United States Special Operations Command
Unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for special operations
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June 2024 | Peter D. Huntley assumes command of MARSOC from Matthew G. Trollinger |
July 2023 | Col. Stephan Cummings was assigned as an 'Element Commander' to U.S. Special Operations Command by the United States Space Force. |
June 2023 | Brigadier General Derek N. Lipson takes command of Special Operations Command Korea, serving from June 2023 to present |
August 10 2022 | Vice Admiral Frank M. Bradley takes command of JSOC, becoming the incumbent commander, replacing Lieutenant General Bryan P. Fenton. |
May 2022 | Matthew G. Trollinger succeeds James F. Glynn as commander of MARSOC |
February 3 2022 | JSOC conducted a raid in Atme, Syria, killing ISIS's second leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. The operation involved evacuating 10 civilians before al-Qurashi detonated a bomb, killing himself and 12 others. U.S. forces subsequently engaged and killed a deputy of al-Qurashi in a subsequent shootout. The raid lasted nearly two hours with no U.S. casualties. |
August 2021 | Naval Special Warfare Group 3's SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams were deactivated, with subordinate units transferred to Naval Special Warfare Group 8. |
July 2021 | Lieutenant General Bryan P. Fenton assumes command of JSOC, succeeding Lieutenant General Scott A. Howell. |
June 2021 | Major General Michael E. Martin assumes command of Special Operations Command Korea, serving until June 2023 |
June 2020 | James F. Glynn takes over command of MARSOC from Daniel Yoo |
October 26 2019 | Joint Special Operations Command's Delta Force conducted a raid in Idlib province, Syria, resulting in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The complex two-hour operation involved eight helicopters crossing multiple countries' airspace. Al-Baghdadi ultimately committed suicide in a tunnel, killing himself and three of his children. |
July 2019 | Brigadier General Otto K. Liller begins command of Special Operations Command Korea, serving until June 2021 |
February 2019 | Reported achievements of MARSOC include 300 operational deployments across 13 countries, over 300 valor awards, and 43 Raiders (including two military dogs) killed in training and combat operations since its formation. |
2018 | USSOCOM purchased a new Dry Combat Submersible, expected to become operational around 2018/2019. |
September 2 2018 | Lieutenant General Scott A. Howell becomes the JSOC commander, replacing Lieutenant General Austin S. Miller. |
June 2018 | Daniel Yoo assumes command of MARSOC from Carl E. Mundy III |
2017 | Marine Raiders assist in the liberation of Marawi from ISIS militants. |
August 2016 | Carl E. Mundy III succeeds Joseph Osterman as commander of MARSOC |
April 2016 | Major General Tony D. Bauernfeind takes command of Special Operations Command Korea, serving until June 2019 |
March 30 2016 | Lieutenant General Austin S. Miller takes command of JSOC, succeeding Lieutenant General Raymond A. Thomas III. |
March 25 2016 | Special Operations Forces in Syria killed ISIL commander Abu Ala al-Afri during Operation Inherent Resolve. |
2015 | Began Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan, which continued until 2021. |
March 2015 | The 389th Military Intelligence Battalion was established to support the 1st Special Forces Command, conducting multi-disciplined intelligence operations with three specialized companies. |
2014 | Initiated Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, Syria, and Libya. |
September 30 2014 | The 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) was established, consolidating Army special forces, psychological operations, civil affairs, and support troops into a single organizational structure at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. |
August 2014 | Joseph Osterman takes over command of MARSOC from Mark A. Clark |
August 6 2014 | MARSOC officially adopts the Marine Raider moniker for their Marine Special Operations Regiment, commemorating the elite amphibious light infantry unit from World War II. |
July 29 2014 | Lieutenant General Raymond A. Thomas III assumes command of JSOC, replacing Lieutenant General Joseph Votel. |
April 2014 | Brigadier General E. John Deedrick assumes command of Special Operations Command Korea, serving until April 2016 |
December 2013 | JSOC conducted a drone strike at a wedding ceremony in Yemen that killed numerous civilians, leading to a ban on military drone operations by the Yemen government. |
October 28 2013 | JSOC conducted a drone strike near Jilib in Lower Shabelle, killing two senior Somali members of Al-Shabaab, including Ibrahim Ali, an explosives specialist. This was the first known American lethal operation since the White House's policy announcement on targeted killings. |
October 2012 | Eric P. Wendt takes command of Special Operations Command Korea, serving until April 2014 |
August 2012 | Mark A. Clark assumes command of MARSOC from Paul E. Lefebvre |
July 2012 | Gunnery Sergeants Jonathan Gifford and Daniel Price are killed during a fierce close-quarter battle in Badghis Province while rescuing wounded Afghan Army commandos. Price is posthumously awarded the Silver Star. |
March 2012 | MARSOC teams suffer casualties from Green on Blue attacks in Afghanistan. |
2011 | Conducted Operation Tomodachi, providing earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan. |
2011 | A career posting referred to the Army Rangers' Regimental Reconnaissance Company (RRC) as a Special Mission Unit (SMU), indicating a potential expansion or recognition of the unit's specialized capabilities within JSOC. |
September 30 2011 | JSOC directed an air attack that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American al-Qaeda cleric, using armed drones from a secret American base in the Arabian Peninsula. Samir Khan, a Pakistani-American al-Qaeda magazine editor, was also killed in the strike. |
June 2011 | Lieutenant General Joseph Votel becomes the JSOC commander, succeeding Vice Admiral William H. McRaven. |
May 25 2011 | Naval Special Warfare Group 10 was established in Virginia Beach, Virginia. |
May 1 2011 | JSOC coordinated Operation Neptune Spear, successfully killing Osama bin Laden in a targeted operation. |
March 25 2011 | U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command (USASOAC) was officially activated, establishing a centralized command for Army special operations aviation units. |
2010 | Following U.S. Army General David Petraeus' assumption of command in Afghanistan, MARSOC is task-organized into a Special Operations Task Force responsible for western Afghanistan and Helmand Province. |
2010 | JSOC conducted a controversial raid in Gardez, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of a U.S.-trained police commander, another man, and three women (two of whom were pregnant). After the incident, then-JSOC commander William McRaven visited the affected family, offered a sheep as restitution, and personally apologized. |
October 2010 | Neil H. Tolley assumes command of Special Operations Command Korea, serving until October 2012 |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Joint Special Operations Command, United States Naval Special Warfare Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, United States Army Special Operations Command, United States Special Operations Command, Special Operations Command Korea & United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.