Special mission unit

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The terms Tier One Special Mission Unit and Special Missions Unit (SMU) are used, particularly in the United States, to describe some highly secretive and elite military special operations forces. [1] Special mission units have been involved in high-profile military operations, such as the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Contents

United States

Emblem of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command. Seal of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).svg
Emblem of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command.

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). [2] 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." [3]

The U.S. government does not acknowledge which units specifically are designated as special missions units, [4] 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 then–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. [5] 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 (WMD). These units are on alert every day of the year and have worked extensively with their interagency counterparts." [6]

List of United States military SMUs

As of 2023, the U.S. military has publicly acknowledged five units as Special Mission Units:

Australia

The Australian Army's elite Special Air Service Regiment are described as being "special missions units with unique capabilities within the Australian Defence Force". [18] 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". [18]

The SASR currently has four sabre squadrons, known as 1, 3 and 4 Squadron. [19] The first two squadrons rotate through the two roles performed by the Regiment; one 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. [20]

Notable operations

An Iraqi-American military interpreter pictured with Saddam shortly after his capture. SaddamSpiderHole.jpg
An Iraqi-American military interpreter pictured with Saddam shortly after his capture.

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The history of the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) regiment of the British Army begins with its formation during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, and continues to the present day. It includes its early operations in North Africa, the Greek Islands, and the Invasion of Italy. The Special Air Service then returned to the United Kingdom and was formed into a brigade with two British, two French and one Belgian regiment, and went on to conduct operations in France, Italy again, the Low Countries and finally into Germany.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War</span> Special operations unit

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Operation Marlborough was the code name of a mission carried out by M Squadron Special Boat Service. The mission involved an SBS team from Task Force Black, in Baghdad, Iraq, on 23 July 2005 with support the Special Air Service and U.S. military assets.

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References

  1. ↑ Roblin, Sebastien (19 October 2019). "Dream of Becoming a Navy Seal or Part of Delta Force? Here Is the Ultimate Guide to U.S. Special Forces". The National Interest .
  2. ↑ Article title
  3. ↑ "Joint Special Operations Task Force Operations" (PDF). 26 April 2007. p. GP-15 (Glossary page). Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Secret Unit Expands Rumsfeld's Domain". The Washington Post . 2005-01-23. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  5. ↑ Collins, John M. (November 1994). Special Operations Forces: An Assessment (Nov 1, 1994 ed.). Diane Publishing. pp. 69–71. ISBN   1410223140.
  6. 1 2 Eric Schmitt (2005-01-23). "Commandos Get Duty on U.S. Soil". New York Times . Retrieved 2013-09-19.
  7. ↑ North, Oliver (2010). American Heroes in Special Operations. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-8054-4712-5.
  8. 1 2 3 "The most secret of secret units". The Week. 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  9. 1 2 3 Neville, Leigh (2008). Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan . Osprey Publishing. p.  8. ISBN   978-1846033100.
  10. ↑ Smith, Michael (2008). Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 332. ISBN   978-0312378264 . Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "In high demand, Air Force commandos must find new ways to cope with stress of duty". Gaffney Ledger. 9 May 2005. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  12. ↑ [7] [8] [6] [4] [9] [10] [11]
  13. 1 2 GlobalSecurity.org JSOC entry
  14. 1 2 Rowan Scarborough (15 March 2004). "Agencies unite to find bin Laden". Washington Times . Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  15. ↑ [13] [8] [4] [9] [14]
  16. ↑ [13] [8] [4] [9] [14]
  17. ↑ "AORG-STB MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD SUBJECT: Career Opportunity in Special Mission Unit" (PDF). 2011-10-04. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023.
  18. 1 2 "Special Air Service Regiment". Australian Army. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  19. ↑ Lee (2007), p. 95.
  20. ↑ Epstein, Rafael; Welch, Dylan. "Secret SAS teams hunt for terrorists". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  21. ↑ "Saddam Hussein Captured". US: ABC News. January 6, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Graphic: Osama bin Laden killed at compound in Pakistan". The Washington Post. 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  23. ↑ Thomas Gibbons-Neff (October 24, 2015). "Helmet camera footage shows joint U.S. Delta Force-Kurdish raid to rescue Islamic State hostages". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  24. ↑ Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube (October 23, 2015). "Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, U.S. Commando Killed in ISIS Raid, Ran to Gunfight". nbcnews.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  25. ↑ Jim Miklaszewski, Richard Engel and Alastair Jamieson (October 22, 2015). "U.S. Special Operations Forces Commando Killed in ISIS Hostage Rescue". nbcnews.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  26. ↑ "SERGEANT MAJOR THOMAS P. PAYNE, MEDAL OF HONOR, OPERATION INHERNT RESOLVE". army.mil. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  27. ↑ Katie lange (October 19, 2020). "Medal of Honor Monday: Sgt. Maj. Thomas 'Patrick' Payne". defense.gov. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  28. ↑ Pompeo, Michael R. (27 October 2019). "On the Death of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi" (Press release). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  29. ↑ Luis Martinez (February 4, 2020). "U.S. Special operations forces raid a compound that resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi". US: ABC News . Retrieved October 4, 2020.
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