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OK, here's a dissenting voice. This move formalizes the role of SpecOps into its own branch of service under a civilian service chief.

SpecOps has been in vogue lately, making the magazine covers and Hollywood movies - far in excess of their actual tactical value - and mixed historic success.

They have a humungous budget, a nearly free hand when it comes to tactics, training, equipment and operational employment but they are still an auxiliary force to supplement and assist the ground-gaining forces in a real war.

Despite the gritty, unshaven Soldier of Fortune image, they can only be used when the enemy is weak, decentralized, and unaware. In the past, they got their butts handed to them when they went beyond their core strengths. See "Panama" and "Grenada" and the "Iran Rescue op", some parts of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Making them bigger, independent and even more heavily funded only takes away from the real combat forces who are already being short-changed and who will be needed in any kind of full-on war.

Dumb idea.

Valid points, to a degree. Yet, as Russia has demonstrated against Ukraine, mercenaries, special forces, contract soldiers, and militias can be used to destabilize a neighbor. And the best counters to such tactics usually require special forces.

and my alma-mater—Mogadishu Somalia 1993

Delta Force, the elite of the elite, were pinned down and trapped for several hours by a mish mash of local barbarians with virtually zero tactical skills and had to be rescued by yours truly— the 2nd battalion, 14th infantry regiment—yep, regular army GI Joes.

read our story here:
https://www.amazon.com/Madness-Mogadishu-Commanding-Mountain-Divisions/dp/0811715736

For the moment I'm considering the current exigencies which call for change in the chain of command. Returning branch to direct civilian control as opposed to the chain of perfumed socialist princes installed in Clinton/Bush/ Obama admins. Haven't we heard enough of their public rantings on their position and alliance with the progressives?

Currently the evolving crisis is here and not abroad....perhaps an existential one for the republic. Dark cloud of needed martial law is on the horizon to forestall civil war.Mass has a quality of its own...and the masses are clearly irreconcialbe

Obama pushed Asymmetrical warfare using small groups of highly trained professional to fight a war vice a large over whelming conventional force. Asymmetrical warfare originally meant something else, but has been by Obama to refer to the use of Spec Warfare types in growing numbers. It is a political savvy thing to do as it reduces the number of body bags coming home. Bush used contractors in the same way. Nobody cares if a contractor is killed, look at DC’s attitude toward the contractors killed in Libya. If it had not been good political fodder nobody would have cared.

The Marine Corps used to pride itself on not having Spec Warfare, all Marines were highly trained killers...OOHRAH. Now they have MARSOC. The Navy increased the number of Seal Teams. All to fight a targeted war with a small number of people. I think this move is just a continued evolution of the Spec Warfare groups.