Today Secretary of Defense Lloyd J.
Austin III signed a memorandum directing a further optimization of the organization of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD(SO/LIC) as called for by the 2017 NDAA.
The SO/LIC organization now rejoins the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy organization, but retains its direct reporting chain to the Secretary for its administrative chain of command role over U.S.
Special Operations Command.
ASD(SO/LIC) remains a Principal Staff Assistant and will continue to have full access to the same fora that the Service Secretaries have.
The Deputy Secretary of Defense will ensure SO/LIC maintains dedicated resources and grows to a level commensurate with its increased responsibilities.
This change ensures that Special Operations policy is fully integrated into all aspects of the Department's policies.
The memo on the Organizational Role of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict can be found here.
