For other uses of the term, see Special forces (disambiguation).

Special forces (colloquially, sometimes incorrectly) or special operations forces (general term) are military units which are formed and trained to conduct missions involving unconventional warfare, Counter-Terrorism, reconnaissance, direct action and foreign internal defense. Special Forces typically comprise relatively small groups of highly-trained personnel who are armed and supplied with specialised equipment, and operate on principles of self-sufficiency, stealth, speed and close teamwork. The term is somewhat vague and exactly what forces could be considered special forces is often a judgement call. However, a special force is not the same as an elite force. An elite force is a force of soldiers picked for their competence and put in the same unit. Most special forces are elite to some degree, but all elite forces are not the special forces. An elite force unit may be expected to do exactly the same thing as a regular military unit, only better, and thus could hardly be called a special force. An example of this might be Napoleon's Imperial Guard. Nor should special forces be confused with military specialists, that are simply people with special skills and tasks within an army, such as military doctors, engineers, forward observers and mechanics. A special force team may certainly include people with military specialist training but apart from that, the terms have nothing to do with one another.

The selection process for a special operations force is typically extremely rigorous, with recruit training often exceeding two years. Certain missions may require additional training. As the work of special operations forces is often performed covertly and involves classified information, candidates are put through extensive trials prior to acceptance, which have extremely high attrition ("washout") rates. Candidates must also have security clearance. Special operations forces may work with intelligence agencies on a regular basis, facilitating rapid action in response to current intelligence.

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Special Operations - Twitter Search

@ParticleGirl SOG...Son Of a Gun? Same Old Grind? Special Operations Group? Slathering On Gravy? Grrr, this is hard...
splatnuk (Tony Goggin) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:52:00 -0000
@ParticleGirl SOG...Son Of a Gun? Same Old Grind? Special Operations Group? Slathering On Gravy? Grrr, this is hard...
New #job: Program Manager- Special Operations Sensors & Networks #jobs #tech http://bit.ly/3WcVfm
TechJobs_Boston (Boston Tech Jobs) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:50:51 -0000
New #job: Program Manager- Special Operations Sensors & Networks #jobs #tech http://bit.ly/3WcVfm
http://twitpic.com/okbet - Members of Wmpt's Special Operations Group arrested Tarik Hakim, 28, of the city and Jason Ritter, 26, of Muncy o
WmsptSunGazette (Wmspt Sun-Gazette) Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:08:05 -0000
http://twitpic.com/okbet - Members of Wmpt's Special Operations Group arrested Tarik Hakim, 28, of the city and Jason Ritter, 26, of Muncy o
New #job: Special Operations Program Manager 2 #jobs #tech http://bit.ly/3al6pg
TechJobs_Boston (Boston Tech Jobs) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:24:10 -0000
New #job: Special Operations Program Manager 2 #jobs #tech http://bit.ly/3al6pg
@Barajott habs nur solo gespielt. 8 stunden auf normal, aber die special operations stehen noch aus. der hit, wenn du 1 mochtest
floroes (Flo Rö) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:25:33 -0000
@Barajott habs nur solo gespielt. 8 stunden auf normal, aber die special operations stehen noch aus. der hit, wenn du 1 mochtest
Members from Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P), in coordination with chaplain teams at... http://bit.ly/4DMreq
Navy_IA (USFF Navy IA) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:21:05 -0000
Members from Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P), in coordination with chaplain teams at... http://bit.ly/4DMreq

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