Training for Victory: U.S. Special Forces Advisory Operations from El Salvador to Afghanistan

Authors

• Tobias Bernard Switzer, Center for a New American Security

Abstract

Tobias Bernard Switzer reviews Frank K. Sobchak’s Training for Victory: U.S. Special Forces Advisory Operations from El Salvador to Afghanistan, a comparative study of efforts to build host-nation special operations forces in El Salvador, Colombia, the Philippines, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Sobchak evaluates five factors that may influence advisory outcomes: consistency in advisor pairing, language proficiency, partner-to-advisor ratios, authority to organize host-nation units, and combat advising. He finds that advisors’ ability to organize partner forces is most strongly associated with combat effectiveness, while language proficiency is less decisive than commonly assumed. Switzer interprets these factors as measures of two broader requirements: influence over partner behavior and control over key organizational decisions. He argues that the book’s findings extend beyond special operations to the wider security force assistance community. The review concludes that U.S. leaders should assess influence, control, and time horizons early in an advisory mission and reduce objectives when the conditions necessary to build effective partner forces are absent.