[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 200 (Wednesday, December 23, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13873-S13874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND

  Mrs. HAGAN. Mr. Presdient, this month, the U.S. Army Special 
Operations Command, USASOC, celebrates 20 years of service to the Army 
and Nation. Having been at war for over one-third of that time, the men 
and women of USASOC continue to make great contributions worldwide with 
an operations tempo that has never been greater. USASOC remains 
committed to maintaining the world's finest ground special operations 
force. Its personnel take quiet professional pride in executing each 
mission with excellence, honor and valor.
  I am proud that USASOC's headquarters are in North Carolina. USASOC 
Commander LTG John Mulholland has done a tremendous job in training, 
organizing, and equipping Army Special Forces units, capable of 
conducting global Special Operations missions. Army Special Forces 
units perform a variety of missions, including special reconnaissance, 
psychological, civil affairs, unconventional warfare, foreign internal 
defense, direct action, counterterrorism, and counterinsurgency.
  The principle units that make up today's USASOC include the John F. 
Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, U.S. Army Special Forces 
Command, 75th Ranger Regiment, 160th Special Operations Aviation 
Regiment, 3rd and 7th Special Forces Group, 4th Psychological 
Operations Group, 95th Civil Affairs Brigade and the 528th Sustainment 
Brigade.
  Since its inception on December 1, 1989, the pace of USASOC's 
operations has been extraordinary; operating around the world, often 
behind-the-lines, in some of the most remote and hostile regions on the 
planet.
  At more than 27,000 personnel, USASOC is only 5 percent of the U.S. 
Army. However, USASOC is the largest of the service components that 
make up U.S. Special Operations Command, USSOCOM, and provides 
approximately 70 percent of the special operations personnel in Central 
Command's theater and approximately 63 percent of America's total 
overseas military commitments. USASOC provides trained and ready Army 
special operations forces to support the Geographic Combatant 
Commanders, GCC, the Theater Special Operations Commands, TSOC, and 
Ambassadors throughout the world.
  Today the operations tempo for Army Special Operations has never been 
greater, and is unlikely to decrease in the near future. USASOC 
currently has soldiers deployed on 103 Missions in 56 countries around 
the world, and is operating across the spectrum of operations.
  Currently 222 of the Army's 228 Continental United States-based 
Special Forces operational detachments ``A''--ODA--are committed to 
supporting operations worldwide, either deployed or preparing for 
deployment. USASOC's ability to manage the high operations tempo is 
directly attributable to the caliber of its personnel. The range of 
skills within USASOC is embraced by a spectrum of Army unconventional 
units.
  I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the great 
contributions of USASOC units currently in theater, particularly the 
3rd and 7th Special Forces Groups in Afghanistan, the 95th Civil 
Affairs Brigade and the 4th Psychological Operations Group in Iraq and 
Afghanistan.
  President Obama has stated in his agenda for defense, ``We must build 
up our special operations forces, civil affairs, information operations 
and other units and capabilities.'' The demand for special operations 
personnel, skills and training remain high. Faced with often desperate, 
unconventional enemies, our approaches for defeating them involve 
unwavering commitment combined with unique unconventional skills.
  USASOC's expertise ensures the Army's special operations forces can 
execute the most lethal, highly complex and sensitive special 
operations,

[[Page S13874]]

wage unconventional warfare, conduct high risk helicopter operations, 
or prosecute civil military and influence operations.
  For those in today's USASOC, the pace is fast, the challenges great, 
but morale and job satisfaction have seldom been greater. The command's 
motto, ``Without Equal'', captures the spirit of its personnel and 
their commitment to maintaining the world's finest ground special 
operations force.
  The command's missions, however, have not come without a sizable cost 
in lives lost. In the 8 years since the start of Operation Enduring 
Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, 244 of USASOC's personnel have 
made the ultimate sacrifice. Their names are cast in bronze on a wall 
in USASOC's Memorial Plaza at Fort Bragg, NC.
  In closing, the performance and contributions of Army Special 
Operations Forces in the Central Command theater of operations and 
around the world have been nothing short of magnificent. Whether in 
Iraq and Afghanistan, the Philippines, Trans-Sahara Africa or wherever 
friends and partners find themselves challenged by the forces of 
disintegration, oppression and extremism, Army Special Operators from 
across the Command's formations are unquestionably among America's most 
relevant answer to the threats our Nation faces.

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