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2009•University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas)Open access

U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress

Andrew Feickert

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Abstract

Special Operations Forces (SOF) are small, elite military units with special training and equipment that can infiltrate into hostile territory through land, sea, or air to conduct a variety of operations, many of them classified. SOF personnel undergo rigorous selection and lengthy, specialized training. The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) oversees the training, doctrine, and equipping of all U.S. SOF units. SOF personnel play a significant role in U.S. military operations and the Administration has given U.S. SOF greater responsibility for planning and conducting worldwide counterterrorism operations. Potential increased SOF involvement in Pakistan and SOF expansion mandated by the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) might be issues for congressional consideration. This report will be updated as events warrant.

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Special Operations Forces (SOF) are small, elite military units with special training and equipment that can infiltrate into hostile territory through land, sea, or air to conduct a variety of operations, many of them classified. SOF personnel undergo rigorous selection and lengthy, specialized training. The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) oversees the training, doctrine, and equipping of all U.S. SOF units. SOF personnel play a significant role in U.S. military operations and the Administration has given U.S. SOF greater responsibility for planning and conducting worldwide counterterrorism operations. Potential increased SOF involvement in Pakistan and SOF expansion mandated by the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) might be issues for congressional consideration. This report will be updated as events warrant.

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Available abstract

Special Operations Forces (SOF) are small, elite military units with special training and equipment that can infiltrate into hostile territory through land, sea, or air to conduct a variety of operations, many of them classified. SOF personnel undergo rigorous selection and lengthy, specialized training. The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) oversees the training, doctrine, and equipping of all U.S. SOF units. SOF personnel play a significant role in U.S. military operations and the Administration has given U.S. SOF greater responsibility for planning and conducting worldwide counterterrorism operations. Potential increased SOF involvement in Pakistan and SOF expansion mandated by the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) might be issues for congressional consideration. This report will be updated as events warrant.

Key concepts: Special forces, Variety (cybernetics), Aeronautics, Political science, Operations research, Operations management, Computer security, Computer science

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