Welcome to JSOU Press

JSOU Press is the scholarly publishing arm of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). We are USSOCOM’s “go-to” publisher for research of interest to the special operations forces community. We pride ourselves on our unique ability to put knowledge into the hands of SOF professionals, and we aim to inform national policy & strategy with quality research. Since our inception in 2004, we have edited and published over 200 peer-reviewed scholarly monographs, edited volumes, reference manuals, journal articles, and papers by more than 200 authors at the cutting-edge of SOF research. The works included here are solely the ideas of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Special Operations Command or Joint Special Operations University.

SOF-Related Publications

This section includes articles and other publications from outside JSOU that are relevant to SOF.

"T-AOS: A New Model for Competition" (N.K. Cobb, October 2023)

Written by JSOU Academic Chair, Kenny Cobb. Originally published through Air University's Aether Journal.

Read here.


"Secret Partners: The National Reconnaissance Office and the Intelligence-Industrial-Academic Complex" (Aaron Bateman, June 2023)

The JSOU Press would like to thank the Intelligence and National Security journal for providing full access to this article for a limited time. 

Read here.


"Back to the Future: Designing the Role of NATO Special Operations Forces in the 21st Century" (Gabriele Pierini & Lt. Col. Leonardo Doddi, June 2021)

Originally published in Atlantica, a magazine of the Atlantic Forum, in June 2021 and provided with permission from the authors. 

Read here.


Top Publications
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The Fourth Age of SOF: The Use and Utility of Special Operations Forces in a New Age
Authored by:
Will Irwin, Isaiah Wilson
Resistance Operating Concept (ROC)
Authored by:
Otto Fiala, Kirk Smith, Anders Löfberg
Special Operations Research Topics 2023
A Perilous Future: High-Intensity Conflict and the Implications for SOF
Authored by:
Peter Mccabe, Andrew Brown, James Kiras, Nicolas Provencher, Andrew Brown, Nicholas Kramer, Tony Balasevicius, C.G. Landry, Bernd Horn, Keith Carter
Special Operations Forces Interagency Reference Guide (Fourth Edition)
Authored by:
Chuck Ricks
Special Operations Forces Transformation in the Future Operating Environment
Authored by:
Peter Mccabe, Charles Barham, Andrew Brown, Bernd Horn, Jay Lachine, Simone Ledeen, Michael Manning, Ruari Nicholson, Jason Yeremiy, Charlie Black
Operating on the Margins: SOF in the Gray Zone
Edited by:
Dr. Howard G. Coombs , Dr. Christopher Marsh

Featured Publications
Special Operations Forces Reference Manual, Fifth Edition
Published on 11/1/2023
Out of Print
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The Fourth Age: The Future of Special Operations
Edited by:
August Cole, PW Singer
Published on 10/2/2023
Out of Print
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Recent Publications
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Special Operations Forces Reference Manual, Fifth Edition
Published on 11/1/2023
Out of Print
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The Fourth Age: The Future of Special Operations
Edited by:
August Cole, PW Singer
Published on 10/2/2023
Out of Print
Learn more PDF download
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Stress: New Approaches to Managing Stress
Authored by:
Merryman, Ashley
Published on 9/25/2023
Out of Print
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Stress: Understanding Its Mechanisms and Impacts
Authored by:
Merryman, Ashley
Published on 9/25/2023
Out of Print
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The Compound Era of U.S. Counterterrorism
Authored by:
Don Rassler
Published on 8/10/2023
Out of Print
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