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Wikipedia

Joint Special Operations Command

May 08, 2023

The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equipment standardization; to plan and conduct special operations exercises and training; to develop joint special operations tactics; and to execute special operations missions worldwide. It was established in 1980 on recommendation of Colonel Charlie Beckwith, in the aftermath of the failure of Operation Eagle Claw.[1] It is headquartered at Pope Field (Fort Bragg, North Carolina).

Joint Special Operations Command
Emblem of the Joint Special Operations Command
Founded15 December 1980
(42 years, 4 months ago)
Country United States
AllegianceUnited States of America
TypeSub-unified combatant command
RoleSpecial Operations Forces
SizeVaries depending on units attached
Part of Special Operations Command
United States Department of Defense
Garrison/HQFort Bragg, North Carolina
Nickname(s)JSOC
OperationsOperation Eagle Claw
Operation Urgent Fury
Operation Just Cause
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Provide Comfort
Operation Gothic Serpent
Operation Uphold Democracy
Bosnian War
Operation Allied Force
War on Terror
Websitehttps://www.socom.mil/Pages/jsoc.aspx
Commanders
CommanderVADM Frank M. Bradley, USN
Deputy CommanderMaj Gen Sean M. Farrell, USAF
Senior Enlisted AdvisorCSM Craig A. Bishop, USA

Overview

The JSOC is the "joint headquarters designed to study special operations requirements and techniques; ensure interoperability and equipment standardization; plan and conduct joint special operations exercises and training; develop joint special operations tactics."[citation needed] For this task, the Joint Communications Unit is tasked to ensure compatibility of communications systems and standard operating procedures of the different special operations units.

Special Mission Units

Further information: Special Mission Unit

The Joint Special Operations Command also oversees the Special Mission Units of U.S. Special Operations Command. These are elite special operations forces units that perform highly classified activities.[2][3][4] So far, the following four JSOC units are known, each has an internal task force color code:[citation needed]

Additionally, a USASOC unit, the Army Rangers' Regimental Reconnaissance Company (RRC), had been referred to as an SMU in a 2011 career posting.[6] (Task Force Red)

The Intelligence Support Activity's primary role is as a deep reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering special mission unit, in support of DEVGRU and Delta Force. Delta Force and DEVGRU are the military's primary counter-terrorism units, eliminating high-value targets and performing hostage rescues are their main roles, along with special reconnaissance and direct action assignments. The 24th Special Tactics Squadron attaches personnel as enablers to these two units such as Combat Controllers to provide air traffic control and fire support, Pararescuemen to provide combat medicine and combat search and rescue, and Tactical Air Control Party specialists to co-ordinate close air support. The Joint Communications Unit provides communications capabilities. Units from the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Task Force Brown) are controlled by JSOC when deployed as part of JSOC Task Forces such as Task Force 121 and Task Force 145.[7][8][9]

JSOC has an operational relationship with the CIA's Special Activities Center (SAC).[10] SAC's Special Operations Group (SOG) often recruits from JSOC SMU personnel.[11]

Advanced Force Operations

Advanced Force Operations (AFO) is a term used by the U.S. Department of Defense to describe a task force that encompasses personnel from Delta Force, SEAL Team Six and the Regimental Reconnaissance Company. Many locations will have a mixture of operators from one of these 3 units working together as a small interoperable team. Although mainly a term in many cases used to describe a particular subset of Delta Force operators, the term "AFO" also was later known used to describe mixed Special Mission Unit elements doing long-range RECCE/long-range target interdiction operations, etc. According to Gen. Michael Repass, who conducted it in the Iraq War and was very familiar with its use in Afghanistan, "AFO consists of U.S. Secretary of Defense-approved military operations such as clandestine operations. It is logically part of the Operational Preparation of the Battlespace (OPB), which follows the Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace, a concept well-known in the U.S. and NATO doctrine, OPB is seldom used outside of SOF channels. OPB is defined by the U.S. Special Operations Command as "Non-intelligence activities conducted prior to D-Day, H-Hour, in likely or potential areas of employment, to train and prepare for follow-on military operations".[12]

In the Iraq War, Gen. Repass, who first commanded the 10th Special Forces Group, took control of a Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force, which used the 5th and 10th Groups to conduct AFO. AFO units were heavily involved in Operation Anaconda and Operation Viking Hammer.

JSO Package / Rotational Group

The Joint Special Operations Package / Rotational Group of the United States Special Operations Command consists of Tier 1 and Tier 2 U.S. Joint Special Operations Command units that train and deploy together.[citation needed] All Tier 1 and Tier 2 units maintain three separate operational groups within their respective units (The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd battalions of the 75th Ranger Regiment as an example).[13] These groups are essentially identical and deploy within their respective JSOC package. The rotational cycle is generally for three months. This allows one group to be deployed overseas, another to be on an 18-hour worldwide emergency deployment notice, and the last group to be training, attending military schools, or on "block leave." Tier 1 and Tier 2 units take leave together within their respective JSOC package. This term is called block leave. Given the wartime tasking of JSOC, an additional deployment package is currently being created.[citation needed] This will allow less operational strain on these units.

Security support

JSOC has provided domestic law enforcement agencies support during high-profile or high-risk events such as the Olympics, the World Cup, political party conventions, and Presidential inaugurations. Although the use of the military for Local law enforcement purposes in the U.S. is generally prohibited by the Posse Comitatus Act, Title 10 of the U.S. Code expressly allows the Secretary of Defense to make military personnel available to train Federal, State, and local civilian public safety officials in the operation and maintenance of equipment; and to provide such officials with expert advice.[14] Additionally, civilian and military lawyers said provisions in several federal statutes, including the Fiscal Year 2000 Defense Department Authorization Act, Public Law 106-65, permits the secretary of defense to authorize military forces to support civilian agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in the event of a national emergency, especially any involving nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons.[15]

In January 2005, a small group of commandos were deployed to support security at the Presidential inauguration. They were allegedly deployed under a secret counter-terrorism program named Power Geyser. The New York Times quoted a senior military official as saying, "They bring unique military and technical capabilities that often are centered around potential WMD events," A civil liberties advocate who was NOT the Constitutionally elected Civil Officer of the U.S. National Organizations but who was told about the program by a reporter said that he had no objections to the program as described to him because its scope appeared to be limited to supporting the counterterrorism efforts of civilian authorities.[15]

Operational history

Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan

According to the documentary Dirty Wars, by Jeremy Scahill, JSOC was responsible for a number of raids in Afghanistan. One among them took place in Gardez, initially reported by Jerome Starkey but later in other media as well. The then-current commander William McRaven visited the affected family, offered them a sheep in restitution, and apologized for the incident.[16] In the incident,[17] one US-trained Police commander and another man were killed, as were 3 women, 2 of whom were pregnant, while going to the men's aid.

How many other raids there were during this time, and before and since is difficult to count as JSOC answers only to the White House and not to the rest of the military.[citation needed] The secrecy around the number of raids could reasonably be counted in the hundreds since they started but only a mere few have been documented as well as the Gardez incident according to Scahill.[18][19]

Operation Iraqi Freedom

See also: Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War

In May 2003, elements of Task Force 20 (TF 20) remained in Iraq following the invasion and transitioned into hunting down high-value former Ba'athist insurgents under direct JSOC command. In July 2003, Task Force 5 (formerly Task Force 11) and Task Force 20 amalgamated to form Task Force 21 that was then renamed Task Force 121.[20][21]

On 11 January 2007, President Bush pledged in a major speech to "seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq."[22] Sometime in 2007, JSOC started conducting cross-border operations into Iran from southern Iraq with the CIA. These operations included seizing members of Al-Quds, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and taking them to Iraq for interrogation, as well as the pursuit, capture or killing of high-value targets in the war on terror. The Bush administration allegedly combined the CIA's intelligence operations and covert action with JSOC clandestine military operations so that Congress would only partially see how the money was spent.[23]

Operations in Pakistan

According to The Washington Post, JSOC's commander Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal operated in 2006 on the understanding with Pakistan that US units will not enter Pakistan except under extreme circumstances, and that Pakistan will deny giving them permission if exposed.[24]

That scenario happened according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), in January 2006, JSOC troops clandestinely entered the village of Saidgai, Pakistan, to hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Pakistan refused entry.[citation needed]

According to a November 2009 report in The Nation, JSOC, in tandem with Blackwater/Xe, has an ongoing drone program, along with snatch/grab/assassination operations, based in Karachi and conducted both in and outside of Pakistan.[25][26]

In an October 2009 leak published on the WikiLeaks website, U.S. embassy communication cables from the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W. Patterson, states the Pakistani Army approved the embedding of U.S. Special Operations Forces, including elements from the Joint Special Operations Command, with the Pakistani military to provide support for operations in the country. This goes beyond the original claims of the U.S. that the only role of the Special Forces was in training the Pakistani military. The leak further revealed that JSOC elements involved in intelligence gathering and surveillance and use of drone UAV technology.[27]

JSOC is credited with coordination of Operation Neptune Spear that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden on 1 May 2011.[16][28]

Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa and Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen

A priority target was al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki,[29] a Yemeni-American U.S. citizen, was killed on 30 September 2011, by an air attack carried out by the Joint Special Operations Command. After several days of surveillance of Awlaki by the Central Intelligence Agency, armed drones took off from a new, secret American base in the Arabian Peninsula, crossed into northern Yemen and unleashed a barrage of Hellfire missiles at al-Awlaki's vehicle. Samir Khan, a Pakistani-American al-Qaeda member and editor of the jihadist Inspire magazine, also reportedly died in the attack. The combined CIA/JSOC drone strike was the first in Yemen since 2002—there have been others by the military's Special Operations forces—and was part of an effort by the spy agency to duplicate in Yemen the covert war which has been running in Afghanistan and Pakistan.[30][31]

On 28 October 2013 a drone strike by JSOC on a vehicle near the town of Jilib in Lower Shabelle killed two senior Somali members of Al-Shabaab. Preliminary evidence suggested that one of them was Ibrahim Ali (also known as Anta), an explosives specialist known for his skill in building and using homemade bombs and suicide vests.[32][33] The US administration has been reluctant to use drone strikes in Somalia. The reluctance partly centered on questions of whether Al-Shabaab—which has not tried to carry out an attack on American soil—could legally be the target of lethal operations by the military or the CIA. In May 2013, the White House announced that it would carry out targeted killing operations only against those who posed a "continuing and imminent threat to the American people." The strike on 28 Oct was the first known American operation resulting in death since that policy was announced and is considered evidence by some observers that views have changed in Washington and that the Obama administration has decided to escalate operations against Al-Shabaab in the aftermath of the group's Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, that took place from 21–24 September 2013 and which left some 70 people dead.[citation needed] According to The New York Times the Yemen government banned military drone operations after a series of botched drone strikes by JSOC, the last of which was a December 2013 drone strike that killed numerous civilians at a wedding ceremony. Despite a ban on military drone operations, the Yemen government allowed CIA drone operations to continue.[34]

Operation Inherent Resolve

Main article: Operation Inherent Resolve

On 25 March 2016, Special Operations Forces in Syria killed ISIL commander Abu Ala al-Afri.[35]

Operation Kayla Mueller

Main article: Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

On 26 October 2019 U.S. Joint Special Operations Command's (JSOC) Delta Force conducted a raid into the Idlib province of Syria on the border with Turkey that resulted in the death of brahim Awad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai also known as Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi.[36] The raid was launched based on a CIA Special Activities Center intelligence collection and close target reconnaissance effort that located the leader of ISIS. Launched after midnight local time, the eight helicopters carrying the teams along with support aircraft crossed hundreds of miles of airspace controlled by Iraq, Turkey and Russia. Upon arrival, efforts were made for Baghdadi to surrender, with those efforts unsuccessful U.S. forces responded by blowing a large hole into the side of the compound. After entering, the compound was cleared, with people either surrendering or being shot and killed. The two-hour raid culminated with Baghdadi fleeing from U.S. forces into a dead-end tunnel and detonating a suicide vest, killing himself along with three of his children.[37][38] The complex operation was conducted during the withdrawal of U.S. forces northeast Syria, adding to the complexity.[39][40]

Death of Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi

Main article: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi § Death

On 3 February 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that a raid conducted by Joint Special Operations Command in the city of Atme, Syria in Northwest Syria near the border with Turkey, had killed the second leader of ISIS, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.[41] After U.S. forces evacuated 10 civilians using an Arabic translator and a bullhorn, al-Qurashi proceeded to detonate a bomb that killed himself and 12 others, many of which were members of his family.[42][43] After the explosion, the U.S. soldiers entered the compound and had a shootout with the survivors, including a deputy of al-Qurashi, who was then shot and killed by the U.S. forces.[44] The raid lasted nearly two hours and no U.S. forces were killed.

List of JSOC commanders

No. Portrait Rank and Name Start of Term End of Term Defense Branch
1   MG Richard Scholtes December 1980 August 1984   United States Army
2   MG Carl Stiner August 1984 January 1987   United States Army
3   MG Gary E. Luck January 1987 December 1989   United States Army
4   MG Wayne A. Downing December 1989 August 1991   United States Army
5   MG William F. Garrison 1992 July 1994   United States Army
6   MG Peter J. Schoomaker July 1994 August 1996   United States Army
7   MG Michael A. Canavan 1 August 1996 1 August 1998   United States Army
8   MG Bryan D. Brown 1998 2000[45]   United States Army
9   MG Dell L. Dailey 2001 March 2003   United States Army
10   LTG Stanley McChrystal September 2003[24] June 2008   United States Army
11   VADM William H. McRaven June 2008[46][47] June 2011   United States Navy
12   LTG Joseph Votel June 2011[48] 29 July 2014   United States Army
13   LTG Raymond A. Thomas III 29 July 2014[49] 30 March 2016   United States Army
14   LTG Austin S. Miller 30 March 2016 2 September 2018   United States Army
15   Lt Gen Scott A. Howell 2 September 2018 July 2021   United States Air Force
16   LTG Bryan P. Fenton July 2021 10 August 2022   United States Army
17   VADM Frank M. Bradley 10 August 2022[50] Incumbent   United States Navy

See also

References

  1. ^ Emerson, Steven (1988). Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. p. 26. ISBN 0-399-13360-7.
  2. ^ Emerson, Steven (13 November 1988). "Stymied Warriors". The New York Times. from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  3. ^ Mazzetti, Mark (13 January 2007). "Pentagon Sees Move in Somalia as Blueprint". The New York Times. from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
  4. ^ Risen, James (20 September 1998). "The World: Passing the Laugh Test; Pentagon Planners Give New Meaning to 'Over the Top'". The New York Times. from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  5. ^ North, Oliver (2010). American Heroes in Special Operations. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8054-4712-5.
  6. ^ "AORG-STB MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD SUBJECT: Career Opportunity in Special Mission Unit" (PDF). 4 October 2011. (PDF) from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  7. ^ Naylor, Sean D. (3 September 2010). "JSOC task force battles Haqqani militants". Army Times. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  8. ^ Naylor, Sean D. (1 March 2011). "McRaven Tapped to lead SOCOM". Army Times. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  9. ^ Priest, Dana, and William M. Arkin, "‘Top Secret America’: A look at the military’s Joint Special Operations Command 30 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine", Washington Post, 4 September 2011.
  10. ^ Woodward, Bob (18 November 2001). "Secret CIA Units Playing A Central Combat Role". The Washington Post. from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  11. ^ Waller, Douglas (3 February 2003). . TIME. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  12. ^ Repass, Michael S. (7 April 2003), Combating Terrorism with Preparation of the Battlespace (PDF), U.S. Army War College, (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2015
  13. ^ . Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  14. ^ "U.S. Code Title 10, § 373. However the Law Enforcement Officers Equity legislation has not passed to become Law and as a result it is important to note: Pyblic Safety Officer DO NOT hold Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Status. Training and advising civilian public safety officials". Cornell University Law School. from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  15. ^ a b Schmitt, Eric (23 January 2005). "Commandos Get Duty on U.S. Soil". The New York Times. from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  16. ^ a b Jeremy Scahill (2 May 2011). "JSOC: The Black Ops Force That Took Down Bin Laden". The Nation. from the original on 1 April 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  17. ^ ISAF Public Affairs Office (4 April 2010). . Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
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  19. ^ Scahill, Jeremy (18 January 2013). "Dirty Wars". from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
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  28. ^ Ross, Brian; Tapper, Jake; Esposito, Richard; Schifrin, Nick (2 May 2011). "Osama Bin Laden Killed By Navy Seals in Firefight". ABC News. from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
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  30. ^ "Same US military unit that got Osama bin laden killed Anwar al-Awlaki". Telegraph.co.uk. 30 September 2011. from the original on 16 February 2012.
  31. ^ Mark Mazzetti, Eric Schmitt and Robert F. Worth, "Two-Year Manhunt Led to Killing of Awlaki in Yemen", New York Times (30 September 2011) 30 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ "Pentagon Says Shabab Bomb Specialist Is Killed in Missile Strike in Somalia". The New York Times. 28 October 2013. from the original on 17 October 2017.
  33. ^ "Drone kills two in Somalia: witnesses: Eyewitnesses say missile came from a drone amid reports dead men are senior members of the al-Shabab armed group". Al Jazeera. 28 October 2013. from the original on 28 October 2013.
  34. ^ Mazzetti, Mark (6 April 2014). "Delays in Effort to Refocus C.I.A. From Drone War". The New York Times. from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  35. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Mazzetti, Mark (25 March 2016). "A Top ISIS Leader Is Killed in an Airstrike, the Pentagon Says". The New York Times. from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  36. ^ "ISIS leader al-Baghdadi believed to have been killed in a US military raid, sources say | CNN Politics". CNN. 27 October 2019. from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  37. ^ Wesley Morgan and Nahal Toosi (27 October 2019). "ISIS leader killed in daring U.S. raid in Syria, Trump says". Politico. from the original on 20 January 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
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  42. ^ Schmitt, Eric; Hubbard, Ben (3 February 2022). "U.S. Evacuated 10 Civilians During Raid, Pentagon Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  43. ^ "Islamic State leader exploded bomb, killing himself and family -U.S. official". finance.yahoo.com. from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  44. ^ Schmitt, Eric; Hubbard, Ben (3 February 2022). "U.S. Evacuated 10 Civilians During Raid, Pentagon Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  45. ^ [1], Flight Sciences Corporation 22 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  46. ^ "Vice Admiral Named JSOC Head". military.com / McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 14 June 2008. from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  47. ^ "Former JSOC Commander McRaven nominated to lead US Special Ops Command". 6 January 2010. from the original on 30 March 2012.
  48. ^ "Votel nominated to head up Joint Special Operations Command". Stars and Stripes. 17 February 2011. from the original on 3 October 2012.
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External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to United States Joint Special Operations Command.
  • Special Ops say lives were on line in Lynch's rescue, by The Washington Times
  • , by Global Defence Review
  • Joint Communications Unit
  • Joint Special Operations Association
  • Joint Special Operations Command

May 08, 2023
joint, special, operations, command, jsoc, joint, component, command, united, states, special, operations, command, ussocom, charged, with, studying, special, operations, requirements, techniques, ensure, interoperability, equipment, standardization, plan, con. The Joint Special Operations Command JSOC is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command USSOCOM and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equipment standardization to plan and conduct special operations exercises and training to develop joint special operations tactics and to execute special operations missions worldwide It was established in 1980 on recommendation of Colonel Charlie Beckwith in the aftermath of the failure of Operation Eagle Claw 1 It is headquartered at Pope Field Fort Bragg North Carolina Joint Special Operations CommandEmblem of the Joint Special Operations CommandFounded15 December 1980 42 years 4 months ago Country United StatesAllegianceUnited States of AmericaTypeSub unified combatant commandRoleSpecial Operations ForcesSizeVaries depending on units attachedPart ofSpecial Operations CommandUnited States Department of DefenseGarrison HQFort Bragg North CarolinaNickname s JSOCOperationsOperation Eagle ClawOperation Urgent FuryOperation Just CauseOperation Desert StormOperation Provide ComfortOperation Gothic SerpentOperation Uphold DemocracyBosnian WarOperation Allied ForceWar on Terror Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Inherent Resolve Operation Freedom s Sentinel Operation Kayla MuellerWebsitehttps www socom mil Pages jsoc aspxCommandersCommanderVADM Frank M Bradley USNDeputy CommanderMaj Gen Sean M Farrell USAFSenior Enlisted AdvisorCSM Craig A Bishop USA Contents 1 Overview 1 1 Special Mission Units 1 2 Advanced Force Operations 1 3 JSO Package Rotational Group 2 Security support 3 Operational history 3 1 Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan 3 2 Operation Iraqi Freedom 3 3 Operations in Pakistan 3 4 Operation Enduring Freedom Horn of Africa and Al Qaeda insurgency in Yemen 3 5 Operation Inherent Resolve 3 5 1 Operation Kayla Mueller 4 List of JSOC commanders 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksOverview EditThe JSOC is the joint headquarters designed to study special operations requirements and techniques ensure interoperability and equipment standardization plan and conduct joint special operations exercises and training develop joint special operations tactics citation needed For this task the Joint Communications Unit is tasked to ensure compatibility of communications systems and standard operating procedures of the different special operations units Special Mission Units Edit Further information Special Mission Unit The Joint Special Operations Command also oversees the Special Mission Units of U S Special Operations Command These are elite special operations forces units that perform highly classified activities 2 3 4 So far the following four JSOC units are known each has an internal task force color code citation needed The Army s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta 1st SFOD D commonly known as Delta Force Task Force Green The Navy s Naval Special Warfare Development Group DEVGRU commonly known as SEAL Team Six Task Force Blue The Air Force s 24th Special Tactics Squadron 24 STS 5 Task Force White The Army s Intelligence Support Activity ISA also known as The Activity and a number of other nicknames and special access program codenames Task Force Orange Additionally a USASOC unit the Army Rangers Regimental Reconnaissance Company RRC had been referred to as an SMU in a 2011 career posting 6 Task Force Red The Intelligence Support Activity s primary role is as a deep reconnaissance intelligence gathering special mission unit in support of DEVGRU and Delta Force Delta Force and DEVGRU are the military s primary counter terrorism units eliminating high value targets and performing hostage rescues are their main roles along with special reconnaissance and direct action assignments The 24th Special Tactics Squadron attaches personnel as enablers to these two units such as Combat Controllers to provide air traffic control and fire support Pararescuemen to provide combat medicine and combat search and rescue and Tactical Air Control Party specialists to co ordinate close air support The Joint Communications Unit provides communications capabilities Units from the Army s 75th Ranger Regiment and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment Task Force Brown are controlled by JSOC when deployed as part of JSOC Task Forces such as Task Force 121 and Task Force 145 7 8 9 JSOC has an operational relationship with the CIA s Special Activities Center SAC 10 SAC s Special Operations Group SOG often recruits from JSOC SMU personnel 11 Advanced Force Operations Edit Advanced Force Operations AFO is a term used by the U S Department of Defense to describe a task force that encompasses personnel from Delta Force SEAL Team Six and the Regimental Reconnaissance Company Many locations will have a mixture of operators from one of these 3 units working together as a small interoperable team Although mainly a term in many cases used to describe a particular subset of Delta Force operators the term AFO also was later known used to describe mixed Special Mission Unit elements doing long range RECCE long range target interdiction operations etc According to Gen Michael Repass who conducted it in the Iraq War and was very familiar with its use in Afghanistan AFO consists of U S Secretary of Defense approved military operations such as clandestine operations It is logically part of the Operational Preparation of the Battlespace OPB which follows the Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace a concept well known in the U S and NATO doctrine OPB is seldom used outside of SOF channels OPB is defined by the U S Special Operations Command as Non intelligence activities conducted prior to D Day H Hour in likely or potential areas of employment to train and prepare for follow on military operations 12 In the Iraq War Gen Repass who first commanded the 10th Special Forces Group took control of a Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force which used the 5th and 10th Groups to conduct AFO AFO units were heavily involved in Operation Anaconda and Operation Viking Hammer JSO Package Rotational Group Edit The Joint Special Operations Package Rotational Group of the United States Special Operations Command consists of Tier 1 and Tier 2 U S Joint Special Operations Command units that train and deploy together citation needed All Tier 1 and Tier 2 units maintain three separate operational groups within their respective units The 1st 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 75th Ranger Regiment as an example 13 These groups are essentially identical and deploy within their respective JSOC package The rotational cycle is generally for three months This allows one group to be deployed overseas another to be on an 18 hour worldwide emergency deployment notice and the last group to be training attending military schools or on block leave Tier 1 and Tier 2 units take leave together within their respective JSOC package This term is called block leave Given the wartime tasking of JSOC an additional deployment package is currently being created citation needed This will allow less operational strain on these units Security support EditJSOC has provided domestic law enforcement agencies support during high profile or high risk events such as the Olympics the World Cup political party conventions and Presidential inaugurations Although the use of the military for Local law enforcement purposes in the U S is generally prohibited by the Posse Comitatus Act Title 10 of the U S Code expressly allows the Secretary of Defense to make military personnel available to train Federal State and local civilian public safety officials in the operation and maintenance of equipment and to provide such officials with expert advice 14 Additionally civilian and military lawyers said provisions in several federal statutes including the Fiscal Year 2000 Defense Department Authorization Act Public Law 106 65 permits the secretary of defense to authorize military forces to support civilian agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the event of a national emergency especially any involving nuclear chemical or biological weapons 15 In January 2005 a small group of commandos were deployed to support security at the Presidential inauguration They were allegedly deployed under a secret counter terrorism program named Power Geyser The New York Times quoted a senior military official as saying They bring unique military and technical capabilities that often are centered around potential WMD events A civil liberties advocate who was NOT the Constitutionally elected Civil Officer of the U S National Organizations but who was told about the program by a reporter said that he had no objections to the program as described to him because its scope appeared to be limited to supporting the counterterrorism efforts of civilian authorities 15 Operational history EditOperation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan Edit According to the documentary Dirty Wars by Jeremy Scahill JSOC was responsible for a number of raids in Afghanistan One among them took place in Gardez initially reported by Jerome Starkey but later in other media as well The then current commander William McRaven visited the affected family offered them a sheep in restitution and apologized for the incident 16 In the incident 17 one US trained Police commander and another man were killed as were 3 women 2 of whom were pregnant while going to the men s aid How many other raids there were during this time and before and since is difficult to count as JSOC answers only to the White House and not to the rest of the military citation needed The secrecy around the number of raids could reasonably be counted in the hundreds since they started but only a mere few have been documented as well as the Gardez incident according to Scahill 18 19 Operation Iraqi Freedom Edit See also Joint Special Operations Command Task Force in the Iraq War In May 2003 elements of Task Force 20 TF 20 remained in Iraq following the invasion and transitioned into hunting down high value former Ba athist insurgents under direct JSOC command In July 2003 Task Force 5 formerly Task Force 11 and Task Force 20 amalgamated to form Task Force 21 that was then renamed Task Force 121 20 21 On 11 January 2007 President Bush pledged in a major speech to seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq 22 Sometime in 2007 JSOC started conducting cross border operations into Iran from southern Iraq with the CIA These operations included seizing members of Al Quds the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and taking them to Iraq for interrogation as well as the pursuit capture or killing of high value targets in the war on terror The Bush administration allegedly combined the CIA s intelligence operations and covert action with JSOC clandestine military operations so that Congress would only partially see how the money was spent 23 Operations in Pakistan Edit According to The Washington Post JSOC s commander Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal operated in 2006 on the understanding with Pakistan that US units will not enter Pakistan except under extreme circumstances and that Pakistan will deny giving them permission if exposed 24 That scenario happened according to the Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA in January 2006 JSOC troops clandestinely entered the village of Saidgai Pakistan to hunt for Osama Bin Laden Pakistan refused entry citation needed According to a November 2009 report in The Nation JSOC in tandem with Blackwater Xe has an ongoing drone program along with snatch grab assassination operations based in Karachi and conducted both in and outside of Pakistan 25 26 In an October 2009 leak published on the WikiLeaks website U S embassy communication cables from the U S Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson states the Pakistani Army approved the embedding of U S Special Operations Forces including elements from the Joint Special Operations Command with the Pakistani military to provide support for operations in the country This goes beyond the original claims of the U S that the only role of the Special Forces was in training the Pakistani military The leak further revealed that JSOC elements involved in intelligence gathering and surveillance and use of drone UAV technology 27 JSOC is credited with coordination of Operation Neptune Spear that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden on 1 May 2011 16 28 Operation Enduring Freedom Horn of Africa and Al Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Edit A priority target was al Qaeda cleric Anwar al Awlaki 29 a Yemeni American U S citizen was killed on 30 September 2011 by an air attack carried out by the Joint Special Operations Command After several days of surveillance of Awlaki by the Central Intelligence Agency armed drones took off from a new secret American base in the Arabian Peninsula crossed into northern Yemen and unleashed a barrage of Hellfire missiles at al Awlaki s vehicle Samir Khan a Pakistani American al Qaeda member and editor of the jihadist Inspire magazine also reportedly died in the attack The combined CIA JSOC drone strike was the first in Yemen since 2002 there have been others by the military s Special Operations forces and was part of an effort by the spy agency to duplicate in Yemen the covert war which has been running in Afghanistan and Pakistan 30 31 On 28 October 2013 a drone strike by JSOC on a vehicle near the town of Jilib in Lower Shabelle killed two senior Somali members of Al Shabaab Preliminary evidence suggested that one of them was Ibrahim Ali also known as Anta an explosives specialist known for his skill in building and using homemade bombs and suicide vests 32 33 The US administration has been reluctant to use drone strikes in Somalia The reluctance partly centered on questions of whether Al Shabaab which has not tried to carry out an attack on American soil could legally be the target of lethal operations by the military or the CIA In May 2013 the White House announced that it would carry out targeted killing operations only against those who posed a continuing and imminent threat to the American people The strike on 28 Oct was the first known American operation resulting in death since that policy was announced and is considered evidence by some observers that views have changed in Washington and that the Obama administration has decided to escalate operations against Al Shabaab in the aftermath of the group s Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi Kenya that took place from 21 24 September 2013 and which left some 70 people dead citation needed According to The New York Times the Yemen government banned military drone operations after a series of botched drone strikes by JSOC the last of which was a December 2013 drone strike that killed numerous civilians at a wedding ceremony Despite a ban on military drone operations the Yemen government allowed CIA drone operations to continue 34 Operation Inherent Resolve Edit Main article Operation Inherent Resolve On 25 March 2016 Special Operations Forces in Syria killed ISIL commander Abu Ala al Afri 35 Operation Kayla Mueller Edit Main article Death of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi On 26 October 2019 U S Joint Special Operations Command s JSOC Delta Force conducted a raid into the Idlib province of Syria on the border with Turkey that resulted in the death of brahim Awad Ibrahim Ali al Badri al Samarrai also known as Abu Bakr al Baghdadi 36 The raid was launched based on a CIA Special Activities Center intelligence collection and close target reconnaissance effort that located the leader of ISIS Launched after midnight local time the eight helicopters carrying the teams along with support aircraft crossed hundreds of miles of airspace controlled by Iraq Turkey and Russia Upon arrival efforts were made for Baghdadi to surrender with those efforts unsuccessful U S forces responded by blowing a large hole into the side of the compound After entering the compound was cleared with people either surrendering or being shot and killed The two hour raid culminated with Baghdadi fleeing from U S forces into a dead end tunnel and detonating a suicide vest killing himself along with three of his children 37 38 The complex operation was conducted during the withdrawal of U S forces northeast Syria adding to the complexity 39 40 Death of Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurashi Main article Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurashi Death On 3 February 2022 U S President Joe Biden announced that a raid conducted by Joint Special Operations Command in the city of Atme Syria in Northwest Syria near the border with Turkey had killed the second leader of ISIS Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurashi 41 After U S forces evacuated 10 civilians using an Arabic translator and a bullhorn al Qurashi proceeded to detonate a bomb that killed himself and 12 others many of which were members of his family 42 43 After the explosion the U S soldiers entered the compound and had a shootout with the survivors including a deputy of al Qurashi who was then shot and killed by the U S forces 44 The raid lasted nearly two hours and no U S forces were killed List of JSOC commanders EditNo Portrait Rank and Name Start of Term End of Term Defense Branch1 MG Richard Scholtes December 1980 August 1984 United States Army2 MG Carl Stiner August 1984 January 1987 United States Army3 MG Gary E Luck January 1987 December 1989 United States Army4 MG Wayne A Downing December 1989 August 1991 United States Army5 MG William F Garrison 1992 July 1994 United States Army6 MG Peter J Schoomaker July 1994 August 1996 United States Army7 MG Michael A Canavan 1 August 1996 1 August 1998 United States Army8 MG Bryan D Brown 1998 2000 45 United States Army9 MG Dell L Dailey 2001 March 2003 United States Army10 LTG Stanley McChrystal September 2003 24 June 2008 United States Army11 VADM William H McRaven June 2008 46 47 June 2011 United States Navy12 LTG Joseph Votel June 2011 48 29 July 2014 United States Army13 LTG Raymond A Thomas III 29 July 2014 49 30 March 2016 United States Army14 LTG Austin S Miller 30 March 2016 2 September 2018 United States Army15 Lt Gen Scott A Howell 2 September 2018 July 2021 United States Air Force16 LTG Bryan P Fenton July 2021 10 August 2022 United States Army17 VADM Frank M Bradley 10 August 2022 50 Incumbent United States NavySee also EditCentral Intelligence Agency s Special Activities Center Defense Intelligence Agency s Defense Clandestine Service Special Operations Forces Command KSSO Russian equivalent command Federal Bureau of Investigation s Hostage Rescue Team HRT HRT performs a number of tactical law enforcement and national security functions in high risk environments and conditions and has deployed overseas including with JSOC units 51 52 References Edit Emerson Steven 1988 Secret Warriors Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era New York G P Putnam s Sons p 26 ISBN 0 399 13360 7 Emerson Steven 13 November 1988 Stymied Warriors The New York Times Archived from the original on 28 March 2010 Retrieved 11 July 2011 Mazzetti Mark 13 January 2007 Pentagon Sees Move in Somalia as Blueprint The New York Times Archived from the original on 15 June 2013 Retrieved 13 March 2008 Risen James 20 September 1998 The World Passing the Laugh Test Pentagon Planners Give New Meaning to Over the Top The New York Times Archived from the original on 30 March 2013 Retrieved 10 April 2008 North Oliver 2010 American Heroes in Special Operations B amp H Publishing Group ISBN 978 0 8054 4712 5 AORG STB MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD SUBJECT Career Opportunity in Special Mission Unit PDF 4 October 2011 Archived PDF from the original on 31 August 2021 Retrieved 24 January 2023 Naylor Sean D 3 September 2010 JSOC task force battles Haqqani militants Army Times Retrieved 16 May 2011 Naylor Sean D 1 March 2011 McRaven Tapped to lead SOCOM Army Times Retrieved 15 May 2011 Priest Dana and William M Arkin Top Secret America A look at the military s Joint Special Operations Command Archived 30 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine Washington Post 4 September 2011 Woodward Bob 18 November 2001 Secret CIA Units Playing A Central Combat Role The Washington Post Archived from the original on 30 October 2010 Retrieved 26 October 2008 Waller Douglas 3 February 2003 The CIA s Secret Army TIME Archived from the original on 6 November 2008 Retrieved 26 October 2008 Repass Michael S 7 April 2003 Combating Terrorism with Preparation of the Battlespace PDF U S Army War College archived PDF from the original on 8 December 2015 75th Ranger Regiment Archived from the original on 16 May 2011 Retrieved 16 May 2011 U S Code Title 10 373 However the Law Enforcement Officers Equity legislation has not passed to become Law and as a result it is important to note Pyblic Safety Officer DO NOT hold Law Enforcement Officer LEO Status Training and advising civilian public safety officials Cornell University Law School Archived from the original on 24 January 2023 Retrieved 16 March 2009 a b Schmitt Eric 23 January 2005 Commandos Get Duty on U S Soil The New York Times Archived from the original on 16 April 2009 Retrieved 16 March 2009 a b Jeremy Scahill 2 May 2011 JSOC The Black Ops Force That Took Down Bin Laden The Nation Archived from the original on 1 April 2015 Retrieved 27 September 2013 ISAF Public Affairs Office 4 April 2010 Gardez Investigation Concludes Archived from the original on 19 April 2013 Retrieved 20 October 2013 Scahill Jeremy 22 November 2010 America s Failed War of Attrition in Afghanistan Archived from the original on 20 October 2013 Retrieved 20 October 2013 Scahill Jeremy 18 January 2013 Dirty Wars Archived from the original on 30 October 2013 Retrieved 20 October 2013 Neville Leigh Special Forces in the War on Terror General Military Osprey Publishing 2015 ISBN 978 1 4728 0790 8 p 168 p 188 Gal Perl Finkel A NEW STRATEGY AGAINST ISIS Archived 9 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine The Jerusalem Post 7 March 2017 Full Transcript of Bush s Iraq Speech CBS News 10 January 2007 Archived from the original on 6 November 2008 Retrieved 15 March 2009 Reid Marsha 7 July 2008 Covert ops in Iran Geopolitical Monitor Archived from the original on 11 September 2014 Retrieved 11 September 2014 a b Priest Dana Tyson Ann Scott 10 September 2006 Bin Laden Trail Stone Cold The Washington Post Archived from the original on 1 November 2006 Retrieved 15 March 2009 Jeremy Scahill 23 November 2009 Blackwater s Secret War in Pakistan The Nation Archived from the original on 29 May 2011 Retrieved 27 November 2009 James Risen Mark Mazzeti 20 August 2009 C I A Said to Use Outsiders to Put Bombs on Drones The New York Times Archived from the original on 18 January 2016 Jeremy Scahill 1 December 2010 The Not So Secret Anymore US War in Pakistan The Nation Archived from the original on 20 August 2014 Ross Brian Tapper Jake Esposito 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Archived from the original on 3 February 2022 Retrieved 6 February 2022 1 Flight Sciences Corporation Archived 22 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine Vice Admiral Named JSOC Head military com McClatchy Tribune Information Services 14 June 2008 Archived from the original on 6 June 2011 Retrieved 15 March 2009 Former JSOC Commander McRaven nominated to lead US Special Ops Command 6 January 2010 Archived from the original on 30 March 2012 Votel nominated to head up Joint Special Operations Command Stars and Stripes 17 February 2011 Archived from the original on 3 October 2012 New commander takes over Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg The Fayetteville Observer 29 July 2014 Archived from the original on 16 August 2016 United States Navy Flag Officers Public September 2022 PDF MyNavyHR Archived from the original PDF on 2 September 2022 Retrieved 2 September 2022 CIRG FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation Archived from the original on 9 July 2022 Retrieved 25 January 2021 Goldman Adam Tate Julie 10 April 2014 Inside the FBI s secret relationship with the military s special operations The Washington Post Archived from the original on 13 June 2016 Retrieved 8 August 2021 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to United States Joint Special Operations Command Special Ops say lives were on line in Lynch s rescue by The Washington Times US special operations come of age by Global Defence Review Joint Communications Unit Joint Special Operations Association Joint Special Operations Command Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Joint Special Operations Command amp oldid 1152435382, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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