The term Special Missions Unit ( SMU ), at one time referred to as a "Tier 1" unit, is used in the United States to categorize the nation's most highly secretive and elite military special operations forces . The term "special missions unit" is also used in Australia to describe the Special Air Service Regiment . Special mission units have been involved in high-profile military operations, such as the killing of Osama bin Laden and the attempted hostage rescue of Kayla Mueller .
5-638: The United States military definition in the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms comes from Joint Publication 3-05.1 – Joint Special Operations Task Force Operations (JP 3-05.1). JP 3-05.1 defines a "special mission unit" as "a generic term to represent a group of operations and support personnel from designated organizations that is task-organized to perform highly classified activities." The U.S. government does not acknowledge which units specifically are designated as special missions units, only that they have special mission units within
10-585: A briefing to the Senate Armed Services Committee : "We have designated special mission units that are specifically manned, equipped and trained to deal with a wide variety of transnational threats" and "These units, assigned to or under the operational control of the U.S. Special Operations Command, are focused primarily on those special operations and supporting functions that combat terrorism and actively counter terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). These units are on alert every day of
15-570: The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which is part of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). In the early 1990s then–Commander in Chief of SOCOM, General Carl Stiner , identified both Delta Force and SEAL Team Six as permanently assigned special mission units in congressional testimony and public statements. In 1998, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Walter B. Slocombe publicly referred to special mission units during
20-572: The two roles performed by the Regiment; one squadron conducts the counter terrorism /special recovery (CT/SR) role, and the remaining squadrons conduct the warfighting/ reconnaissance role, while 4 Squadron is responsible for collecting intelligence and also supports the Australian Secret Intelligence Service . Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms Too Many Requests If you report this error to
25-823: The year and have worked extensively with their interagency counterparts." As of 2023, the U.S. military publicly acknowledges five units as Special Mission Units: Former Special Mission Units: The Australian Army 's elite Special Air Service Regiment are described as being "special missions units with unique capabilities within the Australian Defence Force". The Regiments are components of Australia's Special Operations Command (SOCOMD), and are tasked with conducting "sensitive strategic operations, special recovery operations, training assistance, special reconnaissance and precision strike and direct action ". The SASR currently has four sabre squadrons , known as 1, 2, 3 and 4 Squadron. The first two squadrons rotate through
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