Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 17:42, 22 September 2012

The United States of America has many, primarily military, organizations popularly known as 'Special Operations Forces'. Many but not all of the military units are components of the Department of Defense's United States Special Operations Command.

When in the Continental United States (CONUS), most special operations forces (SOF) answer to the administration of their assigned branch of the military.

List of United States Special Operations Forces

Special Mission Units

• 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (United States Army)
• Intelligence Support Activity (United States Army)
• United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (United States Navy)
• 24th Special Tactics Squadron (United States Air Force)

United States Army

• United States Army Special Forces
• 75th Ranger Regiment
• 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
• US Army SAPPERS

United States Navy

• United States Navy SEALs
• Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen
• Explosive Ordnance Disposal
• United States Navy Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman

United States Air Force

• United States Air Force Combat Control Team
• United States Air Force Pararescue
• Air Force Special Operations Weather Technician
• US Air Force Tactical Air Control Party

United States Coast Guard

• Coast Guard Deployable Operations Group
• USCG Rescue Swimmer

Intelligence Community Special Units

• Special Activities Division (CIA)

U.S. special operations centers, schools, and courses

• Joint Special Operations University – Hurlburt Field
• Ranger School – Fort Benning
• Small Unit Ranger Tactics (SURT) – Fort Benning
• John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School – Fort Bragg
• Naval Special Warfare Center – Coronado, California
• US Navy SEALs, Naval Amphibious Bases VA Beach, VA, Coronado, California
• Naval Special Warfare Advanced Training Command, Imperial Beach, CA
• USAF Special Operations School – Hurlburt Field
• Marine Special Operations School – Camp Lejeune
  • Marine Corps Special Operations Training Group
• Marine Corps – Basic Reconnaissance Course (Camp Pendleton, CA)
• US Navy Rescue swimmer school, Pensacola, FL
• US Coast Guard aviation survival technician school, Elizabeth City, NC

Commands

• United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM)
  • United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)
  • United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC)
  • United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC)
  • United States Naval Special Warfare Command (SPECWARCOM, NAVSOC, or NSW)

• Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)
• Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH)
• Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR)

See also

• List of military special forces units
• Counter-insurgency
• Counter-terrorism
• Guerrilla warfare
• Hostage Rescue Team (FBI)
• Light infantry
• Special reconnaissance
• Unconventional warfare
• Urban warfare

Notes

1. Special Operations Command South

References

• United States Department of Defense (5 June 2003). "US DOD Dictionary of Military Terms: Joint Acronyms and Abbreviations". United States Department of Defense. United States of America. Retrieved 11 January 2004.
• CSM Eric Haney (retired, former Delta Force operator and founding member). Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit. Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-385-33603-9.
• Linda Robinson (2004). Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the Special Forces. PublicAffairs. ISBN 1-58648-249-1.
• Mark Bowden (1999). Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern Warfare. Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 0-87113-738-0.
• Sean Naylor (2005). Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda. The Berkeley Publishing Group. ISBN 0-425-19609-7.
• "Special Forces Units". Retrieved 8 October 2006.

External links

• US Special Operation Forces – 2009 SOCOM Factbook
• Special Operations Community Website
• Learning to Fight a War

v t e United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
United States Army USASOC	Units 1st Special Forces Command 75th Ranger Regiment Army Special Operations Aviation Command John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School Types Special Forces Rangers Civil Affairs Psychological Operations
United States Marine Corps MARSOC	Units Marine Raider Regiment Marine Raider Support Group Marine Raider Training Center Types Critical skills operator
United States Navy NAVSPECWARCOM	Units Naval Special Warfare Group 1 Naval Special Warfare Group 2 Naval Special Warfare Group 4 Naval Special Warfare Group 8 Naval Special Warfare Group 11 Naval Special Warfare Center Types Navy SEALs Special warfare combatant-craft crewmen
United States Air Force AFSOC	Units 1st Special Operations Wing 24th Special Operations Wing 27th Special Operations Wing 137th Special Operations Wing 193rd Special Operations Wing 352nd Special Operations Wing 353rd Special Operations Wing 492nd Special Operations Wing 919th Special Operations Wing Types Pararescue Combat Control Team Special Reconnaissance Combat Rescue Officer Special Tactics Officer Combat Aviation Advisors Psychological Operations
Special mission units JSOC	Army 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force) Intelligence Support Activity (ISA / The Activity) Navy Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU / SEAL Team Six) Air Force 24th Special Tactics Squadron (24 STS) Joint Communications Unit
Theater Special Operations Commands	SOCAFRICA SOCCENT SOCEUR SOCKOR SOCPAC SOCNORTH SOCSOUTH
Source: SOCOM 2013 Fact Book

• Use dmy dates from May 2011
• Special Operations Forces of the United States