special mission unit

File:Seal of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).svg]]

The United States military definition in the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms comes from Joint Publication 3-05.1 – Joint Special Operations Task Force Operations (JP 3-05.1).[https://web.archive.org/web/20120921100847/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary/data/s/449.html Article title] JP 3-05.1 defines a "special mission unit" as "a generic term to represent a group of operations and support personnel from designated organizations that is task-organized to perform highly classified activities".{{r|jsotfo}}

The U.S. government does not acknowledge which units specifically are designated as special missions units,{{r|wp}} only that they have special mission units within the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which is part of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). In the early 1990s commander in chief of SOCOM, General Carl Stiner, identified both Delta Force and SEAL Team Six as permanently assigned special mission units in congressional testimony and public statements.{{r|collins}} In 1998, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Walter B. Slocombe publicly referred to special mission units during a briefing to the Senate Armed Services Committee: "We have designated special mission units that are specifically manned, equipped and trained to deal with a wide variety of transnational threats" and "These units, assigned to or under the operational control of the U.S. Special Operations Command, are focused primarily on those special operations and supporting functions that combat terrorism and actively counter terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction. These units are on alert every day of the year and have worked extensively with their interagency counterparts."{{r|nyt}}

As of 2023, the U.S. military publicly acknowledges the following units as special mission units:

• The Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta (1st SFOD-D), widely known as Delta Force. JSOC color-coded as Task Force Green.{{Cite news |last=Morgan |first=Wesley |date=2021-10-27 |title=The not-so-secret history of the U.S. military’s elite Joint Special Operations Command |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/12/15/the-not-so-secret-history-of-jsoc/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}
• The Navy's Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), commonly known as SEAL Team Six. JSOC color-coded as Task Force Blue.
• The Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron (24 STS). JSOC color-coded as Task Force White.{{refn|{{r|north}}{{r|The Week}}{{r|nyt}}{{r|wp}}{{r|osprey}}{{r|Smith}}{{r|gaffney}}}}
• The Army's Intelligence Support Activity, officially identified only by a series of code names that are replaced every two years.{{refn|{{r|gs}}{{r|The Week}}{{r|wp}}{{r|osprey}}{{r|scarborough}}}} Originally tasked by the Army and subordinate to INSCOM, they were placed under JSOC after the September 11 attacks. JSOC color-coded as Task Force Orange.{{refn|{{r|gs}}{{r|The Week}}{{r|wp}}{{r|osprey}}{{r|scarborough}}}}
• The Army Rangers' Regimental Reconnaissance Company (RRC), part of U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), has also been referred to as an SMU. JSOC color-coded as Task Force Red (also used to refer to the broader 75th Ranger Regiment when under JSOC control.{{Cite web |title=AORG-STB MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD SUBJECT: Career Opportunity in Special Mission Unit |date=2011-10-04 |url=https://docshare01.docshare.tips/files/14096/140969662.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410191049/https://docshare.tips/75th-ranger-regimental-reconnaissance-company-recruiting-memorandum_588ef9f5b6d87fe0038b4c81.html |archive-date=10 April 2023 |url-status=live}}

Former special mission Units:

• The Army's Asymmetric Warfare Group, which was deactivated in 2021, was referred to as a special mission unit by the Army.{{Cite web |title=2008 U.S. Army Posture Statement - Information Papers - Asymmetric Warfare Group |url=https://www.army.mil/aps/08/information_papers/prepare/Army_Asymmetric_Warfare_Group.html |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=www.army.mil |quote=The Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) is a special mission unit reporting through 20th SUPCOM to the Army G-3/5/7.}}{{Cite web |date=2010-04-07 |title=Asymmetric Warfare Group |url=https://www.army.mil/article/36989/asymmetric_warfare_group |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=www.army.mil |language=en |quote=The Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) is a special mission unit under the Army G-3/5/7 providing operational advisory assistance to Army and Joint Force Commanders to enhance the combat effectiveness of the forces defeating asymmetric threats.}}{{Cite web |last=Team |first=SOFREP News |date=2017-05-15 |title=Asymmetric Warfare Group |url=https://sofrep.com/news/asymmetric-warfare-group/ |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=SOFREP |language=en}} Though subordinate to TRADOC, many of AWG's subject-matter experts are former JSOC members.

The Australian Army's elite Special Air Service Regiment are described as being "special missions units with unique capabilities within the Australian Defence Force".{{cite web|title=Special Air Service Regiment|url=http://www.army.gov.au/Who-we-are/Divisions-and-Brigades/Special-Operations-Command/Special-Air-Service-Regiment|publisher=Australian Army|access-date=30 September 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522025720/http://www.army.gov.au/Who-we-are/Divisions-and-Brigades/Special-Operations-Command/Special-Air-Service-Regiment|archive-date=22 May 2014}} The Regiments are components of Australia's Special Operations Command (SOCOMD), and are tasked with conducting "sensitive strategic operations, special recovery operations, training assistance, special reconnaissance and precision strike and direct action".

The SASR currently has four sabre squadrons, known as 1, 2, 3 and 4 squadron.Lee (2007), p. 95. The first two squadrons rotate through the two roles performed by the regiment; 1 Squadron conducts the counter terrorism/special recovery (CT/SR) role, and the remaining squadrons conduct the warfighting/reconnaissance role, while 4 Squadron is responsible for collecting intelligence and also supports the Australian Secret Intelligence Service.{{cite news|last=Epstein|first=Rafael|title=Secret SAS teams hunt for terrorists|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/secret-sas-teams-hunt-for-terrorists-20120312-1uwhy.html|access-date=30 September 2013|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|author2=Welch, Dylan}}

File:SaddamSpiderHole.jpg

• On December 13, 2003, members of Task Force 121 conducted a military operation in Ad-Dawr, Iraq, which led to the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein who was found hiding in a spider hole.{{cite web|title=Saddam Hussein Captured |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=84639&page=1 |publisher=ABC News |location=US |date=January 6, 2006|access-date=July 30, 2020}}
• On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed in a CIA SAD-led operation where U.S. Navy SEALs from DEVGRU's Red Squadron were flown into Abbottabad, Pakistan, by elements of 160th SOAR from Jalalabad, Afghanistan.{{r|wp2}}
• On October 22, 2015, 30 U.S. special operations forces consisting of members of Delta Force, aviators from the 160th SOAR, paramilitary officers from the CIA's Special Activities Center and along with members of the Kurdish Counter-terrorism unit Peshmerga, conducted a raid on an ISIS prison compound north of the town of Hawija in Iraq's Kirkuk province which resulted in the liberation of approximately 70 hostages, including more than 20 members of the Iraqi Security Forces who were to be executed and buried in freshly dug graves.{{cite web|author=Thomas Gibbons-Neff|title=Helmet camera footage shows joint U.S. Delta Force-Kurdish raid to rescue Islamic State hostages|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/10/24/helmet-camera-footage-shows-joint-u-s-delta-force-kurdish-raid-to-rescue-islamic-state-hostages/|website=washingtonpost.com|date=October 24, 2015|access-date=January 7, 2021}} The operation left one Delta operator dead, MSG Joshua Wheeler, the first American to be killed by ISIS insurgents and the first American to be killed in Action in Iraq since November 2011.{{cite web|author=Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube|title=Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, U.S. Commando Killed in ISIS Raid, Ran to Gunfight|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/master-sergeant-joshua-wheeler-idd-commando-killed-isis-hostage-rescue-n449876|website=nbcnews.com|date=October 23, 2015|access-date=January 7, 2021}}{{cite web|author=Jim Miklaszewski, Richard Engel and Alastair Jamieson|title=U.S. Special Operations Forces Commando Killed in ISIS Hostage Rescue|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/u-s-special-forces-troops-injured-rescuing-isis-hostages-sources-n449106|website=nbcnews.com|date=October 22, 2015|access-date=January 7, 2021}} SGM Thomas Payne, then a SFC, was awarded the Medal of Honor on September 11, 2020, for his actions that day.{{cite web|title=SERGEANT MAJOR THOMAS P. PAYNE, MEDAL OF HONOR, OPERATION INHERNT RESOLVE|url=https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/payne/|website=army.mil|access-date=January 7, 2021}}{{cite web|author=Katie lange|title=Medal of Honor Monday: Sgt. Maj. Thomas 'Patrick' Payne|url=https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/2383434/medal-of-honor-monday-sgt-maj-thomas-patrick-payne/|website=defense.gov|date=October 19, 2020|access-date=January 7, 2021}}
• Between October 26 and 27, 2019, in Barisha, Idlib Governorate, Syria, members of 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force) along with paramilitary officers from the CIA's Special Activities Center, Army Rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment and aviators from the 160th SOAR conducted a raid that resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.{{Cite press release |last=Pompeo |first=Michael R. |date=27 October 2019 |author-link=Michael R. Pompeo |title=On the Death of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi |url=https://2017-2021.state.gov/on-the-death-of-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi/index.html |publisher=U.S. Department of State |access-date=18 April 2022}} The raid was named Operation Kayla Mueller after American human rights activist and humanitarian aid worker Kayla Mueller, who was captured in Syria, tortured, and eventually killed by ISIL on February 6, 2015. Baghdadi killed himself when he detonated a suicide belt while seeking to evade the U.S. forces during the raid after reaching a dead end in a tunnel. Two Delta operators and one military working dog (Conan) were injured from Baghdadi's suicide belt but sustained no life threatening injuries.{{cite web|title= U.S. Special operations forces raid a compound that resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pentagon-report-al-baghdadi-death-impact-isis-leadership/story?id=68755044|author=Luis Martinez |publisher=ABC News |location=US |date=February 4, 2020|access-date=October 4, 2020}}

{{clear}}

• Special Mission Unit of the Florida State Guard, a state defense force. Though sharing an identical name, it is not affiliated USSOCOM.

{{reflist|1=30em|refs=

{{cite magazine|url=http://theweek.com/article/index/241802/the-most-secret-of-secret-units |title=The most secret of secret units |magazine=The Week |date=2013-03-22 |access-date=2013-09-10}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.gaffneyledger.com/news/2005-05-09/AP_News/151.html|title=In high demand, Air Force commandos must find new ways to cope with stress of duty|publisher=Gaffney Ledger|date=9 May 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116081430/http://www.gaffneyledger.com/news/2005-05-09/AP_News/151.html|archive-date=16 January 2014|access-date=10 February 2023}}

{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/23/national/nationalspecial3/23code.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0 |title=Commandos Get Duty on U.S. Soil |newspaper=New York Times |author=Eric Schmitt |date=2005-01-23 |access-date=2013-09-19}}

{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29414-2005Jan22.html |title=Secret Unit Expands Rumsfeld's Domain |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2005-01-23 |access-date=2013-09-19}}

{{cite book |last=Neville |first=Leigh |title=Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan |url=https://archive.org/details/specialoperation00nevi_571 |url-access=limited |year=2008 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1846033100 |page=[https://archive.org/details/specialoperation00nevi_571/page/n9 8]}}

{{cite web|url=https://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3_05_01.pdf |title=Joint Special Operations Task Force Operations |date=26 April 2007 |page= GP-15 (Glossary page) |access-date=2013-09-19}}

{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Michael |title=Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ3GGvnbn2AC |access-date=28 September 2013 |year=2008 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=978-0312378264 |page=332}}

{{cite book|last=North|first=Oliver|title=American Heroes in Special Operations|year=2010|publisher=B&H Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8054-4712-5 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CODVISdxxssC&q=jsoc&pg=PA9}}

[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/dod/jsoc.htm GlobalSecurity.org JSOC entry]

{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/mar/15/20040315-122940-5507r/ |title=Agencies unite to find bin Laden |work=Washington Times |author=Rowan Scarborough |date=15 March 2004 |access-date=15 March 2009}}

{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/bin-laden-killed/ |title=Graphic: Osama bin Laden killed at compound in Pakistan |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2011-05-05 |access-date=2013-09-30}}

{{cite book|last=Collins|first=John M.|title=Special Operations Forces: An Assessment |date=November 1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aL0ltwFwm8gC |pages=69–71 |publisher=Diane Publishing |edition=Nov 1, 1994 |isbn=1410223140}}

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{{US Special Operations Forces}}

Category:Special Operations Forces of the United States

Category:Military terminology