Advancing mission operations with secure GenAI exploration  

The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is responsible for organizing, training, equipping, and deploying specialized forces to conduct vital operations such as counterterrorism, unconventional warfare, and foreign internal defense. These operations are essential for national security, offering flexibility and rapid response to global threats, while also building alliances through training and support of partner nations.  

In 2025, USSOCOM wanted to explore how generative AI and large language models (LLMs) could be applied to enhance unit operations and directly support the warfighter. Despite the potential of these technologies, none of these advanced AI services were available on secure military networks, leaving USSOCOM without an existing enterprise capability for immediate application.

USSOCOM's primary goal was to develop a secure, institutional capability for deploying these cutting-edge technologies on classified networks. They began with an experimentation phase, followed by structured testing and evaluation to assess the effectiveness and mission impact of these technologies in real mission scenarios. The challenge was compounded by the necessity to ensure the security of these deployments on classified networks, which included managing compute resources and AI models in a highly secure and controlled environment.

Bridging commercial-grade GenAI with classified mission needs  

In collaboration with LMI, USSOCOM deployed LIGER_®, LMI’s suite of generative AI tools designed for secure environments, through a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA). This approach allowed USSOCOM to pilot LIGER^_® with minimal upfront investment, reducing financial risk prior to full-scale adoption.  

LMI played a crucial role in providing the necessary technical support for this deployment, including packaging and exporting the source code and containers, enabling them to be deployed on USSOCOM’s hardware. LIGER_® was successfully implemented on a server in USSOCOM’s data center, where it has been operational for the past six months.

LIGER_® offers the capability to leverage both commercial and locally hosted generative AI models within the air-gapped environment, ensuring security and compliance with Department of Defense protocols. When Microsoft GPT became available at the classified level, LMI facilitated the integration of its endpoint, providing USSOCOM with an additional AI model to enhance their operations.

LMI ensures seamless deployment of LIGER_® by providing ongoing Operations & Maintenance (O&M) support, regular software upgrades, and integration with existing enterprise services such as OAuth providers, knowledge management services, and DNS. We have worked closely with the customer to develop engineering plans and implementation roadmaps for features and capabilities unique to their business processes. Additionally, we have conducted customer training sessions and actively collects feedback to enhance user experience.

Enhancing mission readiness to support the warfighter

Over the past six months, LIGER_® has transformed operations within USSOCOM, becoming a vital tool in various domains. The platform is currently utilized by 50-70 unique users across tens of departments within the organization, with more than 25 unique workflows built to address specific mission needs.

• Knowledge Repository: Thousands of documents have been uploaded to create a highly accurate, comprehensive knowledge repository from quality source information and documentation dating back to the 1970s.  
• Administrative Efficiency: Departments such as Legal, HR, and Finance have adopted LIGER_® for administrative tasks, including ethical and compliance reviews, writing awards, NCOERs (Non-Commissioned Officer Evaluation Reports), and drafting memos.  
• Research & Development: Robotics and unmanned systems teams are leveraging LIGER_® for data testing and operational performance reviews, leading to reports of a significant reduction in time required to generate logical systems matrices for robotics platforms.  
• Mission Planning: LIGER_® quickly identifies and analyzes information from previous mission reports, utilizing USSOCOM workflows to create new operation plans, situational reports, and after-action reports. These capabilities reduce the time required for retrieval, analysis, and writing, allowing personnel to focus on refining plans to achieve improved mission outcomes.  

The deployment of LIGER_® has showcased its capability to thrive in complex classified environments and accelerate both backend processes and frontend mission-related tasks. By streamlining processes and accelerating decision-making, LIGER_® has enhanced the speed, precision, and effectiveness of mission planning, strengthening operational readiness and advancing decision dominance for the U.S. military.