The Most Elite Special Forces

in the US
Geoffrey Ingersol
Feb26,2013,8:42 PM

via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

Ever since the Osama bin Laden raid, America has gone bonkers for U.S.
Navy SEALs and Military Special Operators in general.

Skip to the units >

The Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, is scheduled for spending

and personnel increases while the rest of the military looks to be making cuts.
End strength goals indicate that America's entire crop of military operators
will top off at 70,000.

In fact, the number of operators has doubled since 9/11, and their budget
tripled — from $3.5 billion to $10.5 billion. The trend will likely continue as
the U.S. is in the middle of a shift to "smaller footprint" type operations.

Putting 100 thousand troops and countless private support personnel on the
ground in any given country — sometimes referred to as "nation building" —
is a costly strategy. Putting a boot or two on Osama bin Laden's door
arguably cost more in political currency — Pakistan wasn't too happy — than
actual currency.

Though it was the SEALs who performed that raid in Abbottabad, it's worth
noting there are quite a few more SpecOps units in the U.S. than just SEALs
— Green Berets and Marine Snipers, etc. — so we here at Business
Insider have made things easy by assembling a comprehensive list of all the
SpecOps units we could find (with help from the extensive descriptions
on AmericanSpecialOps.com).

Division Marine Recon

via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

Marine Reconnaissance teams provide intelligence for active small unit

operations on the battlefield. Those with Marine Sniper quals can also
provide accurate demoralizing small arms fire from a distance.

Marine Recon is arguably in the top five of all special operators — capable of
harassing an entire enemy battalion for long periods of time; tracking enemy
units for larger American forces; or conducting well-orchestrated raids on
high-valued targets.

These guys are the gems in the crown of the United States Marine Corps.
Air Force Special Operations
Weatherman
via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

No, it's not a joke. They can literally forecast the weather above a fight, kill
the enemy, and direct artillery — simultaneously.

The official mission of the U.S. Air Force field weatherman is as a ground-
level, small-unit meteorologist who provides accurate forecasts for the
purpose of air asset deployment (bombs and stuff).

USMC Air Naval Gunfire Liaison

Company — ANGLICO
via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

The Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company is another group that often finds
itself in the shadow of sexier special operations units like the SEALs. A
single ANGLICO Marine can coordinate a hellish rain of fiery artillery and
air-strafing fire on the enemy though, whereas all a SEAL can do is pull a
trigger.

Typically they don't deploy as individuals, but like any SpecOps group, in
teams of four or five.

A typical ANGLICO team:

 Team Leader (Captain or Navy Lieutenant): any ground MOS - typically JTAC (Joint
Terminal Attack Controller)-qualified artillery officer.
 Team Chief (Sergeant), typically qualified as JFO (joint fires observer) and as a JTAC.
  Radio Chief (Corporal or Sergeant).
 Junior Radio Operator (Private First Class / Lance Corporal).
 Fire Support Man / Scout Observer (Private First Class / Lance Corporal).

USMC Amphibious Recon Platoons

via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

Amphibious Recon Platoons draw their personnel from Battalion Recon

Units and typically support direct action Force Reconnaissance Operations as
well as Naval Fleet Operations.

They hold all the same certs, generally speaking, of Recon Marines because
they are Recon Marines. The only difference are their tasks:

To determine characteristics of beaches available for landing,

and report the information to the commander at sea.
1. By hydrographic reconnaissance of water near the shore line.
2. By examining terrain in immediate vicinity of beach.
3. By noting beach defenses, such as wire, mines, and other obstacles; troops in immediate
vicinity; other defenses.

Air Force Combat Controllers

via AmericanSpecialOps.com

Combat controllers are among the most elite in the military. Top 10 easy.
These guys are independent operators, like Marine Recon, except with more
air assets.

They are experts at stealth insertion well behind enemy lines and are often
just a disembodied voice for other ground troops, like SEALs, as they
provide air support coordination. They're often on the ground picking targets
in America's bombing campaigns and likely played a key role in the Libyan
revolution.

They hold a lot of the most high-speed special operations certifications:

 Combat Control Orientation Course, Lackland AFB, Texas.
 Combat Control Operator Course, Keesler AFB, Miss.
 U.S. Army Airborne School, Fort Benning, Ga.
 U.S. Air Force Basic Survival School, Fairchild AFB, Wash.
 Combat Control School, Pope AFB, N.C.
 Special Tactics Advanced Skills Training, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
 U.S. Army Military Freefall Parachutist School, Fort Bragg, N.C., and Yuma Proving
Grounds, Ariz.
 U. S. Air Force Combat Divers School, Panama City, Fla.

Army 'Combined Applications Group'

via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

The uncontested number one heavy-weight champ. The operators of

operators, crème de la crème — even the SEALs who killed bin Laden wish
they were a part of this crew.

Combined Applications Group is their old name, some call them Delta, but
that was never an official name either. These guys are the absolute tip of the
spear — Matt Bissonnette, one of the SEALs on the bin Laden raid,
mentioned them in his book "No Easy Day" as if they were gods.

They are also the only group of special operators outside of SEAL Team 6
(ST6) where direct close contact with the enemy is a guarantee
upon acceptance, regardless of whether America is officially at war or
not.
They recruit from the nation's highest special operations units, only twice a
year, to include ST6.

These are just a couple initial tests they have to pass:

 A timed 18-mile 'ruck-march' at night in which the candidate must carry 35
pounds in their rucksack.
 A timed 40 mile route while carrying a 45 pound ruck sack over rough,
steep terrain.

Then they have a rigorous battery of psychological tests. If, after those tests,
they're found to qualify, they attend a six-month training course.

If they pass the course, they cease to exist. It's said they work hand-in-hand
with the nation's highest paramilitary and intelligence agencies.

US Navy SEALs
via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

SEAL stands for SEa Air and Land special operators, thus the word SEALs.
There are eight "Teams" of Navy SEALs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10.

Despite having a number, SEAL Team 6 is not counted in the "numbered"

teams. They're commonly called "rainbow" because they break personnel
down into subsections under four colors — Red, Blue, Gold, and Silver (with
a special Gray squadron, the boat squad).

Prospective Navy SEALs attend a course called Basic Underwater

Demolition/SEAL, or BUD/S.

Total SEAL training consists of:

  Preparation School
4 – 12 weeks at the Naval Special Warfare Preparatory School.
 Indoctrination Test
3 weeks of physical tests.
 BUD/S
25 weeks. Week 3, "Hell Week," 135 hours of continuous physical demand.
 Post Grad
28 weeks at SEAL Qualification Course, which includes all specialized training courses
to produce combat ready Navy SEAL.
 The final test: killing the enemy and coming home

SEAL Team Six — Rainbow

via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

At Navy SEAL balls, I've heard it's common to hear SEALs ask each other,
"Are you a number, or a color?" The colors are (or possibly used to be) Red,
Blue, Gold, and Silver.

They're a firm number 2 under Army CAG.

SEAL Team 6, the 'colored' SEALs, are those who do off the grid, or "black,"
operations, directly under Joint Special Operations Command (and so, by a
short chain, the president). Under the designation, Naval Special Operations
Development Group, or DEVGRU, these SEALs have three primary
missions:
 Counter Terrorism
Since 2001 SEAL Team Six has been focused on operations in and around Afghanistan.
The unit is also able to carry out pre-emptive CT operations.

 Close Protection
DEVGRU sometimes provide security for VIPs. For instance DEVGRU provided
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai with close protection in the early days of his
Presidency.
  Special Reconnaissance
DEVGRU operators, especially those trained as snipers, are experts at reconnaissance,
surveillance and intelligence gathering operation.

Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams —

FAST
via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

FAST teams get a bum rap from a lot of other special operations units, in
large part for them being comprised of regular straight-leg infantry. Grunts,
in other words. Nonetheless, they perform a special set of tasks.

Their most common mission is to deploy and reinforce American diplomatic

missions and embassies.

The Marines within Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams are skilled in:
 Counter surveillance.
 Physical security.
 Urban combat techniques.
 Close quarter combat (CQB).
 Martial arts.

Force Reconnaissance Marines

via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance, otherwise known as Force Recon, are a

company-sized (about 200) recon and direct-action element that falls directly
under the Marine Expeditionary Force commander, or the Naval Strike Group
commander, depending on whether they're aboard a ship or on land.
Because of their direct line to a commander, Force Recon often finds itself in
the position of performing, lets say, "highly sensitive," special operations —
making "Recon" a bit of a misnomer.

The sheer amount of training and the scope of their operations put them in a
close heat with numbered SEALs for the number-three rank as top operators.

There are a number of courses they attend, some of which are:

 Marine Corps Combatant Diver Course — Navy Diving Salvage

and Training Center, Naval Support Activity Panama City, Florida.
 Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School* — Navy
Remote Training Sites; NAS North Island, CA or NAS Brunswick,
ME.
 Army Airborne School* — Fort Benning, GA.
 United States Army Static Line Jumpmaster School (Fort
Benning, Georgia).
 United States Army Ranger School (Fort Benning, Georgia).
 Special Operations Training Group Schools (i.e. Urban
Sniper, HRST, etc.).
 Recon and Surveillance Leaders Course — Ranger School, Fort
Benning, GA.
 Pathfinder Course — Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, or Army
Air Assault School, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Marine Special Operations Command —

MARSOC
via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/
Though MARSOC Marines tend to be former Recon or Infantry, any Marine
with the guts to give it a shot and the muscle to match can end up as an
operator for Special Operations Command (SOCOM), the unit MARSOC
falls beneath.

They also remain somewhat of a sore spot among Marines — common

among complaints are that anyone can try out, they don't fall under traditional
Marine command structures, they think they're special, etc.

The indoctrination for MARSOC is quite rigorous:

 Assessment and Selection Preparation and Orientation Course — A 21-day
course that is basically just practice for the real initial test.
 Assessment and Selection — A 19-day course which weeds out anyone unable to
complete the grueling 7-month training evolution to become MARSOC.

Upon graduation, students will attend a course broken down into four phases:
 Phase 1 — Communications and combat medicine — the culmination of this
phase is completion of the Survival Evade Resist Escape school.
 Phase 2 — Amphibious operations, tactics, weapons and special reconnaissance.
 Phase 3 — Urban operations: marksmanship, close quarters battle and urban combat.

 Phase 4 — Eight weeks of irregular warfare training, followed by the culminating

exercise.

The Maritime Raid Force — MRF

via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

Piracy is such a problem, the Navy decided to take the best of its personnel,
throw them in high-speed boats, and set them on some pirates.

The Maritime Raid Force is basically a bunch of really good, really

aggressive trigger-pullers who fearlessly hit pirates hard, right in the mouth.
It's essentially the Navy's All Star team for countering pirates — a
hodgepodge of Navy and Marine personnel, SEALs, Marine Snipers, and
Recon, who often draw off knowledge from the Amphibious Reconnaissance
Platoon to conduct counter-piracy and interdiction operations.

Though they don't conduct a wide array of "special" operations, their targeted
and highly trained nature earns them a spot on the BI list.

The different occupational specialties in the MRF are:

 Assault Element: Navy SEALs or Recon Marines .
 Security Element: Infantry Marines, Snipers.
 Support Element: Radio, intel, forward air controllers, etc.
 Aviation, Close Air Support: Marine personnel typically supersede Naval pilots in
this task.

Coast Guard Maritime Safety and

Security Teams — MSST
via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

Yes, the Coast Guard has special operations. These operators fall under the
Deployable Operations Group, and attend training in Advanced Tactical Boat
Operations and Anti-terrorism Force protection at the Joint Maritime
Training Center at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. (Camp Lejeune is also
home to most East Coast Marines.)

Though not super high on the special list, they're elite nature means they have
to be first-responders to counter narcotics shipments, weapons shipments, and
even acts of terrorism.
Coasties who complete MSST training are prepared for and will execute the
following missions:
 Maritime interdiction and law enforcement
 Anti-terrorism/Force Protection
 CBRN-E Detection
 Vertical Insertion (commonly referred to as Fast Roping)
 Search and Rescue (limited)
 Port Protection/Anti-sabotage
 Underwater Port Security
 Canine Handling Teams (Explosive detection)
 Tactical Boat Operations
 Hook and Climb
 Non-compliant boarding operations

Air Force Pararescue Jumpers — PJ

via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

Pararescue jumpers insert well behind enemy lines in order to rescue lost
personnel, typically pilots.

Just a tick less cool than their combat controller brethren, simply because
their main mission is to rescue, not to attack — they fall just outside the top
5. Nonetheless, they have to be ready to fight off hundreds of enemy fighters
by means of clever guerrilla warfare, traps and specialized small unit tactics.

Certainly they can't expect a prima donna pilot to adequately defend himself,
so they're well trained and super aggressive.

Pararescuemen training covers:

 Parachute training (both basic and HALO, High Altitude Low Opening)
 Combat diving
 Underwater egress training
 Basic survival
 Paramedic training
  Pararescue recovery specialist course

US Army Rangers
via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

Rangers are the Army's elite, light infantry shock-troops — airborne qualified
and tough as nails, they can either support higher units — like Army 'Delta'
— or conduct raids on the enemy themselves. Assuming a recruit enters the
Army with a contract to be a Ranger, it'll take about a year of training to go
from civilian to basically trained Army Ranger.

As the Army's "shock troops," they do conduct special operations, but

oftentimes those ops fall in line with what regular Marine infantry does — in
this way, they are elite, but certainly not close to the top dogs.

Courses and qualifications include:

 Military freefall
 Combat diving
 Survival Evasion Resistance Escape
 Jump master (parachuting)
 Combatives instructor
 Combat lifesaver (medical first response)
 Pathfinder (survival)
 Language
 Mountain Warfare

Recapture Tactics Team — Marine

Security Forces
via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/
The Recapture Tactics Team is a sub-unit of Marine Security Forces. The
SWAT-like unit is responsible for guarding Naval bases, particularly those in
possession of nuclear technology.

Aside from attending Marine Designated Marksman and Close Quarters

Battle training, these Marines also attend Naval demolition breaching courses
(not unlike Navy SEALs). All put together, their main job is to assault a well-
fortified room and take back U.S. property — not a wide range of
special operations, but still specialized.

There are 3 elements to a Recapture Tactics Team squad:

 Breachers
skilled in various methods of entry, including using explosives
 Shooters
trained in close quarters battle (CQB)
 Designated Marksmen
Sharpshooters, typically armed with M14 Designated Marksmen Rifles, with high
powered scopes and silencers.

Special Activities Division — Central

Intelligence Agency
via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

The Special Activities Division in the CIA is comprised of only a few

hundred people. For good reason — their main mission is complete
"deniable" operations. If Rainbow Six is Black Operations, then SAD is the
shadow cast by those operations.

The Agency can and does recruit from within for these positions, sending
Agents through the actual military pipeline to get organically trained agents.
They also hire former SEALs, Green Berets, and Marine Recon.
They break down into three branches:
 Ground Branch
SAD Ground Branch operatives are experts in field craft, surveillance, small arms,
hostage rescue, CQB and advanced driving. Many former Army Special Forces soldiers
and Delta Force operators find their way into Ground Branch.
 Maritime Branch
As the name suggests, SAD Maritime Branch's focus is on amphibious operations and as
such tends to recruit ex SEALs and Force Recon Marines as its operators.
 Air Branch
SAD's aviation wing.

Marine Scout Snipers

via AmericanSpecialOps.com/photos/

Scout Snipers are subject matter experts on identification of high valued

targets, visual reconnaissance, and ingress and egress, without detection,
from enemy occupied territory.

Oh yeah, and they can shoot hair off a tick's behind from a kilometer away.

They're not super elite in that the military will use them for raids, but their
expertise at recon and shooting high-valued targets in the face puts them
squarely into the realm of special operations.

Their 8.5 week initial training consists of:

 Marksmanship and field craft:
Running. Running. More running. Students also learn how to sketch terrain, read targets
through a spotter scope, and hit targets at "known" distances.
 Stalking:
Students learn how to enter a contested area unnoticed, scout that area, and exit unnoticed
— meanwhile, trained, hardened sniper instructors scan the area with high powered
binoculars, looking for the students.
 Unknown Distance Range:
Students fire at targets upward of a kilometer away, without being told exactly what the
distance or elevation is. The Marines must accurately range and hit their own targets.
Navy Special Warfare Combat-craft
Crewmen — SWCC
via AmericanSpecialOps.com

When the SEALs are in a bind, they call SWCC.

Combat Crewman provide highly aggressive, tactical "exfiltration" of SEAL

units. They can be loud and destructive, or quite quiet, as they aid and
reinforce SEALs who may or may not be in a particularly nasty situation.

Eliteness: Not as high level as Force Recon, but not quite in the middle with
Rangers.

To become a basically trained crewman, a sailor must complete:

 3 weeks Indoctrination Course at NAB Coronado, California
 8 weeks Basic Crewman Training (BCT) training at the Naval Special Warfare
Center, NAB Coronado
 21-week SWCC Crewman Qualification Training (CQT) at NAB Coronado

Army Green Berets — "Special Forces"

via AmericanSpecialOps.com

Army Green Berets are among the most elite groups in the world, and
provide a pipeline to higher units, like the Army's "Delta" CAG, and the CIA
SAD.

They have about as much street-cred as numbered SEALs and Force Recon,
depending on who's doing the talking.
Notably, Green Berets have some of the toughest initial training in the entire
military (at the risk of drawing the ire of SEALs and Marine Recon). Their
initial test lasts an incredible 24 days, and that's just to see if you can attend
the Green Beret qualification course.

The initial test:

 Days 1 — 3: Physical fitness tests, language training, rucksack marches, basic first aid.
 Days 4 — 19: Map reading, and land navigation over various terrain. weeks Basic
 Days 20 — 22: Long distance trek, long distance land navigation.
 Days 23 — 24: Outprocessing and official selection boards.

And don't forget ...

National Guard via Flickr

Air Force:

— Tactical Response Force: Kind of like police SWAT teams, except

with nuclear bombs. Air Force TRFs protect nuclear missile silos.

— Tactical Air Control Parties (TACP): "Tacs" guide close air support
and artillery by radio or other communication, often from behind enemy
lines.

Army:

— Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR): These are the

guys in those infamous black helicopters. Dubbed "The Nightstalkers,"
they're a group of upper echelon tactical aviators who support operators on
the ground.
— Intelligence Support Activity (ISA): Referred to as "The Activity,"
this Top Secret unit performs Human Intelligence (HUMINT, spies and
assets) operations and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT, "listeners").

— Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG): A group comprised of only

about 400 people who specialize in developing methods to counter
asymmetric threats. They advise the officers who implement policy in the
field.

— Special Reaction Teams: Army version of civilian SWAT teams.

Navy:

— Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 84: The "Red Wolves" are the
Navy's version Army SOAR. They provide heliborne support to Navy SEALs
and SWCC operators on the ground.

Marine Corps:

— Radio Recon Platoon: Radio reconnaissance members are specialized

warfighters who also provide communications to Marine Corps Recon
operators.

— Special Reaction Teams: A Marine Corps version of civilian SWAT

teams.

Now that you know why there's a

"special" in American Special
Operations ...
AFP

CHECK OUT 16 fascinating new details from the man who shot
bin Laden >

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