Episode Summary:

In Episode 132 of the Aerospace Advantage, Humans Are More Important Than Hardware: SOF Truth #1, John “Slick” Baum chats with longtime AFSOC pilot Col Sarah Brehm, veteran defense leader Mr. Jim “Hondo” Geurts, and AFSOC Special Tactics Officer Lt Col Steve Cooper about the United States Special Operations Command’s core values, what they call SOF Truths.

These tenets have defined the culture of SOCOM since 1987, which means they’ve connected special operators across different service components for generations—and this includes Air Force Special Operations. The first SOF Truth declares that “humans are more important than hardware.” However, given that technology permeates today’s battlefields more than ever, what does this really mean? To this point, how does the Department of Defense emphasize the importance of our human capital when the budget is geared toward the procurement of new hardware? We also explore how this ideal applies to the broader conventional force.

Credits:

Host: John "Slick" Baum, Senior Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Col Sarah Brehm, Air Force Fellow, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: James "Hondo" Geurts, Former Acquisition Executive for the Navy, USMC, and USSOCOM; Distinguished Fellow, Business Executives for National Security

Guest: Lt Col Steve Cooper, Special Tactics Officer, National Security Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

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