Winning Without Victory: The Rise of the Universal Soldier in the Fourth Age
Day 1, Episode-1: Setting the Strategic Stage.
Winning Without Victory: The Rise of the Universal Soldier in the Fourth Age
By Dr. Isaiah (Ike) Wilson III
Editor’s Note:
This essay was born from my participation in a global strategic panel hosted by the École de Guerre—France’s premier military education institution—held on March 3, 2021, in collaboration with RUSI and Harvard.
As part of the session titled "How to Be Better Prepared to Face Indecisiveness and Endless Wars?", I had the privilege of speaking alongside Admiral (Ret.) William McRaven and Dr. Eugene Kogan. My assigned topic—“The Universal Soldier”—invited me to paint a broad-strokes portrait of the future warrior-leader: one capable of thinking and acting beyond traditional concepts of victory, war, and even the battlefield itself.
What follows is that portrait—expanded into a longform reflection on leadership, strategy, and the compound security dilemmas of our time.
“To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”
— Sun Tzu
“The soldier above all others prays for peace.”
— General Douglas MacArthur
We now stand at a threshold moment in military and strategic history. The world’s geopolitical terrain has shifted beneath our boots, not with a loud detonation, but a deep tectonic grind—subtle in the moment, undeniable in its effects.
We’ve entered what I’ve called the Fourth Age of global security competition. It is defined not by neat borders, singular enemies, or linear fronts, but by compound security threats—where disinformation, climate fragility, ideological extremism, and gray zone aggression all converge across multiple domains.
And it is in this new terrain that a new kind of warrior must emerge.
Let me introduce you to what I call the Universal Soldier.
The Identity Crisis of Modern Special Operations
Today’s special operations forces (SOF), like the nation they serve, are undergoing an identity crisis. After two decades of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency, the mission set has evolved, but the strategic soul-searching has only just begun.
The questions before us are profound:
How has the character—not just the conduct—of global competition changed?
What roles, missions, and force structures will define the utility of SOF in the coming decades?
And more importantly, what kind of leader is needed at the point of this new spear?
These are not just institutional questions. They are civilizational.
Foresight #1: Landscapes Have Changed. So Must We.
The landscape has fundamentally changed. We now operate under the logic of what I’ve called the Compound Security Dilemma (CSD)—a convergence of geopolitical, environmental, economic, and informational threats, each amplifying the others.
This isn’t the Cold War redux. This is a new operating system.
SOF can no longer be thought of as a “specialized” adjunct to conventional power. In the Fourth Age, today’s special operator is tomorrow’s new conventional.
This is the first insight: the Universal Soldier must be a hybrid force-multiplier—able to operate across the tactical, strategic, technological, and moral spectrum. An operator whose skill set is not narrow but compounded.
Foresight #2: Back to the Future—Winning Without Victory
History doesn’t repeat, but it rhymes, especially when we ignore its verses.
During the Cold War, SOF were often used not to fight, but to shape—through deterrence, strategic partnering, and soft influence. They were instruments of presence and persuasion as much as precision.
The future must rediscover this. Not every victory requires a battle. To win without victory is to prevail without collapse.
Our adversaries know this. China and Russia today seek positional advantage not just through military dominance, but by building influence—political, economic, technological—at key geostrategic “strong points.” These include Arctic routes, undersea cables, and digital infrastructure. The next fight may not look like a war at all.
The Universal Soldier must be a native to these nexes. Not just a fighter, but a forger of space, influence, and stability.
Foresight #3: The Portrait of the Universal Soldier
So, who is this future soldier?
Let me paint the portrait plainly:
Hyper-Enabled: Armed with decision-edge technology, AI-driven situational awareness, and integrated ISR, but never reliant on any single tool.
Highly Educated + Highly Responsible (H.E.²R.O.™): Ethically grounded, politically astute, and strategically literate.
Strategically Placed: Operating not just at the “point of action” but with impact across the whole-of-government, whole-of-nation, and whole-of-society.
Integrator of Statecraft: Combining kinetic precision with diplomatic presence, information operations, and influence-building missions.
Fidelity-Bound: Rooted in the civilian control of the military and committed not just to success, but to meaningful service to the nation.
This is not a dream. It is a demand.
Integrative Statecraft in the Fourth Age
What will future SOF missions look like?
They will be dynamic, trans-regional, and integrative. Operators will:
Shape adversary and partner behavior in ambiguous gray zones
Reinforce resilience in allied nations through “strong-pointing”
Partner with foreign forces in unconventional resistance campaigns
Build trust bonds in societies before disinformation or violence can fracture them
And they will do this while being fluent in the technologies, languages, and ethical judgments that define tomorrow’s battlefield.
The age of “kicking doors” as the defining SOF narrative is over. The age of shaping, enabling, and educating is here.
The Quiet Professionals Reimagined
The ethos of the “quiet professional” is not obsolete. It is now more vital than ever.
But it must be expanded—not only to include tactical humility, but strategic literacy, cultural fluency, and civilian trust. The future SOF leader must be as comfortable writing a national resilience framework as they are deploying forward in a contested zone.
Today’s threat landscape is too complex for brute force or rigid doctrine. It requires artists of influence, architects of transition, and warriors of peace.
Conclusion: Beyond the Edge of Victory
In the final analysis, the Universal Soldier is not just a military role. It is a civic archetype. One that stands between chaos and order. Between fear and foresight.
Victory is not always marked by a flag planted or an enemy vanquished. Sometimes it is measured by the absence of collapse. By the preservation of peace. By the resilience of a republic that does not fall.
To “win without victory” is not to abandon power. It is to redefine its purpose.
That is the calling before us.
Let us answer it with clarity, courage, and the wisdom to shape the age we now enter—not as warriors alone, but as stewards of peace in the compound era.
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