Ever since the Osama bin Laden raid, America has gone bonkers for US Navy SEALs and Military Special Operators in general.
Putting 100 thousand troops and countless private support personnel on the ground in any given country — sometimes referred to as "nation building"— is a costly strategy. Putting a boot or two on Osama bin Laden's door arguably cost more in political currency — Pakistan wasn't too happy — than actual currency.
Though it was the SEALs who performed that raid in Abbottabad, it's worth noting there are quite a few more SpecOps units in the US than just SEALs — Green Berets and Marine Snipers, etc. — so we here at Business Insider have made things easy by assembling a comprehensive list of all the SpecOps units we could find.
An earlier version of this story was written by Geoffrey Ingersoll.
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Division Marine Recon
Marine Reconnaissance teams provide intelligence for active small unit operations on the battlefield. Those with Marine Sniper quals can also provide accurate demoralizing small arms fire from a distance.
Marine Recon is arguably in the top five of all special operators — capable of harassing an entire enemy battalion for long periods of time; tracking enemy units for larger American forces; or conducting well-orchestrated raids on high-valued targets.
These guys are the gems in the crown of the United States Marine Corps.
Air Force Special Operations Weatherman
No, it's not a joke. They can literally forecast the weather above a fight, kill the enemy, and direct artillery — simultaneously.
The official mission of the U.S. Air Force field weatherman is as a ground-level, small-unit meteorologist who provides accurate forecasts for the purpose of air asset deployment (bombs and stuff).
USMC Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company — ANGLICO
The Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company is another group that often finds itself in the shadow of sexier special operations units like the SEALs. A single ANGLICO Marine can coordinate a hellish rain of fiery artillery and air-strafing fire on the enemy though, whereas all a SEAL can do is pull a trigger.
Typically they don't deploy as individuals, but like any SpecOps group, in teams of four or five.
A typical ANGLICO team:
- Team Leader (Captain or Navy Lieutenant): any ground MOS - typically JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller)-qualified artillery officer.
- Team Chief (Sergeant), typically qualified as JFO (joint fires observer) and as a JTAC.
- Radio Chief (Corporal or Sergeant).
- Junior Radio Operator (Private First Class / Lance Corporal).
- Fire Support Man / Scout Observer (Private First Class / Lance Corporal).
See the rest of the story at Business Insider