U.S. Special Operations Command

The founding of SOCOM came about as a result of lack of command and control and inter-service coordination failures in operations in the early 1980s, especially with the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw and the attempted rescue of of hostages at the American Embassy in Iran in 1980. Since that time, SOCOM has been involved in clandestine and special forces activity, such as direct action, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, unconventional warfare, psychological warfare, civil affairs, and counter-narcotics operations. Each branch of the armed forces has a Special Operations Command capable of running its own operations. In the case of necessary cooperation in an operation, SOCOM becomes the joint component command of the operation.

The operations of SOCOM include the following:

• Monitor special operations officers' promotions, assignments, training, retention, and education
• Develop and acquire particular equipment, materielmaterial, supplies, and services.

The founding of SOCOM came about as a result of lack of command and control and inter-service coordination failures in operations in the early 1980s, especially with the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw and the attempted rescue of of hostages at the American Embassy in Iran in 1980. Since that time, SOCOM has been involved in clandestine and special forces activity, such as direct action, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, unconventional warfare, psychological warfare, civil affairs, and counter-narcotics operations. Each branch of the Armedarmed Forcesforces has a Special Operations Command capable of running its own operations. In the case of necessary cooperation in an operation, SOCOM becomes the joint component command of the operation.

Before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, SOCOM's primary focus was supporting command missions of organizing, training, and equipping SOF and providing these forces to support geographic combatant commanders and ambassadors. The responsibilities of SOCOM waswere extended in the 2004 Unified Command Plan, which assigned SOCOM responsibility for organizing DoD plans against global terrorist networks and conducting global operations.

The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) is a branch of SOCOM and the United States Air Force responsible for special operations in the operation of the Air Force. AFSOC is intended to be optimized for episodic theater engagement and is driven by the need to counter global violent extremist threats. AFSOC works to support the Air Force and the larger Armedarmed Forcesforces with organizing, training, equipping, validating, and deploying forces capable of generating advantages in competition short of armed conflict,; enabling the joint force to win in armed conflict,; executing efficient operations to counter violent organizations,; and responding to crisis.

The United States Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) is a branch of SOCOM and the United States Army responsible for special operations in the operation of the U.S Army with the mission to prepare to for any conflict and arm the joint force with special operations forces capable of advancing partnerships, influencing adversarial behavior, executing special operations, and responding to crisis. This includes being prepared to compete, deter, and win against adversaries across military operations and as part of a joint force. ARSOF works to leverage adaptive and innovative institutions, empowered soldiers, and integrated units to deliver these capabilities.

Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a division of SOCOM whichthat prepares assigned, attached, and augmented forces, and when directed conducts special operations against threats to protect the United States and interests abroad. JSOC is engaged in the case when multiple special operation commands are engaged in an operation, and in which case JSOC works to coordinate commands.

The Marine Forces Special Operations Command is a branch of SOCOM and the United States Marines responsible for special operations within the marines. Their extended mission is to recruit, train, sustain, and deploy expeditionary forces to accomplish special operations. This includes equipping and training Marines to succeed in austere conditions against a range of adversaries. These marines are in turn expected to perform in distributed operations across uncertain environments and achieve silent success and strategic impact.

One of the more well knownwell-known special operation branches of SOCOM, due to the popularity of the Navy SEALS which, is the operational arm of the Naval Sea Warfare Command (NSW). The NSW is a branch of the USU.S. Navy, and is a multipurpose combat force organized and trained to conduct a variety of special operations missions in all environments. SEAL teams conduct clandestine missions infiltrating objective areas by fixed and rotary wing aircraft, navy surface ships, combatant craft, submarines, and ground mobility vehicles.

A key objective in establishing a unified command, specifically SOCOM, was to help equip Special Operation Forces (SOF) of the military services with the right weapon systems to carry out their missions. Accordingly, the SOCOM commander was granted authority to independently develop, acquire, and field specialized equipment, creating unique SOF-peculiar equipment or modified standard equipment intended for SOF needs. The acquisition program's budget has increased since 2001, which saw the budget at $788 million, a budgetand whichthen grew to $1.91 billion in 2006 as SOCOM's operations have grown. But thisThe budget amount grew to $2.3 billion for 2021, which was a 12 percent reduction from the 2020 budget amount.

However, with the increase in technological and operational complexity, the shift towards less conventional warfare, and an increased use of SOCOM and related special operation forces, SOCOM's development and acquisition program has in turn continued to grow and develop in its complexity and interest to continue to ensure SOF readiness and operational effectiveness. This is also to keep SOCOM in line with the larger DoD mandate of developing operational capabilities to maintain the U.S. Military's operational superiority compared to strategic competitors and in the face of possible strategic competition from revisionist powers. This increased technological purview of development and acquisitions includes programs under thethese broad headings of:

The founding of SOCOM came about as a result of lack of command and control and inter-service coordination failures in operations in the early 1980s, especially with the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw and the attempted rescue of of hostages at the American Embassy in IranIran in 1980. Since that time, SOCOM has been involved in clandestine and special forces activity, such as direct action, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, unconventional warfare, psychological warfare, civil affairs, and counter-narcotics operations. Each branch of the Armed Forces has a Special Operations Command capable of running its own operations. In the case of necessary cooperation in an operation, SOCOM becomes the joint component command of the operation.

The founding of SOCOM came about as a result of lack of command and control and inter-service coordination failures in operations in the early 1980s, especially with the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw and the attempted rescue of of hostages at the American Embassy in Iran in 1980. Since that time, SOCOM has been involved in clandestine and special forces activity, such as direct action, special reconnaissancespecial reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, unconventional warfare, psychological warfare, civil affairs, and counter-narcotics operations. Each branch of the Armed Forces has a Special Operations Command capable of running its own operations. In the case of necessary cooperation in an operation, SOCOM becomes the joint component command of the operation.

One of the more well known special operation branches of SOCOM due to the popularity of the NavyNavy SEALS which is the operational arm of the Naval Sea Warfare Command (NSW). The NSW is a branch of the US Navy, and is a multipurpose combat force organized and trained to conduct a variety of special operations missions in all environments. SEAL teams conduct clandestine missions infiltrating objective areas by fixed and rotary wing aircraft, navy surface ships, combatant craft, submarines, and ground mobility vehicles.

The United States Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) is a branch of SOCOM and the United States Army responsible for special operations in the operation of the U.S ArmyU.S Army with the mission to prepare to for any conflict and arm the joint force with special operations forces capable of advancing partnerships, influencing adversarial behavior, executing special operations, and responding to crisis. This includes being prepared to compete, deter, and win against adversaries across military operations and as part of a joint force. ARSOF works to leverage adaptive and innovative institutions, empowered soldiers, and integrated units to deliver these capabilities.

The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) is a branch of SOCOM and the United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force responsible for special operations in the operation of the Air Force. AFSOC is intended to be optimized for episodic theater engagement and driven by the need to counter global violent extremist threats. AFSOC works to support the Air Force and the larger Armed Forces with organizing, training, equipping, validating, and deploying forces capable of generating advantages in competition short of armed conflict, enabling the joint force to win in armed conflict, executing efficient operations to counter violent organizations, and responding to crisis.

The founding of SOCOM came about as a result of lack of command and control and inter-service coordination failures in operations in the early 1980s, especially with the aftermath of Operation Eagle ClawOperation Eagle Claw and the attempted rescue of of hostages at the American Embassy in Iran in 1980. Since that time, SOCOM has been involved in clandestine and special forces activity, such as direct action, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, unconventional warfare, psychological warfare, civil affairs, and counter-narcotics operations. Each branch of the Armed Forces has a Special Operations Command capable of running its own operations. In the case of necessary cooperation in an operation, SOCOM becomes the joint component command of the operation.

The United States ArmyUnited States Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) is a branch of SOCOM and the United States Army responsible for special operations in the operation of the U.S Army with the mission to prepare to for any conflict and arm the joint force with special operations forces capable of advancing partnerships, influencing adversarial behavior, executing special operations, and responding to crisis. This includes being prepared to compete, deter, and win against adversaries across military operations and as part of a joint force. ARSOF works to leverage adaptive and innovative institutions, empowered soldiers, and integrated units to deliver these capabilities.