United States special operations forces

United States special operations forces (SOF) are the special forces of the United States Department of Defense's United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) within the United States Armed Forces, used for special operations.

Composition
Component commands
★★★ Represents a unit led by a lieutenant general or vice admiral
★★ Represents a unit led by a major general or rear admiral (upper half)
★ Represents a unit led by a brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half)

Joint Special Operations Command

Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) ★★★[4]

  • 1st Joint Special Operations Air Component (1st JSOAC) (Formerly Aviation Tactics Evaluation Group/AVTEG)
  • 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Airborne) (USA)
    • A Squadron (Assault)
    • B Squadron (Assault)
    • C Squadron (Assault)
    • D Squadron (Assault)
    • E Squadron (Aviation)
    • G Squadron (Intelligence, Reconnaissance, & Surveillance)
    • Combat Support Squadron
  • Naval Special Warfare Development Group (USN)
    • Blue Squadron (Assault)
    • Gold Squadron (Assault)
    • Red Squadron (Assault)
    • Silver Squadron (Assault)
    • Black Squadron (Intelligence, Reconnaissance, & Surveillance)
    • White Squdron/EOD Tactics Development & Evaluation Squadron (EODTACDEVEVALSQN)
    • Gray Squadron (Mobility Teams, Transportation/Divers)
    • Combat Support Squadron
    • Technical Support Squadron (Tactical Cryptologic Support, Tactical Information Operations)
    • X Squadron/Experimental Squadron (R&D, technical innovations)
    • Green Squadron (Selection/Training)
  • 724th Special Tactics Group
    • 24th Special Tactics Squadron (USAF)
      • Black Team
      • Blue Team
      • Gold Team
      • Gray Team
      • Silver Team
      • Integrated Survey Program Team
      • Green Team (OTC - Assessment, Selection, Training)
    • 724th Operations Support Squadron
    • 724th Intelligence Squadron
    • 724th Special Tactics Support Squadron
  • 427th Special Operations Squadron[5] (USAF)
  • 19th Intelligence Squadron (USAF)
  • 66th Air Operations Squadron (USAF)
    • Detachment 1, 66th Air Operations Squadron
    • Special Programs and Technologies Flight
  • Detachment 1, 25th Intelligence Squadron (USAF)
  • Flight Concepts Division[5] (USA)
  • Headquarters Joint Special Operations Command (HQ JSOC)
  • Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion (HHBN)
  • JREG (USA)
  • Joint Communications Unit[6] (Joint Service)
    • A Squadron
    • B Squadron
    • C Squadron
    • D Squadron
    • Quick Reaction Team (QRT)
    • Special Mission Troop (SMT)
    • Executive Communications Detachment
    • Special Operations Radio Operators Course (SOROC)
  • Joint Cyber Operations Group (JCOG) (Formerly Joint Communications Integration Element/JCIE)(Joint Service)
  • Joint Special Operations Command Intelligence Brigade (JIB)
    • Joint Exploitation Squadron (JES)
    • Joint GEOINT Squadron
    • Joint Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (JPED) Squadron
      • Geospatial Exploitation Troop (GET)
      • Joint Exploitation Troop
    • Joint Targeting Squadron (JTS)
      • Joint SIGINT Targeting and Exploitation Troop (JSTET)
      • Joint Publicly Available Information (PAI) Troop
      • Interrogation and Exploitation Troop
  • Joint Interagency Task Force-National Capital Region (JIATF-NCR)
  • Joint Medical Augmentation Unit (JMAU)
    • Damage Control Surgical Team (DCST)
  • Operating Location Alpha 68th Network Warfare Squadron (USAF)
  • Regimental Reconnaissance Company
  • Special Operations Aerial Delivery Element (SOADE)
  • Special Operations Logistics Support Element (SOLSE)

United States Air Force
Air Force Special Tactics Commandos training in Jordan

United States Army
1-10th Special Forces Group secure their weapons after a day of training at the Panzer Range Complex, Boeblingen, Germany, Nov. 8, 2016.
Army Rangers during a training operation.

United States Marine Corps
Marine Raiders fine-tune Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) skills.

United States Navy
Navy SEALs during night operation in Afghanistan.
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team (SDV) 2 conduct diving lock out
SWCC from Special Boat Team 22 operating a SOC-R
  • Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM) ★★[4]
    • Naval Special Warfare Group ONE[4]
    • Naval Special Warfare Group TWO[4]
      • SEAL Team 2[4]
      • SEAL Team 4[4]
      • SEAL Team 8[4]
      • SEAL Team 10[4]
      • Logistics Support Unit 2[4]
      • Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Unit 2[4]
      • Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Unit 4[4]
      • Naval Special Warfare Unit (NSW) 10[4]
    • Naval Special Warfare Group THREE[4]
      • SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 (SDVT-1)[4]
      • SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2 (SDVT-2)[14] It was reactivated on 8 March 2019.[15]
      • Logistics Support Unit 3[4]
      • SEAL Delivery Vehicle Detachment 1[4]
    • Naval Special Warfare Group FOUR[4]
      • Special Boat Team 12 (SBT-12)[4]
      • Special Boat Team 20 (SBT-20)[4]
      • Special Boat Team 22 (SBT-22)[4]
      • Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School (NAVSCIATTS)[4]
    • Naval Special Warfare Group TEN[4]
      • Support Activity 1[4]
      • Support Activity 2[4]
      • Mission Support Center[4]
      • Cultural Engagement Unit[4]
    • Naval Special Warfare Group ELEVEN[4]
    • Naval Special Warfare Center[4]
      • Basic Training Command[4]
      • Advanced Training Command[4]

SOF career fields

United States Army
Army Special Forces (Green Berets) during breach and clear training near al-Tanf, Syria
  • Special Forces
  • Rangers
  • Psychological Operations (Military Information Support Operators)
  • Civil Affairs Soldiers
  • Paratroopers (Enablers)[1]
  • Army Special Operations Aviators
  • Military Intelligence and other Special Operations/Support with enlisted Special Qualification (SQI) Identifier "S" or "K9" for Officers.

United States Marine Corps

United States Navy

United States Air Force

* Not all PJs/CROs are assigned to AFSOC; many are assigned to Rescue Squadrons within ACC, PACAF, and USAFE. There is no difference in training or selection between Rescue and Special Tactics assignments.[16]

** ALO/TACP Airmen must undergo additional selection and training to be assigned to AFSOC Special Tactics Squadrons. Most are assigned to ACC and support conventional Army Units.[17]

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

See also

References
  1. "SOCOM 2014 Factbook" (PDF). 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  2. Special Operations Command South
  3. U.S. Special Operations Command, North (Provisional Command) > U.S. Northern Command > Article View. Northcom.mil (2013-05-16). Retrieved on 2014-05-24.
  4. SOCOM Public Affairs (2015). SOCOM Fact Book 2015 (PDF). SOCOM Public Affairs.
  5. Trevithick, Joseph. "Shedding Some Light On The Pentagon's Most Shadowy Aviation Units". The Drive. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  6. "Joint Communications Unit | JCU | Fort Bragg, NC". www.jcu.mil. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  7. "1st Special Operations Group fact sheet". 1 July 2015.
  8. "24th Special Operations Wing fact sheet". 1 July 2015.
  9. "27th Special Operations Wing fact sheet". 1 July 2015.
  10. "919th Special Operations Wing fact sheet". 1 July 2015.
  11. "352d Special Operations Wing fact sheet". 1 July 2015.
  12. "353rd Special Operations Group fact sheet". 1 July 2015.
  13. "Air Force Special Operations Air Warfare Center". 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  14. NAVAL SPECIAL WARFARE (PDF) (Report). Naval Special Warfare Center. May 2013. NWP 3-05. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  15. Faram, Mark D. (25 February 2019). "SEALs revive stealthy submarine delivery team in Virginia". Navy Times. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  16. "Unit Info". 19 January 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  17. "Policy changes allow Airmen to retrain into special ops". U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  18. SUN, CHUCK WULLENJOHN, SPECIAL TO THE. "Air Force becomes newest YPG tenant". Yuma Sun. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  19. "Enlisted heroes receive graduate-level education at Weapons School". 6 February 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  • 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) (2002). 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.
  • Feickert, Andrew (6 January 2017). U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress (PDF). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
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