CONTENTS JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019

VOLUME 32 | ISSUE 3 ON THE COVER

Lithuanian Special Operations Soldiers

ARTICLES train in the same dense forest where

their predecessors, the "Forest
06 | SOCEUR Overview Brothers," fought against the Soviet
occupation.
08 | In Depth: SOCEUR Commander
Photo Courtesy of the Lithuanian
10 | Regional Threat Overview Armed Forces

12 | A Legacy of Resistance

14 | The ROC

17 | Survivability: Medical Support to Resistance

22 | Resistance, Resilience, and Everyday

Citizens as an Element of National Power

26 | A History of Resilience

30 | The Whole-of-Society Approach

32 | War After War

14 36
36 | Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum
(If You Want Peace, Prepare For War)

38 | Leveraging STRATCOM

44 | Propaganda

46 | Latvia: A Country of Tenacity and Resilience

50 | Estonian Defense

53 | Supporting the Homeland:

The Role of the Estonian Women's
Voluntary Defense Organization 50
56 | Countering Malign Influence in Estonia
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 “The long night of
fear, uncertainty

from the and loneliness is

over. You're joining
COMMANDANT the strong and
President George W. Bush made a solemn promise to the people of the growing family of
Baltics 17 years ago. That promise was one of not only support, not only NATO. Our alliance
protection, but also of friendship. The speech given in the Old Town Hall Square
has made a solemn
pledge of protection,
in Lithuania's capital Vilnius, marked the date NATO decided to invite Lithuania
and anyone who
and six other countries to join the alliance. The historic speech marked an
would choose
historic event that impacted not only Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — the
Lithuania as an
countries addressed in this issue — but was also an important date for NATO. enemy has also made
Today, Army Special Operations are living up to that promise as they work an enemy of the
side-by-side with their partners in countries like Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. United States of
In this issue of Special Warfare, we will continue to explore the idea of
America. In the
face of aggression,
resistance and Army Special Operations unique role in supporting our partner
the brave people of
forces through unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense.
Lithuania, Latvia and
The relationships ARSOF Soldiers make today in countries throughout
Estonia will never
Europe are key in the competition phase and cannot be ignored. The long-
again stand alone”
standing friendship and partnership between the United States and these — President George W. Bush,
Nov. 23,2002
historic partners are key in countering Russian aggression in the Baltic Region.

PATRICK B. ROBERSON
MAJOR GENERAL, USA
COMMANDING GENERAL

04 Special warfare | HTTPS://WWW.SOC.MIL/SWCS/SWMAG/SWMAG.HTM

 Like the Forest Brothers who
fought in the woods throughout
World War II and even later,
and the students who started
the Singing Revolution of the 01
'90s, today's citizens are sworn An exhibit at
to protect the sovereignty of the Museum
of Occupations
their countries. The citizens are and Freedom
sworn to defend their nation if Fights in Vilnius,
Lithuania gives
an invader comes. Each country
visitors a glimpse
has volunteer forces who work into a padded
in normal occupations day-to- cell where Lithu-
anian people
day, but prepare for the day their were tortured.
sovereignty is in jeopardy. The hanging
Everyone — the young and straight jacket
illustrates how
the old; men and women — has citizens were
a role in the defense of their hung in this cell,
nation and they take it quite with walls
padded so thick
seriously. Multiple organiza- that they could
tions exist, with each allowing a not hear their
own screams.
certain segment of the popula-
01
tion to take part in the defense 02

FROM THE EDITOR

A photo
of their homeland.
displayed in
For those whom have truly the Museum of
lost their freedom, protecting it Occupations and
There are places you go later of the KGB. Between 1940
Freedom Fights
throughout the world where you and 1991 people who resisted the is the highest priority. You can
shows a group of
can physically feel the history, occupiers were arrested, killed or hear the resolve in their voices young men held
the pain and the triumph of a deported. Their stories are told when they talk about it, one captive in a small
cell by the KGB.
place or its people. We found one throughout the building. Their theme is repeated often in each
of those places several years ago terror and death seems to perme- Baltic country — never again. SW U.S. ARMY PHOTOS
when we visited Goree Island off ate the hallways.
the coast of Senegal. There, Eu- You cannot understand the
ropean traders would sell slaves, Baltic States unless you understand
put them on boats and send their history, which is rife with
them around the world. The evil violence. The people don't casually
of the place was palpable. study history from a book — they
I thought never to find an- lived it. It is ingrained in their
other place like that— but I was DNA. Our tour guide, a young
wrong. During a recent visit by soldier, told us of his uncle's death
Special Warfare to Lithuania, we in one of the small dungeon-like
visited the Museum of Occupa- rooms in the former KGB head-
tions and Freedom Fights, which quarters. He spoke of others his
is located in the historic heart of family knew who perished at the
Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. hands of the KGB.
The museum illuminates the For the people in the Baltic
50-year Soviet occupation of States resistance isn't just a
Lithuania, which started in World military idea, it's their way of
War II. During the war, it was the life. Today, they still stand in the
site of Gestapo headquarters and shadow of Russian aggression.
02

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 05

 SPECIAL OPERATIONS
COMMAND EUROPE
Mission SOCEUR employs Special Operations Forces across the U.S. European Command area of responsibility
to enable deterrence, strengthen European security collective capabilities and interoperability and counter
transnational threats to protect U.S. personnel and interests.

VIsion SOCEUR will integrate with the USEUCOM components and the Interagency to achieve USEUCOM
theater objectives. SOCEUR will preserve its distinct theater operational response capability through a culture
of readiness, decentralized mission command, and empowered tactical operators. The priorities for SOF
operational employment are to gain and maintain persistent access to areas of potential conflict and violent
extremist organizations areas of operations, to enable preparation of the environment tasks in support of
USEUCOM OPLANs and CONPLANs, while assuring our European Allies and partners of U.S. commitments to
bilateral and NATO obligations.

About Across Europe, our adversaries are challenging national sovereignty, alliance solidarity and U.S. resolve.
Within this contested environment, SOCEUR is uniquely postured to galvanize the interagency with allies and partners
to counter malign influence, build cohesion, rapidly respond to emerging threats, and if necessary, defeat aggression.

LINES OF EFFORT ORGANIC COMPONENTS

» » Respond to Crisis » » 352d Special Operations Wing
» » Counter Russian Malign Activities » » 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
» » Prepare for Conflict » » Naval Special Warfare Unit 2
» » Counter Designated Threat Networks » » SOCEUR Signal Detachment,
112th Signal Battalion (Airborne)
MAJOR ANNUAL EXERCISES » » Joint Special Operations Air Component-Europe
» » Jackal Stone: A bilateral counter terrorism
exercise that focuses on crisis response at APPORTIONED FORCES:
the tactical and operational level, leveraging » » 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
interagency and host nation capabilities.
» » 92nd Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne)
» » Trojan Footprint: A SOCEUR-led regional
exercise that rotates between the Baltic and » » 6th Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne)
Black Sea regions, incorporating multiple » » Special Operations Detachment – Europe,
NATO Allies and partners. The exercise 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
focuses on mission command at the Special
Operations Task Group, Combined Joint
Special Operations Task Group and Joint
Forces Special Operations Component
Commander levels across multiple nations
to set conditions for larger combined, joint
full-spectrum warfare.

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 SOCEUR AREA OF REsponsibility
SOCEUR’s area of responsibility is derived from EUCOM's area of responsibility, consisting of 51 independent
countries that extend from Greenland east through the European continent and all of Russia, and south of the
continent to include the Mediterranean Sea, south to the Caucacus Region and Israel.

BALKANS HIGH NORTH (BALTICS) BLACK SEA

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova,
Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine
North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia Poland, Sweden

Sy r ia
C YPRUS

Morocc o A l g e r ia Tu n i s i a Ira q
Leba non
ISRAEL Jor d an

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 07

 IN DEPTH
Q: What lessons from the past 18 years in the Middle East has SOF
taken away and applied in countering Russia/great power
competition as outlined in the National Defense Strategy?
A: We haven’t been fighting in the U.S. Central Command area by
ourselves. Most of our key allies there are the same countries we
work with every day, so both in terms of our relationships and our
ability to integrate, as well as simply our combat readiness, it’s
Q&A WITH THE SOCEUR COMMANDER never been better. With respect to specific lessons from the nature
of that conflict, they are very different. However, from a special op-
MAJOR GENERAL KIRK W. SMITH, U.S. AIR FORCE erations perspective, both state and non-state actors use networks.
What we’ve gained in the past two decades is a better understand-
Q: Broadly speaking, what does your ing of human networks, and the importance of building coalitions
Command focus on in Europe? and shared understanding.
A: As the Theater Special Operations Q: What role does Resistance and Resilience play in SOCEUR’s
Command for U.S. European Command, overall effort?
we are responsible the for the employ-
ment of special operations across a A: How can we best support our allies in their national defense
51-country area of responsibility. The planning? What unique capabilities and relationships can SOF
focus ranges from ensuring our forces bring and leverage to that effort? These are the discussions that
maintain a high state of readiness to led to the ROC. Resistance is one option within a range of contin-
respond to a crisis, strengthening rela- gencies to preserve or restore sovereignty in the face of an illegal
tionships with our Allies and partners invasion, incursion or occupation. It’s something you have to
through training and other activities plan for in advance. By discussing these ideas now, it contributes
and bringing unique capabilities to the to the ability of our Allies to strengthen the overall resilience of
overall joint force. their populations.
SOF does not work in a vacuum in What’s more, the ROC provides a framework that can lead to dis-
Europe. Instead, it functions as part cussion beyond the Baltics. We are currently looking at our allies and
of a larger operational and strategic partners across Europe to respond to their interest in exchanging
framework, not only within EUCOM, ideas about resistance and resilience as a framework for defending
but also in coordination with the De- national sovereignty.
partment of State, combined with our
Q: Although this issue of Special Warfare focuses on Resistance
allies and partners.
concepts in the Baltics, the Black Sea region is a major focus area
The long-standing and mature re-
for the command. In terms of Russian malign activity, what kind
lationships we developed, both within
of things are you observing in this region?
our government and particularly
amongst our allies and partners, are A: More so than any in other area in Europe, Russia is overtly active
oftentimes our most valuable assets. with its military in the Black Sea, and illegally occupies portions of
Most of the countries that deployed Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Both our NATO allies and partners
with us both in peacekeeping and are obviously concerned about this, and so we are engaged with
combat operations around the world our counterparts to ensure it’s clear that we, both as U.S. SOF and
are from the European theater. We can EUCOM, are clear about our commitment to our NATO allies and
build cohesion and galvanize support broader stability in the region.
amongst a wide variety of agencies and
partners to accomplish objectives. Q: SOCEUR recently held its Trojan Footprint exercise for the first
Furthermore, competition goes be- time in the Black Sea region. What is U.S. SOF doing in this area?
yond deterrence, which is closely related A: Primarily we are training with, and alongside, our allies and
as a physical manifestation of competi- partners, strengthening and demonstrating relationships that we’ve
tion. It’s important to send a clear signal built over decades, and providing advice on the refinement of their
both in our readiness, capabilities and special operations defense institutions. As with most European
will that we will support our NATO allies countries, most of our allies and partners in the region have very
and partners. However, it goes much capable tactical SOF units. Where we focus then is on the ability to
deeper into building, maintaining and command and control at echelon, with our partners, in either NATO
maturing relationships. It’s not as much or multilateral constructs. This year’s Trojan Footprint was a prime
about competing for influence as it is in example, where we had 10 nations working together, including the
ensuring we make every effort by invest- Hungarian-led Regional Special Operations Component Command,
ing in relationships and improving our a regional initiative to form an operational-level SOF command
integration with our partners and allies. between five nations.

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 Q: : What kinds of activities do you see
Russia conducting in the Balkans and
what is your command doing to
counter them?
A: The Balkans are a place where Russia
considers certain nations in its sphere of
influence going back for more than a cen-
tury. They are very keen to retain their
military influence there, both in terms
of their relationships and other efforts
to influence the populations through
disinformation and other means. For
example, Montenegro recently convicted
two suspected Russian GRU, the for-
eign military-intelligence agency of the
General Staff of the Armed Forces of the
01 Russian Federation, agents in absentia
in May for their role in an attempted
Q: What are U.S. Special Operations Forces doing in Ukraine? coup against the legitimate, pro-Western
A: We work closely with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to government in 2016.
advise on the further development of Ukrainian SOF institu- We’ve maintained a consistent pres-
tions. Most notably, we participate in the Joint Multinational ence and assisted partners that we’ve
Training Group-Ukraine effort as part of our ongoing efforts to worked with in the region, whether that’s
contribute to Ukraine's long-term military reform and to help through combined training, exercises,
improve Ukraine's internal defense capabilities and training providing subject-matter expertise, etc.
capacity. This effort is part of our long-running defense coop- Engagement by SOF Civil Affairs, in
eration with Ukraine, and is taking place at the invitation of the conjunction with civil society, the inter-
Ukrainian government. agency (DoS, United States Agency for
Our primary effort as part of JMTG-U has been assisting International Development, etc) and/or
our Ukrainian partners in the refinement of their assessment, host-nation government, enables efforts
selection and qualification of their special operations forces. to reinforce legitimate governance and 01
From an institutional standpoint, we advise the Ukrainian Spe- build resilience among at-risk popula- Bulgarian and Ukrai-
cial Operations Command on a variety of topics ranging from tions. Feedback reinforces the transfor- nian Special Operations
structure to equipment. Forces fast-rope from
mative impact U.S. SOF partnerships in
When we were first asked in 2015 by Ukrainian SOF to assist a U.S. Army MH-60M
these activities can have. The success of
with their qualification course, U.S. SOF provided a large portion Blackhawk helicopter
those relationships has attracted new assigned to the 160th
of the class material. Now after multiple iterations, there’s not
partners who have seen that we are Special Operations
only a large number of graduates of this new course, but an expe-
invested in promoting security in the Aviation Regiment
rienced cadre of trainers who have taken over full responsibility (Airborne) near Yambol,
for the training program. Our Soldiers provide advice and assist region and not merely our own interests.
Bulgaria, as part of
them with further refinements from an institutional standpoint. Exercise Trojan Footprint
Q: : What kind of presence does U.S. SOF
19. Trojan Footprint is
Q: : One of your lines of effort is countering threat networks. What maintain in the Balkan region? an annual U.S. Special
does that look like in Europe? A: We’ve worked hard to develop Operations Command
relationships with our allies and partners Europe-led exercise
A: Unfortunately there’s been several high-profile attacks in
in the region, building off deployments that incorporates Allied
Europe in the last few years, so it’s very much something our al- and partner special
lies and partners are concerned about. However, it’s very much a to the region in the 1990s. Some of the
operations forces. The
policing function instead of military for most of our partners. As relationships we maintain and strength- 2019 exercise brought
U.S. SOF we are not asked to conduct raids or anything like that, en through habitual training, such as together 1400 special
most of our partners have extremely competent counter-terrorism in Kosovo and in Bosnia, include not operators from ten
skills. For us, it’s about relationships and as SOF we’re positioned only Ministry of Defense forces but also nations for training over
select special police units. We’re also very land, sea and air, across
to assist our allies and partners best by being able to connect them
Bulgaria, Hungary,
to resources and in some cases, provide training. For example, we engaged with Civil Affairs teams there Romania and the Black
bring embedded intelligence and law enforcement access, Civil Af- working with both our partners and the Sea. U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY
fairs and Psychological Operations forces. U.S. Embassies. SW SPC. MONIQUE O’NEILL

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 09

 REGIONAL THREAT OVERVIEW
Russia continues to illegally occupy Crimea and maintains permanently stationed military forces in the sovereign territories
of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, thereby remaining a belligerent revanchist power in Europe. Amidst this backdrop,
Russia is reinforcing a sizable, modern military presence along its border with our NATO allies, guaranteeing the country a
significant overmatch in aggregate combat, at least at the immediate onset of conflict or in the event that hostilities break
out with the west. Though a conventional military attack against NATO members remains unlikely in the near term, Russia
continues to exploit its proximity to Europe in conducting malign activities focused on weakening Euro-Atlantic
institutions and setting conditions for contingency operations.

While Russian destabilization efforts trouble the east, the European theater also broadly contends with terrorism, violent
extremist organizations and various other transnational threats to peace and security. Terrorists, criminals and their
organizations continue to use the same illicit networks to profit by moving people, weapons and narcotics. Foreign
terrorist fighters, particularly those who fought for ISIS, create a difficult situation for European governments after the
collapse of the physical caliphate. Our allies in Israel continue to face pressure from Iran and its proxies as well.

RUSSIAN INDIRECT ACTION

Russia characterizes security as a zero-sum land in Finland to establish forward support sites, to
endeavor, threatening its neighbors militarily while Montenegro’s conviction in absentia of two suspected
compromising their societies, economies and governing Russian GRU agents for their role in an attempted
bodies through a wide range of malign activities. Russia coup against the elected democratic government,
leverages its significant cultural, historical and eco- to the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal, a
nomic ties in Europe to facilitate intelligence operations former Russian military officer and double agent for
and malign influence activities. This approach is central the United Kingdom's intelligence services, who, along
to the Russian military concept known as indirect action. with his daughter was poisoned.
Russia supports a broad range of military and non- Russia also provides funding and support to
military covert actions intended to advance its na- a number of surrogates and proxy organizations
tional interests while obfuscating its involvement and throughout Europe, providing plausible deniability for
identity. These actions include non-standard maritime its destabilizing activities. The surrogates and proxy
activity, dual use infrastructure, assassination and organizations range from Russian-led separatists in
sabotage. These activities have spilled into the public Ukraine’s Donbas to anti-NATO political groups. It
sphere more frequently of late, ranging from Russia has been thoroughly reported in the media that Russia
using privately-owned front companies to purchase sponsors numerous tactical training organizations

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in the Baltic States and Balkans including paintball, such as NATO and the European Union in order to
airsoft and knife fighting clubs to recruit and exert reduce popular support for NATO troop increases and
influence. Russia provides funding and material forward-staging of advanced weapons.
support to a variety of European political parties, non- For example, Russian-backed media outlets
governmental and cultural organizations across the recently published disinformation stories targeting
political spectrum to sow discontent and reduce popu- U.S. SOF in Ukraine, falsely claiming the Ukrainian
lar support for host-nation governance and continued government provided U.S. military members Ukraini-
integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. an passports to facilitate the infiltration of American
Russia manipulates the information environment “advisors” into Russia.
through traditional media and discrete influence Finally, Russian activities in cyberspace, includ-
operations to influence Europe’s populace, leadership ing espionage and offensive operations, are focused
and military forces. This activity, dubbed “information on manipulating, destroying and gathering critical
confrontation,” also includes information operations information from computer networks. A prominent
and disinformation targeting U.S. forces in Europe. example was the crippling NotPetya attack by Russian
Russia’s information operation narratives in Europe hackers against Ukraine in 2017 that crippled not only
have been largely focused on exploiting socio-eco- government and essential Ukrainian services such as
nomic fissures and discrediting western institutions hospitals, but also spilled out into global commerce.

TERRORISM, VIOLENT EXTREMIST ORGANIZATIONS

AND TRANSNATIONAL THREATS
The risk of terrorism in Europe remains high. ability to accept, process and integrate refugees and
Despite a decline in fatalities from a spike in terrorist migrants. The strain on the social systems of Euro-
attacks since 2016, violent extremists present a clear pean nations, especially along the Mediterranean
and persistent threat to Europe's people and its infra- Sea, diverts resources that could otherwise go toward
structure. The destruction of ISIS’s physical caliphate military and defense spending. Finding solutions
in Syria and Iraq has challenged European security has tested political relationships. EU member states
services and law-enforcement to track and monitor struggle to find a common, “shared” approach to
the return of foreign fighters to their countries of ori- admit and settle migrants.
gin, actors using mass migration to infiltrate Europe’s Iran continues to use the Syrian Civil War to lever-
borders to plan and conduct attacks. age Lebanese Hezbollah to support the Assad Regime
The violence caused by ISIS and the Syrian Civil and threaten Israel militarily. Iran, which Israel views
War, long-running conflict and unrest across the as its greatest existential threat, continues to transfer
Middle East, combined with economic conditions advanced conventional arms to Hezbollah and main-
in Africa, have led to waves of migrations to Europe tains its regional influence in the Levant against Israel
in the past five years that have strained Europe’s through support to radical groups such as Hamas. SW

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 11

 A LEGACY OF
RESISTANCE
BY JANICE BURTON

Over the past several years, Special Operations Command-

Europe has focused on the theory and practice of resistance.
Throughout their study, they have looked at historical examples
of resistance, as well as the ongoing planning and practice of
resistance as seen through the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia
and Estonia. The Special Warfare team had the opportunity to
go forward with U.S. Special Operations Forces in the Baltics to
learn more about the modern practice of resistance. We came
away with some key points:
• Resistance is not theoretical in the Baltics 01
• Resistance is ingrained in the DNA of the people in the Baltics
01
• Resistance is a way of life for the people in these countries A drawing depicts the scene at the Vilnius TV Tower on January 13, 1991, when soviet
tanks and Soldiers surrounded the tower after civilians encircled the strategic struc-
One has to understand the historic ties of the Baltics to not
ture in a form of protection and protest. The Soviets fired into the crowd and tanks
only Germany, but more significantly, Russia. Throughout its ran people down, killing 14 and injuring hundreds more. This art piece was displayed
history, the Baltic States have been forcefully ruled by Russia as part of a series of children's drawings outside the Museum of Occupations and
and Germany, although there were many periods of freedom for Freedom Fights in Vilnius, Lithuania in July 2019. U.S. ARMY PHOTO
each of the nation-states. At the end of World War I, Latvia and
PHOTOS BELOW
Estonia established their independence. Lithuania would follow Children's art displayed outside the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights
suit, but not without a great deal of conflict. Like many countries in Vilnius, depicts the history of Lithuania, and the Baltics.
in Europe, the three states became members of the League of From Left: Citizens are forced from their homes; People are oppressed and held
Nations, the precursor to the United Nations. During the 1920s, in prisions; People are killed for resisting occupation; Forest Brothers take ref-
uge in underground bunkers and tunnels dug in dense forests; Citizens joined
the League’s main goal was to prevent war and to help settle dis- hands and sang songs of national pride, spreading the Singing Revolution
putes between member countries. From 1922 to 1934, Estonia throughout the Baltic States; Crowds gathered around government buildings
and Latvia worked hard to achieve regional security, but it wasn’t and set up barricades and defenses. U.S. ARMY PHOTOS

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until 1934, when Lithuania joined the alliance that the Baltic
Entente was formed. The three Baltic States signed nonaggres-
resistance activities led to
sion pacts with Russia and Germany in the 1930s, in an attempt
to remain neutral. Ultimately, all three states fell under the
bloodshed in Vilnius and later
Soviet sphere of influence, and were forced to sign mutual assis-
tance pacts with the Soviet Union. Leading up to World War II,
in Riga. In Vilnius, the Soviet
the Russian government stationed Soviet garrisons throughout
the region. Following the fall of Paris in 1940, the governments
military occupied the Vilnius
of the three Baltic states were abolished and Russia established
Communist control of the Baltics and began the process of
television towers, which gave
Sovietization of the region, with the establishment of People’s
Assemblies in each of the countries. In the ensuing years, social
birth to the Singing Revolution
organizations were disbanded, property rights were taken away
and mass deportations began, which moved more than 100,000
in Estonia and the human chain
people from the region to Russia. That effort ended in 1941 when
Germany attacked the Baltics. Seeing the Germans as liberators,
that stopped tanks in Lithuania
citizens in Latvia and Estonia, tried to reestablish their national
governments, but were squashed under the German rule.
and protected the legislature.
While Germany attempted to establish administrative gov-
ernments throughout the Baltics, including the conscription of
These acts of civil disobedience
people into the Germany military, a resistance bloomed through-
out the region, with the establishment of various resistance
resulted in the independence of
organizations in each of the Baltic states. As the war continued,
the Baltics fell back under Russian control in 1944/1945. The
the Baltic States.
war had a huge human impact on the region with Estonia losing legislatures in all three countries. On March 11, 1991, Lithuania
more than 90,000 people; Latvia more than 180,000 and Lithu- declared its independence. Estonia and Latvia followed within
ania more than 250,000. the year.
As the war ended, the region once again fell under Soviet Moscow denounced the elections, and tried to bring the
control. The Soviet government reestablished pre-war govern- Baltic states to heel through the use of economic blockades and
ments and brought in Soviet officials to take control of the other moves to reinstate Soviet rule. On Jan. 13, resistance
governments in the region — with the goal of eradicating the activities led to bloodshed in Vilnius and later in Riga. In Vil-
idea of independence. This ignited another resistance among the nius, the Soviet military occupied the Vilnius television towers,
people in the Baltics, particularly in Lithuania where the Catho- which gave birth to the Singing Revolution in Estonia and the
lic Church played a large role in the resistance movement. In human chain that stopped tanks in Lithuania and protected
Estonia and Latvia the Popular Front formed, and in Lithuania the legislature. These acts of civil disobedience resulted in the
the Movement for Reconstruction started. independence of the Baltic States, and ultimately in the Baltic
In August, 1989, the people of the Baltics created a massive states joining NATO in 2004. To mark that historic date, Presi-
demonstration of more than 500,000 people linking the people dent George W. Bush visited Lithuania and gave an historic
of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius to highlight the illegal acquisition of speech in the town square noting, “Anyone who would choose
the Baltic States by Russia through the German-Russian pact of Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United
1939. The following year, pro-independence majorities swept the States of America.” SW

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 13

 THE ROC
The Resistance Operating Concept:
Special Operations Command Europe’s
Collaborative Approach within
Unconventional Warfare.
BY COLONEL KEVIN D. STRINGER, Ph.D.
AND DR. OTTO C. FIALA, Ph.D., J.D.

BACKGROUND AND CONCEPT

Russia’s 2008 war against Georgia served as a precursor to
its future mischief in Europe. This revanchist action coupled
with other indicators sparked a renewed interest in unconven-
tional warfare and resistance operations in Europe. In July 2013,
SOCEUR established a small project team to develop a resistance
knowledge network of institutions, subject matter experts, aca- cific topics within the UW/resistance domain. The conclusions
demics and practitioners. The primary objective was to study UW of the syndicate groups were summarized in after action reports
and resistance via seminars and workshops to create a foundation that captured terminology and identified gaps for continued
of intellectual interoperability on the subject. The concept foresaw exploration at follow-on seminars. A natural outgrowth of the
a series of increasingly advanced sessions that would ultimately Resistance Workshops was the need for a usable primer for both
emplace resistance operations as an integral component of nation- policymakers and practitioners. The Resistance Operating Con-
al defense for allies vulnerable to hostile neighbors, primarily the cept emerged to fill this requirement.
Baltic States and Poland. The resistance workshop series would
also shape plans, exercises and training in this area. A second-
ary objective was to revive UW and resistance as a core SOF task ROC DEVELOPMENT
after many years of atrophy due to direct action-centric problem Created in two multinational writing workshops held in
sets involving the War on Terror. The first Resistance Workshop April and July 2016, the first version of the ROC, enhanced
occurred in Warsaw, Poland in January 2014. While the launch with supporting doctrinal and professional references, offered
event had good attendance from the Baltics and Poland, and a starting point for relevant partner feedback at the March
provided initial lessons-learned, wider NATO interest was low. 2017 seminar held in Stuttgart, Germany. The constructive
Russia’s subsequent February 2014 annexation of Crimea signifi- feedback loop regarding the contents and focus of the ROC set
cantly changed this level of interest and future participation. the precedent for continued ROC development. Inputs from
each subsequent seminar and augmenting table top exercises
resulted in a more complete coverage of the topic, supported by
RESISTANCE SEMINARS further appendices to lend context and understanding.
The forums were explicitly unclassified and multinational By 2018, SOCEUR was ready to pursue publication of the
to allow a free exchange of ideas, concepts and themes among ROC. The aim was to make the ROC available to a broader Euro-
academics and practitioners. The purpose of the seminars was pean national security community seeking resistance relevant
to create common resistance understanding and terminology, information. As an integral institutional participant since 2014,
while developing modern ideas on resistance warfare informed the Swedish Defence University was the natural choice for ROC
by historical examples. The participants also sought to engen- publication. As a second step, Joint Special Operations Univer-
der whole-of-government awareness which would ultimately sity agreed to publish a version to ensure distribution of the
bring the interagency participation that would facilitate document to U.S. defense community practitioners and policy
national defense planning. makers. JSOU has been an active supporter since the first semi-
The seminar methodology encompassed presentations by nar in 2014, and the unpublished version of the ROC is already
academics and specialists to provide the necessary foundational the primary document for the JSOU National Resistance Course
frameworks, followed by small group syndicates focused on spe- as well as reference material in other JSOU modules.

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 of non-violent actions. These actions can vary in effectiveness
depending on the willingness of the occupier to apply coercive
ROC CONTENTS force against the population. Due to the significance of such
The ROC's primary focus is to guide the development of
activity in recent decades, the ROC devotes an appendix to
an organized resistance capability prior to an invasion and
explaining types of non-violent actions and their applicability.
the subsequent full or partial occupation of territory with its
What distinguishes the ROC the most from other related
respective loss of sovereignty. Resistance, as a form of warfare,
writings concerning unconventional warfare and the sister topic
is part of a layered national defense in-depth. To this end, the
of insurgency is its message that a national resistance capability
ROC first seeks to delineate the concept of national resiliency is pre-planned and led by the government. The concerned gov-
in a pre-crisis environment. The ROC defines resilience as; “the ernment creates an organization prepared to conduct activities
will and ability to withstand external pressure and influences on its own territory against a foreign occupier with the intent of
and/or recover from the effects of those pressures or influenc- removing that occupier and re-establishing the political status
es.”01 National resiliency is enhanced with the formation of a quo with its previously elected government. Within this planning
national resistance capability intended to restore sovereignty. should be the development of agreements and even bi-lateral
Resilience is thus distinguishable from resistance and is a planning with allies and partners for combined exercises that
necessary pre-condition for successful resistance operations. include resistance. Very significantly, World War II historical ex-
The ROC demonstrates the significance of national resilience amples demonstrated that outside assistance from a major power
by devoting a full chapter, enhanced by case studies in the ap- was necessary for resistance success.03
pendices, to this important cornerstone of national defense. The ROC also contains case studies of Cold War era stay-
After establishing a necessary understanding of national re- behind networks within several western European nations that
silience, the ROC then lays out its concept of resistance. The ROC were formed in preparation for Soviet invasion. The primary
defines resistance as; “a nation’s organized, whole-of-society lesson to be learned from this era is the necessity of transparent
effort, encompassing the full range of activities from nonviolent legal and policy frameworks that render legitimacy to the plan-
to violent, led by a legally established government (potentially ning and formation of a stay-behind resistance organization.
exiled/displaced or shadow) to reestablish independence and Effective resistance against an occupier requires organiza-
autonomy within its sovereign territory that has been wholly or tion. According to U.S. Army and Joint doctrine, the four primary
partially occupied by a foreign power.” This definition is comple- components of a resistance are: underground, auxiliary, guerrilla
mentary and adjunct to the definition of unconventional warfare forces, and a public component (if possible). The ROC describes in
found in Joint Publication 3-05, Special Operations, which de- detail and through historic examples these components and the
fines it as “activities conducted to enable a resistance movement required underground networks within the resistance organiza-
or insurgency to coerce, disrupt, or overthrow a government or tion, including (but not limited to) logistics, medical, information/
occupying power by operating through or with an underground, messaging, finance, education/training, transportation, recruit-
auxiliary and guerrilla force in a denied area.”02 ing, communication, intelligence/counterintelligence, security
This definition purposely begins with the term whole-of-soci- and sabotage and subversion. Furthermore, after short historical
ety. Most of the states concerned with developing a resistance ca- references to these components and networks in the main body of
pability tend to be smaller states in close proximity to or border- the document, the appendices add case studies for broader breadth
ing much larger and more militarily capable potential adversaries. and scope. These case studies are for a dual audience: U.S planners
This situation is applicable to several states in Europe as well as supporting allied or partner resistance planning and the Allied and
other regions of the world. The terms most often used to describe partner-nation resistance planners themselves, thus giving both
their approach is Total Defense or Comprehensive Defense. This groups the same context, terminology, and frames of reference.
defense concept goes beyond a whole-of-government approach to
include civil society organizations in national security. It recog-
nizes that attacks can come not only in the form of traditional
conventional military actions, but also include assaults against
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
the country’s economy and society, in asymmetric or hybrid form, The ROC emphasizes several key considerations that are
designed to weaken national cohesion, and reduce resolve to critical for the successful establishment and conduct of a
maintain independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. resistance campaign against a foreign occupier. These con-
Though the term resistance in the historic context of wars siderations are: governmental pre-planning, establishment
recalls activities such as sabotage and raids, the ROC recogniz- of appropriate legal and policy frameworks, compliance with
es that resistance to a foreign occupier can also take the form international law and maintenance of legitimacy.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF RESILIENCE AND RESISTANCE IN NATIONAL DEFENSE

Loss of Sovereignty

Defending National Sovereignty Regaining National Sovereignty

Resilience Resistance

Preparation Deterrence Graphic credit: After Action Report, Unconventional Warfare / Resistance Seminar,
Baltic Defence College, Tartu, Estonia, November 4-6 2014, 4.

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 15

 THE RESISTANCE OPERATING CONCEPT

Resistance as a form of warfare is best planned by a tance operations for national defense. In this role, the ROC
SOCEUR ISSUE

government prior to a crisis and not left to the sua sponte fulfills its primary purpose as a common frame of reference
development of a movement once an occupier takes territory. between SOCEUR and its allies, both their military and
Uncontrolled and unguided efforts to resist an occupier result interagency organizations. The ROC has become a shared
in unforeseen political endstates. The re-establishment of the planning guide, focusing and synchronizing combined and
pre-crisis status quo is the goal most likely supported by a joint resistance efforts. To this end, these activities assure
majority of the population in free and democratic societies and the allies of SOCEUR’s commitment in the event of this
by the international community. That re-establishment must worst case scenario while contributing to the overall deter-
be the goal of the plan and must be consistently communicated rence effort. SW
throughout the resistance campaign.
The construction of legal and policy frameworks is necessary ABOUT THE AUTHORS
to authorize the development of a resistance capability during
Col. Kevin D. Stringer, Ph.D. is the former Deputy Director,
peacetime with the attendant pre-crisis preparation, oversight Strategy, Plans, and Policy (at Spe-
and planning. The responsible organiza- cial Operations Command Europe. A
tion must be authorized and controlled
by the government using appropriate
ROC DEFINITIONS Eurasian Foreign Area Officer, Colonel
Stringer has held command and staff
legal frameworks to support it. The policy positions in the 8th Infantry Division,
structure provides the rules and guide- RESILIENCE the Southern European Task Force, Eu-
lines for the direction of the organization. The will and ability to ropean Command, Special Operations
Though much information concerning the withstand external pressure Command Africa, Special Operations
organization may be classified, the au- and influences and/or recover Command South and Joint Special Op-
thority for it to exist must be transparent. from the effects of those erations Command. He has also served
Closely linked to national legal and pressures or influences. as a Foreign Service Officer with the
policy frameworks is the necessity to Department of State. His interagency
adhere to the international legal context. assignments include: Director, Plans
RESISTANCE and Strategy-Operation Gallant
Each state operates within customary and
A nation’s organized, Phoenix in Jordan and U.S. Africa Com-
codified international law. Conducting a
resistance campaign within this frame-
whole-of-society effort, mand's Liaison Officer to the Depart-
work can translate directly to external encompassing the full range ment of State in Washington, D.C. With
of activities from nonviolent a Bachelor of Science from the U.S.
policy and material support. Further-
to violent, led by a legally Military Academy at West Point, he
more, if a nation becomes occupied, then
earned a Doctorate in International
a lawfully exiled government can retain established government
Affairs from the University of Zurich, a
national sovereignty and legitimacy under (potentially exiled/displaced Master's of Arts in International Rela-
international law. An exiled government or shadow) to reestablish tions from Boston University, and a
can represent the interests of that nation independence and autonomy Master's of Arts in Strategy and Leader-
in the international community while con- within its sovereign territory ship from the U.S. Army War College.
testing the acceptance and legitimacy of
that has been wholly or
the occupier. Compliance with internation- Dr. Otto C. Fiala, Ph.D., J.D. was a
partially occupied by a Resistance and Resilience planner at
al law can also result in economic, political
and military actions by the international foreign power. SOCEUR, and the author and chief
community against the occupying state. editor of the Resistance Operating
This state authorized resistance organization, established Concept. He previously served as a
within the necessary national frameworks, and mindful of the Senior Counterintelligence Analyst at USEUCOM and as US-
law of armed conflict, must retain a high degree of domestic AFRICOM's Joint Doctrine Coordinator. Dr. Fiala commanded
and international legitimacy. This legitimacy is relevant during in the ranks of Captain through Colonel, retiring as an Army
Reserve Civil Affairs Officer with operational deployments
peacetime, crisis and occupation. Retention of this legitimacy
to Iraq and Georgia and missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina
can translate into successful strategic communication narra-
and Kosovo while assigned to NATO's SHAPE headquarters.
tives and messaging that can facilitate the support necessary in
He holds a Doctorate in International Relations from the
peacetime, crisis and under occupation.
University of Reading, United Kingdom, a Juris Doctorate
from Brooklyn Law School, New York, and a Bachelor of
Arts in Political Science and Economics (dual major) from
SUCCESS OF THE ROC AS A COMMON PLANNING GUIDE St. John's University, New York. He practiced criminal and
On a restricted distribution basis, the ROC has been domestic relations law and remains admitted to the bars of
used by certain allies to design their approach to resis- the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of New York.

NOTES 01. Resistance Operating Concept, v5, (Stuttgart: Special Operations Command Europe, 2018), 1. 02. Joint Publication 3-05, Special Operations (Washington DC:
Department of Defense, 2014), GL-12. 03. Resistance Operating Concept, v5, Appendix D.

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 01

SURVIVABILITY
standards. If peer conflict occurs again
in Europe, medical infrastructure will
be severely degraded and significant
obstacles to medical support will im-
mediately arise, especially regarding
MEDICAL SUPPORT TO RESISTANCE extremely prolonged evacuation times
and scarce resource availability. The U.S.
military has not faced as severe a chal-
BY SERGEANT FIRST CLASS JAKE HICKMAN, U.S. ARMY; lenge to provide medical support since
COLONEL JAY BAKER, U.S. ARMY; AND World War II.
The SOF medical community has
LIEUTENANT COLONEL ELIZABETH ERICKSON, U.S. AIR FORCE been bracing for the regression of medi-
cal support in emerging conflicts since
at least November 2017 when U.S Army
Hope is a primary driver of resistance movements, and the best way to keep
COL (Ret.) Dr. Warner “Rocky” Farr pub-
hope alive in a resistance movement is to keep people alive. There are many as-
lished The Death of the Golden Hour and
pects to enhancing survivability of a resistance movement, and medical support
the Return of the Future Guerrilla Hospital;
is one critical part. Doctrinal military health service support constructs, such as
yet the existential threat facing Eastern
combat support hospitals or forward surgical teams, will be wholly inadequate to
Europe poses the worst case scenario
support resistance movements in a peer conflict in Europe for the primary reasons
for medical support to resistance. The
that they are overmanned and under trained. This article will discuss a whole-of-
restricted mobility for friendly forces in
society approach to preparing military and civilian medical resources that will
territory occupied by a peer adversary
build readiness and resiliency of our allies or partners, improve casualty mortality will severely limit external medical sup-
rates and enable both resistance members and allied forces to sustain the fight to port to U.S. SOF and our allied partners,
regain territorial sovereignty against an illegal occupation. including the resistance. The isolation
Medical infrastructure is vastly different in peacetime Europe than in more of U.S. and allied forces in a denied en-
austere areas frequented by U.S. Special Operations Forces. Medical evacua- vironment will by necessity convert the
tions begin with calling 112, the European 911 equivalent, ambulances arrive delivery of medical care from a linear
to provide pre-hospital care, sometimes with physicians onboard, the patient is progression of medical evacuations from
transported to a trauma center, and medical care is generally comparable to U.S. point of injury to higher echelons of care
01 outside the combat zone, to a cyclical
Norwegian, American and Swiss Special Operation Forces work through the night on simulated casualties in progression of evacuation, treatment,
a field clinic during the NATO Special Operations Medic Course in Germany. Medical support capabilities play a convalescence and return to duty, all
critic role in enhancing survivability in a resistance scenario. U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY SPC. PATRIK ORCUTT completely within occupied territory.

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 17

 SURVIVABILITY
SOCEUR ISSUE

• Enhanced trauma capabilities

Civilian Medical Capabilities • Increased interoperability between medical systems
• Eastern European MEDCOP

• Enhanced trauma capabilities

Partner Military
• Increased interoperability between medical systems
Health Service Support
• Eastern European MEDCOP

• Resistance medicine training

U.S. Special Operations
• Partner nation trauma center rotations
Forces Medicine
• SOF surgical teams baseline interoperability standards

Figure 01: SOCEUR whole-of-society approach to enabling medical support to resistance

A resistance scenario in Europe was embraced as a potential solution

presents a unique risk to U.S. SOF for addressing critical gaps in providing
supporting resistance movements, as
BACKGROUND medical support to resistance.
In early 2018, SOCEUR conducted
organic capabilities will not be able
a multinational SOF exercise focused
to provide required medical support
on irregular warfare and resistance in
in this tactical environment. Recent
the Baltic region of Eastern Europe. WHOLE-OF-SOCIETY APPROACH TO
exercises have demonstrated that U.S.
Key medical lessons learned from the MEDICAL SUPPORT FOR RESISTANCE
SOF surgical teams will be severely
exercise were that medical evacuation The SOCEUR Surgeon’s Office has
restrained and may not be survivable developed a whole-of-society approach
in restricted areas during peer conflict
in a denied environment, and conven- to enable medical support to resis-
is incredibly challenging, and U.S. SOF
tional medical forces will likewise be surgical teams as currently configured tance (Figure 01) as a tiered approach
absent. U.S. SOF medics are highly and trained will have low, if any, chance to improve trauma care from point of
capable within their scope of practice, of survival in occupied territory. It was injury through surgical intervention,
but over-inflation of their ability evident that planning medical sup- convalescence and return to duty. Addi-
results in commanders miscalculating port solely using only a U.S. military tionally, it aims to increase medical in-
risk; a medic’s ability to reduce serious doctrinal construct was impractical and teroperability with Allies and partners
risk is often predicated on access to ineffective; civilian medical resources in preparation for a resistance scenario
definitive care. were identified as, and will necessar- in Eastern Europe.
The Maquis in occupied France and ily be, the center of gravity for medical
Partisans of Yugoslavia faced similar support to resistance.
challenges in World War II but were Resistance doctrine was turned to U.S. SOF MEDICINE
still able to provide medical support as a possible solution to the way ahead, The core of this approach begins
despite great odds. The relevance of but existing doctrine was found to be with increased readiness for U.S. SOF. If
these historical precedents might largely inadequate for the range of po- peer conflict in Eastern Europe occurs,
be limited, however, by exponential tential operational environments in fu- U.S. SOF medics will be required to
advances in technology over the last ture conflicts against a peer adversary treat casualties on extended timelines
75 years. Providing medical support in Eastern Europe. The focus of U.S. with limited supplies. Proficiency in
to U.S. SOF and resistance forces will resistance doctrine on unconventional Prolonged Field Care improves the SOF
be immensely challenging, but there warfare and resistance movements as- medic’s ability to do this, but is depen-
is one great advantage over historical sumes that conflicts have already begun dent on the medic’s ability to transfer
precedence: there is time and space or are ongoing. Furthermore, reverse casualties to higher echelons of care for
now to enable ourselves and our al- engineering resistance constructs definitive treatment or required conva-
lies and partners to be prepared to prior to conflict is difficult because it lescence. SOF surgical teams may be part
provide medical support to resistance is impossible to forecast who and what of the solution, but will require manning
prior to conflict, instead of react- will survive the initial invasion. The changes and additional training in order
ing after a violation of a country’s whole-of-society approach advocated to improve survivability in peer-adver-
national sovereignty. by the Resistance Operating Concept sary occupied territory.

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 Strategy priorities in order to develop
the force for the future, and not simply
to fight the last battle. Finally, current
U.S. SOF doctrine on medical support
to resistance appears to have gaps in
Eastern Europe’s potential operational
environment, especially with regard
to preparing Allies and partners to
conduct resistance prior to conflict.
Working with USASOC’s medical teams
will help develop future iterations of
doctrine in order to prepare U.S. SOF
for best success in an extremely chal-
lenging environment.

PARTNER MILITARY HEALTH

SERVICE SUPPORT
A key focus area for the SOCEUR
02 Surgeon’s office is supportive relation-
03 ships with European partners. Effec-
Previously, the SOCEUR Surgeon’s tive relationships with partner SOF
office developed and conducted a course medical leaders builds shared vision
in UW medicine for surgical teams. This and enables work toward common
training was conducted as a proof of con- goals. The majority of partners’ SOF
cept in Fall 2017, and was subsequently medical personnel are intertwined
turned over to U.S. Army Special Opera- with their conventional military
tions Command with a request to further Health Service Support, similar to U.S.
develop UW training for SOF surgical military medicine, and efforts with
teams. Currently, the SOCEUR Surgeon’s conventional HSS are required in addi-
office is continuing to develop Trojan tion to work with SOF medical leaders.
Footprint as an opportunity for U.S. SOF Investments in relationships now with
medical units to practice UW medical partner nations’ medical capabilities
tactics and techniques in a major exercise. will pay dividends in a peer conflict
The command is developing training and resistance scenario, even though
opportunities for U.S. SOF medics and partner’s military HSS will likely be
surgical teams to work in partner-nation diminished. Partner SOF medics,
trauma centers in Eastern Europe. This military medical personnel, and home
aims to achieve multiple objectives guard units will serve as medical cadre
including enhanced interoperability of in local resistance movements and save
U.S. medical personnel and potential lives through application of their medi-
partners, information sharing regard- cal skills and knowledge.
ing medical materiel and techniques Special Operations Forces Institu-
and potentially to raise standards of tion Building is a primary line of effort
trauma care as best practices are shared that aims to improve interoperability.
between allies and partners. The strong The near term plan is to promote Tactical
relationships that would be created by Combat Casualty Care (as the base stan-
this course of action would be mutu- dard for all allied SOF medics and enable
ally beneficial. These types of training partners to conduct internal training
opportunities may be expanded beyond without external support. An additional
U.S. SOF to other U.S. military medical goal of this initiative is to assist North
02, 03 personnel, further increasing interoper- Atlantic Treaty Organization Special
Special operations medics transport simulated casu- ability and alliance building. Operations Headquarters to develop doc-
alties during a NATO training exercise. This training SOCEUR is also assisting USSO- trine for NATO and partner SOF medics
helps increase partner capacity to react to the incred-
COM to define the Special Operations and SOF surgical teams. This aims to
ibly challenging task of providing medical evacuation
Forces Baseline Interoperability Stan- make allied medical enablers similar,
in restricted areas during peer conflict.
U.S. ARMY PHOTOS BY STAFF SGT. JESSICA NASSIRIAN (02), dards for medics and surgical teams. with improved interoperability.
AND SPC. PATRIK ORCUTT (03) These efforts attempt to link SOF medi- The SOCEUR Surgeon’s office is cur-
cal requirements to National Defense rently working with partners to develop

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 19

 SURVIVABILITY

a medical annex for the ROC to serve as

SOCEUR ISSUE

a guide for medical support to resistance

in Europe. The emerging medical annex
is focused on key components of medical
resistance networks, treatment and tri-
age considerations and planning medical
stay-behind capabilities.
Major exercises like Trojan Footprint
are opportunities to test the viability
of potential medical resistance net-
works and competencies in a controlled
setting, while identifying areas for
improvement. SOCEUR aims to increase
involvement of key European SOF medi-
cal enablers in order to further improve
combined medical preparedness as an
interoperable allied force.

CIVILIAN MEDICAL CAPABILITIES

Civilian personnel are anticipated to
provide the majority of medical support
01
to resistance, as most military medical
capabilities are likely to be exhausted dur- responders improves the likelihood of is beneficial not only for resistance
ing an invasion. While there is no doubt survival until casualties can be treated by scenarios, but also to increase pre-
our Eastern European allies have robust, qualified medical personnel. Because it paredness for, and improve response
capable trauma systems, a significant gap is impossible to predict who will be first to, a host of contingencies. Trauma
in our collective medical preparedness on the scene in a resistance scenario, the systems nest within broader emer-
for resistance, however, is understanding potential target for training on POI care gency response systems, which must be
the available civilian medical capabilities. might be as large as a country’s entire prepared for natural disasters such as
Investing time and resources to better population. There are precedents for earthquakes, fires or floods, man-made
understand and cooperatively increase whole-of-society programs for POI care in disasters such as industrial accidents
the trauma capabilities of civilian medical recent years due to terrorist acts against or chemical releases, disease outbreaks
institutions will enhance our collective innocent civilians. In 2015, the U.S. De- or terrorist attacks. Well-prepared,
ability to provide medical support in a partment of Homeland Security launched effective emergency response systems
resistance scenario. Creating a medical the STOP the Bleed campaign in order increase national resilience to adverse
common operating picture will identify to cultivate a grass roots efforts to train, events and build hope.
where gaps exist and inform planning equip and empower bystanders to help in
priorities for greater resilience in trauma a bleeding emergency before professional
care now, as well as prepare for medical help arrives. In the United Kingdom, Lon- PARTNERING WITH EUCOM
support to resistance. don Ambulance provides life-saving first Observations from recent theater
First responders are the critical bridge responder training to taxi drivers. Con- level exercises by the EUCOM Surgeon’s
from POI to higher levels of care. Sharing ducting large scale campaigns like these in office closely parallel the SOCEUR
lessons learned from decades of combat Eastern Europe would undoubtedly save Surgeon’s office’s lessons learned from
with partner civilian first responder lives in future resistance scenarios. focused exercises: modern conflict mod-
systems will improve initial survivability Finally, trauma systems and medi- eling and casualty estimates reveal that
of resistance members and enable better cal facilities are critical for definitive military medical resources may be rap-
chances of successful evacuation to higher treatment of trauma casualties. Trauma idly depleted, such that civilian medical
levels of care. U.S. Allies in Eastern Eu- center subject-matter expert exchanges infrastructure, when present, will be
rope are already preparing themselves. In would facilitate sharing of best practices critical for medical support to Allied
Lithuania, for example, new regulations and development of strong relation- operational forces in various Eastern Eu-
were recently passed to enhance the scope ships. These relationships could be at ropean conflict scenarios. The EUCOM
of paramedics in the event of disaster. The a medical center or university level. Surgeon and staff, along with Service
new training for these paramedics closely Enduring institutional relationships Component Surgeons’ staffs, have begun
mirrors TCCC guidelines, which have would enable medical interoperability efforts to address the identified need for
saved many lives from combat trauma. and could be expected to advance the a whole-of-society approach to prepar-
In most resistance operations, efficiency and effectiveness of trauma ing for the potential medical scenarios
bystanders will be the first on scene, just systems bilaterally and multilaterally. associated with contingencies in Europe.
as they are in everyday life. Treatment A whole-of-society approach to EUCOM is working with the Defense
of combat casualties at the POI by first enhancing trauma system capabilities Health Agency’s Joint Trauma System to

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 01
Hungarian special operations forces
prepare to load a simulated casualty
into a medical evacuation helicopter
during exercise Black Swan in Hungary.
Exercises such as this help stregthen
the organic capablities that would be
required to provide medical support in
a resistance senorio. U.S. ARMY PHOTO
BY STAFF SGT. AARON P. DUNCAN

02
Special operations medics from the
U.S. and Norway stabilize the airway
of a simulated casualty during the
NATO Special Operations Combat Medic
course. NSOCM is a 22-week course that
provides training on advanced combat
trauma management with a special
emphasis on clinical medicine and
prolonged field care. U.S. ARMY PHOTO
BY STAFF SGT. JESSICA NASSIRIAN
02

establish a Combatant Command Trauma This, of course, must be approached with and partner-nation civilian medical in-
System, which aims to set a common a great deal of coordination: with U.S. stitutions. A whole-of-society approach
baseline across U.S. geographic combat- Embassy country teams for synchro- is critical for uniting efforts of U.S.
ant commands for standards of trauma nization with other U.S. government medical equities now in steady state
training and components of trauma sys- health efforts; with partner-nation operations, which will improve capa-
tems. This effort ensures that U.S. mili- military and civilian health leaders; and bilities and increase options for medical
tary HSS capabilities are optimally poised with multilateral organizations, such as support of U.S., allied and partner
to be ready for response to contingencies, NATO, as appropriate. One approach to forces in the event of peer conflict in
providing the best possible care from POI enhancing understanding of partner- Eastern Europe.
through surgical care. It also acknowl- nation trauma systems and developing
EUCOM recognizes the value of this
edges the need to better integrate partner institutional relationships is to capital-
approach and is developing a strategy
nation systems into a theater-wide trau- ize on the State Partnership Program.
toward end states of enhanced military
ma system. EUCOM has begun to develop This program, executed via the National
and civilian trauma capabilities, and in-
a MEDCOP that will provide EUCOM and Guard Bureau, pairs U.S. states with
partner nations. There are 22 such part- creased interoperability between civilian
Component Commanders, Surgeons, and
nerships in the EUCOM area of respon- and military capabilities, both within
medical planners with increased aware-
sibility. Military-to-military activities, and between nations. Embarking now on
ness of military and civilian medical, and
specifically trauma resources in Europe. such as training and exercises, often these collective steps will save lives and,
Ideally, this MEDCOP will be developed lead to military-to-civilian and civilian- should the worst case happen, enable
corroboratively with partner nations, and to-civilian interactions with enduring better trauma care at every level, which
shared for common operational benefit. personal and institutional relationships. will help keep hope alive. SW
EUCOM’s Global Health Engage-
ment activities with Allied and partner ABOUT THE AUTHORS
nations over the last several years CONCLUSION Sgt. 1st Class Jake Hickman, U.S. Army, is
have focused primarily on military-to- Medical support to U.S. SOF and a SOCEUR Medical Operations Sergeant.
military activities that aim to support partner resistance forces will be
partner nations’ achievement of NATO extremely challenged in the Euro- Col. Jay Baker, U.S. Army, is the SOCEUR
standards for expeditionary medical pean theater in a resistance scenario. Command Surgeon.
capabilities. These have included co- Specifically, medical evacuation will be Lt. Col. Elizabeth Erickson, U.S. Air
operative training on TCCC and other severely restricted and U.S. SOF surgi- Force is the EUCOM Chief of Global
trauma care standards, as noted above. cal teams, as currently designed, will
Health Engagement.
Recognizing the importance of civilian have low survivability. The SOCEUR
medical capabilities in a variety of op- Surgeon’s office is targeting a whole-of- Acknowledgments: We extend a special
erational scenarios, EUCOM is updating society effort to enable medical support thanks for review and comments to Col.
its GHE strategy to increase U.S. engage- to resistance across multiple spheres of (Ret.) Dr. Warner “Rocky” Farr, Col. (Ret.)
ment with partner nation civilian health influence, including U.S. SOF medical Sean Keenan, Maj. Michael Weisman and
systems, medical centers and personnel. forces, partner- nation military HSS Maj. Adrien Adams.

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 21

 01

RESISTANCE, RESILIENCE, AND EVERYDAY CITIZENS

AS AN ELEMENT OF NATIONAL POWER
ania by seizing power from the Seima and its leader,
BY NICK B. ISRAEL, SPIRIT OF AMERICA Vytautas Landsbergis. The Communists controlled
the weapons, but the Seima and the Lithuanian people
controlled the airwaves. On Jan. 12, Soviet troops
mobilized to seize key Lithuanian communication and
governance infrastructure. At the same time, ordinary
THE ROLE OF CITIZENS’ WILL TO RESIST IN THE PATHWAY
Lithuanians determined to defend their independence,
TO SECURING LITHUANIAN FREEDOM mobilized to defend key infrastructure.
On Jan. 13, 1991, Vilnius, Lithuania’s TV Tower became a symbol of Shortly after midnight on Jan. 13, 1991, about
ordinary Lithuanian peoples’ will to resist tyranny and to sacrifice to se- 3,000 ordinary Lithuanians established a defensive
cure sovereignty and freedom no matter the cost. Less than a year earlier, perimeter around the Vilnius TV tower and studio.
on March 11, 1990, Lithuanian leaders officially declared the re-establish- Unarmed, these heroic patriots were soon surrounded
ment of Lithuanian independence. No one knew the extent to which Soviet by Soviet troops, tanks and armored vehicles. As
leaders would go to prevent collapse of the failed Soviet system: a system Soviet troops fired live rounds over the heads of the
centered on the impossible effort to divorce humanity from reality, known TV tower’s defenders, the voice of Lithuanian Com-
as Communism. The odds were against the small Lithuanian nation suc- munist Juozas Jermalavičius boomed over Soviet
cessfully moving from Soviet subjugation to freedom and self-determina- BMP loudspeakers. Jermalavičius declared that the
tion, particularly in the face of the massive might of the Soviet system. Seima, which he called “the nationalist and separatist
On Jan. 10, 1991, the General Secretary of the Soviet Union, Mikhail government,” had been overthrown. The defenders
Gorbachev, issued a demand to Lithuania’s newly independent parlia- were undeterred by this final failed attempt at Soviet
ment, the Seima to demand that Lithuania reestablish the constitution propaganda. Shortly after, 14 of these defenders were
of the USSR. Two days later, Soviet General Vladislav Achalov arrived in martyred, as Soviet troops crushed them with tanks
Vilnius. Achalov’s mission was to reestablish Soviet control over Lithu- in the Soviets’ final push to seize the tower.

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 Immortalized in a lithograph printed and dis-
tributed by Paul Revere, Attucks was the first mar-
tyr in the American Revolution. Attucks became a
symbol of American willingness to sacrifice for the
causes of freedom and liberty. The 1770 event, later
known as the “Boston Massacre,” is considered one
of the most significant turning points in shifting
colonial sentiment against King George III and Brit-
ish Parliamentary authority, eventually leading to
American independence.
Five years later, on April 18, 1775, Paul Revere and
William Dawes undertook their famous midnight ride
from Boston to Lexington and Concord, Massachu-
setts. Their mission was to warn American patriots
that British regular troops were on the move, with
calls of “The British are coming!” Their warning al-
lowed patriots time to protect weapons stockpiles that
would later arm the American population in support
of the revolution and resistance to British rule.
By the conclusion of the American Revolution, up
to 150,000 of America’s first citizens, answered the
02 call to arms and resisted the tyranny of alien rule.
Even more ordinary Americans provided the soldiers
As the sun rose over Vilnius that morning, with the materiel and support they needed to secure
news of the brutal Soviet assault spread. Inspired, the revolution. These first Americans stood for build-
50,000 more Lithuanians acted. They left their ing a new society based on the ideas that all are cre-
homes to reinforce those defending other important ated equal, and that all have inalienable rights to life,
buildings against the attempted Communist coup. liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These principles,
The determination of these Lithuanian citizens, revolutionary in the 18th century, today provide the
and their willingness to sacrifice everything to foundation of the relationship between freedom-
resist Soviet control, reached the Kremlin and the loving Americans and like-minded friends and allies
broader world. Soviet forces began a slow retreat, in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and elsewhere
which eventually led to their complete withdrawal. around the world.
Through the power of the people, Lithuanian free-
dom was preserved.
BALTIC AND AMERICAN CITIZENS, UNITED IN
THE ROLE OF CITIZENS’ WILL TO RESIST IN THE COMMON COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM
The sacrifices and willingness to resist demon-
PATHWAY TO SECURING AMERICAN FREEDOM strated by the unarmed Lithuanian citizens, who
Over two hundred years before the Lithuanian faced Soviet tanks in their David vs. Goliath defense
peoples’ stand against Soviet tyranny at the Vilnius of the Vilnius TV tower, was pivotal in the demise
TV tower, a similar singular act of civil resistance of Soviet control of the Baltic states, solidifying
provided a pivotal milestone on America’s path to Lithuania’s restoration of independence. The sacrifice
independence. In 1768, with growing colonial unrest and willingness to resist demonstrated by Crispus
in response to the British Stamp Act and the Town- Attucks who faced experienced British troops at the
shend Acts, British troops deployed to Boston with a Boston Massacre, was pivotal in the demise of British
01
mission to quell dissent and crush colonial resistance, control of the American colonies, solidifying Ameri- A Lithuanian patriot
autonomy, and revolution. can independence. stands defiantly in front
On the evening of March 5, 1770, a dispute be- Beyond Lithuania’s January 1991 events, the of a Soviet tank in the
tween a colonial wigmaker and a British Army officer Baltic states and Poland were home to a multitude of early morning of January
took place outside the Boston Custom House. The ar- anti-Communist civil resistance events and move- 13, 1991. COURTESY PHOTO
gument escalated. Bystanders transformed into a mob ments. These include the “Baltic Way” in 1989, Poland’s
of colonial Americans, demonstrating open hostility 02
“Solidarity” and “Orange Alternative” movements, and
Paul Revere’s famous
to the British military guards. As tensions increased, Estonia’s “Singing Revolution” in the 1980s, as well as a
engraving depicting
a freed slave, Crispus Attucks, forcefully led a group variety of other religious, political, environmental, art, Crispus Attucks’ defiant
of Bostonians into direct confrontation with British music, literary and other cultural efforts participated martyrdom in the Boston
soldiers. The soldiers, in response, opened fire, strik- in by resilient and committed citizens willing to resist, Massacre. LIBRARY OF
ing and killing Attucks. choosing freedom over Communism. Their work and CONGRESS PHOTO

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 23

 RESISTANCE, RESILIENCE, AND EVERYDAY CITIZENS A S AN ELEMENT OF NATIONAL POWER

sacrifices proved essential to efforts securing Baltic

SOCEUR ISSUE

freedom. These historical events set the stage for fu-

ture resistance to authoritarian forces that exist today.
The spirit of these ordinary citizens, from differ-
ent times, on different sides of the world, today serve
as a bond between a new generation of American and
Baltic peoples, united in common devotion to free-
dom and liberty. It is through this bond, that Spirit
of America assists the U.S. troops and diplomats in
strengthening ties with America’s Baltic allies, as
everyday citizens reinforce national power to resist
threats to freedom and liberty.

02

ing all of the Baltic States. Spirit of America provides

private-sector knowledge and resources through an
all-veteran field team.
Recognized in law by Congress as part of the 2019
01 National Defense Authorization Act, Spirit of America
operates under a Memorandum of Agreement with the
Department of Defense that facilitates our work in
SPIRIT OF AMERICA – close coordination with the military. Spirit of America
CITIZENS SERVING THE NATION TODAY provides vital tools that aid national efforts in Europe
Spirit of America is an organization that harnesses and around the world. Spirit of America’s all-veteran
the patriotism of everyday citizens reflecting the field team, includes men and women from the Army,
01
Spirit of America presents spirit of Crispus Attucks and the defenders of the Vil- Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, with regional
critical tactical lifesaving nius TV tower. Spirit of America works to advance and knowledge, language skills, and experience in regular
gear to an important defend the American values of freedom and liberty and special operations. The team works in parallel
Lithuanian Border Guard around the world. with military, diplomatic, and development partners,
Service post, in support of Spirit of America is a privately-funded 501(c) enhancing their ability to take advantage of finite
U.S. Army Civil Affairs ef-
(3) nonprofit that assists in response to local needs windows of opportunity, to bring the resources, speed
forts to bolster deterrent
capabilities of Lithuanian identified by deployed U.S. troops and diplomats. Spirit and flexibility of the American people to support U.S.
partner units. of America fills critical gaps where U.S. government missions abroad.
resources can't be applied, supporting the safety and In the Baltics, Spirit of America helps address the
02
Spirit of America supports mission success of our personnel overseas. gaps American personnel identify as they to bolster
Marine-led water sur- Born out of a desire to support the United States the civil and military preparedness of our allies. These
vival training for Estonian after the attacks of 9/11, Spirit of America is funded efforts have included a wide array of projects rang-
Scouts. Military links entirely by the generosity of private American donors ing from providing lifesaving tactical medical gear
with Baltic civil-society who care about the safety and mission success of those to frontline law enforcement units in Lithuania’s
organizations supported
who represent our nation abroad. The organization’s Suvalkai Gap as part of USSOF's efforts to improve
by Spirit of America,
serve as a valuable model represents a unique way for U.S. citizens to partner force security posture, to support for proj-
gateway into a variety directly support our men and women in uniform who ects aimed at bolstering contingency communication
of resilience bolstering carry out missions on the American public’s behalf capabilities, and to helping Marines enhance Estonian
value-added effects. around the world. Spirit of America has operated in scouting and emergency response organizations. Addi-
PHOTOS COURTESY OF more than 70 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Af- tionally they have provided funding for essential edu-
SPIRIT OF AMERICA rica, Central and South America, and Europe, includ- cational opportunities for key Baltic partner forces, to

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 America and the Baltic States are
bonded not only by formal treaty,
but by our mutual values,
historical commonalities, and our
citizens’ steadfast commitment to
playing active roles in national
defense and resilience by
supporting those who defend our
nations through military service.
fense of each other’s liberty, freedom and sovereignty.
America and the Baltic States are bonded not only by
formal treaty, but by our mutual values, historical
commonalities, and our citizens’ steadfast commit-
ment to playing active roles in national defense and
supporting American diplomats’ efforts to promote fe- resilience by supporting those who defend our nations
male involvement and regional cooperation across the through military service.
Baltic states in technology. Spirit of America has also Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland demon-
supported numerous military outreach and communi- strate this commitment through deployment of their
ty relations efforts aimed at socially and economically troops beside our own in the War on Terror. America
vulnerable communities, including service projects at
demonstrates this commitment, alongside other
orphanages, sporting events with NATO partners and
NATO allies, in our participation in Enhanced For-
educational and cultural exchanges.
ward Presence and Operation Atlantic Resolve, as well
The Spirit of America Advisory Board member, for-
as through extensive bilateral and regional military
mer United States Special Operations Command Com-
relationships, training events, persistent presence of
mander Admiral Eric Olson, said “Special Operations
forces and equipment and cooperation across all levels
Forces are often referred to as the ‘tip of the spear’
because they are the leading edge of military engage- of command and government.
ment. Things at the tip of the spear are dynamic and Spirit of America is proud to be a unique part of
difficult — and are often dangerous and sensitive. the American people’s unshakable commitment to
Every situation is different. Our special operators supporting our troops, diplomats and special opera-
must be courageous fighters, knowledgeable partners tions forces as they perform and succeed in their as-
and exceptional problem solvers. In situations that re- signed missions beside our Baltic allies. We trust that
quire speed and audacity, Spirit of America has proven our support serves as a demonstration to the people of
over and over again that it can and will help our forces the Baltics that no matter what the future holds, the
answer an emerging need in order to help prevent American people will stand by their side in our com-
a crisis. Spirit of America’s agility and ingenuity fit mon commitment to freedom and liberty. SW
perfectly with the mission requirements and mind set
of special operations forces.” This assessment of the ABOUT THE AUTHOR
dynamic challenges faced by USSOF, and the critical- Nick B. Israel is Spirit of America’s Europe Regional
ity of flexible approaches to meeting, has proven as Program Manager. Before joining the Spirit of America
true in the Baltics as anywhere in the world today. team, Nick served in the U.S. Army as an Armor and
Psychological Operations Officer and deployed to
Europe and the Middle East. Before joining the Army,
CONCLUSION Nick earned his bachelor’s degree with a focus on Rus-
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the United sian and Eastern European studies and political science
States stand shoulder-to-shoulder as allies in the de- from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 25

 LITHUANIA

A HISTORY OF
for the Partisans. Civilians served as look-
outs, distractions and sources of information.
The successes and longevity of the resistance
depended upon the willingness of civilians to
support the Partisans. The Partisans recognized

RESILIENCE
this, and endeavored to protect and serve their
supporters whenever possible.
Minimizing the effects of the conflict on
civilians and maintaining civilians’ faith in the
resistance movement and the Lithuanian govern-
ment were the most important aspects of the
Partisans’ interactions with civilians. Protecting
BY 1ST LIEUTENANT JONAS MINDAUGAS civilians from reprisals was just as crucial as at-
tacking high-value targets. Partisans conducted
patrols through villages throughout the country
Since the coronation of its first King, Mindaugas, in 1253, Lithuania has dem- simply to make themselves known to the people,
onstrated a resilience to foreign influence and occupation that may well be un- and to hear their concerns. Providing a face for
matched by any other nation on earth. It has maintained its identity in spite of po- the resistance and demonstrating a commit-
litical, military, cultural, and religious pressures, at times on multiple flanks, since
its founding. Even after multiple occupations by different opponents, Lithuania has Gulf
retained its cultural identity, and today its political and territorial sovereignty are of
Riga
intact. At present, Lithuania’s sovereignty is threatened again, and while the tools, Baltic Sea
tactics and techniques its adversaries employ have changed, Lithuania can still Riga
draw on its heritage of resistance and resilience from centuries past to meet the
L AT V I A
present challenge.
Resistance is a nation’s ability to withstand aggression while sustaining its le-
gitimacy and the national government. Throughout the centuries, Lithuanians have
shown a remarkable ability to withstand aggression and oppression, and have been
remarkably loyal to the idea of a free and independent Lithuania. For the first sev-
eral hundred years of its existence, Lithuania was under assault on both its western LITHUANIA
and eastern borders, by the Teutonic Order and Russia, respectively. In spite of
this, Lithuania expanded during this time to become the largest nation in Europe, Kaliningrad
extending from the Baltic Sea down to the Black Sea in present day Ukraine. RUSSIA Vilnius
Until 1795, Lithuania maintained its borders, at which time it fell victim to
occupation by the Russian Empire. In 1918, Lithuania enjoyed independence again,
as a result of the conclusion of World War I. Tragically, Lithuania fell under the
POL AND
dominion of the Soviet Union in 1939, followed shortly afterwards by Nazi Ger- BEL ARUS
many, and then again by the Soviet Union until 1990. Lithuania was the first Soviet 02
Republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union. In spite of repeated and 01
brutal occupations, Lithuania has consistently found the will to reconstitute itself, Lithuanian freedom fighters stand with arms. The
and today enjoys a vibrant culture and political life. inscription at the bottom reads, “Life goes on at
Lithuania’s most recent occupation by the Soviet Union was the setting for one the deep forest…” July 20,1947.
of the world’s most impressive resistance movements. From 1944 until well into LITHUANIAN MILITARY MUSEUM PHOTO COURTESY OF
the 1960s, Lithuania, Lativa and Estonia resisted Soviet control. Lithuanian Parti- THE LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES
sans fought the Soviet army at every scale possible, as individuals, squads, platoons
02
and even battalions. These Partisans, the so called “Forest Brothers”, are heroes in
Modern day Lithuania map. For the first several
Lithuania today. Monuments and plaques commemorate their heroic struggles, and
hundred years of its existence, Lithuania was under
their sacrifices are celebrated all over Lithuania. assault on both its western and eastern borders. In
During this conflict, the Lithuanians held the gargantuan Soviet Army at spite of this, Lithuania expanded during that time
bay through sheer willpower. Lithuanians from all walks of life, both members to become the largest nation in Europe, extending
of the resistance and civilians, committed themselves and their resources to the from the Baltic Sea down to the Black Sea in present
resistance. Civilians provided food, shelter, weapons, equipment and intelligence day Ukraine.

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 27

 A HISTORY OF RESILIENCE

ment to protecting and improving civilians’ lives won the Partisans the
loyalty of the populace, and this enabled them to fight with a strength
beyond their numbers.
LITHUANIA

Since the events of 2014 in Crimea, Lithuania has reenergized its

military preparations for conflict of two sorts. First, Lithuania has in-
creased the size of its conventional forces, improved its armaments, and
trained with a fresh urgency. Obviously, stopping an aggressor at the
border is preferable to occupation of any duration or character.
The second sort of conflict Lithuania has begun preparing itself to
fight is a resistance under foreign occupation. While highly professional
and skilled, the Lithuanian Army is small in comparison to some poten-
tial aggressors’. As such, the possibility of being occupied is very real in
Lithuania. As Lithuania learned from the Forest Brothers, its ability to
resist will depend upon the resilience of its civilian populace. In order to
conduct the type of engagements that the Partisans found so valuable
70 years ago, Lithuania has begun to reorganize its armed forces. The
National Volunteer Defense Forces (KASP), Lithuania’s National Guard,
added non-lethal squads to every Light Infantry Company in January of

02

civilian resources and skill sets that could sup-

port resistance fighters.
Civil Military Support Element Lithuania
and the 801st partnered to rewrite the METL
for all Lithuanian CIMIC, one that would focus
CIMIC training on meaningful engagements
with civilians. The CIMIC METL now focuses on
identifying both problems and solutions within
the civil environment, with the respective goals
01
of maintaining legitimacy and support within
2019. Each squad will bring specialties to their company, like reconnais- the civil populace and identifying solutions for
sance, intelligence, PSYOP and civil-military cooperation. Of all the spe- military problems using civilian support. CIMIC
cialties in the new squads, Civil Military Support Element specialists are forces will be trained to both protect-and-build
best suited to maintaining resilience crucial to a successful resistance. resilience during occupation, and actively sup-
In order to make these squads effective and capable of facilitating port resistance during the occupation.
and capitalizing on civil-military cooperation, Civil Military Support Many of these concepts, like resilience, resis-
Elements have partnered with the organization that serves as master tance and civil-military cooperation are abstract
trainer for the CIMIC Specialists in the non-lethal squads, the 801st at best, and confusing at worst. A frequent prob-
Non-Kinetic Operations Company. The 801st contains two platoons lem that the 801st’s Soldiers and CMSE Lithuania
of CIMIC specialists (one is composed of functional specialists and encountered was that many Infantry command-
the other one is the “unconventional warfare” platoon) and a PSYOP ers did not understand how a force that had tradi-
platoon. The 801st sends teams of trainers across Lithuania to train tionally focused on refugee camp operations and
the numerous Non-Kinetic Squads, and has spearheaded the revision of managing displaced persons should contribute
CIMIC doctrine and training. to resilience and resistance. Furthermore, while
Until recently, the Lithuanian Army’s experience with CIMIC has many understood the value of civil-military coop-
been predominantly overseas. Lithuania has deployed CIMIC forces to eration during the 1940s and 1950s practiced by
West Africa, Afghanistan and other NATO missions. Its Mission Es- the Forest Brothers, translating that into modern
sential Task List reflected this experience. The METL focused on refu- operations was challenging. Given the changes
gee camp operations and managing Displaced Persons. CIMIC forces in warfighting technology in the last 70 years, a
were not prepared to either identify and resolve problems that would resistance movement is far more likely to succeed
diminish civilian support for a resistance, or identify and capitalize on in an urban than a rural environment.

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 particularly by an occupation. Now though,
Lithuania’s membership in NATO means that
resilience and resistance are not battles that
must be fought alone. Resilience has a new
light at the end of the tunnel, a joint response
by NATO partners. Resistance must no longer
be fought alone, but must be part of a multi-
national effort combining both irregular and
conventional warfare. Synchronizing national
efforts with a NATO response is the new chal-
lenge for Lithuania’s Armed Forces, a task
Lithuania’s servicemen and women are already
committed to and strive for every day. SW

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

1st Lt. Jonas Mindaugas is a Strategic Communi-
cation Officer in the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

To explain how to capture the value of modern engagements with

civilians, CMSE Lithuania participated in the Fighting in Built-Up Areas
Seminar. At this seminar, CMSE Lithuania explained to all KASP and
Regular Army Company Commanders, as well as numerous battalion
commanders, how to employ their CIMIC forces in an occupation. The
Commander of the 801st Non-Kinetic Operations Company conducted a
poll of Company Commanders before the seminar, asking what prob-
lems Commanders wanted CIMIC Soldiers to address in an occupation.
The results of this poll helped CMSE Lithuania provide concrete recom-
mendations for CIMIC Soldiers that would both repair and maintain the
resilience of Lithuanian society and its armed forces, not to mention
directly supporting the resistance.
Lithuanian Special Operations Forces have also endeavored to prepare
for an occupation, and approached development and maintenance of re-
silience in a twofold approach. LITHSOF has started Resistance Planning
Seminars, which discuss how every different member of the government
03
and civil society can contribute to a successful resistance. CMSE Lithuania
01
partnered with the instructors for this course to provide students with
A Rebel Soldier escorts a soviet POW in June 1941. LITHUANIAN MILITARY
ideas to sustain the resistance movement and maintain the efficacy of a MUSEUM PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES
government that has gone underground or into exile.
Additionally, LITHSOF and CMSE LTU partnered to run the pilot 02
Members of the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces (KASP) and
version of the Non-Kinetic Operations in Occupied Terrain Course. This
U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers assigned to 20th Special Forces Group
course taught LITHSOF students how to maintain the support of the ci- (Airborne) conduct a mission planning during exercise Saber Junction 2018
vilian population and degrade support for an occupying power by identi- at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.
fying and exploiting functions of governance. In the future, LITHSOF U.S. ARMY PHOTO 1ST LT. BENJAMIN HAULENBEEK
will teach this course to students from the KASP and the Lithuanian
03
Riflemen’s Union, spreading these ideas across Lithuania and building A Lithuanian family interacts with members of the military and handle
the knowledge base necessary to both preserve and build Lithuanian weapons and equipment during a military exhibition outreach event.
resilience in a conflict. These events help members of the public to become comfortable and
Lithuania’s resilience has been proven an unfortunate number of familiar with military operations. LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES PHOTO BY
times throughout its history, and hopefully will not be tested again, WALDEMAR DOWEJKO

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 29

 As soviets attempted
to take over the
freedom of Lithuania
once again in 1991,
unarmed citizens stood
in front of tanks and
armed soldiers, proving
to the whole world
that civil defense is
effective both in
theory and practice.
independence was acquired by the power of the
"Singing Revolution,“ rather than aggression. As
Soviets attempted to take over the freedom of
Lithuania once again in 1991, unarmed citizens
stood in front of tanks and armed soldiers, prov-
ing to the whole world that civil defense is effec-
tive both in theory and practice.
All historical experiences led to the fact that
Lithuania is one of the few countries where civil
defense takes an important role in the documents
of defense and national security. According to
the constitution and legislation, every citizen of
01
Lithuania must defend Lithuanian independence

THE WHOLE - OF - SOCIETY

and opposing the aggressor is universal. There are
two main elements to the defense preparation of
citizens, against an armed attack: the will of the

A P P R O A C H
citizens, their willingness to fight for the indepen-
dence and specific military knowledge and practi-
cal skills to defend the country using weapons.
The willingness to resist is strengthened through
increasing society‘s immunity to dangers, which
BY LUKA SINEVIČIENĖ is implemented through the education of society,
patriotic education, learning history, improv-
ing the information literacy and reinforcing the
The history of the 20th century shows us that the strongest force able to
fundamental values. The theoretical and practical
defend the Republic of Lithuania is its citizens. After the Soviet Union occupied
knowledge is acquired through voluntary or man-
Lithuania, independent partisan troops stood up. They were supported and backed datory military training. The knowledge and skills
up by the rest of the citizens. After a blood-stained fight that took place for nine are also supplied by the Lithuanian Riflemen As-
years, the period of armed resistance was finished. However, the thoughts of sociation — a public organization that has existed
independence did not vanish. People were ready to fight for, and defend, what for more than 100 years and is supported by the
they cared about most — Lithuanian language, culture, history and spirituality. government, uniting people concerned about the
Armed resistance was reshaped into a fight based on patriotism, stubbornness and state of the country and its defense.
determination based on unarmed resistance carried out by Lithuanian dissidents. Strong, motivated, critically thinking and
The occupation lasted 50 years — it was a long, cruel, tiring and unbearable active citizens are the power of the nation and the
process ofLithuanian national destruction. However, no one was able to eradicate basis of its defense. How do you ensure society‘s
something so valuable, historically irrefutable and spiritually praised. In 1990, engagement and its state of mind? By strengthen-

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ing the civil attitude. For this single purpose, the ment of organizations. Participating in an organi-
whole system of National Defense is putting great zation, not necessarily at a militarized one, gives
efforts toward organizing various events uniting self-confidence, skills for team activities, creates

LITHUANIA
citizens and the military, as well as exhibitions, a community and unity feeling. The members of
discussions and fairs. There are also many publica- organizations know each other, have structures,
tions, brochures, books, TV shows and projects
leaders, common ideas and values that in a case of
that ensure the more effective education of the
danger would help to organize and perform civil
public, give the needed information and intro-
duce with the topics and concerns of national resistance. As a consequence, we shall strengthen
safety. Exclusive attention is dedicated toward the organizations, support them, involve in state
the younger generations — organizing various affairs, encourage public involvement and partici-
school visits with lectures, competitions, summer pation. Only the feeling of community and unity,
camps, creative workshops, sports events and patriotism, historical memories and particular
other activities that help to develop the critical skills make us stronger, more immune and pre-
thinking, public spirit, encourage the interest in pared to defend the homeland. SW
country‘s history and Lithuanian military. It is
essential not to exclude the Lithuanians ex pats, ABOUT THE AUTHOR
all around the world, who nonetheless love and Luka Sinevičienė is a historian and an advisor to
respect their homeland. Their inclusion into the
the Department of Mobilization and Civil Resis-
defensive forces in case of danger will provide
tance under the Lithuanian Ministry of National
faster communication with the rest of the world,
spreading correct messages and possibly provid- Defense. A social activist, she regularly engages
ing the needed support for those fighting. the Lithuanian population, especially young
History proves that we should look at several people, to explain the importance of civil defense.
aspects. One may have a perfectly prepared, large
military, made of motivated people, equipped with
the latest military equipment, have strong partners
and allies; however, without public willingness and
determination to defend their country, it might be
useless. Every armed soldier should have the sup-
port of at least 10 citizens. This means that fighting
and more importantly, winning is nearly impossible
without public support. Therefore, public determina-
tion, and willingness to fight are the most impor-
tant components. Today, 88 percent of Lithuanian
citizens claim it is every citizen’s duty to protect
their country. Thus, we aim to give people even more
self-confidence by providing more knowledge and
practical skills rather than increasing the above
statistics or letting them diminish.
From history, we also know that the major-
ity of partisans fighting for Lithuania during the 02
interwar were the members of various organiza-
tions. Therefore, even today it‘s hard to expect
organized collective defense without the involve-

01
A child's drawing depicts a young girl stopping a tank dur-
ing the Singing Revolution. This art piece was displayed as
part of a series of children's drawings outside the Museum
of Occupations and Freedom Fights in Vilnius, Lithuania in
July 2019. U.S. ARMY PHOTO
02
Luka Sinevičienė (right) visits the Young Rifleman's Union
Assembly, where she gave a lecture on the involvement of citi-
zens in national defense. PHOTO COURESTY OF LUKA SINEVIČIENĖ
03
Luka Sinevičienė (left) speaks to an audience of approximately
400 students at a school in Zarasai, a small town in eastern
Lithuania. PHOTO COURESTY OF LUKA SINEVIČIENĖ
03

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 31

 WAR
AFTER
WAR
Lithuanian Resistance: The Significance of War after War
years of armed resistance (1944-1946)
alone an estimated 10,000 partisans
were killed, while the overall death
BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL LINAS IDZELIS toll for the whole period of resistance
is estimated at more than 20,000
partisans (and around 2,000 liaison
"…It is enough to consider the partisan struggle. How many men there were agents and supporters).
in the first days – strong as oaks and brave as lions. Only a few of those have At first, armed resistance was to
some extent irregular and sporadic,
remained amongst us to this day. The faces of the fallen pass, again and again, in and the structure of the movement,
front of our eyes. And how numerous they are – a whole world of the dead! Who based on military territorial prin-
will understand, who will describe their heroism, whose like the world has not ciples, formed very gradually and
heard of until now? Will the future know how to give what is due to the heroic with immense difficulties. Until 1948,
three military regions were formed
sacrifice of these people? Part of the nation will understand them, but there will in the whole territory of Lithuania;
be some who will trample all this into the mud…’ each region was made up of military
­­— Lionginas Baliukevičius-Dzūkas (1925-1950) districts, which consisted of brigades
Commander of Dainava Military District with its own operating areas. Brigades
further consisted of companies and
platoons. Structural subdivisions had
their own subordinate headquarters
The Partisan War of War after War state. Thousands of men gathered in
that up until 1948 were commanded
from 1944 to 1953 (in some areas the the forests drawn by the hope that
by the officers of the former Lithu-
armed resistance lasted until 1965) is the military stand against the Soviets
anian Armed Forces.
one of the most significant events in would not have to be long — only as
The partisans promulgated docu-
the history of Lithuania in the twen- long as it took to pass the resolution
ments prescribing military regula-
tieth century. It revealed the strong of the Peace Conference, which was tions through which they sought to
European foundation of the modern supposed to implement the principle maintain military discipline, and
Lithuanian state and continued its of national self-determination. Sadly, also to avoid unauthorized activi-
Western geopolitical trend. Lithuania’s hopes and confidence were ties and unnecessary bloodshed. The
From 1944-1945, Europe and dashed, and for 21 years, Lithuania was same purpose was served by the in-
the whole world was ecstatic with obliged to wage its war all alone. troduction of military uniforms and
the thought that the threat posed by By 1945, the forests of Lithuania badges as well as other appropriate
Nazism had finally been overcome, and already contained around 30,000 signs of recognition.
that the war that carried away millions partisan fighters, commanded by for- Historians usually divide the
of lives, destroyed cities and changed mer officers of the Lithuanian Armed 1944-1953 Partisan War into three
the world was finally over… Lithuania, Forces, by the members of voluntary periods: (1) 1944-1946, (2) 1946-1948
as well as other Baltic states that had pre-war Šauliai (Riflemen) Association, and (3) 1948-1953. The first period
lost their independence in 1940, were students and school-teachers. Large points to the beginning of the war. It
beginning to feel the peculiar flavor of units of up to 200 men were formed was around that time that the first
the ‘Soviet paradise.’ and their battles against the Soviet resistance organizations fighting
Lithuania began a drive to bring Army resembled engagements be- against the Soviet occupants began
about the restitution of the Lithuanian tween two regular armies. In the first their activity, the most prominent of

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them being the Lithuanian Freedom acting compounds with separate head- the Partisan War was largely related
Army (Lietuvos Laisvės Armija, or LLA) quarters were founded. to this vitally important goal, it
founded during the German occupa- This marked the beginning of needs to be addressed in more detail.
tion. The first period was marked by the second Partisan War, sometimes The first attempts at unification
numerous partisan squads that built called the period of military dis- were made in 1946, when the head-
well-fortified camps in the forests, en- tricts. Most historians distinguish quarters of the Tauras and Dainava
gaged in large and open fights against the Dainava, Tauras, Vytautas, Vytis, military districts became very active
NKVD (the Soviet Committee of Inter- Didžioji kova, Algimantas, Žemaičiai, in Southern Lithuania. Their efforts to
nal Affairs, later known as Committee Kęstutisand Prisikėlimas military dis- create a political leadership, separate
of State Security, KGB) of forces and tricts. Upon the formation of these from the fighters, turned out to be a
the regular Red Army, which frequent- compounds, the partisan movement total failure, as it became apparent that
ly took over small towns or govern- developed its organized structure, a potential candidate to leadership,
ment institutions (headquarters of order, customs and traditions, which a prominent doctor and an influen-
volosts and repressive forces). spawned many gifted leaders. The tial intellectual from Vilnius, Juozas
But the partisan tactics eventu- military districts kept connections Markulis, was an agent of the Ministry
ally started to change. Due to great among themselves, which lead to the for the State Security, or MGB, which
differences in the proportion of the establishment of the united partisan later became the KGB in the Soviet
forces and ammunition, the Lithuanian leadership. Since the third period of Union. Around the same time the
partisans suffered great casualties in
open fights with the Soviet soldiers,
and their large bases, even if well-
masked in the forests, were quite easily
detected by the occupants. Beginning
in 1945, the partisans started acting
in small groups and living in hideouts.
The structure of partisan units was
also about to change. The experience of
previous years as well as the surround-
ing circumstances led them to seek a
centralized and higher organization.
As a result, military districts — steady,

PHOTOS (TOP FROM LEF T)

Lithuanian freedom fighters with women wearing national Lithuanian costume;
A group of freedom fighters with arms; Freedom fighters take a break and enjoy
the forest sun; Freedom fighters conduct weapons training.
LITHUANIAN MILITARY MUSEUM PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES

MAP (RIGHT)
In 1945 the structure of the partisan units started to change as they began to
seek a centralized, higher organization. This resulted in the creation of military
districts and marked the beginning of the second Partisan War period, sometimes
called the period of military districts.

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 33

 WAR AFTER WAR

Lithuanian partisans tried to build fighting, the partisan movement sidered as one of the most unique wars
closer connections with the Lithu- started to decline, though the struggle in history.
anian organizations in immigration, continued up until the mid-1950s, The Partisan War has to be as-
LITHUANIA

especially the Supreme Committee for and the last individual fighters were sessed as part of the Second World
the Liberation of Lithuania (Vyriausias killed by the Soviets as late as the War. Formally World War II was over,
Lietuvos išlaisvinimo komitetas) and to mid- 1960s. Stasys Guiga was the but not for the state of Lithuania. At
create the Lithuanian government in last partisan, who escaped the Soviet the very beginning of the war, Lithu-
exile. These attempts, however, were repressions and died in 1986. ania lost its independence along with
also doomed, because it was extremely It must be admitted that the other European countries. In 1940 it
difficult, almost impossible to maintain Partisan War was not an ordinary par- was occupied by the Soviet Union, and
close ties with the West. Moreover, the tisan war as the freedom fighters did in 1945, at the end of World War II,
Lithuanian partisans’ and VLIK’s views not receive any resources from abroad Lithuania did not gain its freedom, on
on certain matters radically differed. or neighboring countries. Resisting the contrary, it was retaken by the So-
After these failures, the only real pos- viets for an undefined time. Therefore,
sibility to consolidate all partisans was the Partisan War for the liberation of
to establish an institution — made ex- Lithuania from the Soviet Union was
clusively of armed guerrilla fighters — "The emergence of virtually a continuation of the Second
that would carry out both military and extraordinary people in a World War.
political objectives. Thus, during the In light of the above, it follows
third period the partisans strength- nation coincides with the that the Lithuanian Partisan War is
ened their mutual ties. The military period when that nation best understood in the context of the
districts gradually combined into sepa- resistance history of other European
rate areas. The attempt to unite all par- requires the highest effort countries during World War II. In view
tisans reached its peak in the congress of which the men is capable: of tactics, world view, motivation and
of all Lithuanian partisan command- other aspects the Lithuanian partisans
ers, which took place in February 1949. when it needs to free itself have differed only little from French,
The congress established the Council of Polish, Czech, Norwegian, Greek and
Lithuanian Freedom Struggle Move-
from the house of captivity, other fighters. Just the occupants were
ment (Lietuvos laisvės kovos sąjūdis). to defend itself from different, but here too, the Nazi and
On Feb. 16, 1949, the congress signed Soviet totalitarian policy was alike in
a declaration that envisaged the main
enslavement, and in other many ways, and what is more, at the
guidelines for the future re-established such cases. This is the rise of outset of World War II Nazi Germany
independent state of Lithuania. The and the Soviet Union made a mutually
Partisan Declaration has been recog- the nation to a young life, and beneficial agreement. It is noteworthy
nized as the legal act of the Republic of man’s heart aches with joy to mention that, when collaborating
Lithuania. It comes as no surprise that with the Lithuanian partisans, the
the Parliament of Lithuania declared looking at it. Whoever tries to Western Allies’ agencies of special op-
the leader of the Lithuanian partisans, stand in the way of this nation erations used communication methods
Jonas Žemaitis, as the fourth President applied during World War II with other
of Lithuania. will only be an angry ghost resistance movements. This kind of
Unlike previous attempts at unified howling in the dark…" communication in Lithuania was not as
organization, this supreme command fully developed and implemented as it
succeeded in securing the allegiance — Juozas Šibaila-Diedukas (‘Grandad‘), was in France or Greece, yet as far as it
and subordination of all the Lithuanian Merainis (1905-1953), Chief of Staff of the continued it was based on the experi-
partisan commanders who participated Brigade B of Didžioji Kova Military District ence of World War II.
in the constitutive assembly. The politi- In addition to what has been
cal Declaration of LLKS — a document said, the Lithuanian Partisan War
that is now recognized as an integral against the Soviet occupation Lithu- was distinctive in its well-developed
part of the Lithuanian legal system, ania was left in complete isolation, underground government activity, also
and bridges the historical chasm whereas the partisans, the majority of known to the Polish resistance orga-
between the Lithuania of 1990 and the whom were not professionally trained nizations. The origin of this activity
Lithuania of 1918. An aspiration for soldiers, were confronted by the great- went back to the 19th century when
freedom, independence and democracy est empire that did not observe the the former Polish-Lithuanian state had
is part of that all-important legacy customs of warfare and had the larg- been divided by the Russian Empire.
of guiding values bequeathed to the est living force resources — one of the The first underground government was
future Lithuania by the generation that World War II winners — the Soviet established during the Revolt of 1863-
lived by the principle, "Give to Father- Union. The fact that the Lithuanian 1864, when the insurgents formed
land that which you owe…" fighters for freedom were able to resist not only fighting squads, but also an
Unfortunately, at that time due to that empire for more than a decade, underground government as well as
unequal power relations and constant the Partisan War can rightly be con- various administrative institutions. The

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 01

Lithuanian Partisan War of 1944-1953 4. The sovereign authority of Lithu- acted in a similar way as the Council
was in line with the same historical ania shall belong to the nation. of Lithuania, which had reinstated
tradition. The partisans saw themselves 5. The governing of Lithuania the independence of Lithuania on the
as a volunteer army, not only fighting shall be exercised by the Seimas Feb. 16, 1918, i.e. as an intermediate
against the occupiers but also striv- elected through free, demo-
political form.
ing to maintain and to re-establish cratic, general, equal elections
the state of Lithuania. The most recent by a secret ballot, and by an The Partisan War in Lithuania
research has revealed the partisans’ appointed government. repeatedly confirmed that Lithuania
elaborate political and administrative 6. The Provisional National Council was a European republic, a state cre-
system, which included jurisdiction, shall have legislative power from ated by and belonging to its citizens.
legislation, tax collection and distri- the end of the occupation to the The true content of the nation’s
bution, suppression of hostile Soviet assembly of a democratic Seimas sovereignty and true meaning of
propaganda and other public functions. of Lithuania.
the concept of citizens is revealed
The resistant citizens were thus 7. The Provisional National Council
during the periods of crisis, such as
able to create an intermediate political shall include the representatives
form. The partisan leadership repre- of all regions, districts, teams, the Partisan War. It becomes evident
sented the Lithuanian political nation universities, cultural and reli- that the citizens of the true modern
after it could no longer be represented gious organizations and move- republic can resist not only by means
by the constitutional institutions that ments as well as political parties of spontaneous revolt but also by cre-
had been in power until 1940. The having national support, under a ating a new state in the underground.
Lithuanian Partisans’ Declaration of united leadership, struggling in
That’s why the history of the Partisan
February 16, 1949, expressed the as- Lithuania and abroad and in line
with the principle of proportion- War in Lithuania is also a key to a
sumed responsibility as follows:
al representation. deeper understanding of what it is to
1. The Council of the LFSM [Lithu-
anian Freedom Struggle Move- 8. Upon the restoration of Lithu- be a modern European state. SW
ment], guided by the decisions of ania’s independence, before the
Partly taken from ‘For Freedom And
the UDRM [United Democratic Seimas assembles, the Chairman
of the LFSM Council Presidium Fatherland’ (2004) and Lithuanian Parti-
Resistance Movement] Presidi-
shall perform the duties of the sans 1944-1986 (2018).
um and UDRM Military Council
joint meeting of Feb. 10, 1949, President of the Republic.
shall be the supreme political 9. The Provisional Government of ABOUT THE AUTHOR
body of the nation during the oc- Lithuania shall be formed upon Lt. Col. Linus Idzelis is the Chief of
cupation period, in charge of the the recommendation of the Information Operations for the Lithu-
political and military struggle Chairman of the LFSM Council.
anian Armed Forces Strategic Commu-
for the liberation of the nation. The Government shall be held
accountable to the Provisional nication Department.
2. The headquarters of the LFSM
Council and its Presidium shall National Council.”
01
be located in Lithuania. The above-cited Declaration text Lithuanian freedom fighters conduct weapons
3. The State system of Lithuania shall testifies that the Council of Lithu- training. LITHUANIAN MILITARY MUSEUM PHOTO
be that of a democratic republic. anian Freedom Struggle Movement COURTESY OF THE LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 35

 SUPPORTING THE HOMEL AND
ESTONIA

01

Si Vis Pacem,
psychological operations, civil-military operations,
etc.) operations are opportunities for every civilian to
be a part of the nation's defense. Such operations do
not require weapons, explosives or specific military

PARA BELLUM measures and training. Consequently, many civilians

can potentially execute them in denied territory with
little to no guidance from the military. However, with-
out lethal activities, it is difficult for non-lethal opera-
"If you want peace, prepare for war." tions to achieve strategic success while the country is
occupied by enemy. In turn, lethal operations can be
significantly more effective when supported by the
BY A LITHUANIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS OFFICER integration of non-lethal activities.
In addition to Tier I tasks, Lithuanian Special
Operations Forces focus on conducting non-lethal
“Si vis pacem — para bellum” [lat.] (Eng. “If you operations in a non-permissive, semi-permissive or
want peace, prepare for war”) is one of the most simply stated enemy-occupied or controlled terrain.
known sayings by the renowned Roman Empire war That is the primary task for the LITHSOF Informa-
theorist Vegetius (Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, tion Activities Group — the unit built, trained and
4th century). In the context of the current geo-polit- directed to conduct psychological, civil-military and
ical environment in Lithuania, it is still relevant to information operations by non-standard means,
the defense of Lithuania. But what does “para bellum” independently or with and through developed sup-
mean for 3 million people living in the country? Heavy porters’, which is comprised mainly of a civilian-
arms, total defense or building resilience? There are based network. The majority of the historical lessons
various opinions and answers to those questions are taken from the Lithuanian extensive history of
from Lithuanian and international military experts. armed and non-armed resistance. Lithuanian Special
However, “management of recourses” might be identi- Operations Forces keep the traditions of the ‘For-
fied as one of the critical conclusions in many of those est Brothers’ (resistance forces who fought against
opinions. It’s not about classic military logistics or Soviet occupation for nine years after the end of
the traditional role of the government when it comes World War II) and incorporates lessons learned from
to the defense. It’s about population motivation and the non-violent resistance that won Lithuanian
capabilities to be a part of the country’s defense. Independence in 1990. The Information Activities
Non-lethal (defined in Lithuanian Armed Forces as Group adopted and integrated key lessons learned
activities in information or civil environments like and tactics, techniques and procedures of resistance

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movements who confronted Russia most recently:
Georgia (2008) and Ukraine (from 2014). Below are
the five key lessons:

LITHUANIA
1. A definite Identity. Understanding who we are
and why we need to save all elements of our identity
becomes crucial during resistance. That’s why all
national symbols, including historical events, persons,
places or infrastructure and social-national elements
are “targets of exploitation.” For such exploitation,
techniques of psychological operations play a sig-
nificant role. Elements of identity must be presented
at the right place, right time while using the best
method to reach the target audience. Graffity, letters
in mailboxes or posters might be seen as“old school;”
however, they are effective partisan-type communica-
tion methods while under occupation.
2. Looking for the “drivers.” There is always a part
of a population that has a motivation to take a lead in
lethal or non-violent resistance activities. They have to be

03
attacks can change the narrative in the information
environment forcing the enemy to use his resources to
react or counter-act.
4. Complementary effects build synergy. All
activities create a synergetic effect when they are
coordinated and complementary. If there is a lethal or
even non-lethal operation against an occupying force, it
must be known and understood, while sending a clear 01
message to all target audiences. That’s why lethal forces A mock protest sets the
must integrate non-lethal specialties, like communica- stage for Lithuanian
tion, human behavior experts or social engineers into Special Operations Forces
02 the process of planning, execution and post-operation to test their skills during
given the knowledge and skills to resist. A social survey exploitation. Complementary non-lethal activities exercise Flaming Sword
shape the information environment and consequently 2019. Flaming Sword is
in Lithuania conducted in 2018 revealed that 3.4 percent
influence perception, attitudes and behavior of differ- an annual Lithuanian-led
of Lithuanians will organize resistance activities by
ent target audiences in support of objectives. and hosted SOF exercise
themselves in case of occupation. The same survey shows,
that integrates NATO SOF
that 35.5 percent of Lithuanians will join resistance 5. Effects-based thinking. Each action, either lethal
and allied partners to
movements and 44.6 percent will support non-violent or non-lethal, brings consequences. Effective manage-
improve interoperability
resistance. Separately, such activities might cause chal- ment of these actions is the challenge for the resistance
in the region.
lenges for the occupying forces. However, when planned force. Planners often focus only on the first-order, or
and coordinated, they can result in a decisive success. direct effect of a planned activity, however, that might 02
Civil-military engagements are the instruments to inte- cause a negative affect on the people or groups that A leaflet distributed by
grate civilian resources into the overall defense initiative haven’t been assessed as the target audiences. In the Lithuanian Psychologi-
or possible resistance movement. Any logistic, transpor- best case scenario, first, second, third and even higher- cal Operations Soldiers
tation, medical, financial, information gathering and order effects should favorably impact different people or during exercise Flaming
sharing, communication capabilities and functions might groups. It’s like playing chess: your success is determined Sword 2019.
be conducted by the supporters’ network, thus making by how many of your opponent's moves you can predict.
civil affairs a critical element in the resistance. All five lessons are used as principles to increase 03
Lithuanian Special
3. Proactiveness is better than reactiveness. the effectiveness of the LITHSOF Information Ac-
Operations Forces set up
When the enemy is proactive through the conduct of tivities Group and guide operations in non-permis-
a mobile communications
lethal or non-lethal activities such as spreading propa- sive and semi-permissive environments. Civilian
platform in a tactical
ganda, the populace tends to be reactive and follow the population integration, by training, advising and environment during a
enemy’s “scenario," finding themselves in on the de- assisting different government and non-govern- training exercise.
fense. However, the question remains “How many wars ment organizations helps manage resources and
were won by defense?” Therefore, proactive activities significantly reinforce Lithuanian defense capabili- PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE
such as non-violent resistance events or information ties and effectiveness. SW LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 37

 Let’s take a look at the Matrix 1
which provides a snapshot of hypotheti-
cal situations by 2025 of different ways
the Baltic States might be threatened by
Russia. Four axes show possible Russian
approaches to use power against the
Baltic States. Numbers from 1 to 4 show
how likely Russia is to use one or another
scenario/tactics and finally letters from
A to D constitute how disruptive poten-
tial scenarios could be to overpower the
Baltic States.
The first scenario (A1) relies on
an example of Russian annexation
of Crimea and covert, proxy war in
Eastern Ukraine. The second scenario
(B2) mirrors Russian incursion into
Georgia in 2008 after huge scale joint
complex exercises. The third scenario
(C4) demonstrates possible ‘Russian
World’ creation in the Baltic States
where it is fought for people hearts and
01 minds. And finally, the fourth scenario
(B3) reflects Russia's aspirations to

LE VERAGING isolate the Baltic countries desire to

become energetically independent. This
is done by constantly changing electric-

STRATCOM
ity prices and offering much cheaper
electricity than our countries could
produce domestically, hereby delaying
political aspirations for disconnection
and synchronization with the West.

The importance of Strategic Communication and how SCENARIO 1: (A1) HYBRID

WARFARE
it's implemented in the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The first scenario is really serious and
BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL LINAS IDZELIS very destructive, thereby might be most
dangerous. Taking into consideration that
‘a special law on accession of foreign coun-
As an active member of the transatlantic community, Lithuania is under tries or even parts or territories of them
pressure from organized third-country and non-state actors. Political, social, to the Russian state has been presented
economic, energy pressures, military power operations, intelligence operations, by President Putin and passed by the State
falsification of historical facts and their tendentious interpretation in the me-
01
dia and social networks are actively used and publicly demonstrated in relation
Members of the Lithuanian STRATCOM cell
to our country. It is done in order to influence Lithuania's domestic and foreign monitor information activities around the globe.
policy, European Union and NATO decisions, increase mistrust of transatlantic LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES PHOTO BY
unity and values, and to support the goals of third, hostile countries border, SRZ. SPEC. LEVA BUDZEIKAITĖ
intelligence and internal policies.
Since Lithuania regained its independence from Soviet Union, four po- Matrix 01
tential future scenarios for our country have been simulated during various The diagram depicts four scenarios for the
possible nature of threat posed by Russia to the
crisis management exercises. Examples such as Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and
Baltic States. Four axes show possible Russian
Ukraine have shown us that we live close to a “sleeping volcano, which from
approaches to use power. Numbers from 1 to 4
time to time erupts and starts throwing hot, flaming stones on its neighboring show how likely Russia is to use one or another
countries." Due to this we have to search for new strategies, potential security scenario/tactics and letters A to D constitute
and deterrence policies in order to know what to do if it will happen again, how disruptive potential scenarios could be to
because no one wants to be the next. overpower the Baltic States.

38 Special warfare | HTTPS://WWW.SOC.MIL/SWCS/SWMAG/SWMAG.HTM

Duma. Besides that, the statement in the Russian military doctrine about the high readiness forces as a part of the
possibility of ‘protecting Russian citizens by military means, gives reasonable NATO NRF then dispatching required
grounds to acknowledge an increased threat to the security of the neighboring amount of follow on forces. As an end

LITHUANIA
countries. Given the big Russian-speaking minority in Estonia and Latvia, which state, Russian military incursion is pre-
comprises about 25 percent of the population in both countries, Moscow could, vented and Baltic States international
prior to conflict, issue Russian passports to the Russian speaking population as borders are restored. In worst-case
it has done in Georgia. Simultaneously, it could import volunteers and proxies scenario, NATO would provide military
reinforced with members from Russian Special forces. Then to linking-up with assistance too slowly, with the US, UK
local supporters and one morning start seizing governmental buildings and self- and some other NATO countries having
proclaim the independence of fictitious states which would gladly join Russia af- assembled in Poland, take actions and
ter simulated elections. Baltic States authorities immediately address this issue to sends their troops to defend their Baltic
the NAC, which after long hours of debate will not declare article V. Therefore, the allies and to show strong resolve as well
Baltic States would lose some parts of their territory, which would remain under as solidarity. As a result, NATO would
control of Russia. NATO would split into different smaller alliances or separate remain the strongest military alliance,
case by case made coalitions to counter similar threats. capable of extinguishing fires and reas-
suring and defending the Baltic States.

SCENARIO 2: (B2) DELIBERATE OR HASTY ATTACK

The second scenario is based on an imminent Russian military interven- SCENARIO 3: (C4) SHAPING
tion in the Baltic States, and might be treated as most likely. To begin, Rus-
LOCAL POPULATION’S MIND
sians assemble necessary amount of troops near the Baltic States borders
The third scenario is related to
under cover of huge scale joint combined exercises, such as Ladoga or Zapad.
persuasion of the Baltic States popula-
Subsequently, Russia quite unexpectedly launches a full scale incursion,
tion and it might be very dangerous in
employing up to two combined arms corps into the Baltic States. Russia
the long term perspective. In light of
broadcast via media that Russian military build-up is being used to liber-
possible “Russian World” creation in the
ate their compatriots and citizens from Latvian and Estonian nationalist‘s
Baltic States, Russia continuously orga-
oppression. In a best-case scenario, subsequently, NATO would immediately
nizes different cultural events such as
start military operations to defend its Baltic members, initially by employ-
concerts, conferences, youth camps, air
ing Enhanced Forward Presence battalions, after that reinforcing with very
soft team competitions and etc., where
they spread ‘alternative truth’ and use
MATRIX 1: FOUR POTENTIAL THREAT SCENARIOS BY 2025 deception with Kremlin bias. Besides
that, TV, radio, newspapers and internet
HARD POWER
serve as a primary means to spread Rus-
sian propaganda with aim to show that
only Russian troops can effectively fight
fascist and ISIS while west, especially
NATO, is just a paper organization. To
counter Russian propaganda in Lithu-
AI B2 anian Armed Forces the Strategic Com-
HYBRID WARFARE DELIBERATE OR HASTY ATTACK
TEMPORARY INTERVENTION

munication department was established

OCCUPATION / INVASION

a decade ago and has become well known

among allies and friends.

SCENARIO 4: (D3) DENIAL OF

ENERGY RESOURCES
The fourth scenario is less lethal but
C4 D3 might be very disruptive as well, and
SHAPING LOCAL DENIAL FROM from general perception is most likely.
POPULATION'S MINDS ENGERY RESOURCES
In 2012 gas flow started directly from
Russia to Germany through the North
Stream pipeline bypassing Baltic States
and Poland. At the same time referring
to the fact that all three Baltic States are
still dependent on Russia for oil, gas and
SOFT POWER / NON-MILITARY INSTRUMENTS
electricity, and taking into consideration
MATRIX 01

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 39

 LEVERAGING STRATCOM

that Russia already in 1990 and 1992 seized oil supplies to Lithuania we easily
expect that something similar can be repeated again. The main reason for such
LITHUANIA

action is Moscow’s will to increase its power and influence through the manipu-
lation of energy resources. Furthermore, Russia by doing this, may conduct a
test for credibility and solidarity of NATO and EU as well as to check whether
some kind of actions will be taken or not. In best-case scenario, the European
Union and Baltic States governments would promptly get in touch with Russia
and negotiate the case or offers something in exchange. The inflicted damage to
the Baltic States would be very marginal and after some tense situation, normal
life would be restored. Relationship between Russia and Baltic States is reas-
sumed and goes like “business as usual. "In a worst-case scenario, Russia would
suspend energy resource supplies in winter time and call for social and political
unrest. NATO and EU would put themselves aside claiming that the situation
has to be solved by Baltic States on the bilateral basis. This situation develop-
ment would definitely lead Baltic States towards economic and social crises.

02

short-term and long-term plans of the

LAF STRATCOM. Continuous coordina-
tion of actions is maintained to ensure
01 continuity of activities and achieve the
desired effects or results.
The LAF STRATCOM is divided into
LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION four separate units, which are closely inter-
DEPARTMENT AND ITS FUNCTIONS related and work in coordination: Assess-
As Lithuania responded to emerging geopolitical challenges, Strategic Com- ment of the information environment, Military
munication became an integral part of national security and defense policy. Public Affairs, Information and Psychological
The Lithuanian Armed Forces Strategic Communication department, or Operations and Citizenship education.
LAF STRATCOM, evaluates the information environment, emerging hybrid
threats, strengthens society's resilience to disinformation and prepares vari- Military Public Affairs Section
ous analytical products. The Military Public Affairs section is
The LAF STRATCOM process is designed to synchronize and mobilize ef- one of the key executors within the LAF
forts and resources to accomplish the appointed tasks mentioned before. The STRATCOM department. The functions of
Strategic communication process consists of the following steps: Analysis, plan- the Military Public Affairs section include
ning, coordination and implementation. public relations via policy guidelines pro-
1. Analysis. Analysts of the department continuously analyze the national and vided by Lithuanian Ministry of Defense,
foreign information environment in order to identify the impact of information shaping positive public opinion and the
on internal and external decision-making. They pinpoint vulnerabilities, potential planning and execution of public informa-
risks, and give recommendations for potential actions and counter measures. tion activities about Lithuanian Armed
2. Planning and evaluation. Planners evaluate the reliability of data pro- Forces. In general, there are two types of
vided by hostile information activities analysis, and identify the most appropri- work performed by different specialists:
ate methods, tools and resources to achieve the needed effects. They develop public affairs and public information. This
short-term and long-term implementation plans for strategic communication reflects the two directions that the Mili-
and assess the effectiveness of actions and measures taken in order to make tary Public Affairs section targets — the
recommendations for further measures and actions. society and the media.
3. Implementation and coordination. Recommendations from the analysis Public Affairs. This sub-section
and planning stages are reviewed and tasks are implemented according to the works directly with the society and is

40 Special warfare | HTTPS://WWW.SOC.MIL/SWCS/SWMAG/SWMAG.HTM

 At the end one of the most important
goal of Military Public Affairs section and
all Strategic Communication department
is to gain desired operational effects pre
planned by department’s planners as
well as to run continuous public projects
to gain trust towards Lithuanian Armed
Forces from two sources — media and
the Lithuanian society, which is being
seen as a vital condition for successful
armed defense of the State.

responsible for all cooperation requests received from society to the Lithu- 03
anian Armed Forces.
The section does not operate with any military resources, though its
job is to mediate between the civil organizations and the military units on
various projects, such as public events, celebrations, commemorations and
others. The Military Public Affairs section maintains several “military-
born” events, among them – Armed Forces Day in November, “Military–So-
ciety Day,” an open door event held in May, and some others. Overall there
are about 100 events per year where the LAF STRATCOM department is
actively involved.
The civilian organizations that are usually met by the Military Public Af-
fairs section are NGOs, creators, media producers, semi-state organizations
(such as Riflemen’s organization) and others.
The spectrum of tools that the Military Public Affairs section operates with
is strongly connected with everything that Lithuanian Armed Forces units
maintain – such as static displays that could be used at public events, military 04
orchestras, military field kitchens, various specific military performances,
planes, helicopters and more. 01, 02
Public Information. This is a sub-section of specialists who work directly Local citizens interact with Lithuanian Armed Forces Soldiers
and equipment during a "Military-Society Day" hosted by the
with the inter-state and foreign media.
LAF STRATCOM Military Public Affairs Section. This event allows
This job consists of generally four parts – internal campaigns, routine news citizens to become familiar and comfortable with the military.
releases, maintaining media requests and routine “breathing” of several social LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES PHOTO BY SRZ. SPEC. LEVA BUDZEIKAITĖ
media outlets.
03
The greatest part of LAF STRATCOM MPA sections work still remains inter- A member of the Lithuanian Armed Forces educates students
nal campaigns, projects and work with media. Typically there are from three to on 21st century threats. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LITHUANIAN
six active campaigns/projects. Some of the projects are temporary (e.g. promo- ARMED FORCES
tion of studies in Military Academy of Lithuania), some of them — long term 04
and continuous (such as “Through the Soldier’s Eyes” — thoughts about the A military officer briefs kids about the role of the Armed Forces
service, provided by “boots on the ground," or “Off Duty” — texts and photo at a summer camp. LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES PHOTO BY SRZ. SPEC.
galleries of soldiers hobbies while not on duty). LEVA BUDZEIKAITĖ

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 41

 LEVERAGING STRATCOM

Analysis section. LAF STRATCOM departments Analysis section is respon- ideas. Due to this, one of the main goals of
sible for Information Environment Assessment (IEA) in order to provide timely the Citizenship Education Section of the
Lithuanian Armed Forces Strategic Com-
LITHUANIA

and accurate situational awareness to support Higher command‘s intents and

other national and international institutions on Hostile Strategic Communica- munication Department is to ensure long-
tions. In other words, the unit consists of military and civilian personnel with term prevention and public resilience in the
intelligence, social sciences and information technologies backgrounds, they face of hostile information threats.
are taking part in monitoring and analyzing of opinion shaping indications in The Citizenship Education Section of
electronic and physical domains. The core concept of the IEA was developed in the Lithuanian Armed Forces Strategic
2016 during LAF STRATCOM department participation at scientific project so Communication Department is one of
called ECOPOL, where government, academic and private sector organizations the four branches which gathers all the
participated in theoretical and practical concept co-creation activities. information from the other sections and
At the LAF STRATCOM department the entire IEA process is split into implements it in practice by communicat-
separate activities, but at the same time everyone's actions are interrelated ing with different social groups, children,
through a virtual joint analysis fusion environment, where analysts can see civil institutions and military personnel
in order to fight with disinformation,
each other’s activities. It is a collaborative process, which allows integration
promote and strengthen critical thinking,
with as many various field analysts as necessary. Process integration design is
historical knowledge as well as civil du-
based on chain relationship analysis:
ties and rights. In other words, the main
Monitoring of indications in electronic and physical domains >> Indications
goal of Citizenship Education Section is
content deconstruction in to the messages, themes, sectors, audiences and targets >>
to preserve and strengthen the interac-
tion between Lithuanian Armed Forces
and society in the long term by creating
synergy in the field of state defense.
We have to realize that in the context
of information warfare, the main target is
to lessen the ‘will to resist’. For us, un-
friendly states are trying to undermine it,
in order to incline our commitment to re-
sist in the event of a potential conflict. The
Short-term tactical goal of the information
warfare is to demoralize and discredit
the armed forces itself, and the other, the
strategic level goal, is to either intimidate
the society or provoke its disintegration

01

Relationship between actions, actors and organizations analysis >> Final products
preparation and dissemination.
The overall process has two activity cycles: monthly and quick response.
Monthly cycle is designated for overall opinion shaping indication assessments
through the Political,military, economic, social, information, infrastructure,
physical environment and time perspective, because military sector is interre-
lated with other sectors. Monthly product reflects key and new disinformation
messages directed against national and NATO military activities.

The Citizenship Education Division

When we speak of the state security we have to keep in mind that all of the
states depend on their people and how they see their county. It is important to
stress that it is hard to defend a country if all of the citizens do not want it. We are
living in unstable and unpredictable times and if we want to have safe, prosperous
and resilient society, we have to foster and promote civil, democratic and patriotic
02
42 Special warfare | HTTPS://WWW.SOC.MIL/SWCS/SWMAG/SWMAG.HTM
03 04

and secession. The worst scenario for a state arises when these hostile goals are at-
tained and people no longer identify with their state, culture and traditions. That’s
why it is crucial to communicate, educate and work not only with all social groups
and government organizations and institutions but with a military personnel, too.

Information and psychological operation section

Information operations are coordinated actions designed to influence the
opponent's decision-making process and affect the opponent's information
processes and systems, while protecting our own.
The Information Operations Unit plans and implements various informa-
tion operations, develops defense strategies and supports other governmental
authorities in dealing with information threats as well as drafts annexes to
the national defense plan. It develops new and improves old operational-level 01
strategies and contributes closely to the development of strategic-level na- An information product created by the LAF STRATCOM cell com-
municates important survival information to children and young
tional security projects. Moreover, it coordinates information operations and
adults in a format that is easy for them to understand.
gives insights about Lithuanian and regional information environment. It also
participates in various military and civil crisis exercises and simulations, where 02
two domains: information and cyber are being united to achieve the synergy A book titled "What You Need to Know About Emergency
and learn from each other. And last but not the least thing is that these special- Preparedness and War Time," provides detailed information to
ists coordinate information activities coordination board. Lithuanian Citizens on readiness and helps to build a resilient,
Finally, Strategic Communication must be planned and coordinated in order educated society.
to do what is necessary to create a Joint Operational Planning Group and draw 03
operational design identifying lines of operations, decisive conditions, opera- A Russian propaganda news story on YouTube pokes fun at LAF
tional effects and finally operational actions, which are of paramount impor- STRATCOM information materials in attempt to make the country
tance. Once completec, the center of gravity and operational end state must look paranoid in it's preparations against Russian aggression. The
be discussed and included into operational design. It is worthwhile to mention LAF STRATCOM cell works on a daily basis to counter propaganda
that all operational effects must be measured, otherwise, it would be very dif- such as this to it's citizens and international audiences.
ficult to stay on track and to achieve your goals. SW
04
A LAF STRATCOM information booklet titled " What We Need To
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Know: Guidelines For Proactive Preparation," provides an illus-
Lt. Col. Linus Idzelis is the Chief of Information Operations for the Lithuanian trated guide to show weapons, equipment and other materials
Armed Forces Strategic Communication Department. Lithuanian citizens might encounter during an invasion.

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 43

 As Latvian families make their way home in the eve-
nings, and settle down to watch the evening news, there is
a broad disconnect in what each household hears. In Latvia,
where about 30 percent of the population is ethnic Russian,
the televisions are by-in-large tuned to the Russian language
channels, many of which are produced in Russia. These
Russian-produced channels reflect what Andis Kudors, a re-
searcher at the Centre for Eastern European Policy Studies, a
Latvian think tank, calls a Russian bias that lacks a pluralis-
tic approach. This is concerning to the Latvian government
because three of the six most popular TV channels are Rus-
sian owned and send anti-West messages into the country
on a daily basis that serves to undermine the integration of
those individuals into Latvian society.
Prior to the break up of the Soviet Union, Russian
leaders moved large numbers of Russian citizens into the
Baltic States. These are the people that make up the block
of Russian speakers in Latvia. They are not citizens of
Latvia and many still hold Russian passports. In an inter-
view with Special Warfare, Kudors explained how Russia,
on a daily basis, seeks to sow discord between the Russian
speakers and the Latvian state.
“At the Centre for Eastern European Policy Studies,
we are conducting studies about Russian propaganda nar-
ratives and disinformation campaigns against the Baltic
States as well as the Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova,”
explained Kudors. “In 2005, Putin said that the Soviet
Union collapse was the biggest geopolitical disaster of
the 20th century. That was not just a message, it was not
relating historical events. Instead, it was a command as
to how people should look at the Soviet past. Since that
time, we have seen many of disinformation campaigns
with some historical explanation.
01 One of these historical explanations concerns the il-

PROPAGANDA
legal occupation of the Baltics in 1940.
Kudors noted, “Today, Russian propagandists call
it a voluntary decision of the people of the Baltic states
to become Soviet citizens and join the Soviet Union,” he
explained. “They suggested that in one morning all true
Baltic nations like Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia somehow
Russia's use of propaganda in the Baltics decided maybe it would be better to be part of Stalin's So-
viet Union. It's not believable, but they are still using this
and how Latvia is working to counter it. story. This historical propaganda is really an important
part of Russian hostile influence in the Baltic states.”
BY JANICE BURTON Over time, this idea evolved into the Russian compa-
triot policy, which is directed toward Russians residing
outside of Russia. The policy is designed to influence the
01
politics of the countries where a big percentage of Rus-
A propaganda article on a Russian run website called Sputnik is exposed by CEEPS in one
of its recent articles in a series titled “Russian Disinformation – The Case of Latvia.” sians or so-called Russian speakers live and to polarize
In the series CEEPS highlights the mistakes made in various propaganda and explains the native Latvian community from the Russian speaking
why it is misleading. A link to the latest article is provided in the box on page 45 under community in Latvia.
'exposing disinformation.' “These messages resonate among groups that feel
threatened, for example, in the eastern part of Latvia,
02
A story published on Latvia's Public Broadcasting website announces the launch of the unemployment is higher than in Riga, so sometimes, that
a new CEEPS project titled “Disinformation Campaigns against Latvia, the EU and NATO: audience is more swayed toward Russian propaganda,”
Exploring Narratives.” For more information see 'monthly analysis' in the box on page 45. Kudors explained. “So, in that way they are trying to split

44 Special warfare | HTTPS://WWW.SOC.MIL/SWCS/SWMAG/SWMAG.HTM

society, and at the same time, weaken the link between are factual as to what happened. Over time, this changes
North America and Canada and the United States and the opinion of the people (Russian speakers) of the country
the European Union. The second dividing line is to divide and of the world,” he continued. “This altered view of what

LATVIA
European nations within the European Union. Why? is going on not only in the country, but in the world affects
Because if Europe the electorate.
is united in foreign This portion of the
policy toward electorate will want
Russia, there is to soften sanc-
no place for them tions toward the
here. The third di- Kremlin, which is
viding line is with- what the Kremlin
in each European is doing — playing
nation by splitting the long game in an
society between attempt to make
ethnic lines. This is Latvia a Trojan
why Russia is sup- Horse in the EU and
porting populist
NATO. But they will
movements in the
not succeed because
European Union.
their actions have
In Latvia, this line
strengthened pro-
is an ethnic line.”
NATO sentiments
Kudors said
in Latvia, not only
that currently,
with Latvians but
there is no real eth-
also with those
nic conflict in Lat-
ethnic Russians
via, but there are
who are already well
tensions at times,
which are caused integrated here.”
by Russian propa- Kudors con-
ganda that is aimed cluded, “It's not
at the state. He said black and white.
a major message There are so many
is that Latvia is a aspects here. But
failed state, when in general, I am
it is compared to quite optimistic.
other European I am a lecturer
Union countries. at a university,
He added that and I see many
02 younger Russians
the channels are
aggressively and skillfully weaving propaganda into their who are living here. They are really Europeans. They like
stories, which are really disinformation campaigns. democracy so they do not care what Putin says. They
“If an event happens, none of the four Russian chan- don't want to live in Russia. They are happy to live here
nels will give you the same interpretation and none of them and have said so.” SW

HOW CEEPS WORKS TO COUNTER PROPAGANDA

Monthly Analysis: CEEPS scans the Internet using a media monitoring tool
and publishes a monthly analysis of the data. Learn more at: http://appc.lv/
The Centre for East European Policy Studies, or CEEPS, is eng/appc-has-launched-a-new-disinformation-monitoring-project/
a non-governmental organization that works to contrib-
Exposing Disinformation: CEEPS publishes a regular series of articles that
ute to the advancement of Latvian foreign policy by
contain some of the most popular messages and topics of the current
building-up expertise on Russia’s development and its
period about Latvia, and the common methods of disinformation in Russia.
different foreign policy expressions in the region.
Learn more at: http://appc.lv/eng/ceeps-exposes-the-topics-and-methods
CEEPS Website: http://appc.lv/eng/ -of-russian-disinformation-in-latvia/

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 45

LATVIA:
A COUNTRY OF TENACITY
AND RESILIENCE
BY JANICE BURTON

Situated on the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and

Estonia, Latvia is one of the three Baltic States. It also
shares borders with Belarus and Russia. Throughout
its history, Latvia has been under the control of
Germany, Poland, Sweden and finally, Russia. The
Latvian republic emerged following World War
I, but it was annexed by the USSR in 1940. Latvia
reestablished its independence in 1991 following the
breakup of the Soviet Union: although Russian troops
did not completely leave the country until 1994.

FINL AND

ESTONIA
Baltic Sea Gulf
of
Riga RUSSIA

Riga
Riga

L AT V I A

LITHUANIA
BEL ARUS
 In 2004, Latvia joined both
NATO and the European Union.
Living in the Shadow of Russia,

LATVIA
Latvia obviously has a strong drive
to protect its sovereignty. It is an
effort that impacts everyone in the
country, which has a Russian popula-
tion that makes up 25% of its total
population of 1.8 million.
When the Special Warfare staff
traveled to Latvia in 2019, we had
the opportunity to sit down with not
only leaders of the military, but also
the Latvian Minister of Defence to
talk about resistance in Latvia.
Artis Pabriks, the Minister of
Defence and Deputy Prime Min-
ister, talked about the role of his
office in supporting resistance and
resilience in Latvia.
“I think we all learn from our
experiences, and if you're looking
01
to the experience of Latvians or
The Freedom
Baltic nations, then I think our Monument has
biggest problem, probably psy- stood as a central
chological problem, is the years of landmark in Riga,
1913 and 1940,” he began. “Why? Latvia, since
Because we had relatively well- 1935. The 140
prepared armies and also a society foot tall structure
stands a symbol
that was ready to stand for their
01 of the Latvian
values…their country — but we did nation striving
not fight against Soviet invaders. because we want a bad relationship els of defense. The Latvian Armed for freedom and
And, I think that created for us with another country, but because Forces (Nacionālie Bruņotie Spēki) are independence.
this kind of psychological trauma, we need to be prepared.” the Armed Forces of the Republic The woman on
which we will never forget.” He used Russia as an example. of Latvia. Latvia's defense concept top of the monu-
Minister Pabriks continued, “For instance, Russia is a neighbor- is based on a mobile, professional ment is holding
“We are learning from our mistakes. up three golden
ing country. We, as a country, are rapid response force and reserve
stars, which
Smart people learn from the mistakes most interested in having a working segment that can be called upon rel- represent Latvia's
of others. In this case, we have to relationship with our neighbors. atively fast for mobilization should historical regions.
learn from our own mistake. So the Russia is our neighbor, but they are the need arise. The National Armed During the Soviet
major goal of our government, of our different from other nations on the Forces consists of land forces, naval occupation, any
Ministry of Defence, of our Army, is European continent.” forces, the Air Force and the Nation- gathering at
that history never, ever repeats itself.” “We cannot live in the world of al Guard, all of whom are charged the Freedom
He went to on to explain that it's illusions. We must have a realistic with protecting the territory of the Monument was
each individual’s personal experienc- strictly forbid-
point of view, and we understand state; participating in international
den. Fortunately
es that compels them to take a stand that we live in asymmetric geopoli- military operations; and prevent-
the statue was
to not to let history repeat itself. For tics, and that our neighbor is much ing threats to national security. not destroyed
him, it is very personal. bigger and much stronger than us,” The National Guard is comprised as many other
“I will never allow my children he explained. “ So the question is of people who work in professional national symbols
to have to live in something that I about the price. And I think the positions throughout the week, but were, instead
was born under — the occupation opponent must understand that we who volunteer and train in their the Soviets took
of Soviets. So that means that no are not going to be sold. If we are to private time and on weekends, he claim of the
matter what, or no matter how a be taken over, our neighbor must explained. The next level is a reserve statue, saying
it was Mother
hypothetical enemy crosses our bor- know that there will be a large price, force, which is made up of young
Russia holding up
der, we would shoot to kill. That's and we will ensure this process costs people between the ages of 12 to 18, the three Baltic
very simple,” he said. “I think we them a large price in lives.” who also train on weekends. States. U.S. ARMY
should also prepare our society for To meet the Army at their bor- With the volunteer forces supple- PHOTOS BY JENNIFER
attacks from different locations, not ders, the Latvians have several lev- menting the professional military G. ANGELO

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 47

 A COUNTRY OF TENACITY AND RESILIENCE
LATVIA

01 03

assets, the country is focused on

developing a comprehensive defense
system, which is tied to mutual coop-
eration and involvement of all facets
of society, including armed forces,
non-governmental organizations,
01 individual and families.
A street in the Minister Pabriks, continued, ex-
historic Riga Old plaining that each and every one of
Town, or Vecrīga, the citizens involved in defense must
where Russian understand what they would do if an
merchants run incursion happened.
businesses. “They need to know how they
02 survive in the event of crisis,” he
Artis Pabriks, said. “And, one of the lessons, from
Minister of Defence 1939 and 1940 is that at that time,
and Deputy Prime
people, soldiers, were ready to defend 02
Minister of Latvia.
their families and their country. In
U.S. ARMY PHOTOS BY He explained that under their Another project that will
2016, we had a law passed by our
JENNIFER G. ANGELO comprehensive defense plan, govern- contribute to the comprehensive
government that tells us that even
if the order doesn't come, each and ment leaders and military leaders defense system is military educa-
03
every citizen must, or has a right to look at each level of government to tion in schools. The Prime Minister
Members of the
Latvian Military defend himself or herself against the ensure that crisis plans are up to acknowledged that the idea might
participate in invader. Soldiers and officers have date and practical. He said they are not be popular among other Euro-
the 2019 Latvian a duty, according to the plans to do asking, what happens in the Minis- pean countries, but believes it will
Independence the work they are supposed to do try of Health if a crisis occurs, how work in Latvia.
Day Military many doctors do they have, etc. They “We are offering a compul-
to defend their country, even if the
Parade through
order from the top doesn't come,” he also look at the provision of electric- sory semi-military education in all
downtown Riga.
U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY explained. “So that basically means ity, transportation and telecommu- schools starting in 2022, which is
STAFF SGT. ANDREW there will be no standstill if some- nications to try and shore of all them one day per month where they can
SCHUMANN thing happens.” up prior to a crisis. train on how to act in the event a of

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 tanks, but we can have a quite good
capacity on cyber security and cyber
offense. It's possible that you don't
need to have a big country to make
other people feel pain. Our duty is
actually to fight against the Russian
propaganda, which is daily. There
are actually few differences between
Russia using propaganda to attack
us or you, or the West in general,
because a major target is to tell that,
look, you are a failed countries.”
Noting the messages that are
used in propaganda, he pointed
out that some similar themes are
used: corrupt democracy, corrupt
value system, or corrupt religious
system, etc. The goal of the pro-
paganda is simply to make people
unwilling to defend their country
or to work to abolish the govern-
ment system. He added that this
kind of propaganda could be fought
in many ways using small tools.

“Many people ask me as a politician what will happen in Latvia

if these green men appear as they did in Ukraine ... We are a
small society. We know each other ... so if strangers appear,
we know where they come from. If they violate our border and
if they come, we will take them out. That's it. So no chances."
civilian crisis or even in a catastro- come together to create centers of Referencing Latvian Special Op-
phe,” he explained. “If a student joins excellence, like the NATO Coop- erations soldiers, he noted that he
the Army, they are better prepared, erative Cyber Defence Centre of has a great respect for the Latvian
of if they want to just do it a part- Excellence in Estonia and the NATO soldiers who will be the first and
time because of patriotism, they can STRATCOM Center of Excellence in most important defense if there is
join the National Guard.” Latvia. In 2014, Latvia suggested an incursion.
He continued, noting that he is that NATO form a Center of Excel- “Many people ask me as a poli-
not willing to take a chance on the lence for Strategic Communication tician what will happen in Latvia
defense of the nation, which is why and has worked to develop it over if these green men appear as they
Latvians must prepare themselves as the past six years. The Minister of did in Ukraine. First of all, I want
much as possible. In 2014, after the Defence noted that the center has to say we are much stronger than
Russian incursion into the Ukraine, developed a great capacity that will Ukraine because we are in NATO.
the Ministry of Defence created a help many countries before elec- We are a small society. We know
unit of the National Guard from the tions or during crises. He noted each other. There are two mil-
employees of the agency. that the center has written papers lion people here, so if strangers
While there have been no overt on ISIS propaganda and is advising appear, we know where they come
actions from Russia to Latvia, other countries. from. If they violate our border
Latvians are combating psycho- “We are looking at this from our and if they come, we will take
logical operations, propaganda and experience … from an asymmetric them out. That's it. So, no chanc-
cyber attacks on a regular basis. In position,” he continued. “We under- es. We have a determination to do
response, the Baltic countries have stand that we can't have a thousand this,” he concluded. SW

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 49

 people who all have their unique skill
sets, experiences and their own way
of thinking, which makes it a multi-
dimensional organization.
“First of all, it is territorial. Lit-
erally every municipality has some
of the organization’s units. Second,
it is a functional because all of the
members have a huge knowledge
and skill set, which the organization
uses, while adding additional skills
and leadership training and experi-
ences. Finally, the intangible aspect
of the organization is in the psy-
chological dimension, wherein the

01

ESTONIAN DEFENSE
The Obligation of Every Citizen
The Estonian Defence League: Enhancing the readiness
of the nation and defending its independence and
constitutional order through free will and self-initiative.
02
BY JANICE BURTON

Maj. Gen. Meelis Kiili is the stated that the defense of the coun-
former Commander of the Estonian try is the obligation of every citizen;
Defence League, an organization that not only is it listed as a right, but
is an equivalent to the U.S. Army’s also an obligation for every citizen
National Guard. to defend the homeland.
“This is a quite unique organiza- Kiili explains, “These are human
tion. It is the citizen soldiers — like activities, so emotions are involved.
the U.S. National Guard — however, If you compare obligation with the
there is a major difference. We don't right, then the right is always a
pay our members. It may sound con- much stronger emotion and that's
troversial, but we even ask a small why we are deliberately cultivating
symbolic fee from our members,” he that culture which is focused on our
explained. “We don't have a formal right to defend our country. Ordi-
contract with them. It is more like nary citizens are utilizing their free
a psychological contract. If I am to time to be ready and trained for the
describe what are we doing, I would defense of the country at any time,
say we are protecting our values.” in any situation.”
These values are written in the He explained that the Defence
Estonian Constitution where it is League is an organization of mature
03

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members are exercising their right we have very strong bonds with the neighbors must accept the neutrality
to defend the country and their fel- municipalities,” he explained. as well. In 1940, when the Soviets
low citizens see their willingness to Resilience and resistance are key occupied us, we were also a neutral

ESTONIA
be a part of that defense." words in the organization. country. So this is the lessons learned
Each territorial unit trains in “We put also a lot of effort on re- from history. It is deeply in our mind
their local district, with specialized silience because if the society is not set that never again, whatever the
training moving throughout the resilient, it will fail. First of all the cost, we will fight. But another piece
country. Individual training takes resilient society is most likely to be is our main effort, which is to be as
place in the district, which allows able to deter an enemy’s unfavorable good and together with our allies,
each member to understand the local actions. And, if it goes so far that which means we won’t have to fight
situation and to know the people in we need to resist or apply resistance on Estonian soil.”
their area. “That is our main strength technologies, then resilience is the The general, who is now assigned
— we have knowledge of the human foundation,” he said. “And, it is to NATO, sees being a good partner
terrain and the physical terrain. We based on the networks. The Defence as being key in the defense of Esto-
know who the key leaders are and League is a network of networks, nia, and part of that is interacting
which is comprised of nodes in each with and conducting exercises with
district. Every individual has their NATO partners.
own social networks, professional “I'm just coming from the
networks and family networks. That exercise with the British, who were
is our main strength.” landing their helicopters on the
To keep the local municipali- beach. We are receiving them and
ties actively engaged, the league synchronizing with them. Most of
conducts mutual projects with local our Defence League exercises have

These values are written in the Estonian

constitution where it is said that the
defense of the country is the obligation
of every citizen; not only is it listed a
right, but also an obligation for every
citizen to defend the homeland.
municipalities. In doing so, they gain become multinational, which is
information to use if an evacuation effective and allows us to learn from
01
Members of the Estonian Defense League is necessary — not only in war time, our partners and allies,” he said. In
conduct a training exercise in the Estonian but also in times of natural disasters. the same way, the country is work-
Forest with U.S. Special Operations Forces. Like many in the country, Maj. ing on its doctrine.
U.S. ARMY SOCEUR PHOTO Gen. Kiili believes history will play a "The Defence League's main part-
major factor in the Estonian people’s ner is the Estonia Special Forces …
02 will to fight. “I don't believe that in they have a very close link with the U.S.
A U.S. Army Civil Affairs Officer meets with
Estonia there is a single family who Special Forces,” he said. “So logically,
Maj. Gen. Meelis Kiili at his office in Tallin,
has not been touched by the Occupa- we're very much connected with the
Estonia. Maj. Gen. Kiili served as the com-
mander of the Estonian Defence League for tion or World War II for instance, U.S. Special Forces as well. The Ameri-
seven years until turning over command to and the suppression of the occupying cans' help has been enormous. Just
Brig. Gen. Riho Ühtegi in July 2019. forces,” he said. “When we restored their sheer presence in Estonia is a huge
U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY JENNIFER G. ANGELO our independence, there was a sort of strategic message. The U.S. footprint on
debate: Should we become a neutral our soil is always a good thing.”
03 country like our neighbors Finland Brig. Gen. Riho Ühtegi is the
Members of the Maryland National Guard
and Sweden?” The obvious answer current commander of the Defence
train with Estonian Defense League person-
nel during an exercise in Southern Estonia.
is no, we cannot do that. First of all League and the former commander
Estonia is designated as the partner country there are many preconditions to be of the Estonian Special Operations
for Maryland within the National Guard’s met for neutrality. The country must Forces. During his previous job, Üh-
State Partnership Program. U.S. ARMY PHOTO be very rich because it must be armed tegi worked closely with U.S. Special
BY MAJ. KURT M. RAUSCHENBERG to the teeth. And secondly, all your Forces, not only in training, but also

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 51

 ESTONIAN DEFENSE

With the Defence League, Estonia

ESTONIA

has a very unique force, which is

focused on total defense.
“This means it is not just the
military’s job to resist or defend
the country. It is the duty of all of
the nation. Every citizen has a duty
to defend the state. This sentence
doesn't mean that everyone has to
fight with a weapon, but the defense
can be very different,” he explained.
“People who are capable and who
want to fight with a weapon they can
do it, but other people have their own
duties or other options.”
Ühtegi said it is also important
for the Estonian forces to understand
their enemies' ways of thinking. In
particular, he pointed out Russia’s
01 hybrid warfare, which is intended
deploying forward and working with to keep another state in situational
them in Afghanistan. warfare for as long as possible and
“We have only one service, so to cause problems with the economy
Special Forces are mainly doing land and the minds of the people.
tasks,” he explained. “But we are also “We have to learn from that and be
capable of doing airborne and maritime ready to answer,” he said. “This kind of
tasks. In my new job I will work with situation means that we must be clev-
the Defence League. There is a huge er because we cannot keep our people
difference between Special Forces and forever at defense because it would be
the Defence League. We also need the very difficult for our economy.”
countries who we call on for military He said that this long game,
assistance to partner with us. We see requires massive support from the
a lot of military assistance in Estonia, Estonian Government and its allies,
and we say also that we can provide but more importantly the Estonian
that assistance to other nations.” people. “Probably the biggest task
Ühtegi is proud that his soldiers is how to keep the nation mentally
deployed four times in support of ready for defense and this is what we
operations in Afghanistan. They are calling resilience, which is not so
became a force multiplier. In 2010, much physical preparation for war
one Estonian Infantry company held but more mental preparation for war.
a village and its surrounding area — “We have to understand that the
some 28 kilometers. world is changing, and warfare is also
“We kept the land which was 28 changing so we have to be prepared
square kilometers, with about 4,000 also to fight the information war
02
people living in this territory. We and the psychological war. The war
actually secured it and made peace we're talking about is hybrid warfare
for these people. And, we did that by which comes to diplomacy. It's also
01 being force multipliers by finding the about the economy and it’s about the
U.S. and Estonian Special Operations Forces conduct a joint train- right partners who we can train and people and their understanding of
ing exercise in Estonia. U.S. ARMY SOCEUR PHOTO use them to increase the capabili- the homeland or fatherland.”
ties of other people to make more He explained that homeland is
02
troops,” he explained. “At the time, the land where you are living, where
Brig. Gen. Riho Ühtegi, current commander of the Estonian
we had a special police company that your roots are. “It's why I need to say
Defence League and former commander of the Estonian Special
Operations Forces, speaks with the Special Warfare team in Estonia. was our partner and together, with my life for this country because it is
Brig. Gen. Ühtegi has worked extensively with U.S. Army Special this police company, we built local important. It is for people and then
Forces, including during a deployment to Afghanistan. police units in villages and secured peace is possible. This must be part of
U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY JENNIFER G. ANGELO the area,” he explained. our national policy as well.” SW

52 Special warfare | HTTPS://WWW.SOC.MIL/SWCS/SWMAG/SWMAG.HTM

SUPPORTING THE HOMELAND in 1927, the organization worked until World War
The Role of the Estonian Women's II when the country was occupied by Russia. The
organization was shut down for about 50 years, but in
Voluntary Defence Organization. 1991, it started working in the public again.
03
BY JANICE BURTON “It's an organization for women, and it gives them Estonian citizens
the ability to contribute to national defense in the line up to receive a
direct sense,” explained Helen, a leader in the orga- meal of piping hot
In mid-June, when the sun never sets on Estonia, soup, bread and a
nization. “You can be as a soldier or a platoon leader, dessert from mem-
the people of the country gathered to celebrate 150
but you can also contribute to the comprehensive bers of the Estonian
years of the Estonian Song and Dance Festival. This
national defense in some other areas like evacuation, Women's Voluntary
festival, which speaks to the heart of the Estonian Defense Organiza-
collecting donations for veterans, etc. The different tion at the Estonian
people, was themed “My Fatherland Is My Love.” That
speaks volumes about the people of Estonia and their assignments and tasks that you can do within our Song and Dance
organization is very wide.” Festival in July 2019.
will to keep their country free. Thirty-one years ago, The festival serves
the people of Estonia gathered at the Tallin Song Fes- She explained that the organization started out
as a venue for the
tival Grounds to start a revolution, one that led to the about 15 years ago, with limited tasks for the women women to practice
downfall of the Soviet control of the Baltics, which who volunteered. That has changed. mobilizing their
field kitchens to
has come to be called the “Singing Revolution.” “Like I said, on one hand, women can contrib-
feed the masses, a
Central to the success of the Song Festival are the ute by being a soldier and digging ditches and such. service they stand
efforts of the Women’s Voluntary Defence Organi- But on the other hand, we can offer other ways for ready to provide
people to support defense. One of the newest and the in the event of a
zation. The group, comprised of women of all ages,
national emergency.
exists to support the defense of the country utiliz- biggest assignments we have is forming evacuation U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY
ing the skills that each woman possesses. Founded units that would evacuate the Estonian people in two JENNIFER G. ANGELO

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 53

 SUPPORTING THE HOMEL AND
ESTONIA

01
different ways. For example, in a lot of our families
both parents are involved in the organization and
they are called out to training. For example, if they
01, 02 don't have anyone to keep their children, one of our
Members of the units would be in charge of that and they will take
Estonian Women's care of the children in those cases. In the case of
Voluntary Defense
armed conflict or some other instance like a natural
Organization feed
fellow citizens at disaster, our unit organizes the mass evacuation for
the Estonian Song civilian in cooperation with the police and border
and Dance Festival guards,” she said.
in July 2019. More
than 180,000 people If a civilian crisis or some natural disaster oc-
were served during curs, the evacuation units would be responsible for
the event. the evacuation shelters. The organization is work- 02

03 ing throughout the country to build a network that

Food is prepared in would oversee this kind of evacuation. The group
a mobile kitchen works hand-in-hand with the Estonian Police and
setup outside the
Border Guard to identify appropriate shelters. Once
hall where the food
is served during the that happens, the members of the group man the
festival. The event shelter and provide food , blankets and medical care
allows the women if needed.
to practice trans-
porting, preparing The ability to tackle such a massive undertak-
and serving food to ing requires a diverse skill set, and the women in the
the masses. group have it.
U.S. ARMY PHOTOS BY “In the organization, we teach our members the
JENNIFER G. ANGELO simplest thing that you would need in everyday life
03

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“We don't exclude anyone ... It doesn’t matter your age, or your
physical abilities. The only thing that matters is that you have
a will to contribute to the internal defense of our country."
to respond to different crises and also in conflict,” soup kitchen and make the special soup for the festi-
Helen continued. “But we can’t teach the entire val. Our cooks and the distributors then operate here
world, so we started thinking about a tool we could to feed the participants,” she explained.
use that would prepare people to react, so we came During the most recent festival, the women’s organi-
up with a mobile app.” zation fed more than 180,000 people. Currently the orga-
The app, Ole Valmis!, which means 'be prepared,' nization has more than 2,600 members, all of whom vol-
broadens the group’s reach into the populace. The unteer their time and talents. “We don’t exclude anyone,
app includes she said. “It doesn’t matter your age, or your physical
informa- abilities. The only thing that matters is that you have a
tion that the will to contribute to the internal defense of our country
members of and from there, we can find a job for them within the
the group organization.”Each member
thought undergoes
every citizen a set basic
should know training and
in a crisis. then they are
Working on a allowed to
strictly volun- choose their
teer basis, the specialty based
members com- on their skills
piled informa- and abilities.
tion that covers Some of the dif-
the gamut from ferent specialties
when to take include logistics, OLE VALMIS!
shelter, what catering, medical The mobile app
to take when care, communica- “Ole Valmis!” (Be
Prepared!) was created
you go to take tions, etc.
by members of the
shelter, how to “We have three Estonian Women's De-
treat injuries, etc. pillars contribut- fence Organization to
Since Estonia has ing to the nation's provide citizens with
everything they need
a large Russian defense with sol-
to prepare for and
population, the diers’ skills, working survive in a crisis. It
group created the with evacuation and includes checklists for
app with three languages: Estonian, Rus- working with our emergency supplies
and food, and tips
sian and English. youth. We have two
on how to manage in
Helen explained the project was youth organizations in various situations. For
time consuming since all of the work on and we work in coop- example, what to do
gathering the information was done by the members eration with the police in the event of a power
outage, if you are lost
of the organization. “Our volunteers took it from an and the border guards. The way we train, we will
in the woods or how to
idea to the final product. It took almost a year, but it make the local community and the overall Estonian provide first aid. It also
is available free to all of our citizens,” she said. security better because people know how to keep safe has information about
Another event the group is actively engaged in is and how to act in different events,” she said. “I like fire and water safety,
natural disasters,
the Song and Dance Festival. to say the real estate where our members live should
disruption of vital
“For years, it’s been our organization’s responsibil- be much more expensive because we know how to services, cyber security
ity to cater food for the participants. We open up the respond to a crisis.” SW and other threats.

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 55

 COUNTERING MALIGN INFLUENCE IN ESTONIA
01

zens to become familiar with the military and helps

BY JANICE BURTON to strengthen friendships with Estonian partners.
The team also built partner force bonds through
combined training exercises, most recently at an
01 In Estonia, a Civil Affairs Team from the 92nd exercise known as Spring Storm, the largest annual
A Civil Affairs Team Civil Affairs Battalion works daily with government exercise conducted by the Estonian Armed Forces.
Leader talks with Esto- agencies, non-government organizations and most
nian Partners during a The exercise brought together more than 9,000 troops
importantly, the people of Estonia. One of the CA
community event. from 15 NATO countries and partners, allowing them
team's main goals is to counter the influence of ma-
02, 03 to test their combined skills in responding to a fic-
lign actors on the people of the country.
A Civil Affairs Team Mem- tional crisis and build solidarity with Allied partners.
ber teaches basic first “There are many ways we approach countering
Another area the team is focusing on is logistics
aid skills at an Estonian malign influence not only in Estonia but throughout
school; Students practice
to support the populace in the event that people
the region,” explained the CA Team Leader. “The
applying a tourniquet. are relocated or evacuated. “We're finding ways
most powerful way is to engage with vulnerable
04 to support that population so that they see their
populations. So the types of things we do are some
A community event in government as competent and legitimate," explained
first aid training and some survival tactical training
Estonia exposes citizens the Team Leader. “Essentially some of some of the
with our partners like the Estonian Defence League."
to first responders and ways we're doing that is working with the Estonian
provides an opportunity A member of the team explained that they do a
to learn basic survival and lot of training with their partners, including medical Defence League on identifying the best ways we can
first aid skills. training. During a recent trip to an Estonian school, offer non-lethal support.”
05 the team taught first aid tasks such as controlling During their time in Estonia, the team has re-
CA Team Members meet pressure points and applying tourniquets on adults quested humanitarian assistance items such as blan-
with Red Cross personnel and children. He described most of the training as kets and generators to hold as crisis pre-positioned
in Estonia. The Red
basic medical skills. stocks. They are also working with the Women's
Cross and other NGOs
are important partners On another school visit, the team traveled with Voluntary Defence Organization on their evacuation
in engaging vulnerable an Estonian Defence League Officer to talk with stu- planning for internally displaced persons. One of the
populations in the area. dents and teachers about their shared experiences in team members explained that the Women’s Volun-
U.S. ARMY PHOTOS Iraq and Afghanistan. These interactions allow citi- tary Defence Organization will operate in a manner

56 Special warfare | HTTPS://WWW.SOC.MIL/SWCS/SWMAG/SWMAG.HTM

 same time to have the ability to leave an affected area
when necessary.

ESTONIA
Another avenue the CA team has traveled is
integrating non-governmental organizations into the
Estonian civil society groups and organizations.
“What they bring to the table, how we can
integrate them, gets us all parts of society trying to
enhance the capabilities of the local organization,”
explained the Team Leader. “Once we make those
connections, we will start looking for opportunities
02
to expand that influence by possibly establishing a
foreign humanitarian assistance cell.”
The team believes that with the right organiza-
tions in place, it will make it easier for people to re-
sist and fight back in their own way — not necessar-
ily taking up arms — but doing what one would need
to do to protect themselves and their family, which is
a fundamental value of Estonian culture. SW

03

like the American Red Cross, running evacuation

shelters, and reporting up the chain which people
were evacuated and where they went. In conjunction
with the Estonian Police and Border Guards, the CA
team is advising the government on evacuation plan-
ning and crisis management. The team also helped to
set up an exercise that integrated Estonian planners
with planners from Latvia. Both countries came away
with important lessons learned. This is one step in
implementing not only a whole-of-government ap- 04

proach to the issue, but also a regional one that will

lead to knowledge sharing throughout the Baltics and
integration of a number of organizations.
“It is important that they don’t have stove-piped
organizations and the whole-of-government ap-
proach addresses these issues,” said the Team Leader.
“This helps ensure that you don’t have different
organizations planning the same thing at the same
time. The integration of all of these agencies working
toward a common goal will set them up for success.”
With the ongoing planning, the Women’s Vol-
untary Defence Organization has the capacity to
manage and set up more than 100 shelters across the
country. Putting it in perspective, the Team Leader
noted that internally displace persons would be
much like the U.S. saw following Hurricane Florence.
The goal is to stay in place if it is possible, but at the
05

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 | special warfare 57

 [ BOOK RE VIEW ]
BALLAD OF THE GREEN BERET:
THE LIFE AND WARS OF STAFF SERGEANT BARRY SADLER
“I knew nothing about being a civilian. The military was Sadler found the home he was looking for in Special
the only place I ever felt really comfortable. I’m not comfort- Forces. After floating between several camps in Vietnam,
able at all now. I probably never will be.” — Barry Sadler in Sadler was assigned to Detachment A-216 at Camp Hardy
1983, four years before his death by gunshot. in the Central Highlands in March 1965. Between patrols,
The song is embedded in the culture and tradition of U.S. he continued writing songs and plunking away at the gui-
Army Special Forces. An unexpected hit in 1966 — indeed, a tar, refining what would become “The Ballad of the Green
#1 hit for five weeks and the top single of the year — “The Bal- Berets,” a song he’d begun in 1963. Unfortunately, Sadler’s
lad of the Green Berets” is not only a regular part of SF ceremo- time as an active service Special Forces medic was cut short
nies, formal and informal, it has been in May 1965, when he was wounded
covered by numerous other artists, by a punji stake while patrolling
is one of the primary marches played with Montagnards. It was while he
by the Texas A&M University march- was recuperating at Fort Bragg’s
ing band, was recorded in Italian, Womack Army Medical Center that
French, German and Swedish versions, “The Ballad of the Green Berets”
spawned “answer” songs and parodies slowly gained exposure. In the
galore (including an appearance in the summer of 1965, Sadler and Robin
1980 comedy, Caddyshack, and is even Moore — author of the novel The
the official song of The Royal Nether- Green Berets — were paired by their
lands Army Korps Commandotroepen, agents and the “Ballad” started its
who sing the song in English, substi- climb up the music charts.
tuting “the Netherlands” for “America” As Leepson shows, the popularity
in the lyrics. of the “Ballad” marks the transition
The song is also what ultimately from the 1960s, as a decade, to the
killed its creator, Special Forces “Sixties” that we know culturally.
medic Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler, In the 10 years prior to Sadler’s hit,
who died at the age of 49 at the fewer than 2,000 Americans died in
Alvin C. York V.A. Medical Center in Vietnam. In 1966 alone, three times
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, after be- that many would die of wounds or
ing shot in the head in the back of a be killed in action, and as opinion
Guatemala City taxicab. turned against the war, “The Ballad
In this remarkably well-researched of the Green Berets” quickly became
and elegantly written biography, Marc BOOK DETAILS an anachronism. Though he tried to
Leepson — a Vietnam veteran, jour- recreate the magic, Sadler was a “one-
nalist and freelance writer — sheds
By Marc Leepson hit wonder.”
light on the hard life, hard times and Guilford, CT: Stackpole Books, Before the song became anachro-
hard death of Barry M. Sadler. It is the 2017, 320 pages; nistic, it was exploited to the maxi-
story of a man who courted fame, yet ISBN: 978-0811717496; mum extent possible by Lieutenant
when he found it, couldn't cope with Price: $29.95 General William P. Yarborough, who
the costs of fame nor the cost of the used Sadler as a living SF recruiting
loss of fame. In a valuable contribution REVIEWED BY poster. Sadler appeared on televi-
to the Special Forces historiography, Russell Burgos, Ph.D. sion, at parades, at county and state
Leepson clears away much of the my- Associate Professor, fairs, always singing the “Ballad” and
thology surrounding Sadler’s life — a National Defense University, always promoting America’s involve-
mythology Sadler himself tried to cre- ment in Vietnam. Leepson shows that
ate — through rich archival research, Joint Special Operations Sadler desperately wanted to return
a close reading of contemporary news Master of Arts Program, to a team, but from Yarborough’s
accounts about Sadler and interviews Fort Bragg, North Carolina point of view Sadler’s value as a sym-
with 71 of Sadler’s surviving family bol of Special Forces far outweighed
members, friends and associates. his value as an SF medic. Sadler’s
The son of a prostitute, Sadler grew up in Leadville, success, in effect, took away the only home he’d ever had and,
Colorado. From an early age, he craved a stable place in life in 1967, an embittered Sadler left the army. In 1971, he told a
and a sense of family. After a series of run-ins with local law friend, “I wish that I’d never, ever written that stupid song.”
enforcement, Sadler dropped out of high school and joined Leepson paints a sad picture of the next two decades of
the Air Force. While serving as a radar technician in Japan, Sadler’s life, a slow-motion train wreck of alcoholism, philan-
Sadler learned to play guitar — a fateful decision, as it hap- dering, petty criminality, squandered money, failed business
pened. Sadler left the Air Force at the end of his four-year ventures and desperate attempts to cling to musical fame.
enlistment and tried to make it — not for the first time — as A decade after the “Ballad,” Sadler again found suc-
a musician. Just four months later, he joined Special Forces. cess, this time as the author of a series of adventure

58 Special warfare | HTTPS://WWW.SOC.MIL/SWCS/SWMAG/SWMAG.HTM

 [ CAREER NOTES ]
ARMY TALENT MANAGEMENT – BUILDING A 21ST CENTURY PERSONNEL SYSTEM
Why Talent Management? talent demands and officers can highlight their rank. The officer holds the brevet promotion as
The Army is evolving from an Industrial Era relevant talents. Furthermore, officers and units long as they occupy the brevetable position.
personnel system to an Information Age sys- alike have an ability to adjust their preferences Two hundred and twenty positions have
tem which maximizes the potential of every through interviews and the exchange of infor- been designated brevetable for the 20-02
single person in our Army. This new system, mation, making for better-informed decisions. marketplace, with plans to make up to 770
called Talent Management, harnesses the This marketplace is enabled by the Assignment positions brevetable in the 21-01 marketplace.
power of every person’s unique knowledge, Interactive Module 2.0 (AIM 2) software, and If an officer of a lower rank is accepted to fill a
skills, behaviors and preferences (KSB-Ps). the Army Talent Alignment Algorithm02 will brevetable position (e.g., a captain applies for
Talent Management modernizes how the be used to match officers with units based on and is accepted for a major position coded as
Army acquires the right talent from among their mutual preferences. brevetable), the officer will undergo a short
the American people, develops it through The Army Talent alignment Process provides administrative process in order to receive the
training and education, employs it in the right greater transparency to officers on available as- brevet promotion. Brevet promotions can
assignments and uses the right incentives to signments while units better understand the pool serve as a great incentive to encourage officers
retain talent for a lifetime of service. of talent from which they can build their teams. to apply for challenging assignments.
Modernization of Army personnel manage- ATAP provides better visibility of every officer’s Finally, the Army has instituted a new
ment is a far-reaching, multi-year endeavor talents, improves retention through increased as- policy known as merit-based promotions,
targeting every single demographic within signment satisfaction, and helps the Army better which will promote a portion of officers based
the Army. Though there will be many changes understand both officers’ and units’ preferences. on the strength of their promotion board
to the personnel system, there are two major files, rather than their date of rank. Following
Retaining Talent, Rewarding
initiatives that will affect Soldiers in the im- each promotion board, the Army will use an
Performance through NDAA Authorities
mediate future. The first major initiative is the algorithm to determine the top cluster of
The FY19 NDAA has given the Army several
Army Talent Alignment Process, which matches performers – generally between the top 5 and
legal authorities designed to allow officers
officers to units based on mutual preferences 25 percent. During each fiscal year, the Army
to have greater flexibility in their career
and is currently being used by more than will promote these officers first, then the
paths, incentivize challenging assignments,
15,000 officers in the Summer 2020 assign- remaining officers by their date of rank.
and reward top performers. The Army has
ment cycle. The second initiative involves new
implemented many of these as policies, Conclusion
legal authorities in the FY19 National Defense
including Opt-Out, Brevet Promotions, and Recent talent management efforts dem-
Authorization Act that allows the Army to
Merit Promotions. onstrate that the Army is doing more than
retain the right talent for the future.
The Army’s Opt-Out policy allows an officer just talking about modernizing its personnel
Assigning the Right Person, the Right to opt out of a mandatory promotion board system to acquire, develop, employ, and
Assignment, the Right Time, Over Time: for a period of one year, twice at each grade, retain talent. Change may not be comfort-
The Army Talent Alignment Process in order to participate in a broadening assign- able for those who have grown up in the
Under the legacy assignment system, cen- ment or to complete grad school. Opt-Out traditional personnel management system.
tralized career managers distributed officers resets an officer’s year group, allowing them However, implementing talent management
into unit vacancies. Though this system was to participate in the next promotion board practices are essential to ensuring the Army
effective at placing a reasonably-well qualified without prejudice. Whereas traditional pro- gets the right person in the right assignment
person in an assignment, it cannot match a motion timelines did not offer much time for at the right time, over time. Doing so will al-
person to an assignment based on a person’s broadening assignments or grad school given low the Army to better retain the right talent,
unique talent. Nor does the traditional system Army Professional Military Education require- increase its readiness and dominate in future
take into consideration the preferences of ments, Key Developmental time, and KD wait land combat. SW
either the unit or the officer. queues, Opt-Out gives officers the flexibility
Talent Management uses the Army Talent to participate in challenging developmental
Alignment Process01 to match people to jobs. In assignments that are also of great importance NOTES 01. For a video on ATAP, see https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I1IXNLY57w 02.
ATAP, units still identify vacancies and the Hu- to the Army.
The following video explains the Army Talent
man Resources Command will validate these Brevet Promotions are temporary promo-
Alignment Algorithm: https://www.youtube.com/
vacancies based on manning guidance. How- tions that authorize the recipient to receive watch?v=9mEBe7fzrmI
ever, units can now clearly identify their unique pay and benefits associated with the higher

BALLAD OF THE GREEN BERET continued from page 59

novels about Casca Rufio Longinus, a Roman legionnaire On September 7, 1988, Sadler was shot in the head in a
condemned to immortality to fight in wars throughout taxi. Barry Sadler was born, lived and died on the fringes of
eternity. Though his Casca novels sold well, money was society. His brief moment of fame cost him the only home
always short, and in the early 1980s Sadler moved to he’d ever really known — Special Forces. In this sympathetic
Guatemala where the cost of living was low. Though Sadler but objective look at Sadler’s life, Marc Leepson has told not
wanted people to believe he was involved with the Nica-
just Barry Sadler’s story, but also the story of so many Ameri-
raguan Contras, Leepson shows he spent most of his time
cans who, by chance or by choice, never quite make it. Sadler
at the Don Quixote bar in Guatemala City or at his own
“Rancho Borracho” (Drunkard’s Ranch). But Leepson also often told people that “The Ballad of the Green Berets” was
shows that Sadler still had the heart of a Special Forces the worst thing that ever happened to him, and yet the song
medic, providing treatment to the poor Guatemalans in his lives on. Just as his character, Casca, was cursed to immortal-
neighborhood in the same way he’d provided treatment to ity, so too was Barry Sadler — cursed by the song that made
Montagnards in Vietnam. him and, in making him, unmade him. SW

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