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The Definitive Spec Ops Resource

THE DEFINITIVE SPEC OPS RESOURCE FOR FITNESS AND SELECTION

Special Operations

SOF Video of the Day: Force Recon doesn’t request permission to board

Force Reconnaissance Marines assigned to Force Reconnaissance Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force along with British Royal Marines with J Company, 42 Commandos and Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5 (EODMU-5) conduct special insertion and raid training on the submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) moored at Naval Base Guam, March 21, 2018. The units are conducting joint-combined training in order to develop shared standard operating procedures in a visit, board, search and seizure environment so they can provide a more flexible and mission-ready capability to geographic combatant commanders in the Pacific. EODMU-5 is assigned to Commander, Task Force 75, the primary expeditionary task force responsible for the planning and executing coastal riverine operations, explosive ordnance disposal, diving engineering and construction, and underwater construction in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.

U.S. Navy Combat Camera photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nicholas A. Groesch

Watch Marines conduct board, search and seizure training in the video below:

USASOC apologizes after nighttime raid on abandoned North Carolina hotel stirs controversy among locals

The unique challenges posed by urban warfare can be extremely difficult to train for in a realistic way. American military installations that lend themselves to dynamic training tend to be set in expansive stretches of open territory, allowing for all sorts of live fire and simulated training events without worrying about the effect these drills may have on nearby civilian populations. The problem is, modern warfare doesn’t always take place in open fields, and among the only ways to develop real technical competency when it comes to urban combat operations is to train in urban environments.

Residents of Raleigh, North Carolina, witnessed just such a training event recently, when members of the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command conducted a raid on the vacant Capital Plaza Hotel. It upset nearby residents, many of whom were initially unsure if what they were seeing was a real combat operation or an exercise.

“The exercise turned out to be louder and more disruptive to the nearby neighborhood than the city anticipated,” City Manager Ruffin Hall said in a prepared statement approved by the Raleigh City Council. “Upon review and lessons learned, I would not approve an exercise of this scale and disruption adjacent to a neighborhood in the future.”

Notifying the public about these training events is a difficult predicament for the U.S. military that hopes to achieve a realistic parallel to how a real operation would unfold. If the notification approach is too effective, it can result in crowds gathering around the training site hoping to watch the spectacle. This is not only counter-productive for the concept of the training, it potentially puts civilians at risk (as there is an inherent risk to any and all military training). However, if notifications aren’t effective enough, public outcry from concerned citizens can also become quite troublesome.

An MH-60 Black Hawk inserts an International Special Operations Forces team onto a barge using fast roping in Tampa, Florida, on May 21, 2014. Fast roping is used when a helicopter cannot touch down. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Tori Schultz)

“One of the neighbor’s daughters is eight months pregnant with her first pregnancy, and she was having trouble breathing. We were afraid she was going to go into premature labor,” said a woman who identified herself only as Dana to local news outlet WRAL-TV. “One of the neighbors had his guns out. It was crazy.”

The raid, which was conducted sometime between midnight and 2 a.m., included special operations helicopters flying low throughout the area for insertion and extraction of special operators, as well as simulated gunfire and a number of loud bangs reported by local residents that were likely flash-bangs or other types of explosives used for breaching. The overall size of the drill, it seems, proved to be the issue and as a result, the Army’s Special Operations Command has issued a statement saying that drills of that scale will not be conducted again in buildings located so close to the city’s occupied neighborhoods.

“U.S. Army Special Operations Command is grateful for the support we receive from multiple community leaders around the United States in order to routinely conduct training in a variety of urban settings,” Lt. Col. Loren Bymer said on behalf of the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command. “These types of training events are necessary to maintain the readiness for the Army Special Operations soldiers.”

 

Feature image: MH-60 Black Hawk and MH-47 Chinook helicopters with the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joseph Pick)

SOF Video of the Day: HALO jumping with US Air Force Special Tactics teams

Airmen of the U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Training Squadron prepare to conduct a high altitude, low opening or HALO, mission near Fort Walton Beach, Fla., March 16, 2010, during Exercise Emerald Warrior 2010. U.S. military servicemembers participated in the U.S. Special Operations Command-sponsored, 19-day joint training exercise at multiple sites along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Clay Lancaster

 

Watch Air Force PJs conduct a HALO jump in the video below:

SOF Video of the Day: Special Forces training in Alaska

U.S. Soldiers with the 3rd Special Forces Group (SFG) out of Fort Bragg, N.C., and the 5th Squadron, 1st Calvary Regiment out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska, participate in a pilot recovery exercise Aug. 4, 2017, during RED FLAG-Alaska 17-3, at the McMahon Range, Alaska. The 3rd SFG is the lead SFG on operations in Central Asia.

U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Isaac Johnson

Watch U.S. Army Special Forces in action during Red Flag in the video below:

Tunnel-mapping tech may be the most important special operations gear of the 21st century

Recently, NEWSREP Editor-in-chief Jack Murphy reported on the U.S. military’s standing plan to infiltrate Iranian underground bunkers housing integral elements of the nation’s nuclear apparatus. If war between the United States and Iran were ever to come to fruition, these facilities (commonly referred to as hardened and deeply buried targets, or HDBTs) would be among America’s top priorities. But taking them out of commission would require a more dramatic approach than America’s preferred method of warfare by ballistic missile.

Many of these HDBTs are constructed deep underground, often by tunneling into mountains. The natural barrier provided by 2,000 feet of rock would, in some cases, render even America’s bunker-busting munitions useless. Instead, infiltrating and destroying these facilities would fall to America’s elite counterterrorism unit, the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, or Delta Force.

Although Delta has been training for these potential underground combat operations in Iran for years, the risks associated with such an operation have grown in tandem with the increasing number of potential enemy states—including North Korea, China, and Russia—all of which maintain (or are rumored to maintain) sizable underground facilities meant to shield against weapons of mass destruction and potentially afford protection to command and control elements from surveillance or engagement.

Soldiers of 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, prepare to clear a corridor during subterranean operations training. (U.S. Army)

As Jack Murphy pointed out in his NITRO ZEUS piece, “Numerous countries have sought to conceal and protect vulnerable military resources underground inside facilities hardened with reinforced concrete, vault doors, internal environmental systems, and more, such as the United States has done at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.”

Put simply, fighting in enclosed spaces deep underground, where communications are limited and the stakes are at their highest, isn’t just a tactical nightmare, it may also become a pervasive part of what nation-level warfare looks like in the 21st century.

It’s likely with this concern in mind that America’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has issued a request for information regarding advanced technologies and methodologies that can be employed for the “3D mapping and surveying of underground environments.”

“What makes subterranean areas challenging for precision mapping and surveying, such as lack of GPS, constrained passages, dark or dust-filled air, is similar to what inhibits safe and speedy underground operations for our warfighters,” said DARPA Tactical Technology Office (TTO) Program Manager Timothy Chung. “Building an accurate three-dimensional picture is a key enabler to rapidly and remotely exploring and searching subterranean spaces.”

If you’ve seen the film “Prometheus,” this effort may seem familiar. In the movie, crew members deploy floating drones that use lasers to quickly map out the subterranean cave complex they’re exploring.

It doesn’t seem likely that DARPA’s cave-mapping drones will defy gravity like those depicted in “Prometheus,” but with small drone technology rapidly advancing, a “floating” mapping device doesn’t seem entirely out of the question. Of course, propulsion is far from the only technical hurdle faced in this initiative. Maintaining connectivity to the operator, processing the data captured and rendering it in a usable manner, and even concerns about battery life versus added weight are among the litany of hurdles developers will need to either mitigate or eliminate in order to make such a device a reality.

A soldier assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, provides security during subterranean operations training. (U.S. Army)

In many ways, special operations war-fighters operating in these tunnels will be doing so without any access to external digital or communications infrastructure, meaning the mapping system will need to be entirely self-contained between the probe and the operator’s gear. Cloud computing or outsourcing any of the computational work via any sort of network simply won’t work beneath 2,000 feet of rock

The challenges DARPA faces in this endeavor are not insignificant by any stretch of the imagination, but a breakthrough in this sort of technology could provide American and allied forces with a much-needed advantage in what would be sure to be brutal fighting inside confined spaces. America’s special operations troops may be the best trained in the world, but training doesn’t stop bullets. In tunnel warfare, a defender’s familiarity with the space, the terrain, and any potential hazards can offset a significant training advantage had by the attackers.

Despite not quite garnering the same sort of attention as programs like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter or new hypersonic missiles, tunnel-mapping technology may prove to be the most valuable tech in America’s war-fighting arsenal. After all, fast-moving missiles may help win a conventional war, but the only way to win a nuclear one is to prevent it from starting in the first place.

 

 

Feature image courtesy of the U.S. Army

SOF Video of the Day: What are Air Force Guardian Angels?

A U.S. Army Task Force Brawler CH-47F Chinook releases flares while conducting a training exercise with a Guardian Angel team assigned to the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, March 26, 2018 in the image above. The Army crews and Air Force Guardian Angel teams conducted the exercise to build teamwork and procedures as they provide joint personnel recovery capability, aiding in the delivery of decisive airpower for U.S. Central Command.

Per the U.S. Air Force website:

Guardian Angel is comprised of Combat Rescue Officers, Pararescuemen, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) Specialists and uniquely trained support personnel dedicated to the Air Force core function of Personnel Recovery. Together, these warriors are the soul of a non-aircraft, equipment-based, human weapon system.”

U.S. Air Force Courtesy Photo Edited by Tech. Sgt. Gregory Brook

Learn more about Air Force Guardian Angels in the video below:

American Special Operations drew their inspiration from these elite warfighting units throughout history

It can be said that the need to band together in groups is intrinsic to what makes us human beings. Long before the dawn of civilization, humans gathered together in like-minded groups in order to offer one another protection, defend resources, and share the mental and physical challenges of survival. Forming a cooperative group, or herd, may have been one of the earliest human advancements that would one day lead to the complex societies we live in today. But like today, whenever groups gather, conflict is never far behind.

Warfare, it would seem, was the inevitable result of humans living in groups. When one group had something another needed (or wanted), they sought to take it by force. What started as small skirmishes between tribes eventually grew into major battles between city-states, religions, and eventually, nations. The drive to fight and win wars led to countless technological developments throughout human history, but new and advanced weapons have never been the only element necessary to secure victory in a tribal spat or global conflict. Instead, finding and training the most capable war-fighters has always been a key element influencing who would go home the victor and who wouldn’t make it home at all.

Although modern special operations are, as the phrase implies, very much modern, the roots of America’s most elite war-fighting institutions can be traced back as far as warfare itself. In the Marine Corps, we would often liken the lessons we learned in combat training to those first established by the Spartans. Though our modern lineage might be more comparable to that of the British Royal Marines, our ideological ancestors hailed from another time entirely. The mindset employed by Spartan warriors, perhaps as much as their tactical expertise, set them apart from other militaries of the day—something many could attribute to the Marine Corps of today as well. Similarly, one could draw historical parallels between SOCOM’s specialized units and some of the most impressive, capable, and downright frightening warriors throughout human history.

Helmet plate depicting a dancing warrior and a bear warrior (Norse berserker)

Viking berserkers, recounted in Norse legend as men who would fight with a fury that seemed inhuman, often chose to forgo the chain mail armor of their day, instead adorning themselves with the pelts of predators such as bears and wolves or, often, wearing nothing at all. The bloodlust demonstrated by berserkers in combat granted them a far-reaching reputation, allowing them to sometimes skip the battle completely and instead simply accept an opponent’s surrender based on nothing more than their presence.

Courtesy of dynamosquito via WikiMedia Commons

The Immortals who fought for the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, depicted in the stylized movie “300,” were the special operations forces of Persia’s multinational military machine. The Immortals were designated as such, according to Herodotus, not only because they were the most fearsome and well-equipped soldiers in King Xerxes’ army, but also because their 10,000-strong unit would immediately field replacements for any Immortal who fell to battle or sickness, ensuring the mighty Immortals retained their 10,000-strong moniker at all times.

Rembrandt chose to illustrate the moment of the oath of the Batavia in the sacred grove, as described by Tacitus, Histories IV, 14. Civilis, with crown and sword. (WikiMedia Commons)

The Batavi were a warrior people who served with the Roman military (when not rebelling against Roman rule). Like modern American Navy SEALs, the Batavi gained a reputation not only for being fearsome and brutally barbaric warriors, but for possessing an incredible strength that allowed them to swim across rivers others saw as impassable, all while wearing their armor and carrying their weapons. This tactic enabled the Batavi to attack enemy armies that had used swift waterways as a natural barrier against attack, taking them utterly by surprise.

WikiMedia Commons

The classic cliché of black-adorned ninjas sprinting across rooftops may not have been accurate, but the ninja’s reputation for stealth, reconnaissance gathering, and guerrilla warfare tactics is well deserved. Often disguising themselves to blend in with the civilian populace, ninjas trained with a myriad of weapons and prized adaptability in their training regimens. Ninjas were most effectively employed in specialized missions, not unlike modern special operations units.

All of these elite warriors, and countless others, helped form a common fabric of tactics, strategy, and mindset that would one day be employed by America’s elite special operators. Considering that, to a large extent, one can truly credit the breadth of warfare throughout human history with planting the seeds that would later become our modern special operations infrastructure.

 

Feature image courtesy of WikiMedia Commons

No sh*t, there I was: Delta operator strafed by his country’s own F-16 Fighting Falcon

Most of us have never had an air superiority fighter strafe us during a gun run. I would venture that most of us would not care to have that happen to us—not at all. Even a simulated gun run is a trouser-crapable event, especially if it catches you by surprise. Such was the case with my crew and me at the Nevada Test Site.

The test site was where my next career began following my service with the U.S. Army’s Delta Force. On this day I led a group of nuclear scientists and support crew to the northwesternmost corner of the test site, where an above-ground nuclear detonation—called Schooner—had taken place years ago.

A taxi line of badassery heads for the runway. (Photo courtesy Geo Perspectives LLC)

The objective for the following two days was to collect radioactive soil samples containing post-blast byproducts at regular intervals across a swath of ground. Please don’t ask me to explain anything beyond that. Most of the nutty experiments that nuclear scientists dream up push my brain to near-vapor lock.

I hadn’t really signed on for collecting dirt samples in tiny plastic pipets for two days, but I fancy myself one who rises to the nation’s causes at every opportunity. “I shall collect this dirt and put it into tiny pipets to the best of my mortal ability,” I told myself as I paired up with another scientist to work as a team.

The glory that is the pipet.

“So how did we want to dig this hole?” the doctor—who I called Daktari—inquired.

“With this trowel that Dr. Joyce gave me?” Dr. Joyce was the task leader who had developed the experiment and presented it to Sandia National Laboratories. She set up shop on the tailgate of a pickup truck we brought and waited for dirt.

“No, I mean do we want to dig straight down to depth for our sample, or do we want to sneak up on it from an oblique angle?”

Glancing around for a sharp stick to jam in my eye, I answered, “Look, Daktari, I don’t want to dig any holes at all, Ann Frankly, I hadn’t planned on getting as scientific as you over digging a hole in some dirt. What say we just take the direct approach and go straight down?”

All the glory that is the trowel.

An interesting thing about these 100-pound heads—nuclear physicists and rocket scientists—is that they don’t get offended easily. It’s like they’re too smart to get offended by the petty misbehaving of a chunk of ice from the Early Pleistocene whose welterweight cranium only ever weighed in at 88-ish pounds.

“Hey, Daktari, this is kinda fun. Can you dig it?”

Daktari returned a gaze that was every bit as enthusiastic as that of a slumbering sloth. Another thing about these geniuses: They had a strange sense of humor. They were not as pie-in-the-face as much of my material. It seemed like jokes required at least the first three dimensional planes of the Space-time Continuum before they would decide if they would give it any of their fourth-dimension time.

I looked around. The Nevada Test and Training Range was about five miles to our north. Fast-movers (fighter jets) maneuvered in the distance, twisting and writhing in various patterns. I could just barely see that they were F-16 Fighting Falcons. If ever a jet truly physically resembled its name, it was the F-16.

Satellite view of the Schooner Crater with a range meter revealing its 934-foot diameter (Photo courtesy of GoogleMaps).

“Howz by yooz, Dr. Joyce?” I playfully inquired as I took a break from ol’ happy there, overthinking his six-inch dirt dive. It was good to check around to account for everyone and what they were doing. Visitors were not permitted in these remote areas unsupervised. There was just too much crap (radiological contamination) and too many opportunities to get into dire straits on these atomic bombing ranges.

On that note, I am quite certain the next time someone asks me if I glow at night as a result of exposure to this radiation, I shall immediately and without qualm or reservation shatter their pelvis and let them bleed out slowly through their anus. All apologies, but that is simply how I feel about it.

Dr. Joyce had racks and racks of small metal stands arranged on the truck’s tailgate, into which she had placed rows of pipets. She carefully recorded each one in her growing ledger. She was definitely invested in her program and well organized. It was completely admirable by my estimation.

“Nice racks, Doc.”

“Excuse me?”

“The racks. They’re nice. How they each can organize 10 pipets in a row like that…it’s…nice.”

“Oh, well yeah, I guess.”

An F-16 Fighting Falcon lifts off from Nellis AFB during the 2014 Aviation Nation air show. In the background rests a B-1 Lancer bomber. (Photo courtesy of Geo Perspectives LLC).

Being the social white dog turd that I was, I felt it more advantageous to the project to return to the dig with chuckles. The hours wore on and the urge to sing “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” or “99 Bottles of Beer” became almost overpowering.

Then it happened.

I stood with a man from the other dig team some 20 meters to the west side of the truck, answering some trivial questions. I was facing the truck as we chatted. Beyond the truck where Dr. Joyce toiled was a low ridge about 2,000 meters away.

An F-16 taxis back in from a mission during a Red Flag exercise. Reg Flag is an annual training exercise for pilots in aerial combat (dogfighting). Photo courtesy of Geo Perspectives, LLC.

Suddenly a motion just over the ridge caught my eye. I recognized instantly that it was an F-16. It had, in a split second, popped over the top of the ridge and dove toward us, low and at breakneck speed. I opened my mouth to shout a warning—GUNS, GUNS, GUNS—but the jet closed too quickly.

I only had time to slam my palms against my ears. Though there was no noise yet, I knew the roar would be ear-shattering when it came. And it came. My vision blurred a bit as the jet swooped overhead, blotting the sun for an instant. Then the roar of the engines came crashing down on us.

I just managed to jet (no pun) a glance at Dr. Joyce’s face as the sonic crash completely trashed her racks of pipets. She wore an expression as though she had just been zapped by a fallen power line. The entire crew was in shock and completely petrified.

The falcon went immediately nose up and launched itself vertically, corkscrewing in a victory roll as it climbed. I extended both my arms up toward the jet shooting him the double-digit epithet until he was just a pinpoint in the sky.

NTS map segment showing the location of the Schooner Crater in the remote NW corner of the site. The border is highlighted in red. The Nevada Test and Training Range is to the north (Gold Flat). Photo courtesy National Security Technology LLC.

“We’re dead. That jet just killed us.” I grinned at all the eyes that were on me. Dr. Joyce’s mouth would not actually close again for the next couple of days. None of her soil sample pipets had actually opened, spilling contents, and her sterling record-keeping enabled her to quickly restore her world order on the tailgate of the truck.

The F-16 circled back at a greatly reduced speed, passing very low above our position, this time wing-walking in salutation. I raised my arms again, but with fingers extended in V-for-victory symbols of peace toward our murderers. Many months later the jet’s gun camera footage made it to my management and I was gifted a viewing. There I stood, double peace signs extended, looking like former POTUS Richard Milhous Nixon.

It was good to be king even for a day, even if only of a swath of radioactive dirt.

Dr. Joyce…oh, brother. The first thing she said to me the next morning was, “OMG, I still can’t get over that jet yesterday. It was just the most amazing thing I’m sure I’ve ever experienced.” She confided that she awoke during the night thinking of that event, and it was again the first thing she thought of when she woke up. I appreciated and was pleased by her outlook.

I dropped them off at their accommodations for the last time. We bid each other goodbye.

Daktari gave me the thumbs-up signal. “Thanks for everything, Geo. Take care, and don’t do anything stupid!”

“No worries, Daktari. My mind doesn’t really even function in that…dementia.”

He shot a glance back and chuckled. “Good one. Not bad!” The day had not been lost.

Later, I studied a topographical map of our location and postulated that the F-16 had very likely dropped into a canyon far south of our location and followed that contour before busting out of the canyon and turning west toward our shallow ridgeline. There, the pilot recognized his target would lie some 2,000 meters west from the crest of the ridge.

A satellite image of the canyon route that the pilot took to sneak up on our location. Terrain roads and washes snake along the floor of the canyon where it runs from SW to NE (photo courtesy of GoogleMaps).

And that, mes amis, is the very essence of our nation’s badass Air Force.

By almighty God and with honor,

Geo sends

Know a SEAL from a Night Stalker: a breakdown of US Special Operations units

While it could be said that every unit which falls under the “special ops” umbrella is comprised of operators who can move, shoot, and communicate with lethal efficiency, different units developed to address specialized challenges.

As the years wore on, and particularly since the onset of the Global War on Terrorism, lines may have blurred a bit between specialties in many cases, allowing various units to conduct similar operations. But, the specific nature of each continues to inform the internal culture of divisions that fall under the command of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), honoring their heritage as well as the prowess their service experience allots.

Many people who understand America’s special operations apparatus are usually most familiar with the elements of one of SOCOM’s subordinate commands, the Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC. Officially, JSOC is tasked with studying special operations requirements and techniques in order to ensure the best methods of unit interoperability are employed, while fielding new equipment and conducting special operations exercises, training, and missions in the best interest of our nation. To be succinct, JSOC has the “best of the best.” It might help to think of them as America’s war-fighting All-Star team.

Units of JSOC include:

  • The Intelligence Support Activity, commonly called “The Activity”
  • The U.S. Air Force 24th Special Tactics Squadron
  • The U.S. Navy’s Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) or the recently popularized SEAL Team Six
  • The U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment: Regimental Reconnaissance Company
  • The U.S. Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, commonly known as Delta Force

However, listing these names does little to clear up potential confusion, so allow me to elaborate briefly on three of these four units.

DEVGRU, SEAL Team 6, and whatever their current (and classified) operational title may be are all referring to the same group of elite Navy SEALs. Team 6 recruits from within, choosing only the best of the already elite Navy SEAL community. Delta is often compared to Seal Team 6 in terms of operational capabilities and grueling indoctrination and training, but differs from its sea-based brethren primarily in recruiting tactics: Delta operators may come from any branch, and are sometimes even former SEALs.

The Air Force’s 24th Special Tactics Squadron (24th STS) is perhaps the least recognized of the three, which may be because pararescuemen, combat controllers, and Tactical Air Control Parties deployed by the 24th STS usually serve alongside DEVGRU or Delta teams, rather than fielding complete teams on their own. These airmen synchronize and control elements of air support or provide medical assistance to other special operators in the field.

Beyond the elite units housed within JSOC, SOCOM boasts a number of other special operations teams that may be best addressed by dividing them by their representative military branches.

United States Army Special Operations Command

Know a SEAL from a Night Stalker: a breakdown of US Special Ops units
(Photo: U.S. Department of Defense)

Special Forces (Green Berets)

The term “special forces” is often misattributed to any military personnel working within America’s special operations community. However, the phrase is actually specific to the Army’s elite group of soldiers who specialize in unconventional warfare, reconnaissance, internal foreign defense, anti-terror operations, and direct action combat. Green Berets are considered unique from other special operators for various reasons, most importantly being put to use in times of peace and conflict alike. Their motto, “De Oppresso Liber” translates to “Free the Oppressed.”

The 75th Ranger Regiment

Like the Navy SEALs, a highly specialized company of Rangers falls under JSOC, but the rest of Ranger Battalion answers to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Rangers are specifically-selected soldiers who must first complete an eight-week long Ranger Assessment and Selection Program—which replaced the Ranger Indoctrination Program, or RIP, in 2010—before reaching their assignment within the regiment. Once there, they must complete the even more arduous Ranger School in order to earn their Ranger Tab.

The 160th SOAR (Night Stalkers)

The U.S. Army’s Special Operations Regiment (SOAR) provides helicopter aviation support for special operations troops, often flying into extremely hostile territory to deliver and extract elite operators from combat zones. Aviators in the 160th are among the most highly-trained pilots on the planet, and use the latest in new and modified military aircraft to complete missions often deemed too dangerous for many other aviation units. It was the 160th that delivered JSOC operators to the compound in Pakistan on May 2nd, 2011 to kill Osama Bin Laden.

Other units or personnel that fall under SOCOM include skilled civil affairs soldiers, military information support operators, sustainment soldiers, and the training cadre responsible for assessing, training, and educating the Army’s elite war-fighters.

United States Navy Special Warfare Command

Know a SEAL from a Night Stalker: a breakdown of US Special Ops units
(Photo: United States Navy)

SEALs

Navy SEALs are probably the most famous special operations unit in the world. Countless movies have depicted the heroism of SEALs, and even more books recount stories told by individuals who earned the coveted Trident. Unbeknownst to some, SEAL is an acronym that stands for Sea, Air, and Land—acknowledging the heart of the Navy SEALs’ role as a multi-purpose combat force. SEALs conduct operations in any situation or location, from clandestine reconnaissance to direct action missions.

Special Warfare Combatant-craft (SWCC) Crewmen and Enablers

SWCC Crewmen belong to Special Boat Teams often tasked with operating small surface craft for coastal operations and to support special operations missions. Primarily focused on aiding in the infiltration and exfiltration of SEAL teams, these Crewmen work where larger vessels cannot operate, providing close fire support and medical care to special operators on mission. Enablers, like the SWCC Crewmen, offer technical assistance to special operations personnel, including everything from cryptologic support to explosive ordnance disposal.

United States Air Force Special Operations Command

Know a SEAL from a Night Stalker: a breakdown of US Special Ops units
(Photo: United States Air Force)

Special Tactics Airmen

Special Tactics Airmen offer a wide variety of operational capabilities derived through diverse areas of training and expertise. Combat controllers are certified air traffic controllers that infiltrate combat zones undetected to simultaneously conduct air traffic control and coordinate air support while also participating in direct action missions. Pararescuemen, or PJs, specialize in both conventional and unconventional recovery operations. The Special Operations Surgical Team offers a rapid deploying and lightweight medical element for trauma life support.

Special Operations Aviators

The men and women assigned to the Air Force’s Special Operations Aviators are considered some of the most exceptional pilots in the military. Flying in specialized aircraft, they conduct operations primarily under cover of darkness, and offer varying levels of support to special operations missions, including reconnaissance, infiltration and exfiltration, and command and control operations.

Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command

Know a SEAL from a Night Stalker: a breakdown of US Special Ops units
(Photo: United States Marine Corps)

Critical Skills Operators/Special Operations Officers

Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) recently reflagged with the historically-consistent moniker of Marine Raiders. They’re the latest addition to the SOCOM organizational structure. For much of the Marine Corps’ history, it operated without any formal association to SOCOM, instead establishing independent Force Recon units in a similar fashion while retaining organizational control. Since MARSOC entered the SOCOM fold, its operators conduct foreign internal defense operations, special reconnaissance, and direct action combat missions.

While this list offers a glimpse into the various facets of special operations units, it’s important to acknowledge that the nuanced differences in culture and conduct exhibited by operators within each can be difficult to quantify.

Each special operations group had to shed aspects of its parent branch in order to better integrate unique skill sets and capabilities with those offered by groups hailing from other branches. However, traditions and culture found within groups such as the SEALs or Marine Raiders remain intrinsically tied to their service birthplaces. There’s always been a fair amount of friendly competition between branches, but once a Soldier, Sailor, Marine, or Airman answers to SOCOM, they must work their way into the new combined culture of the service. SOCOM, in many ways, is an extraordinary beast all its own.

SOCOM operators come from all walks of life, and represent a variety of military occupational specialties established in each of the four branches of American service. Ultimately, these special operators are more than war-fighters: they’re diplomats, problem solvers, and instruments of foreign policy. Only by combining the best and brightest from America’s exceptional military infrastructure can they possibly accomplish so much.

 

Feature image: Navy SEALs conduct training in the sea, in the air, and on land. (Photo: U.S. Navy Mass Communication Spc. 2nd Class Martin L. Carey)

Former Marine strategist and defense expert calls for disbanding Marine Raiders

Dakota Wood spent 20 years in uniform as a U.S. Marine. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2005 and entered the world of academic defense analysis.Now a senior fellow at the Center for National Defense at the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, Wood used his experience in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and as a researcher to field a surprising recommendation for the American defense apparatus: get rid of the Marine Raiders. In a 60-page report released March 21st, Wood—who once served as a strategist at Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command—said the USMC needs to reevaluate where it spends its money in order to be highly effective in a 21st century conflict. One key area of wasted funding, he claims, is on the Marine Corps’ Special Operations command known as the Marine Raiders, or Marines Special Operations Command (MARSOC).Wood’s report, published by The Heritage Foundation, reads:

MARSOC was established because of a shortage of special operations teams, not because the Marine Corps wanted a special operations force. U.S. Special Operations Command was hard-pressed to meet the operational demand for its capabilities as U.S. global war on terrorism efforts expanded in Afghanistan, Iraq, and many other locations worldwide.Consequently, the 2,700 Marines committed to MARSOC benefit SOCOM, performing special operations tasks in specific locations in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. MARSOC has little direct value for the Corps, especially with regard to the Corps’ primary mission as stipulated in 10 U.S. Code and DOD [U.S. Department of Defense] directive.”

Wood contends that Marines already assigned to MARSOC are doing important work for the America’s national security, but counters with concerns about how much of the branch’s resources are devoted to special operations.”The Corps’ commitment to MARSOC, while a boon to SOCOM [United States Special Operations Command] and the good work it does for the country, is an opportunity cost for the Corps and the work that only it can do, as opposed to SOCOM’s role and the contributions long made to its mission by the Army, Navy and Air Force,” he said.The USMC was the most recent branch to add personnel to SOCOM’s stable. MARSOC (later dubbed Raiders) first established approximately 13 years ago. Since then, Marine special operators have proven to be a valuable asset in combat operations the world over. However, Wood posits the resources being allocated to these efforts could be better used improving the USMC’s overall conventional combat capabilities, especially in the face of what has been a high operational tempo and decades’ worth of budget concerns.MARSOC spokesman Maj. Nicholas Mannweiler said in an official statement that the command is aware of Wood’s report, and pointed out his recommendations pertaining to special operations are a part of a bigger issue of which the USMC and the Pentagon are already aware:

The recommendations made in the paper are one aspect of a much broader conversation on Marine Corps and joint operations in response to our evolving national security challenges,” he said. “MARSOC will continue to partner with our fellow Marines in enhancing lethality, interoperability, integration and interdependence as well as with our rich network of [special operations forces] and interagency partners.”

However, former members of the Marine Corps’ special operations community are publicly critical of Wood’s conclusions, saying his assessments are based on a dated concept of warfare that doesn’t accurately reflect the modern landscape of battle.”If there’s a major theater war with China or Iran, it’s not going to look like the Second World War,” Elliot Ackerman, a Marine with five combat deployments, told Military.com. “To say these 2,700 guys will be better suited in [any other] Marine regiment belies a lack of understanding of what Marine Raiders have contributed in the last 10 years.” He’s not the only objector quoted.

This would set us back two decades, if not more,” said Nick Koumalatsos, a former Marine Raider. “It’s not the world we live in anymore. We’re not lining up tanks and we’re not lining up in trenches to fight a conventional battle.”

The debate really boils down to how best to fight a near-peer war in the Pacific. Wood contends that the USMC is allocating too much of its limited money and resources toward fielding a fairly small number of highly-skilled operators. If a conflict with China were to break out, those resources could be better allocated toward the amphibious warfare that the Marines trade on.”Up until 2006, the Marine Corps had pushed back against having an elite force and being a part of the special operations community because they were fully busy doing Navy-Marine [amphibious] sorts of things,” Wood said. “It was only because they were forced to create a special operations service component by then-Secretary of Defense [Donald] Rumsfeld because SOCOM was extraordinarily short on teams.”Yet special operators contend that it’s precisely because of the possibility of a high-end conflict in places like the Pacific that there’s a growing need for Marines in the special operations community.

 

Feature image courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps