2026 Call for Special Operations Papers Results
Congratulations to the winners of JSOU's 2026 Call for Special Operations Papers, who were recognized by USSOCOM Commander Admiral Mitch Bradley on May 19 during SOF Week.
CATEGORY 1: Professional military education students and military practitioners
WINNING PAPER: Designing Fast, Adaptive AI Targeting Systems That Retain Human Judgment by Capt. Eli Talbert, PhD
SECOND PLACE: Back to the Mountains: Geospatial Data Analytics as a Strategic Tool for Irregular Warfare by Maj. Paul Rogers
THIRD PLACE: Architects of Fusion: A Mission-Focused Model for Rapid All-Domain Fusion for SOF by Maj. Scott C. Hall
CATEGORY 2: International allies and partners
WINNING PAPER: Beyond the Golden Hour: Autonomous Logistics and Air-Ground Teaming in Denied-Access Environments by Irakli Kharebashvili
SECOND PLACE: From Proxy Drone Warfare to Sahelian Adaptation: The Partner Defense Gap SOF Cannot Ignore by Maj. Imad Ammouri
CATEGORY 3: Academic faculty and civilian scholars
CATEGORY 4: Fiction
WINNING PAPER: The Glass Man: A Parable by Celia Hanley
THIRD PLACE: War, Inc. Commoditizing the Lethal Side of Great Power Competition, by Solon D. Webb
Stay tuned! Topics for the 2027 Call for Special Operations Papers will be announced this summer.