Finding Lawrence: Recruiting Talent for Unconventional Warfare

From Francis Marion’s guerrilla war against the British to advising the resistance against the Nazis and Japanese, the United States has depended on unconventional warfare (UW) as a component of national defense. Today, the U.S. Army Special Forces (SF) is the premiere unconventional warfare unit in the U.S. military. With a smaller Army and increasing missions, SF must expand its recruiting efforts. This thesis analyzes the recruitment and selection process used by other units and finds four traits common to successful UW individuals: motivation, interpersonal intelligence, cross-cultural capability, and adaptability. SF recruiting is then examined to identify recommendations for targeting individuals who possess these traits, two of which are difficult to measure during selection—interpersonal intelligence and cross-cultural capability. A demographic profile of the Special Forces Regiment emphasizes shortfalls where more targeted recruitment may help. Through recruiter reorganization, establishment of a referral system, more accurate advertising, adoption of a long-term engagement strategy, and renewed leader involvement, SF recruiting can more effectively target those who already possess high UW potential. As it is paramount to find the right individuals for UW, targeted recruitment will help improve the short and long-term health of the regiment.