Irregular Warfare Podcast Future of War Part II: On Their Own
Oct 17, 2025
Major General Jeff VanAntwerp, the Commander of Special Operations Command–Pacific, and futurist August Cole dive into the challenges of future warfare. They discuss Cole’s short story, envisioning U.S. Special Operations advising a new Thai commando unit against Chinese-backed forces. The conversation highlights the critical role of technology like AI and robotics, while emphasizing that trust and adaptability are timeless values in special operations. They also explore the importance of guiding partners remotely and the need for innovative problem-solving skills.
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Persistent Surveillance Shapes Operations
- Persistent surveillance makes partner advising visible from arrival and constrains operations.
- Actors with mass data and AI can model and predict advisors' actions rapidly.
Small Teams, Big Strategic Return
- SOF provides disproportionate influence through long-standing partner relationships despite small numbers.
- Those generational relationships deliver outsized operational and strategic returns.
Prioritize Partner Situational Awareness
- Enable partners by giving them understanding and situational awareness rather than doing lethal work for them.
- Leverage commercial data to create a correlated multi-domain picture partners can act on.