Special forces

Special forces and special operations forces are military units trained to perform unconventional missions. Special forces, as they would now be recognised, emerged in the early 20th century, with a significant growth in the field during the Second World War.

Depending on the country, special forces may perform some of the following functions: airborne operations, counter-insurgency, "counter-terrorism", covert ops, direct action, hostage rescue, high-value targets/manhunting, intelligence operations, mobility operations, and unconventional warfare. The term “special forces” in the US refers to the US Army's forces while the term “special operation forces” refers to all units. In Russian-speaking countries special forces are typically called spetsnaz, an acronym for "special purpose". Likewise Russian speakers refer to special forces of other nations as spetsnaz, for example US Special Forces would be referred to as Amerikanski spetsnaz in Russian.

Capabilities

Special forces capabilities include the following:

Special Operations Command (France)

The Commandement des Opérations Spéciales (COS; "Special Operations Command") is the organisation which coordinates the use of the French special forces of all military branches (Army, Navy, and Air Force). Similar to USSOCOM, COS was created on 24 June 1992, following the Gulf War. Its role is to direct and coordinate missions for special forces units; these are permanently under its direct command and immediately available for action.The command is led by a two star (U.S. equivalent of one star) general or flag officer.

Organisation

Armée de Terre (Army)

Marine Nationale (Navy)

Armée de l'Air (Air Force)

French

French may refer to:

See also

1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment

The 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (French: 1er Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine, 1er RPIMa) is one of three regiments (1er RPIMa, 13e Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes (13e RDP), 4e RHFS) in the French Army Special Forces Brigade (BFST).

Heir to the traditions of the Paratroopers Units of the Special Air Service of Free France and French Indochina; the regiment is the only metropolitan unit besides outremer French regiments to use the motto « Qui ose gagne » translated from HM's Government British Army SAS motto « Who Dares Wins ».

Creation and different nominations

Rare fact in the French Armed Forces, the affiliations of the 1e RPIMA are various, indirectly related and numerous. The regiment is heir simultaneously to formations of the French Air Force, metropolitan infantry, Troupes coloniales and Troupes de marine.

World War II

Three-dimensional space (mathematics)

Three-dimensional space (also: tri-dimensional space or 3-space) is a geometric three-parameter model of the physical universe (without considering time) in which all known matter exists. These three dimensions can be labeled by a combination of three chosen from the terms length, width, height, depth, and breadth. Any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not all lie in the same plane.

In physics and mathematics, a sequence of n numbers can be understood as a location in n-dimensional space. When n = 3, the set of all such locations is called three-dimensional Euclidean space. It is commonly represented by the symbol . This space is only one example of a great variety of spaces in three dimensions called 3-manifolds.

In geometry

Coordinate systems

In mathematics, analytic geometry (also called Cartesian geometry) describes every point in three-dimensional space by means of three coordinates. Three coordinate axes are given, each perpendicular to the other two at the origin, the point at which they cross. They are usually labeled x, y, and z. Relative to these axes, the position of any point in three-dimensional space is given by an ordered triple of real numbers, each number giving the distance of that point from the origin measured along the given axis, which is equal to the distance of that point from the plane determined by the other two axes.