Rather, its special operators are attached to other JSOC units.įor example, during the Battle of the Black Sea in Somalia in 1993 - known as the 'Black Hawk Down' incident - a small team of 24th Special Tactics Squadron Pararescuemen and Combat Controllers were attached to and fought alongside the Delta Force squadron involved in the operation.The United States Army Intelligence Support Activity ( USAISA), frequently shortened to Intelligence Support Activity (ISA), also known at various times as Joint Reconnaissance Evaluation Group (JREG), Mission Support Activity (MSA), Office of Military Support (OMS), Field Operations Group (FOG), Studies and Analysis Activity (SAA), Tactical Concept Activity, Tactical Support Team, and Tactical Coordination Detachment, and also nicknamed 'The Activity' and the Army of Northern Virginia, is a United States Army Special Operations unit which serves as the intelligence gathering component of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The main difference from the rest of special mission units is that the 24th Special Tactics Squadron rarely, if ever, operates on its own. Then, after serving a number of years in a 'vanilla' special tactics squadron, one has to pass another selection for the 24th. To enter one of these special-operations career fields, one has to pass a grueling selection and training process that takes up to two years. The unit is composed of Combat Controllers, Pararescuemen, Special Reconnaissance (formerly Special Operations Weather Technicians) operators, and Tactical Air Control Party commandos. In reality, the unit is the Air Force special-operations community's elite, recruiting its special operators from the other non-tier-1, or 'vanilla,' special tactics squadrons. On paper, the 24th Special Tactics Squadron is just another special-operations squadron - there is also a 22nd and a 23rd Special Tactics Squadron. US Air Force 24th Special Tactics Squadron during an exercise at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, April 14, 2014. The Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron What makes DEVGRU different from Delta Force is that it recruits solely from within the Naval Special Warfare community, meaning that only Navy SEALs and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft crewmen can join the unit. However, the unit has come under fire for alleged war crimes, and the conduct of its members on and off the battlefield has earned the unit increased scrutiny. DEVGRU has participated in many more operations, including the recent rescue of an American citizen held hostage in Nigeria. The unit is most well known for Operation Neptune Spear, the raid that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, in Pakistan in 2011. The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) - formerly known as SEAL Team 6 - is the Navy's dedicated counterterrorism, hostage rescue, and direct-action special missions unit.Ĭreated in 1980 by Dick Marcinko, a visionary and rule-bending Navy SEAL officer, DEVGRU has had a mixed record. The Army's Delta ForceĪ SEAL Team 6 close-protection operator at an event with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. JSOC regularly changes the names of these units and keeps other details secret for operational security, meaning information about them is often outdated by the time it reaches the public, but here is a brief, open-source breakdown of what's known about the four units, how they operate, and what missions they've done.

Its four Tier 1 special mission units are the cream of the crop in the US special-operations community and are the first ones to get the call for a mission. Joint Special Operations Command is America's 9-11 force. The only SOCOM component command without a service affiliation is joint - meaning that it includes units from across the services - and is the most secretive one.

SOCOM is composed of five component commands, all but one of them with a service affiliation - such as Naval Special Warfare Command or Air Force Special Operations Command. Since the 1980s, all these units have roughly fallen under the same organization: US Special Operations Command.

Army intelligence support activity