attention will be given to the ways in which such analytical techniques can be used in heuristic and decision-making tools for strategic and operational planning. Attention will be given to both historical and contemporary military applications with particular focus on the ways in which such techniques can be used to address issues of interest to the joint information operations community.
6. Information Systems: Graduates will have a systems-level understanding of information systems and their vulnerabilities as well as capabilities.
7. Intelligence Processes and Applications: Graduates will know intelligence, targeting, and assessment processes, and their applications to joint warfare through the national level, with particular emphasis given to the role of intelligence in planning, executing, and terminating information operations.
8. Thesis/Capstone: Graduates will demonstrate their ability to conduct independent research and analysis, and demonstrate proficiency in presenting the results in writing by means of a thesis or capstone project appropriate to this curriculum.