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The '''Joint Special Operations Command''' ('''JSOC''') is a component command of the [[United States Special Operations Command]] (USSOCOM) and is charged to study special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equipment standardization, plan and conduct special operations exercises and training, and develop Joint Special Operations Tactics. It was established in 1980 on recommendation of [[Charles Alvin Beckwith|Col. Charlie Beckwith]], in the aftermath of the failure of [[Operation Eagle Claw]].<ref>Emerson 1988, p. 26.</ref> It is located at [[Pope Army Air Field]] and [[Fort Bragg, North Carolina|Fort Bragg]] in [[North Carolina]], [[USA]]. JSOC is credited with killing [[Osama Bin Laden]] in an operation authorized by [[President Barack Obama]] on May 1, 2011 near Islamabad, Pakistan.<ref name=WND>{{cite web |url=http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=293709 |title=Osama bin Laden dies in firefight, body in U.S. custody |author=WorldNetDaily |date=May 01, 2011}}</ref>
The '''Joint Special Operations Command''' ('''JSOC''') is a component command of the [[United States Special Operations Command]] (USSOCOM) and is charged to study special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equipment standardization, plan and conduct special operations exercises and training, and develop Joint Special Operations Tactics. It was established in 1980 on recommendation of [[Charles Alvin Beckwith|Col. Charlie Beckwith]], in the aftermath of the failure of [[Operation Eagle Claw]].<ref>Emerson 1988, p. 26.</ref> It is located at [[Pope Army Air Field]] and [[Fort Bragg, North Carolina|Fort Bragg]] in [[North Carolina]], [[USA]]. JSOC is credited with killing [[Osama Bin Laden]] in an operation authorized by [[President Barack Obama]] on May 1, 2011 near Islamabad, Pakistan.<ref name=WND>{{cite web |url=http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=293709 |title=Osama bin Laden dies in firefight, body in U.S. custody |author=WorldNetDaily |date=May 01, 2011}}</ref>{{dubious}}


== Overview ==
== Overview ==

Revision as of 04:11, 2 May 2011

Joint Special Operations Command
Emblem of the Joint Special Operations Command
ActiveDecember 15, 1980
CountryUnited States
BranchJoint activity
TypeCounter-terrorism
Part ofU.S. Special Operations Command
Nickname(s)JSOC
EngagementsOperation Urgent Fury (1983)
Operation Just Cause (1989)
Operation Desert Storm (1990)
Operation Provide Comfort (1991)
Operation Gothic Serpent (1993)
Operation Uphold Democracy (1994)
Bosnian War (1996)
Operation Allied Force (1999)
Operation Enduring Freedom (2001)
Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003)
Commanders
Current
commander		VADM William H. McRaven

The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged to study special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equipment standardization, plan and conduct special operations exercises and training, and develop Joint Special Operations Tactics. It was established in 1980 on recommendation of Col. Charlie Beckwith, in the aftermath of the failure of Operation Eagle Claw.[1] It is located at Pope Army Air Field and Fort Bragg in North Carolina, USA. JSOC is credited with killing Osama Bin Laden in an operation authorized by President Barack Obama on May 1, 2011 near Islamabad, Pakistan.[2][dubious – discuss]

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; and develop joint special operations tactics."[3] For this task, the Joint Communications Unit (JCU) is tasked to ensure compatibility of communications systems and standard operating procedures of the different special operations units.

The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) also commands and controls the Special Mission Units (SMU) of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). These units perform highly classified activities.[4][5][6] So far, only three SMUs have been publicly disclosed: The Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta, the Navy's Naval Special Warfare Development Group, and the Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron.[7] The Intelligence Support Activity is also under JSOC.[8] The ISA collects specific target intelligence prior to SMU missions, and provides signals support, etc. during those missions. The ISA often operates under various cover names, the most recent one being Gray Fox. The army once maintained the Activity, but after September 11 attacks the Pentagon shifted direct control to Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, NC.[9] If needed, Army Rangers and Night Stalkers can be transferred under the JSOC command. JSOC’s primary mission is believed to be identifying and destroying terrorists and terror cells worldwide.[10]

JSOC has an excellent relationship with the CIA's elite Special Activities Division and the two forces often operate together.[11] The CIA's Special Activities Division's Special Operations Group often selects their recruits from JSOC.[12]

Security support

JSOC has provided support to domestic law enforcement agencies during high profile or high risk events such as the Olympics, the World Cup, political party conventions and Presidential inaugurations. Although use of the military for law enforcement purposes in the United states is generally prohibited by the Posse Comitatus Act, Title 10 of the US Code expressly allows the Secretary of Defense to make military personnel available to train Federal, State, and local civilian law enforcement officials in the operation and maintenance of equipment; and to provide such law enforcement officials with expert advice.[13] Additionally, civilian and uniformed 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.[14]

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 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.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16]

According to a recent 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.[17]

In a recent leak published on the Wikileaks website, US embassy communication cables from the US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson states the Pakistani Army approved the deployment of U.S. Special Operations Forces, which include elements from the Joint Special Operations Command were embedded in the Pakistani Army's 11th Corp to provide support for operations targeting militant groups in north and south Waziristan and other areas of Pakistan. The extent of these actions would include assisting in training but also to conduct 'offensive combat operations'. These actions by JSOC elements would be mainly providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets such as drone {UAV) aircraft..[18]

Operations in Iran

On January 11, 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."[19] The next day, in a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chairman Senator Joseph Biden (Delaware), informed United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the Bush Administration did not have the authority to send US troops on cross-border raids. Biden said, "I believe the present authorization granted the president to use force in Iraq does not cover that, and he does need congressional authority to do that. I just want to set that marker."[20]

Sometime in 2007, JSOC started conducting cross-border operations into Iran from southern Iraq with the CIA. These operation 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, and/or execution of “high-value targets” in the “war on terror”. The Bush administration allegedly combined the CIA's intelligence operations with JSOC covert military operations so that Congress would only partially see how the money was spent.[21]

List of JSOC commanders

Rank and Name Start of Term End of Term
MG Richard Scholtes December 1980 August 1984
MG Carl Stiner August 1984 January 1987
MG Gary E. Luck January 1987 December 1989
MG Wayne A. Downing December 1989 August 1991
MG William F. Garrison 1992 July 1994
MG Peter J. Schoomaker July 1994 August 1996
MG Michael Canavan 1 August 1996 1 August 1998
LTG Bryan D. Brown 1998 2000[22]
LTG Dell L. Dailey 2001 March 2003
LTG Stanley McChrystal September 2003[23] June 2008
VADM William H. McRaven June 2008[24] present
MG Joseph Votel 2011 Incumbent

See also

References

  1. ^ Emerson 1988, p. 26.
  2. ^ WorldNetDaily (May 01, 2011). "Osama bin Laden dies in firefight, body in U.S. custody". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  4. ^ Emerson, Steven (November 13, 1988). "Stymied Warriors". New York Times. SteveEmerson.com. Retrieved 2008-03-13. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Mark Mazzetti (January 13, 2007). "Pentagon Sees Move in Somalia as Blueprint". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  6. ^ Risen, James (September 20, 1998). "The World: Passing the Laugh Test; Pentagon Planners Give New Meaning to 'Over the Top'". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-10. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ North, Oliver (2010). American Heroes in Special Operations. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 9780805447125.
  8. ^ GlobalSecurity.org JSOC entry
  9. ^ Rowan Scarborough (March 15, 2004). "Agencies unite to find bin Laden". Washington Times. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  10. ^ Feickert, Andrew (April 17, 2006). U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress
  11. ^ Woodward, Bob (November 18, 2001). "Secret CIA Units Playing A Central Combat Role". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-10-26. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ Waller, Douglas (February 3, 2003). "The CIA's Secret Army". Time. Retrieved 2008-10-26. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ "US Code Title 10, § 373. Training and advising civilian law enforcement officials". Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  14. ^ a b Schmitt, Eric (January 23, 2005). "Commandos Get Duty on U.S. Soil". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  15. ^ Priest, Dana and Tyson, Ann Scott (September 10, 2006). "Bin Laden Trail 'Stone Cold'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Special US unit can enter Pakistan at will to hunt Osama". GlobalSecurity.org. September 11, 2006. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  17. ^ Jeremy Scahill (November 23, 2009). "Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan". TheNation.Com. Retrieved 2009-11-27d. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ {{cite web On May 1, 2011, it was reported that a special JSOC unit was responsible for killing Osama Bin Laden in his secret hiding place in Pakistan. |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20101201/cm_thenation/156765 |title=The (Not So) Secret (Anymore) US War in Pakistan |publisher=TheNation.Com |author=Jeremy Scahill |date=December 01, 2010 }}
  19. ^ "Full Transcript Of Bush's Iraq Speech". CBS News. 2007-01-10. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  20. ^ "Senators fear Iraq war may spill to Iran, Syria". Reuters. January 11, 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  21. ^ Reid, Marsha (July 7, 2008). "Covert ops in Iran". Geopolitical Monitor. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  22. ^ General Bryan D. Brown Aurora, Flight Sciences Corporation
  23. ^ Priest, Dana and Tyson, Ann Scott (September 10, 2006). "Bin Laden Trail 'Stone Cold'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ "Vice Admiral Named JSOC Head". military.com / McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. June 14, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-15.

Bibliography

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