sof-party

name	sof-party
description	Rapid cross-domain assessment using 18-series SOF Operators. Deploy 7 probes for immediate situational awareness before task force assembly.
model_tier	sonnet
parallel_hints	{"can_parallel_with":[],"must_serialize_with":[],"preferred_batch_size":7}
context_hints	{"max_file_context":100,"compression_level":1,"requires_git_context":true,"requires_db_context":true}
escalation_triggers	[{"pattern":"mission.*impossible","reason":"Mission infeasibility requires strategic pivot"},{"pattern":"critical.*blocker","reason":"Critical blockers require immediate escalation"}]

SOF_PARTY Skill

Purpose: Rapid cross-domain assessment using 18-series Special Operations Forces operators Created: 2026-01-06 Trigger: /sof-party command Aliases: /sof, /sf, /18-series

---

When to Use

Deploy SOF_PARTY when you need rapid situational awareness across all domains:

• After USASOC activation - Immediate tactical assessment
• Before task force assembly - Determine force requirements
• Time-critical missions - Rapid assessment under pressure
• Cross-domain emergencies - When standard recon too slow
• Unknown threat environment - When you need all perspectives fast

Do NOT use for:

• Single-domain questions (use domain specialists)
• Routine reconnaissance (use /search-party)
• When you already understand the mission space

---

Economics: Zero Marginal Wall-Clock Cost

Critical Understanding: Parallel agents with the same timeout cost nothing extra in wall-clock time.

Sequential (BAD):        Parallel (GOOD):
7 probes × 30s each      7 probes × 30s in parallel
Total: 210s              Total: 30s (7x faster)

Implication: Always spawn all 7 operators. There is no cost savings from running fewer.

---

The Seven Operators (18-Series)

Each operator provides a unique cross-domain lens on the mission space:

Operator	MOS	Domain	What They Assess
COMMAND	18A	Mission Planning	Mission scope, success criteria, force requirements, timeline feasibility
WEAPONS	18B	Offensive Capabilities	Breaking changes needed, destructive operations, rollback risk
ENGINEER	18C	Infrastructure	System state, deployment readiness, build health, container status
MEDICAL	18D	Compliance/Safety	ACGME impact, regulatory violations, patient safety implications
COMMS	18E	Integration	API impacts, data flow, external dependencies, communication channels
INTEL	18F	Threat Assessment	Unknowns, recon needs, security implications, hidden dependencies
OPERATIONS	18Z	Execution	Timeline feasibility, resource availability, blocking dependencies

Operator Complementarity

Key Insight: These operators see the SAME mission from different perspectives. Discrepancies = high signal.

Discrepancy Type	Signal Meaning
COMMAND says feasible, OPERATIONS says blocked	Missing resources or unrealistic timeline
ENGINEER says ready, INTEL says threats detected	Infrastructure healthy but operational risk
MEDICAL says compliant, WEAPONS says destructive	Safety conflict with technical requirements
COMMS says integrated, INTEL says isolation needed	Security vs. functionality tradeoff
COMMAND estimates 2 days, OPERATIONS estimates 2 weeks	Scope underestimated or dependencies unclear

---

Invocation

Standard Deployment (7 operators)

/sof-party

Deploys all 7 operators for comprehensive assessment.

Mission-Specific Deployment

/sof-party [mission description]

Example:

/sof-party Implement auto-rollback for ACGME violations within 1 minute

Targeted Assessment (subset of operators)

/sof-party --operators 18A,18B,18Z

Deploys only COMMAND, WEAPONS, OPERATIONS for quick tactical assessment.

---

Deployment Pattern

Via 18A_DETACHMENT_COMMANDER (CORRECT)

# USASOC or ORCHESTRATOR spawns 18A_DETACHMENT_COMMANDER who manages the 7 operators
Task(
    subagent_type="general-purpose",
    description="18A_DETACHMENT_COMMANDER: SOF_PARTY Commander",
    prompt="""
## Agent: 18A_DETACHMENT_COMMANDER

You are the Detachment Commander for SOF_PARTY deployment.

## Mission
{mission_description}

## Your Task
Deploy 7 18-series operators in parallel. Each operator assesses the mission from their domain perspective.
Collect all reports and synthesize into unified OPORD-style briefing.

## Your Operators to Deploy
1. 18A-COMMAND (Mission Planning)
2. 18B-WEAPONS (Offensive Capabilities)
3. 18C-ENGINEER (Infrastructure)
4. 18D-MEDICAL (Compliance/Safety)
5. 18E-COMMS (Integration)
6. 18F-INTEL (Threat Assessment)
7. 18Z-OPERATIONS (Execution)

## Spawn each using Task tool with subagent_type="Explore"

## After all report back:
1. Cross-reference findings
2. Flag discrepancies (high-signal)
3. Assess mission feasibility
4. Recommend task force composition
5. Generate OPORD-style briefing
6. Report to USASOC or ORCHESTRATOR
"""
)

Direct Deployment (Only if 18A unavailable)

# Deploy all 7 operators in parallel
# WARNING: Only use if spawning from within a coordinator, NOT from ORCHESTRATOR
# Total: 7 operators, wall-clock = single operator timeout

spawn_parallel([
    Task(subagent_type="Explore", description="18A-COMMAND",
         prompt=f"Assess mission planning for: {mission}\n\nProvide: scope, success criteria, force requirements, timeline."),

    Task(subagent_type="Explore", description="18B-WEAPONS",
         prompt=f"Assess offensive capabilities needed for: {mission}\n\nProvide: breaking changes, destructive ops, rollback risk."),

    Task(subagent_type="Explore", description="18C-ENGINEER",
         prompt=f"Assess infrastructure readiness for: {mission}\n\nProvide: system state, deployment readiness, build health."),

    Task(subagent_type="Explore", description="18D-MEDICAL",
         prompt=f"Assess compliance/safety for: {mission}\n\nProvide: ACGME impact, regulatory violations, patient safety."),

    Task(subagent_type="Explore", description="18E-COMMS",
         prompt=f"Assess integration requirements for: {mission}\n\nProvide: API impacts, data flow, external dependencies."),

    Task(subagent_type="Explore", description="18F-INTEL",
         prompt=f"Assess threats and unknowns for: {mission}\n\nProvide: security implications, hidden dependencies, recon needs."),

    Task(subagent_type="Explore", description="18Z-OPERATIONS",
         prompt=f"Assess execution feasibility for: {mission}\n\nProvide: timeline, resource availability, blocking dependencies."),
])

---

IDE Crash Prevention (CRITICAL)

DO NOT have ORCHESTRATOR spawn 7 operators directly. This can cause IDE instability.

CORRECT Pattern:

ORCHESTRATOR/USASOC → spawns 1 18A_DETACHMENT_COMMANDER
                           ↓
                      18A deploys 7 operators internally
                      (manages parallelism, synthesizes results)

WRONG Pattern:

ORCHESTRATOR → spawns 7 operators directly → IDE CRASH RISK

The 18A Detachment Commander absorbs the parallelism complexity. ORCHESTRATOR only ever spawns 1 commander.

---

Output Format

Per-Operator Report

## Operator: 18A-COMMAND (Mission Planning)

### Assessment Grade: [A-F]

### Mission Feasibility: [GO / NO-GO / CONDITIONAL]

### Key Findings
- [Finding 1 with severity]
- [Finding 2 with severity]

### Force Requirements
- [Required specialists/coordinators]

### Timeline Estimate
- [Estimated duration with confidence level]

### Blocking Issues
- [Critical blockers if any]

### Risk Assessment
- [Risk level: LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH / CRITICAL]

OPORD-Style Briefing (Consolidated)

## SOF_PARTY OPORD: [MISSION NAME]

### SITUATION
**Mission:** [Mission description]
**Assessment Duration:** [Time taken]
**Operators Deployed:** 7 / 7

### INTELLIGENCE (18F)
[Threat assessment, unknowns, security implications]

### MISSION FEASIBILITY: [GO / NO-GO / CONDITIONAL]

### OPERATOR ASSESSMENTS

| Operator | MOS | Feasibility | Key Finding | Risk |
|----------|-----|-------------|-------------|------|
| COMMAND | 18A | GO | 3-day mission, requires 4 specialists | LOW |
| WEAPONS | 18B | CONDITIONAL | Breaking changes to swap engine | MEDIUM |
| ENGINEER | 18C | GO | Infrastructure ready, tests passing | LOW |
| MEDICAL | 18D | GO | No ACGME violations expected | LOW |
| COMMS | 18E | GO | 2 API endpoints affected | LOW |
| INTEL | 18F | CONDITIONAL | Unknown dependency on Redis | MEDIUM |
| OPERATIONS | 18Z | NO-GO | Missing required MCP tools | HIGH |

### CROSS-OPERATOR DISCREPANCIES
[High-signal findings where operators disagreed]

Example:
- **COMMAND vs OPERATIONS**: COMMAND estimates 3 days, OPERATIONS flags 2-week dependency on MCP tool development
- **ENGINEER vs INTEL**: ENGINEER reports infrastructure ready, INTEL identifies Redis version mismatch risk

### RECOMMENDED TASK FORCE COMPOSITION

Based on assessments, recommend deploying:

**Deputy:** [ARCHITECT / SYNTHESIZER / both]

**Coordinators Needed:**
- [COORD_1]: [Why needed]
- [COORD_2]: [Why needed]

**Specialists Required:**
- [SPECIALIST_1]: [Task]
- [SPECIALIST_2]: [Task]

**Estimated Force Size:** [N] agents
**Estimated Duration:** [Timeline]

### BLOCKING ISSUES (IF ANY)

**Critical Blockers:**
1. [Issue 1]
2. [Issue 2]

**Resolution Required Before Mission Start**

### COMMANDER'S RECOMMENDATION

[GO / NO-GO / CONDITIONAL GO]

**Reasoning:** [Why this recommendation]

**Conditional Requirements (if applicable):**
1. [Condition 1]
2. [Condition 2]

---

Mission Flow Integration

Typical SOF_PARTY Workflow

User requests complex mission
    ↓
User invokes /usasoc
    ↓
USASOC activates 18A_DETACHMENT_COMMANDER
    ↓
/sof-party runs (7 operators assess in parallel)
    ↓
OPORD briefing generated
    ↓
USASOC assembles task force based on OPORD
    ↓
Mission executes

Decision Point

After SOF_PARTY assessment:

Feasibility	Action
GO	Assemble task force, execute immediately
CONDITIONAL GO	Resolve conditions first, then execute
NO-GO	Escalate to ORCHESTRATOR for strategic pivot

---

Timeout Profiles

Profile	Duration	Best For
RAPID	30s	Emergency assessment, P0 incidents
STANDARD	60s	Normal SOF assessment (default)
THOROUGH	120s	Complex missions with many unknowns

---

Failure Recovery

Minimum Viable Assessment

Mission can proceed if:

• 18A-COMMAND (mission planning) ✓
• 18Z-OPERATIONS (execution feasibility) ✓
• At least 3 of remaining 5 operators

Circuit Breaker

If > 2 consecutive operator failures: Trip to OPEN state, report to USASOC/ORCHESTRATOR.

---

Related Skills

Skill	When to Use
/usasoc	Activate before /sof-party for time-critical missions
/search-party	Deeper reconnaissance after SOF assessment
/qa-party	Validation after task force execution
/plan-party	Strategic planning after SOF assessment
systematic-debugger	When SOF identifies specific issues to debug

---

Authority Model

SOF_PARTY operates under USASOC authority when activated via /usasoc:

• Can draw specialists from any domain
• Wide lateral authority to investigate
• Reports directly to USASOC or ORCHESTRATOR
• Bypasses normal hierarchy for time-critical assessment

Under normal operations (not USASOC):

• Reports to ORCHESTRATOR
• Follows standard chain of command
• Advisory role only

---

SOF_PARTY: Seven perspectives, one mission, zero marginal cost. The discrepancies are the signal.