Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin discusses how the Genesis health system is impacting recruiting on'Special Report.' Forced to do more with less and learning from the war in Ukraine, U.S. special operations commanders are juggling how to add more high-tech experts to their teams while still cutting their overall forces by about 5,000 troops over the next five years. The conflicting pressures are forcing a broader restructuring of the commando teams, which are often deployed for high-risk counterterrorism missions and other sensitive operations around the world. The changes under consideration are being influenced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. U.S. Army Special Operations Command, which bears the brunt of the personnel cuts, is eyeing plans to increase the size of its Green Beret teams -- usually about 12 members -- to bring in people with more specialized and technical abilities.

Here's What You Need to Know: SOCOM has been a pioneer in the application of Artificial Intelligence. For example, the Naval Special Warfare Command (WARCOM) has been using Artificial Intelligence to find ways to make its SEAL and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) operators more combat effective, while the Marines Special Operations Command (MARSOC) has been implementing Artificial Intelligence to better select and assess its future cadre of Marine Raiders. Artificial Intelligence is everywhere today. From Amazon's Alexa to unmanned aerial vehicles to space crafts to health care; Artificial Intelligence enables faster and better decisions if employed properly. The U.S. military and intelligence community have been using this technology for decades now and it's becoming increasingly more prevalent.

U.S. military commanders covered up an air strike over Syria that killed several dozen civilians, dishonestly portraying it as a successful attack against ISIS fighters and ignoring firm recommendations--filed by military lawyers--to investigate the strike as a war crime. The attack and subsequent cover-up--revealed in a long, extensively documented story in this weekend's New York Times--took place in 2019, during the final phase of the U.S. and allied campaign to oust the Islamic State from its self-declared caliphate in Syria. The Times report comes a few months after the final U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan in August, which Pentagon officials touted as halting a terrorist attack--but which in fact, as another Times investigation soon revealed, killed 10 civilians, none of whom had any connection to terrorists. Together, the two reports raise questions about the moral and strategic wisdom of launching airstrikes in areas where civilians and fighters routinely mix. These questions have been raised many times in the course of America's 20-year "global war on terror."

Fox News contributor Joey Jones reacts to testimony from Pentagon officials on the Afghanistan withdrawal and slams the New York Times' proposed redesigns of the American flag. An independent Pentagon review has concluded that the U.S. drone strike that killed innocent Kabul civilians and children in the final days of the Afghanistan war was not caused by misconduct or negligence, and it doesn't recommend any disciplinary action. The review, done by Air Force Lt. Gen. Sami Said, found there were breakdowns in communication and in the process of identifying and confirming the target of the bombing. Said concluded that the mistaken strike happened despite prudent measures to prevent civilian deaths. "I found that given the information they had and the analysis that they did -- I understand they reached the wrong conclusion, but ... was it reasonable to conclude what they concluded based on what they had? It just turned out to be incorrect," Said said.

When General Richard D. Clarke, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), visited MIT in fall 2019, he had artificial intelligence on the mind. As the commander of a military organization tasked with advancing U.S. policy objectives as well as predicting and mitigating future security threats, he knew that the acceleration and proliferation of artificial intelligence technologies worldwide would change the landscape on which USSOCOM would have to act. Clarke met with Anantha P. Chandrakasan, dean of the School of Engineering and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and after touring multiple labs both agreed that MIT -- as a hub for AI innovation -- would be an ideal institution to help USSOCOM rise to the challenge. Thus, a new collaboration between the MIT School of Engineering, MIT Professional Education, and USSOCOM was born: a six-week AI and machine learning crash course designed for special operations personnel. "There has been tremendous growth in the fields of computing and artificial intelligence over the past few years," says Chandrakasan.

A new stabilizer could soon turn any soldier into an expert marksman, able to hit their targets with deadly accuracy--even from a standing position. The Aim Control Enhancer, or ACE, is being evaluated by the US Army for its Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) Program, which fast-tracks cutting-edge firearms. The device easily attaches to a rifle's Picatinny rail, the mounting platform near the muzzle, and is held by the shooter's non-firing hand. It was originally developed as part of the U.S. Special Operations Command's now-scuttled'Iron Man' super-suit program. The Aim Control Enhancer, or ACE (pictured), stabilizes a rifle barrel against unnecessary movement. It's being evaluated by the US Army as part of its Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) Program The enhancer attaches to the weapon's mounting platform and the shooter grips it with their non-firing hand, like a rifle foregrip, Task and Purpose reported.

NSWC is committed to its Sailors and the deliberate development of their tactical excellence, ethics, and leadership as the nation's premiere maritime special operations force supporting the National Defense Strategy. It is the maritime component of U.S. Special Operations Command, and its mission is to provide maritime special operations forces to conduct full-spectrum operations, unilaterally or with partners, to support national objectives. NAVAL AMPHIBIOUS BASE CORONADO (NNS) – Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) Acting Director Nand Mulchandani met with leadership at Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) to discuss its strategy on applying AI for asymmetric advantage both on the Corporate side as well as AI for Warfare. Mulchandani and a small team from the JAIC visited the command as part of its mission to transform the DoD by applying AI to achieve mission impact at scale. The group was briefed on the basics of Naval Special Warfare's mission, Mulchandani met with command leadership and members of NSWC's Future Concepts and Innovation Directorate (N9) to discuss how AI is shaping the battlefield of today and how it can provide an asymmetric advantage to future operations.

Coding it Forward, in partnership with U.S. Special Operations Command, is piloting the Civic Innovation Corps--a new summer program for mission-driven data scientists and software engineers to create outsized impact in national security. We are looking for mission-driven data scientists and software engineers to spend their summers working alongside executive leadership within U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and the Department of Defense to support artificial intelligence and machine learning initiatives. The program will run 10 weeks, from June 1 to August 7, 2020. Interviews and offers will be made on a rolling basis--apply as soon as possible.

For decades, earning your way onto an elite special operations unit has largely been about your performance on aptitude tests and during physically challenging assessments, but in the very near future, the Marine Corps' special operations unit known as the Raiders, or MARSOC, may be looking to computers to help identify the best candidates. MARSOC is currently experimenting with the idea that machine learning could be used to identify and track factors that lead to success for MARSOC applicants. By first identifying the unique traits that seem to make up the most ideally suited operator, the same practice could be employed on incoming classes -- sifting through Marines that don't possess the best traits for an operator and identifying those that are particularly well suited for the rigors of the special operations community. Over this past summer, SOCOM officials began collecting and assessing a wide range of data points recorded during the selection process for the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. "It's really going to be our first experiment. It's exciting," said David Spirk, SOCOM's chief data officer.

Marcus stops by the coffee shop on his way to work as a diplomat at the U.S. Embassy. As he exits, ready to cut across Pylimo Street, a man approaches him. In accented English, the man says that he's lost and motions to his phone. Marcus looks down at the phone and sees a video of a man embracing a woman for a kiss. But the woman is not his wife.