http://www.special-operations-techn...april/4105-qaa-rear-admiral-sean-a-pybus.html
Rear Admiral Sean A. Pybus assumed duties as commander, Special Operations Command Pacific, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, on June 12, 2009. Recently, he was given a new assignment: He will be commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command at San Diego, Calif.
He is a career Naval Special Warfare (NSW) SEAL officer with multiple joint special operations duty assignments. He graduated from the University of Rochester in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and a regular Navy commission through NROTC. Pybus has served in SEAL, underwater demolition, special boat, and SEAL delivery vehicle tours within NSW, and has held operations positions at Joint Special Operations Command and United States Special Operations Command. Command tours include units in Panama, Germany and Bahrain, as well as duty as commodore, NSWG-1, San Diego. As a flag officer, he has served as J-3, Center for Special Operations, USSOCOM, 2007-2009.
He has participated in special operations in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal (2), Legion of Merit (2), Meritorious Service Medal (3), and various other awards. He is also a 1998 Distinguished Graduate of the Naval War College with a master’s degree in strategic studies.
Q: How well is your mission progressing, and what are your thoughts on the performance of your organization? What is the toughest challenge facing SOCPAC?
A: The Asia Pacific theater certainly has much potential for crisis and conflict, but there are few, if any, hot fights ongoing. USPACOM has done a great job in recent years to mitigate crisis and cultivate stability. SOCPAC’s mission is to contribute to security and stability in ways unique to a counter-terror and a special operations organization. We must also be ready to fight and win as a SOF component if called upon, but most of our time and resources are invested in shaping conditions and building capabilities that keep extremism or aggression “to the left” of actual terror or open conflict.
Our work in the Philippines is a great example of using small numbers of SOF, in the right ways, over a long period of time, to get to success. Most of our engagement in the AOR is built upon a by, with and through approach, with a long-term view and a deep understanding of regional cultures and characteristics.
So I would tell you our mission is progressing well. We are trying to improve the synchronization of our own, and others’, operations, activities and actions [OAAs] that will result in best effects and objectives, but we’re doing a pretty good job today and trying to get better. The toughest challenge at the moment is turning down additional work, because we’re near our limits and resources with current commitments. We have a mantra: If we can’t do something well, then we shouldn’t be doing it. So we set priorities and we review those priorities periodically, and we change them if circumstances dictate. I am proud of the efforts and the focus of SOCPAC and the components, and I see them continuing to be major players for the better in the Asia Pacific.
Q: How are special forces personnel progressing in learning the languages needed to communicate with native populations in theater areas? Are distance learning and computer-aided education useful here? And are there other ways of better understanding indigent populations and their cultures?
A: SOF in PACOM have very good capability and appreciation for regional cultures, languages and relationships. First Battalion, 1st SFG lives in Okinawa, alongside AFSOC’s 353rd SOG. First SFG continues to place most of its teams into the Asia Pacific. We’ve been in the Philippines on OEF-P for nine years now. So relative to other theaters, I think SOF in PACOM do extremely well in terms of their regional expertise and awareness. Of course, we have to do better, and I do see more immersion training taking place in China, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries. SOF officers are attending war colleges in the region. Our PACOM augmentation teams provide continuous presence forward in key locations and inform all of us on issues of culture, politics, defense and relationships. So we’re in pretty good shape as a force focused on this region, but we still need to do more. There is no doubt that having a deeper understanding of this region, its languages, history, cultures and so forth, is extremely powerful.
Rear Admiral Sean A. Pybus assumed duties as commander, Special Operations Command Pacific, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, on June 12, 2009. Recently, he was given a new assignment: He will be commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command at San Diego, Calif.
He is a career Naval Special Warfare (NSW) SEAL officer with multiple joint special operations duty assignments. He graduated from the University of Rochester in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and a regular Navy commission through NROTC. Pybus has served in SEAL, underwater demolition, special boat, and SEAL delivery vehicle tours within NSW, and has held operations positions at Joint Special Operations Command and United States Special Operations Command. Command tours include units in Panama, Germany and Bahrain, as well as duty as commodore, NSWG-1, San Diego. As a flag officer, he has served as J-3, Center for Special Operations, USSOCOM, 2007-2009.
He has participated in special operations in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal (2), Legion of Merit (2), Meritorious Service Medal (3), and various other awards. He is also a 1998 Distinguished Graduate of the Naval War College with a master’s degree in strategic studies.
Q: How well is your mission progressing, and what are your thoughts on the performance of your organization? What is the toughest challenge facing SOCPAC?
A: The Asia Pacific theater certainly has much potential for crisis and conflict, but there are few, if any, hot fights ongoing. USPACOM has done a great job in recent years to mitigate crisis and cultivate stability. SOCPAC’s mission is to contribute to security and stability in ways unique to a counter-terror and a special operations organization. We must also be ready to fight and win as a SOF component if called upon, but most of our time and resources are invested in shaping conditions and building capabilities that keep extremism or aggression “to the left” of actual terror or open conflict.
Our work in the Philippines is a great example of using small numbers of SOF, in the right ways, over a long period of time, to get to success. Most of our engagement in the AOR is built upon a by, with and through approach, with a long-term view and a deep understanding of regional cultures and characteristics.
So I would tell you our mission is progressing well. We are trying to improve the synchronization of our own, and others’, operations, activities and actions [OAAs] that will result in best effects and objectives, but we’re doing a pretty good job today and trying to get better. The toughest challenge at the moment is turning down additional work, because we’re near our limits and resources with current commitments. We have a mantra: If we can’t do something well, then we shouldn’t be doing it. So we set priorities and we review those priorities periodically, and we change them if circumstances dictate. I am proud of the efforts and the focus of SOCPAC and the components, and I see them continuing to be major players for the better in the Asia Pacific.
Q: How are special forces personnel progressing in learning the languages needed to communicate with native populations in theater areas? Are distance learning and computer-aided education useful here? And are there other ways of better understanding indigent populations and their cultures?
A: SOF in PACOM have very good capability and appreciation for regional cultures, languages and relationships. First Battalion, 1st SFG lives in Okinawa, alongside AFSOC’s 353rd SOG. First SFG continues to place most of its teams into the Asia Pacific. We’ve been in the Philippines on OEF-P for nine years now. So relative to other theaters, I think SOF in PACOM do extremely well in terms of their regional expertise and awareness. Of course, we have to do better, and I do see more immersion training taking place in China, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries. SOF officers are attending war colleges in the region. Our PACOM augmentation teams provide continuous presence forward in key locations and inform all of us on issues of culture, politics, defense and relationships. So we’re in pretty good shape as a force focused on this region, but we still need to do more. There is no doubt that having a deeper understanding of this region, its languages, history, cultures and so forth, is extremely powerful.