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).[3] 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".[4]
The U.S. government does not acknowledge which units specifically are designated as special missions units,[5] 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 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.[6] In 1998, Under Secretary of Defense for PolicyWalter 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. These units are on alert every day of the year and have worked extensively with their interagency counterparts."[7]
List of United States military SMUs
As of 2023, the U.S. military publicly acknowledges five units as special mission units:
The Army's Intelligence Support Activity, officially identified only by a series of code names that are replaced every two years.[17] Originally tasked by the Army and subordinate to INSCOM, they were placed under JSOC after the September 11 attacks. JSOC color-coded as Task Force Orange.[18][8]
The Army's Asymmetric Warfare Group, which was deactivated in 2021, was referred to as a special mission unit by the Army.[20][21][22] Though subordinate to TRADOC, many of AWG's subject-matter experts are former JSOC members.[22]
The SASR currently has four sabre squadrons, known as 1, 2, 3 and 4 squadron.[24] The first two squadrons rotate through the two roles performed by the regiment; 1 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.[25]
Notable operations
An Iraqi-American military interpreter pictured with Hussein shortly after his capture
On October 22, 2015, 30 U.S. special operations forces consisting of members of Delta Force, aviators from the 160th SOAR, paramilitary officers from the CIA's Special Activities Center and along with members of the Kurdish Counter-terrorism unit Peshmerga, conducted a raid on an ISIS prison compound north of the town of Hawija in Iraq's Kirkuk province which resulted in the liberation of approximately 70 hostages, including more than 20 members of the Iraqi Security Forces who were to be executed and buried in freshly dug graves.[28] The operation left one Delta operator dead, MSGJoshua Wheeler, the first American to be killed by ISIS insurgents and the first American to be killed in Action in Iraq since November 2011.[29][30]SGMThomas Payne, then a SFC, was awarded the Medal of Honor on September 11, 2020, for his actions that day.[31][32]
Between October 26 and 27, 2019, in Barisha, Idlib Governorate, Syria, members of 1st SFOD-D (Delta Force) along with paramilitary officers from the CIA's Special Activities Center, Army Rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment and aviators from the 160th SOAR conducted a raid that resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[33] The raid was named Operation Kayla Mueller after American human rights activist and humanitarian aid worker Kayla Mueller, who was captured in Syria, tortured, and eventually killed by ISIL on February 6, 2015. Baghdadi killed himself when he detonated a suicide belt while seeking to evade the U.S. forces during the raid after reaching a dead end in a tunnel. Two Delta operators and one military working dog (Conan) were injured from Baghdadi's suicide belt but sustained no life threatening injuries.[34]
^"Asymmetric Warfare Group". www.army.mil. 2010-04-07. Retrieved 2024-10-04. The Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) is a special mission unit under the Army G-3/5/7 providing operational advisory assistance to Army and Joint Force Commanders to enhance the combat effectiveness of the forces defeating asymmetric threats.
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