According to commanders from special operations forces, America is lagging behind its rivals in technological progress. They expressed these concerns during a hearing with the House Armed Services Committee.
Rear Adm. Milton Sands III, Maj. Gen. Peter Huntley, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, and Lt. Gen. Michael Conley highlighted the issue of bureaucratic obstacles hindering important technological advancements within special operations.
Maj. Gen. Huntley, in charge of the Marine Forces Special Operations Command, emphasized to lawmakers in Congress that global modernization is rapidly advancing, posing a challenge for the U.S. to keep up.
As an example, Maj. Gen. Huntley spoke of the impact artificial intelligence has had on U.S. forces’ ability to “sense the enemy before they sense us,” an advantage America has enjoyed for decades.
Special ops commanders speak at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Feb. 26, 2025. (House Armed Services Committee YouTube)
Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command Lt. Gen. Conley joined the other military leaders, saying that his troops are “phenomenal at taking lessons learned and turning them into actionable things,” but they “run into harder procurement challenges” when trying to scale those things.
Lt. Gen. Conley also said air fleet modifications take too long and are “pricey,” putting the U.S. in a “constant loop of trying to catch up with the enemy threat.” Additionally, he warned that America’s adversaries “continue to improve every day,” while the U.S. “can’t keep up with the threat because our it takes us a long time to modify.”
A general view of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2013. (REUTERS/Jason Reed)
The military leaders also mentioned the threats posed by non-state actors, with Maj. Gen. Huntley noting that they are rapidly upgrading when it comes to technological capabilities.
“What they bring to the tactical fight is, frankly, pretty impressive,” Maj. Gen. Huntley said, adding that the forces “know what we have to do,” but the “critical” challenge is getting those capabilities into the hands of troops.
