Although the US Special Operations chief said on Wednesday that bin Laden’s Al Qaeda is “nearing its end,” he warned that the next generation of militants dubbed as Al Qaeda 2.0 could keep special operations fighting throughout this decade.

Navy SEAL Adm. Eric T. Olson described the killing of bin Laden by a special operations raid on May 2 as a near-killing blow for what he called “Al Qaeda 1.0,” as created by bin Laden in Pakistan.

“I think the death of bin Laden was an uppercut to the jaw,” Olson told the crowd at the Aspen Security Forum. “It just knocked them on their heels.”

However, the admiral warned of the fight to come against what he called Al Qaeda 2.0, with new leaders like American-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, who Olson said understands America better than Americans understand him.

“The reality though is that in its wake comes a more fractured regionalized movement that still presents real terrorist danger and threats to the United States,” said CBS News national security analyst Juan Zarate. “But it is different from what we’ve seen.”

Olson said the fight against all versions of al Qaeda could keep U.S. special operations troops deploying at the same pace for another decade, even as U.S. conventional forces draw down from places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

The admiral said that will keep the pressure on his already frayed force, which is now seeing the departure of many mid-level troops who joined just after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and have gotten worn out by the pace of constant deployments. The Special Operations Command has nearly doubled in size since the attacks, from 32,000 to some 60,000, including units like SEALs, Army Special Forces Green Berets and Rangers, and Marine Special Operators. But Olson said nearly half that force is deployed at any one time, and that tempo is taking its toll on troops and their families, resulting in divorces or separations.

Currently the longest serving Navy SEAL, Olson is less than two weeks from retiring after 38 years of service. He’ll be replaced by another Navy SEAL: Adm. Bill McRaven, the commander of the raid that got bin Laden.