United States Joint Special Operations Command
Encyclopedia
The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a component command of the United States Special Operations Command
(USSOCOM) and is charged to study special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equipment standardization, plan and conduct special operations exercises and training, and develop Joint Special Operations Tactics. It was established in 1980 on recommendation of Col. Charlie Beckwith, in the aftermath of the failure of Operation Eagle Claw
. It is located at Pope Army Air Field and Fort Bragg
in North Carolina
, USA.
(JCU) is tasked to ensure compatibility of communications systems and standard operating procedures of the different special operations units.
The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) also commands and controls the Special Mission Unit
s (SMU) of United States Special Operations Command
(USSOCOM). These units perform highly classified activities. So far, only three SMUs have been publicly disclosed: The Army
's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment—Delta
, the Navy
's Naval Special Warfare Development Group
, and the Air Force
's 24th Special Tactics Squadron
. Units from the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment
and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment are controlled by JSOC when deployed as part of JSOC Task Forces such as Task Force 121
and Task Force 145.
The Intelligence Support Activity
(ISA) is also under JSOC. The ISA collects specific target intelligence prior to SMU missions, and provides signals support, etc. during those missions. The ISA often operates under various cover names, the most recent one being Gray Fox. The army once maintained the ISA, but after the September 11 attacks the Pentagon
shifted direct control to Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, NC. JSOC’s primary mission is believed to be identifying and destroying terrorists and terror cells worldwide.
JSOC has an excellent relationship with the CIA
's elite Special Activities Division
(SAD) and the two forces often operate together.
The SAD's Special Operations Group often selects their recruits from JSOC.
, Title 10 of the US Code expressly allows the Secretary of Defense to make military personnel available to train Federal, State, and local civilian law enforcement officials in the operation and maintenance of equipment; and to provide such law enforcement officials with expert advice. Additionally, civilian and uniformed military lawyers said provisions in several federal statutes, including the Fiscal Year 2000 Defense Department Authorization Act, Public Law 106-65, permits the secretary of defense to authorize military forces to support civilian agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in the event of a national emergency, especially any involving nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons.
In January 2005, a small group of commandos were deployed to support security at the Presidential inauguration
. They were allegedly deployed under a secret counter-terrorism program named Power Geyser
. The New York Times quoted a senior military official as saying, "They bring unique military and technical capabilities that often are centered around potential WMD events," A civil liberties advocate who was told about the program by a reporter said that he had no objections to the program as described to him because its scope appeared to be limited to supporting the counterterrorism efforts of civilian authorities.
, JSOC's commander Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal
operated in 2006 on the understanding with Pakistan that US units will not enter Pakistan except under extreme circumstances, and that Pakistan will deny giving them permission.
That scenario happened according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), in January 2006, JSOC troops clandestinely entered the village of Saidgai, Pakistan, to hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Pakistan refused entry.
According to a recent report in The Nation
, JSOC, in tandem with Blackwater/Xe
, has an ongoing drone program, along with snatch/grab/assassination operations, based in Karachi and conducted both in and outside of Pakistan.
In a recent leak published on the Wikileaks
website, US embassy communication cables from the US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson
states the Pakistani Army approved the deployment of U.S. Special Operations Forces, which include elements from the Joint Special Operations Command were embedded in the Pakistani Army's 11th Corp to provide support for operations targeting militant groups in north and south Waziristan and other areas of Pakistan. The extent of these actions would include assisting in training but also to conduct 'offensive combat operations'. These actions by JSOC elements would be mainly providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets such as drone UAV aircraft.
JSOC is credited with coordination of Operation Neptune's Spear that resulted in the Death of Osama bin Laden
on 1 May 2011
, Chairman Senator Joseph Biden (Delaware), informed United States Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice
that the Bush Administration did not have the authority to send US troops on cross-border raids. Biden said, "I believe the present authorization granted the president to use force in Iraq does not cover that, and he does need congressional authority to do that. I just want to set that marker."
Sometime in 2007, JSOC started conducting cross-border operations into Iran from southern Iraq with the CIA. These operations included seizing members of Al-Quds, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and taking them to Iraq for interrogation, as well as the pursuit, capture, and/or execution of high-value targets in the war on terror. The Bush administration allegedly combined the CIA's intelligence operations with JSOC covert military operations so that Congress would only partially see how the money was spent.
, armed drone
s took off from a new, secret American base in the Arabian Peninsula, crossed into northern Yemen and unleashed a barrage of Hellfire missiles at al-Aulaki's vehicle. Samir Khan
, a Pakistani-American al-Qaeda member and editor of the jihadist Inspire
magazine, also reportedly died in the attack. The combined CIA/JSOC drone strike was the first in Yemen since 2002 — there have been others by the military’s Special Operations forces — and was part of an effort by the spy agency to duplicate in Yemen the covert war which has been running in Afghanistan and Pakistan. .
United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense...
(USSOCOM) and is charged to study special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equipment standardization, plan and conduct special operations exercises and training, and develop Joint Special Operations Tactics. It was established in 1980 on recommendation of Col. Charlie Beckwith, in the aftermath of the failure of Operation Eagle Claw
Operation Eagle Claw
Operation Eagle Claw was an American military operation ordered by President Jimmy Carter to attempt to put an end to the Iran hostage crisis by rescuing 52 Americans held captive at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran on 24 April 1980...
. It is located at Pope Army Air Field and Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, USA.
Overview
The JSOC is the "joint headquarters designed to study special operations requirements and techniques; ensure interoperability and equipment standardization; plan and conduct joint special operations exercises and training; and develop joint special operations tactics." For this task, the Joint Communications UnitJoint Communications Unit
The Joint Communications Unit is a technical unit of the SOCOM charged to standardize and ensure interoperability of communication procedures and equipment of the Joint Special Operations Command and its subordinate units. The JCU was activated at Ft. Bragg, NC in 1980, after the failure of...
(JCU) is tasked to ensure compatibility of communications systems and standard operating procedures of the different special operations units.
The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) also commands and controls the Special Mission Unit
Special Mission Unit
A Special Mission Unit , in the United States Armed Forces, is a Tier-One United States Special Operations Command asset. Under the control of the Joint Special Operations Command, they are specially selected and designated units which are tasked with "special missions", sometimes referring to...
s (SMU) of United States Special Operations Command
United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense...
(USSOCOM). These units perform highly classified activities. So far, only three SMUs have been publicly disclosed: The Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment—Delta
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
, the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's Naval Special Warfare Development Group
United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group
The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group , commonly known as DEVGRU and informally by its former name SEAL Team Six , is one of the United States' four secretive counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units .The vast majority of information about DEVGRU is highly classified, and...
, and the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
's 24th Special Tactics Squadron
24th Special Tactics Squadron
The 24th Special Tactics Squadron is one of the Special Tactics units of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command .-Disposition:Based at Pope Air Force Base the 24th STS is among the premier Special Tactics Squadrons in the Air Force....
. Units from the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment
75th Ranger Regiment (United States)
The 75th Ranger Regiment , also known as Rangers, is a Special Operations light infantry unit of the United States Army. The Regiment is headquartered in Fort Benning, Georgia with battalions in Fort Benning, Hunter Army Airfield and Joint Base Lewis-McChord...
and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment are controlled by JSOC when deployed as part of JSOC Task Forces such as Task Force 121
Task Force 121
Task Force 121 is an example of the United States' 'Joint Task Force' concept of conducting special operations. TF121 is a multi-service force commanded by U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Gregory L. Trebon. The spearhead of the force is a forty-man team made up of operators from the U.S. Army's...
and Task Force 145.
The Intelligence Support Activity
Intelligence Support Activity
The United States Army Intelligence Support Activity , frequently shortened to Intelligence Support Activity or ISA, and nicknamed The Activity is a United States Army Special Operations unit originally subordinated to the US Army Intelligence and Security Command...
(ISA) is also under JSOC. The ISA collects specific target intelligence prior to SMU missions, and provides signals support, etc. during those missions. The ISA often operates under various cover names, the most recent one being Gray Fox. The army once maintained the ISA, but after the September 11 attacks the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
shifted direct control to Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, NC. JSOC’s primary mission is believed to be identifying and destroying terrorists and terror cells worldwide.
JSOC has an excellent relationship with the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
's elite Special Activities Division
Special Activities Division
The Special Activities Division is a division in the United States Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service responsible for covert operations known as "special activities"...
(SAD) and the two forces often operate together.
The SAD's Special Operations Group often selects their recruits from JSOC.
Security support
JSOC has provided support to domestic law enforcement agencies during high profile or high risk events such as the Olympics, the World Cup, political party conventions and Presidential inaugurations. Although use of the military for law enforcement purposes in the United states is generally prohibited by the Posse Comitatus ActPosse Comitatus Act
The Posse Comitatus Act is an often misunderstood and misquoted United States federal law passed on June 18, 1878, after the end of Reconstruction. Its intent was to limit the powers of local governments and law enforcement agencies from using federal military personnel to enforce the laws of...
, Title 10 of the US Code expressly allows the Secretary of Defense to make military personnel available to train Federal, State, and local civilian law enforcement officials in the operation and maintenance of equipment; and to provide such law enforcement officials with expert advice. Additionally, civilian and uniformed military lawyers said provisions in several federal statutes, including the Fiscal Year 2000 Defense Department Authorization Act, Public Law 106-65, permits the secretary of defense to authorize military forces to support civilian agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in the event of a national emergency, especially any involving nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons.
In January 2005, a small group of commandos were deployed to support security at the Presidential inauguration
Presidential Inauguration
A Presidential Inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. To see detailed information on specific presidents, see the links below:* Brazilian presidential inauguration* Croatian presidential inauguration...
. They were allegedly deployed under a secret counter-terrorism program named Power Geyser
Power Geyser
Power Geyser is a purported clandestine United States counterterrorism program to operate a group of commandos with state-of-the-art weaponry created to protect the physical safety of the President, Congress, and other high-value government targets.-Sources:...
. The New York Times quoted a senior military official as saying, "They bring unique military and technical capabilities that often are centered around potential WMD events," A civil liberties advocate who was told about the program by a reporter said that he had no objections to the program as described to him because its scope appeared to be limited to supporting the counterterrorism efforts of civilian authorities.
Operations in Pakistan
According to The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, JSOC's commander Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal
Stanley A. McChrystal
Stanley Allen McChrystal is a retired four-star general in the United States Army. His last assignment was as Commander, International Security Assistance Force and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan...
operated in 2006 on the understanding with Pakistan that US units will not enter Pakistan except under extreme circumstances, and that Pakistan will deny giving them permission.
That scenario happened according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), in January 2006, JSOC troops clandestinely entered the village of Saidgai, Pakistan, to hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Pakistan refused entry.
According to a recent report in The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, JSOC, in tandem with Blackwater/Xe
Blackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
, has an ongoing drone program, along with snatch/grab/assassination operations, based in Karachi and conducted both in and outside of Pakistan.
In a recent leak published on the Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
website, US embassy communication cables from the US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson
Anne W. Patterson
Anne Woods Patterson is an American diplomat and career Foreign Service Officer. She currently serves as the United States Ambassador to Egypt. She previously served as acting United States Ambassador to the United Nations in 2005 and as United States Ambassador to Pakistan from July 2007 to...
states the Pakistani Army approved the deployment of U.S. Special Operations Forces, which include elements from the Joint Special Operations Command were embedded in the Pakistani Army's 11th Corp to provide support for operations targeting militant groups in north and south Waziristan and other areas of Pakistan. The extent of these actions would include assisting in training but also to conduct 'offensive combat operations'. These actions by JSOC elements would be mainly providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets such as drone UAV aircraft.
JSOC is credited with coordination of Operation Neptune's Spear that resulted in the Death of Osama bin Laden
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
on 1 May 2011
Operations in Iran
On 11 January 2007, President Bush pledged in a major speech to "seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq." The next day, in a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations CommitteeUnited States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...
, Chairman Senator Joseph Biden (Delaware), informed United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
that the Bush Administration did not have the authority to send US troops on cross-border raids. Biden said, "I believe the present authorization granted the president to use force in Iraq does not cover that, and he does need congressional authority to do that. I just want to set that marker."
Sometime in 2007, JSOC started conducting cross-border operations into Iran from southern Iraq with the CIA. These operations included seizing members of Al-Quds, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and taking them to Iraq for interrogation, as well as the pursuit, capture, and/or execution of high-value targets in the war on terror. The Bush administration allegedly combined the CIA's intelligence operations with JSOC covert military operations so that Congress would only partially see how the money was spent.
Operations in Yemen
Anwar al-Aulaki, a Yemeni-American U.S. citizen and al-Qaeda member, was killed on September 30, 2011 by an air attack carried out by the Joint Special Operations Command. After several days of surveillance of Mr. Aulaki by the Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, armed drone
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
s took off from a new, secret American base in the Arabian Peninsula, crossed into northern Yemen and unleashed a barrage of Hellfire missiles at al-Aulaki's vehicle. Samir Khan
Samir Khan
Samir ibn Zafar Khan was the Pakistani American editor and publisher of Inspire magazine, an English language online magazine reported to be published by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , in which he authored articles such as "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom"...
, a Pakistani-American al-Qaeda member and editor of the jihadist Inspire
Inspire (magazine)
Inspire is an English language online magazine reported to be published by the organization al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . The use of the magazine is to increase the availability of their message without challenges to their value system. The magazine is one of the many ways AQAP uses the...
magazine, also reportedly died in the attack. The combined CIA/JSOC drone strike was the first in Yemen since 2002 — there have been others by the military’s Special Operations forces — and was part of an effort by the spy agency to duplicate in Yemen the covert war which has been running in Afghanistan and Pakistan. .
List of JSOC commanders
| Rank and Name | Start of Term | End of Term |
|---|---|---|
| MG Major General Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general... Richard Scholtes Richard Scholtes Richard A. Scholtes is a retired US Army Major General and the first commander of the US military's Joint Special Operations Command. Scholtes' experience as the commander of Joint Special Operations Task Force 123 during the US invasion of Grenada made him an important figure in the reorganization... |
December 1980 | August 1984 |
| MG Carl Stiner Carl Stiner Carl Wade Stiner is a retired United States Army four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, United States Special Operations Command from 1990 to 1993.-Military career:... |
August 1984 | January 1987 |
| MG Gary E. Luck Gary E. Luck Gary Edward Luck is a retired four-star General in the U.S. Army, and currently a senior advisor to the U.S. Joint Forces Command.... |
January 1987 | December 1989 |
| MG Wayne A. Downing Wayne A. Downing Wayne Allan Downing was a retired four-star United States Army general born in Peoria, Illinois. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962 and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Tulane University.-Military career:*Sep 62 - Feb... |
December 1989 | August 1991 |
| MG William F. Garrison William F. Garrison William F. Garrison is a retired Major General of the United States Army who was the commander of Operation Gothic Serpent, the military operation launched in 1993 to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid... |
1992 | July 1994 |
| MG Peter J. Schoomaker | July 1994 | August 1996 |
| MG Michael Canavan Michael Canavan Michael A. Canavan is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General and former Federal Aviation Administration security official. Canavan presently sits on the board of defense contractor USfalcon. Canavan was the seventh commander of the US military's Joint Special Operations Command and retired... |
1 August 1996 | 1 August 1998 |
| LTG Lieutenant General Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General.... Bryan D. Brown Bryan D. Brown General Bryan Douglas "Doug" Brown is a former Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command . As USSOCOM's combatant commander, he was responsible for all unified special operations forces, both active duty and reserve.... |
1998 | 2000 |
| LTG Dell L. Dailey Dell L. Dailey Ambassador at Large Dell L. Dailey was the head of the State Department's counterterrorism office from July 2007 to April 2009. After a 36 year long career with the U.S. Army, he was appointed to coordinate the State Department's counterterrorism office.... |
2001 | March 2003 |
| LTG Stanley McChrystal | September 2003 | June 2008 |
| VADM William H. McRaven William H. McRaven William Harry McRaven is a United States Navyfour-star admiral who currently serves as ninth Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command. He previously served... |
June 2008 | June 2011 |
| LTG Joseph Votel Joseph Votel Joseph L. Votel is a Lieutenant General in the United States Army and the former Special Operations Command Chief of Staff. In June 2011, Votel succeeded Admiral William McRaven as the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command. -Early career:... |
June 2011 | Present |
See also
- Operation Gothic SerpentOperation Gothic SerpentOperation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted by special operations forces of the United States with the primary mission of capturing warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid...
; Operation Enduring Freedom - Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
's Special Activities DivisionSpecial Activities DivisionThe Special Activities Division is a division in the United States Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service responsible for covert operations known as "special activities"... - Strategic Support BranchStrategic Support BranchThe Strategic Support Branch is a United States intelligence agency created by the Department of Defense with support from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency . The SSB's mission is to provide an intelligence capability for field operation units, and U.S...
- 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta (Delta Force)
- Naval Special Warfare Development Group (SEALs)
- Intelligence Support ActivityIntelligence Support ActivityThe United States Army Intelligence Support Activity , frequently shortened to Intelligence Support Activity or ISA, and nicknamed The Activity is a United States Army Special Operations unit originally subordinated to the US Army Intelligence and Security Command...
(The Activity) - Commandement des Opérations SpécialesCommandement des Opérations SpécialesThe Commandement des Opérations Spéciales is the organisation which coordinates the use of the French special forces of all military branches . The COS was created on 24 June 1992, following the Gulf War...
External links
- Special Ops say lives were on line in Lynch's rescue, by The Washington Times
- US special operations come of age, by Global Defence Review