U.S. Army Special Forces Advanced Education

TRADOC is redesigning its commissioned officer Intermediate Level Education (ILE) program to allow every active duty Army major to attend a resident CGSOC. The redesign changes the curriculum focus from terminal and enabling learning objectives to a competency-based learning approach based on the requirements of an officer's specific career field, branch, or functional area. FM 22-100 was selected as the basis for developing a framework of seven competencies that identify supporting skills and behaviors. The seven competencies consist of what Army officers must know and do to be successful. While these competencies are critical for all Army officers, alone they are inadequate for the advanced intermediate education needs of Special Forces (SF) officers. The thesis reviews the history of SF and SOF education to determine impacts on current CGSC SOF education. The SF competencies contained in FM 3-05.20, Special Forces Operations.