Spies & Spying Personality Profiling: Special Forces

From The Psychology of Spies and Spying by Adrian Furnham and John Taylor.

Former Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told the US House Armed Services Committee In 2015 that 200 US Special Operations Forces would be dispatched to spearhead the fight against the Islamic State.

"We’re good at intelligence; we’re good at mobility; we’re good at surprise. We have the long reach that no one else has… It puts everybody on notice in Syria that you don’t know at night who is coming in the window. And that’s the sensation that we want all of ISIL’s leadership and followers to have." (Politics Today, 2015)

Carter summed up the role of Special Forces well.

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Spies & Spying: Special Forces 

In his book SAS Rogue Heroes (now a BBC series), Ben Macintyre commented that David Stirling, the founder of the British SAS ‘would have recognized and applauded’ the definition that Carter described.

The origins of the SAS date back to the Second World War. The Russian equivalent known popularly as Spetsnaz can claim its origins to the 1930s under General Ilya Starinov, but it was not until the 1950s that the modern equivalent was created.

Following the success of the SAS, similar units were created in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. In the US, Delta Force was officially formed in 1977.

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Spies & Spying: Special Forces and ‘hot risk’

‍Special Forces are known for their toughness, fitness, and courage. They usually operate in teams and have multiple skills to a very high level including explosives, medical, weapons, communication systems, and languages. They have a high tolerance and capability for 'hot’ risk, for example entering a situation where there might be physical danger.

They are mentally and physically super-fit and tough. They must be super-alert and able to respond appropriately. They have to be comfortable taking risks when the consequence is immediate and the stakes are very high.

They need to be able to engage in physically stimulating situations while maintaining their nerve and to be very measured in decision making. This much is well known; what is less obvious is their huge capacity for detailed planning. They are not gung-ho or rash. 

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Spies & Spying: Special Forces essentials

The three essentials for a Special Forces officer are:

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Spies & Special Forces: Books

Andy McNab set the trend with his book Bravo Two Zero. Others followed, including the SAS commander, General Peter de la Billière, who wrote his autobiography Looking For Trouble in 1995.

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There is no shortage of writers describing Special Forces-type operations. We have already mentioned that James Bond is more of an SF officer than a handler. Viktor Suvorov wrote the definitive work on the Soviet Special Forces: Spetsnaz: The Inside Story of the Soviet Special Forces. ‍

‍Excerpt courtesy of The Psychology of Spies and Spying by Adrian Furnham and John Taylor.

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