The United States military definition in theDepartment of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms comes fromJoint Publication 3-05.1 – Joint Special Operations Task Force Operations (JP 3-05.1).[3] 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".[4]
The U.S. government does not acknowledge which units specifically are designated as special missions units,[5] only that they have special mission units within theJoint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which is part ofU.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). In the early 1990s commander in chief of SOCOM, GeneralCarl Stiner, identified bothDelta Force andSEAL Team Six as permanently assigned special mission units in congressional testimony and public statements.[6] In 1998,Under Secretary of Defense for PolicyWalter B. Slocombe publicly referred to special mission units during a briefing to theSenate 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 ofweapons of mass destruction. These units are on alert every day of the year and have worked extensively with their interagency counterparts."[7]
The Army'sIntelligence Support Activity, officially identified only by a series of code names that are replaced every two years.[17] Originally tasked by the Army and subordinate toINSCOM, they were placed under JSOC after theSeptember 11 attacks. JSOC color-coded as Task Force Orange.[18][8]
The Army'sAsymmetric Warfare Group, which was deactivated in 2021, was referred to as a special mission unit by the Army.[20][21][22] Though subordinate toTRADOC, many of AWG's subject-matter experts were former JSOC members.[22]
The SASR currently has foursabre squadrons, known as 1, 2, 3 and 4 squadron.[24] The first two squadrons rotate through the two roles performed by the regiment; 1 Squadron conducts thecounter 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 theAustralian Secret Intelligence Service.[25]
On October 22, 2015, 30 U.S. special operations forces consisting of members ofDelta Force, aviators from the160th SOAR, paramilitary officers from the CIA's Special Activities Center and along with members of theKurdish Counter-terrorism unitPeshmerga, conducted a raid on anISIS prison compound north of the town ofHawija in Iraq'sKirkuk province which resulted in the liberation of approximately 70 hostages, including more than 20 members of theIraqi Security Forces who were to be executed and buried in freshly dug graves.[28] The operation left one Delta operator dead,MSGJoshua Wheeler, the first American to be killed by ISIS insurgents and the first American to bekilled in Action in Iraq since November 2011.[29][30]SGMThomas Payne, then aSFC, was awarded theMedal of Honor on September 11, 2020, for his actions that day.[31][32]
Between October 26 and 27, 2019, inBarisha,Idlib Governorate, Syria, members of1st SFOD-D (Delta Force) along with paramilitary officers from the CIA's Special Activities Center, Army Rangers from the75th Ranger Regiment and aviators from the160th SOAR conducted a raid that resulted in thedeath of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[33] The raid was named Operation Kayla Mueller after American human rights activist and humanitarian aid workerKayla Mueller, who was captured in Syria, tortured, and eventually killed byISIL 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.[34]
^"Asymmetric Warfare Group".www.army.mil. 2010-04-07. Retrieved2024-10-04.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.
.svg)
United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)