Is that even all of them? Why do you guys have so many different types of special forces?
In: Other
Just like any organization, the bigger you are the more you can specialized your people. It’s useful to have different culture, training and ways of doing things when doing different jobs, especially if what you are doing is as important as special forces. Even smaller country need to divide their special forces. Poland have 6 different special group. As for what each of them do :
Navy Seals recruit, specialize and train within the Navy. Anything that have to do with the water, but also the aircraft, ships and operation that the Navy is doing.
Green Berets is for the army and they specialize in training, organizing, supporting and leading local people for unconventional warfare. For example, in Iraq they worked with the Kurdish people to form a Northern Front during the Invasion.
Army Rangers is a light infantry unit. Contrary to most other SF, they rarely do their job in small team, but rather as more traditional military unit like company and battalion. They will do operation like parachuting to secure a airfield deep into enemy territory, or they will provide security for another SF unit to do their job.
Force Recon is a bit like the Ranger for the Marines in the sense that they work in larger unit. One company is assigned to each Marine Expeditionary Forces, where they provide two main capability to the commander of the force. One is deep reconnaissance, the other is direct action.
Marine Raiders is a more traditional unit of SF for the marine, the Marine Corps send them where they are needed, they are not a unit under control of the local Marine Commander.
TACP, CCT and PJ are specialist of the Air Force. Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) are small team assigned to Army unit or Special Force to provide air support control. Basically they are specialist to link the unit on the ground and assets of the Air Force. Combat Control Team are combat air traffic controllers, they can go in an area to step up an air field, run a air traffic tower, direct the aircraft, etc. Very useful when you take over the airfield of the enemy. Pararescue (PJs) are specialist in combat search and rescue, basically if someone is in trouble in an inconvenient place, they can go find him, fix him up if needed and evacuate him to safety.
DEVGRU (AKA Seal Team 6), Delta Force and 24th Special Tactics Squadron are called Tier 1 Special Mission Unit. Typically DEVGRU will recruit from the Navy Seal, Delta Force will recruit for the Green Berets and the 24th will recruit from the TACP, CCT or PJs. They are the higher quality of special forces, very secretive, take care of high-profile mission and are more of a strategical assets for the whole military.
There is a couple more that are less known or smaller in size. The ISA (CIA), SWCC (River Boats), SR (Air Attack behind enemy lines), etc
Latest Answers