Coming of Age: Theater Special Operations Commands

Abstract

In Spring 1996, U.S. Special Operations Command, Europe (SOCEUR), was supporting the NATO Implementation Force in the former Yugoslavia. When the plane carrying the Secretary of Transportation crashed near Dubrovnik, SOCEUR was tasked to employ its unique capabilities in a search and rescue effort. Special operations forces (SOF) helicopters searched by hovering up and down mountainsides in extremely hazardous weather conditions. A joint force comprised of Army Special Forces (SF), Navy Sea, Air, Land teams (SEALs), and both Air Force special tactics personnel and Pave Low helicopters located the downed aircraft. The SOCEUR commander then assumed total responsibility for the mission, organizing British, French, German, Spanish, Croat, and U.S. forces in the grim task of recovering the 35 victims of the crash. With the recovery complete, the SOCEUR commander and his staff started their return trip to Stuttgart. While they were still in the air, a new mission arose. A deteriorating situation called for rapid evacuation of noncombatants from the civil war in Liberia.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA528704

Entities

People

  • Henry H. Shelton

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • C4I
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Civil Affairs
  • Command And Control
  • Downed Aircraft
  • Green Berets
  • Helicopters
  • Information Operations
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Psychological Operations
  • Special Forces
  • Special Operations Forces
  • Task Forces
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States Special Operations Command
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.