Interviews
Vol. 3 No. 1 | AY 2015 - 2016
Lieutenant General Charles T. Cleveland, an Army Special Forces Officer, relinquished command of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and retired after 37 years of military service on 01 July 2015. He previously commanded the Special Operations Command Central and Special Operations Command South as well as the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-North during Operation Iraqi Freedom. LTG Cleveland is a native of Arizona and a 1978 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. His military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit Medal.
FSR: Are you concerned that an increase in the use of SOF [Special Operations Forces] in high-profile and sometimes unavoidably political circumstances erodes the division between strategy and tactics in the national security paradigm? That US policymakers are or will become addicted to quick results and no longer have the political will to develop and pursue longer term, more comprehensive solutions?
LTG Cleveland: I think that is potentially a valid concern. I’m not sure I see it evidencing itself yet. I’m not certain that the use of SOF has reached that point. I do think that the reason SOF is being used is important to examine and that it may point to issues about how we look at our security challenges. I think that that’s what we are trying to do at USASOC [United States Army Special Operations Command]. We’re trying to frame this discussion. You mentioned earlier the connection between strategy and tactics. This is a critical space that we refer to in our doctrine as the Operational Level of War. It is in this space that the art of campaigning resides. It is in this space where we describe how our tactical actions will achieve those strategic goals set by our policymakers. The Army has done significant work in its schoolhouses to train its planners to think creatively about ‘wicked’ problems facing the nation and to develop novel solutions. As part of our ARSOF 2022 efforts at USASOC, I asked the question, “How well do we understand what we’re facing, and how prepared are we in SOF for prosecuting these new types of campaigns? And where do we train our SOF Campaign Planners who will develop our SOF Operational Art?” It was clear that we had to mature the SOF profession, especially in this vital space between tactics and strategy. Not only that, but we needed to write our own doctrine in order to stand as equals with our peers in the conventional army and further the discussion about how we should be approaching these complex challenges and what SOF’s role should be in these new campaigns...
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Wendy Ann Wayman never imagined she would still be serving her country more than three decades after enlisting in the United States Army, let alone rise to rank of Chief Warrant Officer 5 and become the first Command Chief Warrant Officer for Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). Born and raised in Aberdeen, South Dakota, CW5 Wayman has traveled the world and advised the highest-ranking military leaders in the United States. She has also amassed a legion of professional colleagues who describe her using such phrases as “no one better,” “shaping the future of military intelligence,” “a consummate professional,” “my dear mentor,” and “a complete badass.” The Fletcher Security Review is honored to feature INSCOM Command Chief Warrant Officer, CW5 Wendy Wayman’s “Profile in Security."
What initially made you want to enlist in the armed forces?
When I was just eight years old I spent a weekend fishing with my Great Uncle Leo who regaled me with tales of friendships and brotherhood that would span a lifetime. He told me of those soldiers whom I would come to appreciate as our "Greatest Generation," those young men who fought for us and for each other as a Band of Brothers. Following that weekend of fish tales and war stories, the kind you tell an impressionable young girl, I went home to tell my mother that I wanted to be a U.S. Army Soldier. She, of course, responded to me with the same response that any mother gives her child when greeted with such a revelation. She gave me that cautious smile that hides the hope that the following week I would come back and tell her that I had yet again changed my mind and wanted to be a veterinarian or country singer.
Eight years later I made my first foray into the recruiting office and began the next portion of the journey. I was not allowed to actually begin lobbying for a job until after my 17th birthday. In 1983, in the fall of my senior year of high school, I began my pursuit in earnest. In the time period between having made the decision that I wanted to serve and the actual contract negotiations with the Army recruiter, I had further developed a plan. My paternal grandparents were friends with a couple who were doctors from Chicago, Dr. and Mrs. Hebert, who would come to our little corner of the heartland to hunt pheasant every October. They used to provide medical care in the gulags in Siberia and would talk of the language and places and customs of the Russian peoples and thus developed my next career goal. I wanted to learn Russian and that was exactly what I told the recruiter.
The first recruiter offered me the glamorous job for which I had been wishing, that of Army cook (of course, this was before Stephen Spielberg and the fight to save a ship). The same recruiter then offered me the honor of ammunition specialist, technically counting bullets. I asked if either of those would get me training as a Russian linguist, but he did not seem to want to work with me. About a month later, as I was walking past, I noticed that there was a new guy in the recruiting office. SGT Vic was more than happy to help me get exactly what I wanted because he quickly figured out that I would not be swayed. SGT Vic told me that I would have to take a test to check my potential, and because I was still a minor, my mom and dad would have to come and sign the papers in order for me to officially begin the process. What followed was my first commercial airplane flight to get me to our Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) to take some tests and a physical. I was tested and found worthy. I would then sign the contract that would pave the path for my past 31 years of service. I got back on a plane and went back to life as a high school senior and had to listen to folks who were convinced that I wouldn’t make it through Basic Training. On the other hand, there were those convinced that the possibilities were unlimited. I am proud to say that those cheerleaders, my family, friends, and some of my church family and teachers seem to have been right.
As a longer article, this piece will only be offered in PDF format for easier reading. Download the PDF to read more.