TheUnited States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive serviceheadgear, is a branch of theUnited States ArmySpecial Operations Command (USASOC).[9][10][11]
The core missionset of Special Forces contains five doctrinal missions:unconventional warfare,foreign internal defense,direct action,counterterrorism,[4] andspecial reconnaissance.[12] The unit emphasizes language, cultural, and training skills in working with foreign troops; recruits are required to learn a foreign language as part of their training and must maintain knowledge of the political, economic, and cultural complexities of the regions in which they are deployed.[13] Other Special Forces missions, known as secondary missions, include combat search and rescue (CSAR),counter-narcotics, hostage rescue,humanitarian assistance, humanitariandemining,peacekeeping, andmanhunts. Other components of theUnited States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) or other U.S. government activities may also specialize in these secondary missions.[14] The Special Forces conduct these missions via five active duty groups, each with a geographic specialization; and two National Guard groups that share multiple geographic areas of responsibility.[15] Many of their operational techniques areclassified, but some nonfiction works[16] and doctrinal manuals are available.[17][18][19][20]
Special Forces have a longstanding and close relationship with theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA), tracing their lineage back to the agency's predecessors in theOSS andFirst Special Service Force. The CIA's highly secretiveSpecial Activities Center, and more specifically itsSpecial Operations Group (SOG), recruits from U.S. Army Special Forces.[21] Joint CIA–Army Special Forces operations go back to the unitMACV-SOG during theVietnam War,[22] and were seen as recently as thewar in Afghanistan (2001–2021).[23][24]
The primary mission of the Army Special Forces is to train and lead unconventional warfare (UW) forces, or a clandestine guerrilla force in an occupied nation.[25] The 10th Special Forces Group was the first deployed SF unit, intended to train and lead UW forces behind enemy lines in the event of aWarsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe.[26] As the U.S. became involved in Southeast Asia, it was realized that specialists trained to lead guerrillas could also help defend against hostile guerrillas, so SF acquired the additional mission ofForeign Internal Defense (FID), working with Host Nation (HN) forces in a spectrum ofcounter-guerrilla activities from indirect support to combat command.[27]
Special Forces personnel qualify both in advanced military skills and the regional languages and cultures of defined parts of the world. While they are best known for their unconventional warfare capabilities, they also undertake other missions that include direct action raids, peace operations, counter-proliferation, counter-drug advisory roles, and other strategic missions.[28] As strategic resources, they report either to USSOCOM or to a regionalUnified Combatant Command. To enhance their DA capability, specific units were created with a focus on the direct action side of special operations. First known as Commander's In-extremis Force, then Crisis Response Forces, they are now supplanted by Hard-Target Defeat companies which have been renamed Critical Threats Advisory Companies.[29][30][31][32]
SF team members work closely together and rely on one another under isolated circumstances for long periods of time, both during extended deployments and in garrison. SFnon-commissioned officers (NCO) often spend their entire careers in Special Forces, rotating among assignments to detachments, higher staffbillets,liaison positions, and instructor duties at the U.S. ArmyJohn F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. With the creation of USSOCOM, SF commanders have risen to the highest ranks of U.S. Army command, including command ofUSSOCOM, theArmy's Chief of Staff, and theChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[33]
In 1951, Major GeneralRobert A. McClure chose former World War Two OSS member ColonelAaron Bank as Operations Branch Chief of the Special Operations Division of the Psychological Warfare Staff in the Pentagon.[34][35] In June 1952 the10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was formed under Bank, soon after the establishment of the Psychological Warfare School, which eventually becameJohn F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was then split with the cadre that kept the designation 10th SFG deployed toBad Tölz, Germany, in September 1953; and again with the establishment ofDetachment A in 1956. The remaining part atFort Bragg formed the 77th Special Forces Group, which in May 1960 was reorganized and designated as today's 7th Special Forces Group.[36]
Since their establishment in 1952, Special Forces soldiers have operated inVietnam, Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam, Guatemala, Nicaragua,El Salvador,Colombia,Panama, Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo,1st Gulf War,Afghanistan,Iraq, the Philippines,Syria,Yemen, Niger and, in aFID role,East Africa.[37]
The Special Forces branch was established as a basic branch of the United States Army on 9 April 1987 by Department of the Army General Order No. 35.[38]
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In 1957 the two original Special Forces groups (10th and 77th) were joined by the 1st SFG, stationed in the Far East. Additional groups were formed in 1961 and 1962 after PresidentJohn F. Kennedy visited the Special Forces at Fort Bragg in 1961.[39] The 5th SFG was activated on 21 September 1961; the 8th SFG on 1 April 1963; the 6th SFG on 1 May 1963; and the 3rd SFG on 5 December 1963.[40] In addition, there have been seven Reserve groups (2nd SFG, 9th SFG, 11th SFG, 12th SFG, 13th SFG, 17th SFG, and 24th SFG) and four National Guard groups (16th SFG, 19th SFG, 20th SFG, and 21st SFG). A 4th SFG, 14th SFG, 15th SFG, 18th SFG, 22nd SFG, and 23rd SFG were in existence at some point.[41] Many of these groups were not fully staffed and most were deactivated around 1966.[49]
In the early twenty-first century, Special Forces are divided into fiveactive duty and twoArmy National Guard (ARNG) Special Forces groups. Each Special Forces Group (SFG) has a specific regional focus. The Special Forces soldiers assigned to these groups receive intensive language and cultural training for countries within their regional area of responsibility.[50] Due to the increased need for Special Forces soldiers in thewar on terror, all groups—including those of the National Guard (19th and 20th SFGs)—have been deployed outside of their areas of operation, particularly toIraq andAfghanistan. A recently released report showed Special Forces as perhaps the most deployed SOF under USSOCOM, with many soldiers, regardless of group, serving up to 75% of their careers overseas, almost all of which had been to Iraq and Afghanistan.[citation needed]
Until 2014, an SF group has consisted of threebattalions, but since the Department of Defense has authorized the1st Special Forces Command to increase its authorized strength by one third, a fourth battalion was activated in each active component group.[51]
A Special Forces group is historically assigned to aUnified Combatant Command or atheater of operations. The Special Forces Operational Detachment C or C-detachment (SFODC) is responsible for a theater or a major subcomponent, which can provide command and control of up to 18 SFODAs, three SFODB, or a mixture of the two. Subordinate to it is the Special Forces Operational Detachment Bs or B-detachments (SFODB), which can provide command and control for six SFODAs. Further subordinate, the SFODAs typically raise company- to battalion-sized units when on unconventional warfare missions. They can form six-man "split A" detachments that are often used forspecial reconnaissance.[52]
| Beret Flash | Group |
|---|---|
 | 1st Special Forces Group – Headquartered atJoint Base Lewis–McChord,Washington along with its 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Battalions, its 1st Battalion is forward deployed atTorii Station,Okinawa. The 1st SFG(A) is oriented towards the Pacific region, and is often tasked byPACOM. |
 | 3rd Special Forces Group – Headquartered atFort Bragg, North Carolina. The 3rd SFG(A) is theoretically oriented towards all ofSub-Saharan Africa with the exception of the EasternHorn of Africa, i.e.United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). |
 | 5th Special Forces Group – Headquartered atFort Campbell,Kentucky. The 5th SFG(A) is oriented towards theMiddle East,Persian Gulf,Central Asia and theHorn of Africa (HOA), and is frequently tasked byCENTCOM. |
 | 7th Special Forces Group – Headquartered atEglin Air Force Base, Florida. The 7th SFG(A) is oriented towards the western hemisphere: the land mass ofLatin America south ofMexico, the waters adjacent toCentral America andSouth America, theCaribbean Sea—with its 13 island nations, European and U.S. territories—theGulf of Mexico, and a portion of theAtlantic Ocean (i.e. theUSSOUTHCOM AOR and a little more). Although not aligned, the 7SFG(A) has also supportedUSNORTHCOM activities within the western hemisphere. |
 | 10th Special Forces Group – Headquartered atFort Carson,Colorado along with its 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions, its 1st Battalion is forward deployed in thePanzer Kaserne (Panzer Barracks) inBöblingen nearStuttgart, Germany. The 10th SFG(A) is theoretically oriented towardsEurope, mainlyCentral andEastern Europe, theBalkans,Turkey,Israel,Lebanon, andNorthern Africa, i.e.EUCOM. |
 | 19th Special Forces Group – One of twoNational Guard Special Forces Groups. Headquartered inDraper, Utah, with companies inWashington,West Virginia,Ohio,Rhode Island,Colorado,California, andTexas, the 19th SFG(A) is oriented towardsSouthwest Asia (shared with 5th SFG(A)),Europe (shared with 10th SFG(A)), as well asSoutheast Asia (shared with 1st SFG(A)). |
 | 20th Special Forces Group – One of twoNational Guard Special Forces Groups. Headquartered inBirmingham, Alabama, with battalions in Alabama (1st Battalion),Mississippi (2nd Battalion), andFlorida (3rd Battalion), with assigned Companies and Detachments inNorth Carolina;Chicago, Illinois;Louisville, Kentucky;Western Massachusetts; andBaltimore, Maryland. The 20th SFG(A) has an area of responsibility (AOR) covering 32 countries, includingLatin America south ofMexico, the waters, territories, and nations in theCaribbean Sea, theGulf of Mexico, and the southwesternAtlantic Ocean. Orientation towards the region is shared with 7th SFG(A). |
| Inactive Groups | |
 | 6th Special Forces Group – Active from 1963 to 1971. Based atFort Bragg, North Carolina. Assigned toSouthwest Asia (Iraq,Iran, etc.) andSoutheast Asia. Many of the 103 originalSon tay raider volunteers were from 6SFGA. |
 | 8th Special Forces Group – Active from 1963 to 1972. Responsible for training armies ofLatin America incounterinsurgency tactics. |
 | 11th Special Forces Group (U.S. Army Reserve) – Active from 1961 to 1994. |
 | 12th Special Forces Group (U.S. Army Reserve) – Active from 1961 to 1994. |
The SFODC, or "C-Team", is the headquarters element of a Special Forces battalion. As such, it is acommand and control unit with operations, training, signals, and logistic support responsibilities to its three subordinate line companies. Alieutenant colonel commands the battalion as well as the C-Team, and the BattalionCommand Sergeant Major is the senior NCO of the battalion and the C-Team. There are an additional 20–30 SF personnel who fill key positions in operations, logistics, intelligence, communications, and medical. A Special Forces battalion usually consists of four companies: "A", "B", "C", and Headquarters/Support.[53][54]
The ODB, or "B-Team", is the headquarters element of a Special Forces company, and it is usually composed of 11–13 soldiers. While the A-team typically conducts direct operations, the purpose of the B-Team is to support the company's A-Teams both in garrison and in the field.[citation needed] The B-Teams are numbered similarly to A-Teams (see below), but the fourth number in the sequence is a 0. For example, ODB 5210 would be 5th Special Forces Group, 2nd Battalion, A Company's ODB.[54]
The ODB is led by an 18A, usually a major, who is thecompany commander (CO). The CO is assisted by his companyexecutive officer (XO), another 18A, usually a captain. The XO is himself assisted by a company technician, a 180A, generally, achief warrant officer three, who assists in the direction of the organization, training, intelligence, counter-intelligence, and operations for the company and its detachments. The company commander is assisted by a senior non-commissioned officer, an 18Z, usually asergeant major. A second 18Z acts as the operations sergeant, usually amaster sergeant, who assists the XO and technician in their operational duties. He has an 18F assistant operations sergeant, who is usually asergeant first class. The company's support comes from an 18D medical sergeant, usually a sergeant first class, and two 18E communications sergeants, usually a sergeant first class and astaff sergeant.[52]
Support positions as part of the ODB/B Team within an SF Company are as follows:
A Special Forces company normally consists of six Operational Detachments-A (ODA or "A-Teams").[55][56] Each ODA specializes in an infiltration skill or a particular mission-set (e.g.military free fall (HALO),combat diving,mountain warfare, maritime operations, etc.). Each ODA Team's number is unique. Prior to 2007, the number typically consisted of three digits, reflecting the Group, the specific ODB within the battalion, and the specific ODA within the company.[54] Starting in 2007, the number sequence was changed to a four-digit format. The first digit would specify group (1=1st SFG, 3=3rd SFG, 5=5th SF, 7=7th SFG, 0=10th SFG, 9=19th SFG, 2=20th SFG). The second digit would be 1-4 for 1st through 4th Battalion. The third digit would be 1-3 for A to C Companies. The fourth digit would be 1-6 for the particular team within that company. For example, ODA 1234 would signify the fourth ODA in Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group.[54]
An ODA consists of 12 soldiers, each of whom has a specific function (MOS orMilitary Occupational Specialty) on the team; however, all members of an ODA conductcross-training. The ODA is led by an 18A (Detachment Commander), acaptain, and a 180A (Assistant Detachment Commander) who is their second in command, usually aWarrant Officer One or Chief Warrant Officer Two. The team also includes the following enlisted soldiers: one 18Z (Operations Sergeant) (known as the "Team Sergeant"), usually a Master Sergeant, one 18F (Assistant Operations and Intelligence Sergeant), usually a Sergeant First Class, and two each, 18Bs (Weapons Sergeant), 18Cs (Engineer Sergeant), 18Ds (Medical Sergeant), and 18Es (Communications Sergeant), usually Sergeants First Class, Staff Sergeants, or Sergeants. This organization facilitates 6-man "split team" operations, redundancy, and mentoring between a senior NCO and their junior assistant.[57]
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The basic eligibility requirements to be considered for entry into the Special Forces for existing service members are:
For officers, the requirements are:
The Special Forces soldier trains on a regular basis over the course of their entire career. The initial formal training program for entry into Special Forces is divided into four phases collectively known as the Special Forces Qualification Course or, informally, the "Q Course". The length of the Q Course changes depending on the applicant's primary job field within Special Forces and their assigned foreign language capability, but will usually last between 55 and 95 weeks. After successfully completing the Special Forces Qualification Course, Special Forces soldiers are then eligible for many advanced skills courses. These include, but are not limited to, theMilitary Free Fall Parachutist Course, theCombat Diver Qualification Course, the Special Operations Combat Medic Course,[61] the Special Forces Sniper Course,[62] among others.[20]
In 1981 Capt. Kathleen Wilder became the first woman to qualify for the Green Berets. She was told she had failed a field exercise just before graduation, but she filed a sex discrimination complaint, and it was determined that she "had been wrongly denied graduation." Wilder, a former military intelligence officer, was ultimately allowed to wear the Special Forces Tab when it was created in 1983, and continued to do so over her 28-year career until she retired as a lieutenant colonel.Army Times reported that in July 2020, the first woman to complete the Army Special Forces Qualification Course graduated and moved on to a Green Beret team.[63][64][65][66][67][68]
U.S. Army Special Forces adopted thegreen beret unofficially in 1954 after searching for headgear that would set them visually apart. Members of the 77th SFG began searching through their accumulated berets and settled on the rifle green color from CaptainMiguel de la Peña's collection; since 1942 theBritish Commandos had permeated the use of green on berets of specialist forces, and many current international military organisations followed this practice. Captain Frank Dallas had the new beret designed and produced in small numbers for the members of the 10th & 77th Special Forces Groups.[78]
Their new headdress was first worn at a retirement parade atFort Bragg on 12 June 1955 for Major GeneralJoseph P. Cleland, the now-former commander of theXVIII Airborne Corps. Onlookers thought that the operators were a foreign delegation fromNATO. In 1956 GeneralPaul D. Adams, the post commander at Fort Bragg, banned the wearing of the distinctive headdress,[79] although members of the Special Forces continued to wear it surreptitiously.[80] This was reversed on 25 September 1961 by Department of the Army Message 578636, which designated the green beret as the exclusive headdress of the Army Special Forces.[81]
In 1961, PresidentJohn F. Kennedy authorized them for use exclusively by the U.S. Special Forces. Preparing for a 12 October visit to the Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the president sent word to the center's commander, ColonelWilliam P. Yarborough, for all Special Forces soldiers to wear green berets as part of the event. The president felt that since they had a special mission, Special Forces should have something to set them apart from the rest. In 1962, he called the green beret "a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom."[78]
Forrest Lindley, a writer for the newspaperStars and Stripes who served with Special Forces in Vietnam said of Kennedy's authorization: "It was President Kennedy who was responsible for the rebuilding of the Special Forces and giving us back our Green Beret. People were sneaking around wearing [them] when conventional forces weren't in the area and it was sort of a cat and mouse game. Then Kennedy authorized the Green Beret as a mark of distinction, everybody had to scramble around to find berets that were really green. We were bringing them down from Canada. Some were handmade, with the dye coming out in the rain."[82]
Kennedy's actions created a special bond with the Special Forces, with specific traditions carried out since his funeral when a sergeant in charge of a detail of Special Forces soldiers guarding the grave placed his beret on the coffin.[82] The moment was repeated at a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of JFK's death – GeneralMichael D. Healy (ret.), the last commander of Special Forces in Vietnam and later a commander of theJohn F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, spoke atArlington National Cemetery, after which a wreath in the form of a green beret was placed on Kennedy's grave.[82]
A silver colored metal and enamel device1+1⁄8 inches (2.9 cm) in height consisting of a pair of silver arrows insaltire, points up and is surmounted at their junction by theV-42 stiletto silver dagger with black handle point up; all over and between a black motto scroll arcing to the base and inscribed "DE OPPRESSO LIBER" in silver letters.[83]
The insignia is the crossed arrow collar insignia (insignia of the branch) of theFirst Special Service Force, World War II combined with the fighting knife which is of a distinctive shape and pattern only issued to the First Special Service Force. The motto is translated as "From Oppression We Will Liberate Them."[83]
The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 8 July 1960. The insignia of the 1st Special Forces was authorized to be worn by personnel of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) and its subordinate units on 7 March 1991. The wear of the insignia by the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) and its subordinate units was canceled and it was authorized to be worn by personnel of the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) and their subordinate units which were not authorized a distinctive unit insignia in their own right and amended to change the symbolism on 27 October 2016.[83]
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Theshoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) of the1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) is worn by all those assigned to the command and its subordinate units who have not been authorized their own SSI, such as the Special Forces Groups. According to theU.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, the shape and items depicted in the SSI have special meaning: "The arrowhead alludes to the American Indian's basic skills in which Special Forces personnel are trained to a high degree. The dagger represents the unconventional nature of Special Forces operations, and the three lightning flashes, their ability to strike rapidly by Sea, Air or Land." Army Special Forces were the first Special Operations unit to employ the "sea, air, land" concept nearly a decade before units like theNavy SEALs were created.[84]
Before the 1st Special Forces Command SSI was established, the Special Forces groups that stood up between 1952 and 1955 wore the Airborne Command SSI. According to the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, the Airborne Command SSI was reinstated on 10 April 1952—after being disbanded in 1947—and authorized for wear by certain classified units[85]—such as the newly formed 10th and 77th Special Forces Groups—until the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) SSI was established on 22 August 1955.[84]
Introduced in June 1983, theSpecial Forces Tab is a service school qualification tab awarded to soldiers who complete one of theSpecial Forces Qualification Courses. Unlike the Green Beret, soldiers who are awarded the Special Forces Tab are authorized to wear it for the remainder of their military careers, even when not serving with an Army Special Forces unit. The cloth tab is a teal blue colored arc tab3+1⁄4 inches (8.3 cm) in length and11⁄16 inch (1.7 cm) in height overall, the designation "SPECIAL FORCES" in gold-yellow letters5⁄16 inch (0.79 cm) in height and is worn on the left sleeve of utility uniforms above a unit'sShoulder Sleeve Insignia and below thePresident's Hundred Tab (if so awarded). The metal Special Forces Tab replica comes in two sizes, full and dress miniature. The full size version measures5⁄8 inch (1.6 cm) in height and1+9⁄16 inches (4.0 cm) in width. The miniature version measures1⁄4 inch (0.64 cm) in height and 1 inch (2.5 cm) in width. Both are teal blue with yellow border trim and letters and are worn above or below ribbons or medals on theArmy Service Uniform.[86][87][88]
During the Vietnam War, the Green Berets of the 5th Special Forces Group wanted camouflage clothing to be made inTigerstripe. So they contracted with Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian producers to make fatigues and other items such asboonie hats using tigerstripe fabric. When Tigerstripes made a comeback in the 21st century, they were used by Green Berets forOPFOR drills.
From 1981 to the mid-2000s, they had worn theBattle Dress Uniform.
Since thewar on terror, they have wornUniversal Camouflage Pattern but phased that out in favor ofMultiCam andOperational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) uniforms.
This knife was designed and built byBill Harsey Jr. in collaboration withChris Reeve Knives. Starting in 2002, all graduates of the qualification course were awarded a Yarborough knife, designed by Bill Harsey and named after Lt. Gen.William Yarborough, considered the father of the modern Special Forces. All knives awarded are individually serial-numbered, and all awardees' names are recorded in a special logbook.[89]
During the Green Berets' missions in other nations, they would useGround Mobility Vehicle (GMV)-SHumvees made byAM General for various uses. While usingpurpose built technicals for patrol on rugged terrain which would help preserve theclandestine nature of their missions. They have also had access to theGeneral DynamicsM1288 GMV 1.1 variant of theArmy Ground Mobility Vehicle as well as theOshkoshM-ATV Special Forces variantMRAPs.
For aircraft other than the ones used by the US military and its special forces/special operations forces units, they extensively used the CIA-operatedMi-8 andMi-17 variants of thosemilitary helicopters in Afghanistan during the initial stages ofOperation Enduring Freedom.[90]
In countries other than the U.S., the term "special forces" or "special operations forces" (SOF) is often used generically to refer to any units with elite training and special mission sets. In the U.S. military, "Special Forces" is a proper (capitalized) noun referring exclusively to U.S. Army Special Forces (a.k.a. "The Green Berets").[55] The media and popular culture frequently misapply the term toNavy SEALs and other members of theU.S. Special Operations Forces.[91] As a result, the terms USSF and, less commonly, USASF have been used to specify United States Army Special Forces.[92][93][94]
The term "Operator" pre-dates American Special Operations and can be found in books referring to French Special Operations as far back as WWII. Examples includeA Savage War of Peace[95] byAlistair Horne andThe Centurions[96] byJean Larteguy.
The origin of the termoperator in American special operations comes from the U.S. Army Special Forces. The Army Special Forces were established in 1952, ten years before the Navy SEALs, and 25 years beforeDelta Force. Every other modern U.S. special operations unit in theArmy,Navy,Air Force, andMarines was established after 1977. InVeritas: Journal of Army Special Operations History, Charles H. Briscoe states that the Army "Special Forces did not misappropriate the appellation. Unbeknownst to most members of the Army Special Operations Force community, that moniker was adopted by the Special Forces in the mid-1950s." He goes on to state that all qualified enlisted and officers in Special Forces had to "voluntarily subscribe to the provisions of the 'Code of the Special Forces Operator' and pledge themselves to its tenets by witnessed signature." This pre-dates every other special operations unit that currently uses the term/title operator.[97]
Inside theUnited States Special Operations community, anoperator is aDelta Force member who has completed selection and has graduated the Operators Training Course.[citation needed]Operator was used by Delta Force to distinguish between operational and non-operational personnel assigned to the unit.[23]: 325 Otherspecial operations forces use specific names for their jobs, such as ArmyRangers and Air ForcePararescuemen. The Navy uses the acronymSEAL for both their special warfare teams and their individual members, who are also known asSpecial Operators. In 2006 the Navy created"Special Warfare Operator" as a rating specific to Naval Special Warfare enlisted personnel, grades E-4 to E-9 (seeNavy special warfare ratings).[98]Operator is the specific term for operational personnel, and has become a colloquial term for almost all special operations forces in the U.S. military, as well as around the world.[97]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
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| United States Army USASOC |
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| United States Marine Corps MARSOC |
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| United States Navy NAVSPECWARCOM |
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| United States Air Force AFSOC |
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| Special mission units JSOC |
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