Special Ops guys come in all shapes and sizes. In a remarkable celebration of perseverance and resiliency more than 200 wounded military athletes competed in the 2013 Warrior Games. The games held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. May 11 -16 had seven events: archery, cycling, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, track and field and wheelchair basketball. The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Warrior Games team joined more than 250 other wounded warriors from around the country and the United Kingdom for the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., this week. The joint U.S. Special Operations Command Warrior Games team will join more than 200 other wounded warriors to kickoff the 2013 Warrior Games May 11. MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – A crowd of several hundred onlookers watched as the names of two Special Operators who earned the Nation’s highest military award were unveiled on the black granite walls of the Special Operations Memorial here March 27. MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Military parachutists received a rare opportunity recently when an aircraft that normally isn’t found here travelled to the base to drop them from the skies above. With a rate of 86 people killed for every 100,000 habitants, Honduras is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world according to statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report in 2011. Army Master Sgt. Mike Morton, U.S. Army Special Operations Command liaison officer, of Lithia, Fla., has been voted the 2012 UltraRunning magazine North American
ultramarathon runner of the year. United States Special Operations Command hosted a conference themed “Building a Culture of Innovation,” at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Fla., Jan. 7 – 9, 2012. The late Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller was honored when his plaque was added to the Medal of Honor Wall on the Plaza Level of the Capitol Dec. 11. Robert James Miller was a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in combat on January 25, 2008 in Afghanistan. Sergeant Miller's parents, Maureen and Phil Miller, attended the ceremony. |
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The continued evolution and development of modern SOF is a
result of 50 years of experience, including a world war, three
large regional wars, many similar conflicts and operations other
than war. SOF have witnessed periods of improvisation, rapid
build-ups and subsequent rapid drawdowns, some magnificent
successes and some equally spectacular failures. The following
SOF Truths capture the essence of lessons learned over the past
decades, and provide a foundation for thinking about SOF today
and in the future.
Hover over the
Truths above to learn more.
Humans are more important than hardware.
People – not equipment – make the critical difference. The
right people, highly trained and working as a team, will
accomplish the mission with the equipment available. On the
other hand, the best equipment in the world cannot
compensate for a lack of the right people.
Quality is better than quantity.
A small number of people, carefully selected, well trained,
and well led, are preferable to larger numbers of troops,
some of whom may not be up to the task.
Special Operations Forces cannot be mass
produced.
It takes years to train operational units to the level of
proficiency needed to accomplish difficult and specialized
SOF missions. Intense training – both in SOF schools and
units – is required to integrate competent individuals into
fully capable units. This process cannot be hastened without
degrading ultimate capability.
Competent Special Operations Forces cannot
be created after emergencies occur.
Creation of competent, fully mission capable units takes
time. Employment of fully capable special operations
capability on short notice requires highly trained and
constantly available SOF units in peacetime.
Most special operations require non-SOF
assistance.
The operational effectiveness of our deployed forces cannot
be, and never has been, achieved without being enabled by
our joint service partners. The support Air Force, Army,
Marine and Navy engineers, technicians, intelligence
analysts, and the numerous other professions that contribute
to SOF, have substantially increased our capabilities and
effectiveness throughout the world.
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