Training Chrysalis

Leaders and soldiers of the Army's future Objective Force will face an ambiguous and dynamic operational environment populated by a ruthless, adaptive enemy. Both the environment and the threat resemble those faced by Special Forces today. Like Special Forces today, the Objective Force will be an intent-centric force that relies upon the judgment and initiative of subordinate leaders and soldiers to formulate and execute values-based decisions on a nonlinear and noncontiguous battlefield. Thus, the central research question is: Does Special Forces training offer possible training solutions to the Objective Force as its training framework and methodology are developed? This examination focuses on three primary steps. The first is an examination and comparison of current Special Forces and future Objective Force operational environments and threats. The second step is an analysis of the performance requirements of the Objective Force, and the third step is the analysis of current Special Forces training. Finally, this examination applies the training solutions developed and validated by Special Forces to the requirements of the Objective Force. This thesis concludes that Special Forces training does offer a departure point for the development of the Objective Force training methodology.