United States Army Major Commands

U.S. Army Special Operations Command

Commander: Lt. Gen. William P. Tangney

Headquarters: Fort Bragg, N.C.

Established: Dec. 1, 1989

Mission:
USASOC trains, equips, deploys and sustains Army special-operations forces for worldwide special operations supporting regional combatant commanders and country ambassadors. From October 1997 to May 1998, 21,326 USASOC soldiers deployed to 102 countries and conducted 3,151 missions including peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, demining and mine awareness, and foreign internal defense. Army SOF includes special forces, rangers, civil affairs, psychological operations, special operations aviation, and signal and support.

Training: About 10,000 students train annually at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C., in special forces, civil affairs and psychological operations, as well as other important SOF skills such as foreign language and regional studies.

People: 25,600

Civilians: 1,000

Active duty: 13,500

National Guard: 3,400

Army Reserve: 7,700

Index