Concept of Resistance: Part 1 - Resistance in Europe

The concept of resistance is foundational to Army Special Operations Forces, as our mission is generally to partner with forces to either support or defeat resistance movements. In this two-part series, we pair experts on resistance with our forward-stationed battalion commanders in Germany and Japan to discuss what resistance is and how it’s applied in today’s operational environment. 

*To join the conversation, navigate to the 1SFC CAG page on the SIPR portal, where you will find a button for the CDR's Blog*

Links:

Assessing Revolutionary and Insurgent Strategies (ARIS) Project: 
https://www.soc.mil/ARIS/ARIS.html

Resistance Operating Concept (ROC):
https://jsou.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=54216464

Lt. Col. Mike Penn is a Special Forces officer and commander of 1st Bn. 10th Special Forces Group in Stuttgart, Germany. He’s been in the Army for almost 25 years and has spent the majority of that time in Special Operations units.

 Mr. Paul Tompkins is currently the Sensitive Activities Division Chief at the US Army Special Operations Command. A retired CW4 with 28 years of service, Mr. Tompkins joined the Special Forces regiment in 1980 and spent time planning resistance operations against the Soviet Union during his time with 10 Special Forces Group in the ‘80s. 

 Dr. Otto Fiala, also currently working at USASOC, is a retired Army Colonel and was the lead author of the Resistance Operating Concept while at Special Operations Command Europe.

 LtCol. Randy Martin has spent most of his career within the US Air Force Special Operations Command and is a subject matter expert on Resistance at SOCEUR. 

 Master Sgt. Frank Miller is a colleague of Mr. Tompkins and Dr. Fiala at USASOC. He’s served 15 years as a Green Beret, including several years with 1st Bn 10th Group in Germany, and is a Silver Star recipient from combat actions in Afghanistan in 2010.