Using rare and previously unpublished images from around the world, The Elite: The A-Z of Modern Special Operations Forces is the ultimate guide to the secretive world of modern special operations forces. It sends the reader back in time to operations such as Eagle Claw in Iran and the recapture of the Iranian Embassy in London and then forward to recent operations against al-Shabaab and Islamic State. Entries also detail units ranging from the New Zealand SAS Group to the Polish GROM, and key individuals from Iraq counter-terrorism strategist General Stanley McChrystal to Victoria Cross recipient SASR Corporal Mark Donaldson. Answering questions such as how much the latest four-tube night vision goggles worn by the SEALs in Zero Dark Thirty cost, which pistol is most widely employed by special operators around the world and why, and if SOF still use HALO jumps, this book is the definitive single-source guide to the world's elite special forces.
Special Forces forward operational bases (FOB) are essential for mission and contingency planning as well as for the preparation, infiltration and exfiltration of Operational Detachment Alphas (ODA). Therefore, the defense of this command and control headquarters is critical for preserving combat power and synchronizing military actions in a theater of operations. Because the enemy has the capability of projecting forces with the objective of disrupting US military operations, FOBs have become likely targets. According to SF doctrine, FOBs should be located in secure areas with MP or host-nation personnel providing the bulk of the security force. Although this situation is preferable, it is by no means assured. FOBs should be able to provide their own security in the event other forces are not available or when rapid deployment restricts the flow of conventional forces into a theater of operations. After-action review results from the Joint Readiness Training Center demonstrate that many SF battalions are not prepared to execute base defense tasks without the assistance of other forces. Many SF commanders do not consider base defense a mission essential task and the result is a lack of training by many of their personnel. This study analyzes joint and SF doctrine, observations from the field, and the effects of the contemporary operating environment to identify weaknesses in the readiness of SF battalions.
There is today a burgeoning discussion in the literature as to what really constitutes a "special operation," what makes the forces that conduct them "special," whether these aspects are so different from conventional military operations and forces as to warrant their own theory, and, if they do, what such a theory should be. This paper addresses an aspect of special operations that has yet to be explained adequately--the questions of why special operations are conducted. The answer lies in the consideration of risk. Because policy-makers are inherently reliant upon some form of popular support to maintain their positions of power, they are also inherently averse to taking risky actions. The centrality of risk to policy decisions leads directly to this definition: special operations are unorthodox military solutions to difficult policy problems that lower the level or risk to policy-makers. This definition leads to a risk-centric theory of why special operations are conducted: if policy-makers have a difficult policy problem and they are unsatisfied with the level of risk presented by orthodox solutions or inaction, then they will choose special operations. After deriving this theory, this paper evaluates it, applies it to the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan, and discusses implications of the theory for the future of US special operations forces.
Within weeks of 9/11, United States Special Operations Forces were dropping into Afghanistan to lead the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. For over a decade special forces have been fighting a hidden war in Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Somalia, Mali and Afghanistan, facing off against a range of insurgents from organisations like al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Boko Haram and the Taliban. Leigh Neville draws on recently declassified material and first-hand-accounts from his SOF contacts to lift the veil of secrecy from these operations, giving an unprecedented blow-by-blow description of major Special Forces operations, culminating in SEAL Team 6's Operation Neptune Spear and the killing of Osama bin Laden. Detailing the special equipment, tactics, machinery and training that these Special Operatives received and used this impressive volume shows how the world's elite soldiers fought against overwhelming odds around the world.
This book looks at the Special Operations Forces (SOF), which are small, elite military units with special training and equipment that can infiltrate into hostile territory through land, sea, or air to conduct a variety of operations, many of them classified. SOF personnel undergo rigorous selection and lengthy specialised training. The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)oversees the training, doctrine, and equipping of all U.S. SOF units. USSOCOM has about 54,000 Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve personnel from all four Services and Department of Defense (DOD) civilians assigned to its headquarters, its four components, and one sub-unified command. Special Operations Forces (SOF) also play a significant role in U.S. military operations and the Administration has given U.S. SOF greater responsibility for planning and conducting world-wide counter-terrorism operations. The merits of cross-border raids and possible equipment and logistical support shortfalls, which are potential policy issues for congressional consideration, are examined in this book as well. This book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.
This monograph examines the role of the special operations forces as a component of the United States Army war fighting system described by FM 100-5, 'Operations, ' as AirLand Battle Doctrine. The impetus for this monograph was a lack of recent literary effort examining the relationship between special operations forces and major military operations and campaigns on the mid and high intensity battlefield. The lack of recent interest by military writers coupled with minimal SOF play in the war games developed at the Combined Arms Center for use by the School of Advanced Military Studies, and a demonstrated lack of understanding of the role of special operations forces as a supporting arm in the global was scenarios played by SAMS students, dictates the need for an examination of this subject. Teh monograph explores the theoretical basis for the integration of SOF into campaign plans, establishes a historical basis for the link between SOF operations and the major efforts of conventional forces in the main battle area, and explores current joint and US Army doctrine for incorporation of SOF into campaign plans for mid- and high-intensity battle.
In General Terms, Terrain And Weather Constitute The Basic Setting For All Military Operations. These Physical Conditions Significantly Affect The Movement, Employment And Protection Of Units In Campaigns And Battles. In This Book The Body Of Information Concerning The Doctrine, Tactics, Techniques And Prosedures Employed In Ground Combat Are Discussed.