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 Forces (United States Army)

The United States Army Special Forces, known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with five primary missions: unconventional warfare (the original and most important mission of Special Forces), foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, and counter-terrorism. The first two emphasize language, cultural, and training skills in working with foreign troops. Other duties include combat search and rescue (CSAR), counter-narcotics, counter-proliferation, hostage rescue, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian demining, information operations, peacekeeping, psychological operations, security assistance, and manhunts; other components of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) or other U.S. government activities may also specialize in these secondary areas. Many of their operational techniques are classified, but some nonfiction works and doctrinal manuals are available.

Spetsnaz

Spetsnaz (Russian: спецназ; IPA: [spʲɪt͜s'nas]), abbreviation for Войска специального назначения, tr. Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya pronounced [vɐjsˈka spʲɪt͡sɨˈalʲnəvə nəznɐˈt͜ɕenʲɪjə] (English: Special Purpose Forces or Special Purpose Military Units), is an umbrella term for special forces in Russian and is used in numerous post-Soviet states. Historically, the term referred to special military units controlled by the military intelligence service GRU (Spetsnaz GRU). It also describes special purpose units, or task forces of other ministries (such as the Ministry of Emergency Situations' special rescue unit) in post-Soviet countries.

As Spetsnaz is a Russian term it is typically associated with the special forces units of Russia, but other post-Soviet states often refer to their special forces by the term as well since they inherited their special purpose units from the now-defunct Soviet security agencies. The 5th spetsnaz Brigade of Belarus or the Alpha group of the Security Service of Ukraine are both such examples of non-Russian Spetsnaz forces.

First class

First class (or 1st class, Firstclass) generally implies a high level of service, importance or quality. Specific uses of the term include:

Arts and Entertainment

Comics

First Class, a comic strip in The Dandy (1983-1998)

X-Men: First Class (comics)

Film

X-Men: First Class, a 2011 film

Music

1st Class (album), a 2002 album by Large Professor

The First Class, a band

Television

First Class (game show), a UK game show

First Class (TV Series), a Singaporean comedy

Computing

First-class type, a concept in programming

First class (computing), a concept in data modeling

First-class function

First-class object, a concept in programming

FirstClass, e-mail and online conferencing system

Leisure

First Class rank, in Baden-Powell's Scout training scheme

First Class Scout (Boy Scouts of America), rank in Boy Scouts

Sports

First-class cricket

First Class Diver – the highest grade of diver in the original (and now obsolete) classification system of the British Sub Aqua Club

Travel

First class travel

Airman first class

Airman first class (A1C) is the third enlisted rank (E-3) in the United States Air Force, just above airman and below senior airman. The rank of airman first class is considered a junior enlisted rank, with the non-commissioned officers and senior non-commissioned officers above it.

Airman first class is a rank that has also been used by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, although it is not currently in use. In documents about the history of U.S. armed forces, you will frequently see this rank abbreviated as "A1C".

Promotion to airman first class

Promotion to airman first class occurs upon one or more of the following:

Completion of 10 months time in the grade of airman (or earlier for airmen with specific specialities)

Completion of three years of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) sponsored by any of the four wings of the service

Completion of two years of college-level Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)

Earning the Billy Mitchell Award in the Civil Air Patrol

Fullscreen pause

'Special Forces' is featured as a movie character in the following productions:

Voltage (2014)

Actors: Lee Nicholas Harris (actor), David Frampton (actor), Brian William Woodward (actor), Cengiz Dervis (actor), Vic Waghorn (actor), Marissa Llano (producer), Victor Stephanopoli (writer), Rachelle Payne (actor), Victor Stephanopoli (producer), Victor Stephanopoli (director), Luke Weller (producer), Karencho Khachatrian (actor), Robert Sean-Riaz (actor), Luke Weller (editor), Ronin Traynor (actor),

Plot: Voltage is an action-packed sci-fi film, set in a not too distant dystopian future. With the country under the strict new regime of The Shakti, citizens are seeing their worlds crumble. Money has become a depleted commodity, and has been replaced with energy units, making the struggle for survival a much harder challenge than ever before. We follow our hero, Adrian, as he battles against this new regime, psychopathic energy harvesters, and a group of rebels aiming to overthrow the system, in order to revert the system back to a prehistoric state. A fast-paced, high-octane thrill ride, Voltage uses its vibrant energy and its underlying political messages to keep audiences enthralled and entertained throughout.

Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Short, Thriller,

Voltage (2014)

Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Short, Thriller,

Voltage (2014)

Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Short, Thriller,

Voltage (2014)

Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Short, Thriller,

Crawl Bitch Crawl (2012)

Actors: Gavin ap' Morrygan (producer), David Paul Baker (actor), Tom Chamberlain (actor), Torey Byrne (actress), Oklahoma Ward (editor), Andre Relis (producer), Oklahoma Ward (writer), Oklahoma Ward (director), Oklahoma Ward (producer), Nicole Alonso (actress), Nicole Alonso (producer), Howard Brodsky (producer), Arlo Ihrig (miscellaneous crew), Jonathan Dixon (miscellaneous crew), Jonathan Dixon (actor),

Plot: An elite security team assigned the task of protecting the last known woman who can become pregnant, find themselves caught in an endless claustrophobic underground tunnel system. The team soon learns - the real horror is not the unstoppable force chasing them, but the ever growing smaller tunnel itself.