U.S. Army Special Operations Command: 11 Cool Facts -

While there are various Special Operations forces in the various service branches of the United States military, the U.S. Army maintains the largest batch of Special Operations personnel.

U.S. Army Special Operations have been a major part of the War on Terror, the Afghanistan conflict and Iraqi Freedom, along with others.

In today’s post, we are going to take a much closer look at United States Army Special Operations. I will provide 11 cool facts about the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

The U.S. military has used specially trained commandos for many wars and conflicts, but during World War II, they became more of a reality by the formation of the Office of Strategic Services. The OSS was not an Army command, but many Army personnel were assigned to the OSS.

Now learn 11 facts about USASOC.

1: The First Special Force Unit

While not actually the first, they were deemed the first special forces unit in the eyes of the U.S. Army. In 1952, the Green Beret were formed. They were formally known as the United States Army Special Forces Command (Airborne).

The Green Beret are still the elite of Army Special Forces.

2: Establishment of USASOC

The U.S. Army were utilizing special force troops through Korea, Vietnam and more, but the U.S. Army Special Operations Command was not established until December of 1989. This was done to enhance the readiness of U.S. Army Special Forces units and troops.

3: Headquarters

While you will find Army Special Forces located all over the world, the headquarters for U.S. Army Special Operations Command is located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

4: Motto

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command has a motto that completely fits. It is: “Sine Pari,” which means Without Equal.

5: Joint Operations

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command works in joint measures with other U.S. military special operations through U.S. Special Operations Command who is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. These include:

Naval Special Warfare Command
Air Force Special Operations Command
and Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command

6: Largest

Of all the United States military special forces, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command is the largest of all the service branches. There are approximately 26,000 personnel attached to USASOC.

7: Primary Missions

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command is tasked with 5 primary missions. They are:

Counter Terrorism
Unconventional Warfare
Direct Action
Foreign Internal Defense
Special Reconnaissance

While they are tasked with other missions, these are their primary ones.

8: Social Media

You can find the U.S. Army Special Forces all over social media by doing a quick search.

9: Leadership

The leadership of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command consists of:

Commander: Lieutenant General Kenneth Tovo
Command Sergeant Major: Command Sergeant Major Robert Abernethy

Many of the soldiers with the Special Forces are quite capable leaders themselves. It is one of the Army commands that has leaders everywhere you look.

10: Subordinate Units & Commands

There are 4 primary subordinate commands under the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. They include:

The U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This is the command that guarantees aviation support to Special Operations forces.
The 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. With 3 Battalions, the 75th Ranger Regiment is the elite light infantry Special Operations force.
The 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This is the Green Berets I spoke of earlier. Within this command is the 4th Military Information Support Group (Airborne), the 8th Military Information Support Group (Airborne), the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne) and the 528th Sustainment Brigade (Airborne).
The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This is the education center of all those personnel who are within the Special Operations system of the U.S. Army.

With there being a wide scale of Special Operations troops, the management of all comes from one of these 4 subordinate commands.

11: Fallen Heroes From The U.S. Army Special Operations Command

There have been a number of soldiers from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command who are no longer with us in body, but they are in spirit. There is a website honoring these great heroes. You will find a list of these heroes at each link below:

Vietnam – 785 soldiers
Urgent Fury – Grenada – 9 soldiers
Uphold Democracy – Haiti – 1 soldier
Restore Hope – Somalia – 19 soldiers
Provide Comfort – North Iraq – 3 soldiers
Latin America – 6 soldiers
Korean War – 6 soldiers
Just Cause – Panama – 7 soldiers
Joint Guardian – 1 soldier
Desert Storm/Shield – Middle East – 10 soldiers
Inherent Resolve – Iraq and the Levant – 1 soldier
Freedom Sentinel – Afghanistan – 2 soldiers
Iraqi Freedom – 97 soldiers
Enduring Freedom – 6 soldiers
Enduring Freedom – Philippines – 14 soldiers
and, Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan – 113 soldiers

Final Thoughts

Much of the defense and offense of the United States Army is put on the shoulders of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. In my opinion, it is these special soldiers who will hold us through the intense issues with terrorism and the type of warfare they are using.

We have some brilliantly trained Special Operations troops. We owe them a special thank you.

If you are, or have been with the U.S. Army Special Operations, we would love to hear your thoughts and comments. Feel free to leave your comments, questions and opinions below.

Thank you for your service and for visiting this website.

U.S. Army Special Operations Command: 11 Cool Facts