The Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) is an Australian Defence Force command that was established on 5 May 2003 to unite all of the Australian Army's special forces units and by 2008 was fully operational.[3][4][5] Australia's Special Operations Command is of equivalent status to Australia's Fleet, Forces and Air Commands.[3] It is modelled on the equivalent commands in the United States and British military forces, and is led by a major general as Special Operations Commander Australia (SOCAUST).
The origins of SOCOMD began in 1979 with the army creating a small Directorate Special Action Forces—Army. On 13 February 1990, Headquarters Special Forces was established, which was renamed in 1997 to Headquarters Special Operations and in 2003 to Special Operations Headquarters or SOCOMD.[5][6][7]
History
A Special Operations Task Group patrol in Afghanistan in October 2009
The Special Operations Commander Australia (SOCAUST) is responsible for the peacetime 'raise, train and sustain' functions of Special Operations Command reporting to the Chief of Army, while the Chief of Joint Operations is responsible for the operational functions of Special Operations Command deployments.[7] The SOCAUST is responsible for the domestic counter-terrorism deployments of Special Operations Command reporting directly to the Chief of the Defence Force.[7]
The following have held the position of Special Operations Commander Australia, with the ranks and honours as at the completion of their tenure:
^ abGoh, Puay Hock (Francis) (June 2011). How should SOF be organized?(PDF) (Master's thesis). U.S. Navy Postgraduate School. OCLC743235192. Archived(PDF) from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
^Boer, Cpl Corinne (19 April 2007). "Back into fray". Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1164 ed.). Canberra, Australia: Department of Defence. ISSN0729-5685. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011.
^Logue, Jason (8 May 2003). "Tartan TAG". Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1073 ed.). Canberra: Department of Defence. ISSN0729-5685. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013.
^Benson, CAPT Dean (15 November 2018). "Training for success"(PDF). Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper (1432 ed.). Canberra: Department of Defence. ISSN0729-5685. Archived from the original(PDF) on 31 December 2019.
Horner, David (2002). SAS: Phantoms of War. A History of the Australian Special Air Service (Second ed.). Sydney, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN1-86508-647-9.
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