The term Tier 1/Tier One or Special Mission Unit (SMU) is used to describe some elite special operations forces around the world. The term has been applied to four United States special operations forces units, British Special Air Service, Special Boat Service, Australian Special Air Service Regiment, Canadian JTF2 and Polish GROM. Tier 1 units have been involved in high profile military operations such as the death of Osama Bin Laden and capture of Saddam Hussein. Tier 1 units are commanded and controlled by Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). In addition to performing highly classified activities the special mission units are also tasked with "special missions", sometimes referring to unconventional warfare, counter-terrorist activities, direct action, Special reconnaissance, and/or black operations. So far, only three Tier 1 units have been publicly disclosed: The Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, the Navy's Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), and the Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron. Units from the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (160th SOAR) are controlled by JSOC when deployed as part of JSOC Task Forces such as Task Force 121 and Task Force 145. The Intelligence Support Activity (ISA) is also under JSOC and has been referred to as a special mission unit.The ISA collects specific target intelligence prior to SMU missions, and provides signals support, etc. during those mission. The Army once maintained the ISA, but after the September 11 attacks, the Pentagon shifted direct control to Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, NC. During the Iraq War United States' Task Force 121 was involved in Operation Red Dawn which led to the capture of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on December 13, 2003. Earlier that year on July 22, 2003 Task Force 20, led by Delta Force operators and supported by the 101st Airborne Division, were involved in a three hour firefight in Mosul, Iraq where both of Saddam's sons, Qusay and Uday were killed. On May 2, 2011 Osama Bin Laden was killed in a CIA-led operation where U.S. Navy SEALs from DEVGRU's Red Squadron were flown into Abottabad, Pakistan by elements of 160th SOAR from Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Advanced Force Operations is another term used to describe some of the american Tier 1 units. AFO is a term used by the U.S. Department of Defense to describe a task force that encompasses personnel from 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) and U.S. Army Intelligence Support Activity (ISA). According to Gen. Michael Repass, who conducted it in the Iraq War and was very familiar with its use in Afghanistan, "AFO consists of U.S. Secretary of Defense-approved military operations such as clandestine operations, source operations, and deployment of enabling forces and capabilities to conduct target-specific preparations prior to the conduct of an actual operation. It is logically part of Operational Preparation of the Battlespace (OPB), which follows the Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace, a concept well-known in U.S. and NATO doctrine, OPB is seldom used outside of Special Operations Forces channels. OPB is defined by the U.S. Special Operations Command as "Non-intelligence activities conducted prior to D-Day, H-Hour, in likely or potential areas of employment, to train and prepare for follow-on military operations". An AFO unit reported to JSOC in the Afghanistan War. In the Iraq War, Respass, who first commanded the 10th Special Forces Group, took control of a Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force, which used the 5th and 10th Groups to conduct AFO. AFO units were heavily involved in Operation Anaconda and Operation Viking Hammer. INFO: We know there are some Medal of Honor elements in the video but it's only to illustrate and make it clear, what the operator's talking about.

• published: 03 Nov 2015
• views: 71537