Our founder, Green Beret Daniel Elkins, started the Special Operations Association of America (SOAA) in 2021 to ensure that the voices of special operations forces (SOF) personnel, whose work is so often confined to secrecy, could be heard in the realms of policy and public opinion.
Five years later, SOAA continues to conduct that mission on multiple levels. We advocate for the needs of SOF personnel and veterans in Congress, support efforts to care for SOF veterans during and after service, share the stories of SOF service members and veterans, and have recently launched our own unique SOF-focused transition program.
In the face of evolving national security challenges, increased research on the impacts of SOF service, and a need for greater funding and support for SOF in locations worldwide, the SOAA mission has never been more important.
Advocacy
While there are a number members of Congress and leaders in the current Trump administration with SOF experience, there remains a need to bring active duty and SOF veteran voices to the highest levels of leadership.
SOAA has supported a number of legislative efforts that will impact the SOF community. These include the Jax Act, which would increase recognition for the women of the Cultural Support Teams, who were trained to augment SOF elements on direct action missions inside of Afghanistan. Though the CST effort gave all-male SOF teams vital access to the half of the population previously outside their influence, CSTs’ service has gone unrecognized and often undocumented, leading to difficulties receiving appropriate medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Since its inception, SOAA has supported efforts to increase medical testing for psychedelic treatments, which have shown promise in assisting veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance use disorders, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). SOAA has also helped SOF veterans access psychedelic treatments. The results of that advocacy paid off in April, when the White House announced an executive order that will accelerate access to research for psychedelic testing that could speed up healing for veterans in struggle.
SOAA members have advocated for award upgrades for American heroes, like U.S. Navy Captain E. Royce Williams, Jr., whose heroic dogfight during the Korean War went uncelebrated for decades due to the secrecy surrounding his mission. Thanks to support from a host of organizations, including SOAA, Williams was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in February.
We also continue to advocate for the renewal of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which provides tax incentives for employers who employ certain categories of American veterans.
Military System
SOAA has stayed abreast of changing situations within the Department of Defense, U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), and VA that impact the SOF community. This includes the unfortunate decision among various military branches to scale back participation in the SkillBridge program, which is meant to help service members gain practical life experience in the civilian sector immediately prior to departing the military. We support full access to SkillBridge, which has helped numerous SOF veterans in the SOAA ecosystem.
When the VA announced in February through the federal register that it intended to make changes to veterans’ disability compensation determinations, SOAA was among numerous veteran service organizations to speak out against the proposal. Amidst that vocal outcry, the VA rescinded the rule less than two weeks after proposing it.
In the face of increasing conflict around the world, we also have raised awareness of the need to increase the SOCOM budget. An array of successful, high-profile SOF operations over the past six months have underscored the utility of SOF, which receives just 2 percent of the military budget despite containing 3 percent of its total forces. SOAA highlighted a number of notable operations that demonstrate SOF’s successes.
- Operation Absolute Resolve, the Jan. 3 effort to retrieve Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro from his home in Caracas, relied heavily on SOF units both in the air and on the ground.
- As chaos spread across Mexico in the wake of the February killing of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho,” multiple SOF elements headed to Mexico to help train their counterparts and support the return of stability.
- In Flintlock 2026, an exercise in Libya designed as part of a whole of government approach to stabilize the country, SOF elements supported rival factions to enable political reconciliation within the country and counter terror threats.
- SOF ground and air personnel were employed in the high-stakes rescue mission to retrieve the pilot and weapon system officer of an F-15E Strike Eagle downed over Iran on April 3.
Health
SOAA strongly advocates for the health of active duty and retired SOF personnel. This is particularly important as new research emerges about the impacts of SOF service. This includes studies that demonstrate how the litany of exposures inherent to SOF service impact individuals across body systems, and an in-depth SOCOM study that shows SOF personnel have an 18% increased chance of acquiring cancer compared with their conventional forces counterparts.
In the past year, SOAA has particularly emphasized a National Defense Authorization Act-mandated study into testosterone loss among SOF and been vocal about the need to address the impact of weapon overpressure and the dangers posed by toxic particulates coming off operators’ suppressors.
Uplifting Voices in the Community
SOAA has also supported elements of our SOF community engaged in ongoing battles that align with our priorities. We have uplifted the message of nonprofit Badger Six who seek assistance for the Afghan allies who enabled the Green Berets’ and CIA’s earliest efforts in Afghanistan in 2001.
We are supporting board member and retired Green Beret Scott Mann, whose one-man play about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, 11 Days, is being performed around the country this summer in time for the five-year anniversary of our Afghanistan departure.
We continue to bring on new board members whose experiences are representative of the wide array of personnel who serve at the tip of the spear. This includes retired U.S. Navy SEAL Dr. Reynaldo Baviera, and MARSOC legend John Dailey.
We are also sharing stories from a number of incredible women who are an integral part of the SOF mission, including our Vice President of Development, Heidi Rippy.
Project Valkyrie
In 2026, SOAA launched its new transition initiative, Project Valkyrie. Part health support and adaptive physical therapy program, part launchpad into a world of business and ventureship possibilities, Project Valkyrie continues to innovate options for SOF veterans as they come out of the service and seek to harness their hard-charging skillsets for the civilian world.
Though our mission remains the same, SOAA has grown over the last five years. We’re eager to see what the next five years brings as we elevate the ground truth of the SOF mission to audiences countrywide and support the men and women whose work at the tip of the spear keeps America safe.
