Special forces
- For other uses of the term, see Special forces (disambiguation).
Special forces or special operations forces are military units which are formed and trained to conduct missions involving unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, direct action and foreign internal defence. Special forces typically comprise relatively small groups of highly-trained personnel who are armed and supplied with specialised equipment, and operate on principles of self-sufficiency, stealth, speed and close teamwork.
The selection process for a special operations force is typically extremely rigorous, with recruit training often exceeding two years. Certain missions may require additional training. As the work of special operations forces is often performed covertly and involves classified information, candidates are put through extensive trials prior to acceptance, which have extremely high "washout" rates. Candidates must also have security clearance. Special operations forces may work with intelligence agencies on a regular basis, facilitating rapid action in response to current intelligence.
Special forces soldiers may also be used to train foreign local forces when military aid is given to other countries, so that much of their specialised training includes language and cultural skills. Due to the secrecy surrounding much of their training and work, special operations forces have an aura of mystique and mystery about them, and have frequently been the topic of military fiction. Coincidentally, those in a special operations unit often refer to themselves as "Quiet Professionals".
History of special forces
Special operations forces have played an important role throughout the history of warfare when the aim has been to achieve disruption by "hit and run" and sabotage, rather than more traditional face to face combat. Other significant roles lay in reconnaissance, providing essential intelligence from close to or among the enemy, and increasingly in combating terrorists, their infrastructure and activities.
During the Napoleonic wars, rifle and sapper units existed who were not committed to the formal lines that made up most battles of the day. They instead held more specialised roles in reconnaissance and skirmishing. The formation of the Bushveldt Carbineers in the Second Boer War may also be seen as an early manifestation of a unit for unconventional warfare.
World War I
During World War I Colonel Bassi of the Italian Army formed "Reparti d'assalto" (Assault Units) called Arditi. They were assigned the tactical role of shock troops, breaching enemy defences in order to prepare the way for a broad infantry advance. The Reparti d'assalto were successful in bringing a degree of movement to what had previously been a war of entrenched positions. The Arditi were not considered infantry troops, but were seen and organised as a separate combat arm. Thus they are some of the modern world's first true Special Forces. Also considered Special Forces were the Canadian Corps and the ANZACS. British officers utilised the Canadians and ANZACS as front-line shock troopers. This was first demonstrated during the Battle of the Somme in which the Canadians and ANZACS fought with distinction. They fulfilled this role time and again, leading up the Battle of Vimy Ridge. On the German side, the success of the Spring Offensive reflected on their successful employment of specially trained 'stormtrooper' or Sturmtruppen units, whose unconventional infiltration tactics made them de facto special forces.
World War II
During World War II in 1940 the British Commandos were formed following Winston Churchill's call for "specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast." The Commandos were selected from volunteers among existing servicemen and went on to spawn a number of other specialist units including the Long Range Desert Group, the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service and the Small Scale Raiding Force of the Special Operations Executive. In the Burma Campaign, the Chindits, whose long range penetration groups were trained to operate from bases deep behind Japanese lines, contained commandos (King's Regiment (Liverpool), 142 Commando Company) and Gurkhas. Their jungle expertise, which would play an important part in many British special forces operations post war, was learnt, at a great cost in lives, in the jungles of Burma fighting the Japanese.
In mid-1942, the United States formed the Rangers who were based on and trained by the Commandos. The United States and Canada also formed a sabotage ski brigade for operations in Norway who became known as the Devil's Brigade during their eventual service in Italy. Merrill's Marauders were modelled on the Chindits and took part in similar operations in Burma.
The German army had the Brandenburger Regiment who became a special forces unit used by the Abwehr in the 1939 Fall Weiss, 1940 Fall Gelb and Barbarossa campaigns for long range reconnaissance as well as raids behind enemy lines. Later during the war the SS- Jagdverbände within the Waffen SS commanded by Otto Skorzeny also conducted many special operations.
On October 21, Hitler, inspired by an American subterfuge which had put three captured German tanks flying German colours to devastating use at Aachen, summoned Skorzeny to Berlin and assigned him to lead a panzer brigade. As planned by Skorzeny in Operation Greif, about two dozen German soldiers, most of them in captured American army Jeeps and disguised as American soldiers, penetrated American lines in the early hours of the Battle of the Bulge and sowed disorder and confusion behind the Allied lines. A handful of his men were captured by the Americans and spread a rumour that Skorzeny was leading a raid on Paris to kill or capture General Eisenhower. Although this was untrue, Eisenhower was confined to his headquarters for weeks and Skorzeny was labelled "the most dangerous man in Europe".
In Italy, the Decima Flottiglia MAS were responsible for the sinking and damage of considerable Allied tonnage in the Mediterranean. After the division of Italy in 1943, those fighting with Germany retained the original name and those fighting with the Allies retitled as the Mariassalto.
Late 20th and early 21st century
Throughout the later half of the 20th century and into the 21st century, special forces have come to higher prominence, as governments have found objectives can sometimes be better achieved by a small team of anonymous specialists than a larger and much more politically controversial conventional deployment. In both Kosovo and Afghanistan, special forces were used to coordinate activities between local guerrilla fighters and air power. Typically, guerrilla fighters would engage enemy soldiers and tanks causing them to move, where they could be seen and attacked from the air.
Invariably, special forces were used in key military operations such as the Falklands War, The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the first and second Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia, the Iranian Embassy siege (London) and the Moscow theater hostage crisis.
Due to the fact that Special Forces seem "elite" by default, many dictatorships with small, specialised militaries have taken to naming their bodyguard units "Special Forces", although none (if any) of these units have the training or equipment to be considered elite in Europe or the United States. One example would be Iraq's Special Republican Guard under Saddam Hussein. This unit was a force of volunteer soldiers with a slightly better arsenal than the regular troops. Another example would be the North Korean Special Forces. Considered "special forces" by the North Korean government because of special training used to fight guerilla actions in tunnels, they are actually closer to military specialists.
The line between Special Forces and elite forces today is quite often severely blurred. In the "War on Terrorism", conventional troops also carry out counter-terrorism operations, but the difference between conventional troops and Special Forces troops conducting counter-terrorism operations would be the lengths to which they will go. Special Operation Forces would make a lightning quick raid, or stay in that area for a long time, interacting with the native tribes and such to hunt down terrorists while conventional troops move in and carefully comb the area for terrorists.
Special operations forces
In the U.S. military, the term special operations forces refer to all components of USSOCOM, such as Army Rangers, Special Forces, Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations, and the 160th SOAR; Navy Seals and Special Boat Units; Air Force Special Operations and USMC Special Operations. These units have unique capabilities and do not fight by conventional means, hence the designation as "special". "Special Forces" refers exclusively to the United States Army Special Forces, commonly known as the Green Berets.
To the untrained, the phrases "special forces" and "special operations forces" are generally regarded as synonymous.