''Special Ops Mission'' is an American

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

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that premiered on August 13, 2009 on the Military Channel (now

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). The program features former

United States Army Ranger United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

and

Air Force Pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These spec ...

man Wil Willis, who performs solo special operations missions against groups of opposing-force (OPFOR) operatives, which consists of regular and

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

veterans in a simulated wargame mission.

Plot

At the beginning of each episode, Wil Willis, call sign Whiskey Whiskey, is given information on a specific special operations mission by U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant Tom Minder or

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Matt Anderson, which he must complete solo. It is Willis' call as to how he wishes to infiltrate, collect intelligence, complete objectives, and how he will deal with the OPFOR (opposing force). The OPFOR are then introduced, with backgrounds and

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s given. Both parties separately discuss plans, though neither side is told how many enemies they will face. Equipment and weapons are introduced, which typically consists of

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s and

M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...

s loaded with Simunition rounds. It is predetermined that a simulated hit to the torso is a kill shot, while a hit to an extremity only wounds. Willis also carries a variety of other equipment to cover mission variables such as environment (weather and terrain), expected resistance, and

infiltration Infiltration may refer to: Science, medicine, and engineering *Infiltration (hydrology), downward movement of water into soil *Infiltration (HVAC), a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning term for air leakage into buildings *Infiltration (me ...

exfil In military tactics, extraction (also exfiltration or exfil) is the process of removing personnel when it is considered imperative that they be immediately relocated out of a hostile environment and taken to an area either occupied or controlle ...

tration plans. Digital

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s for

intelligence gathering This is a list of intelligence gathering disciplines. HUMINT Human intelligence (HUMINT) are gathered from a person in the location in question. Sources can include the following: * Advisors or foreign internal defense (FID) personnel wor ...

, a remote-controlled 2 wheeled surveillance

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

equipped with a

night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night vi ...

camera for scouting ahead, and

body armor Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...

are just some examples of what he uses. Likewise, the OPFOR may have access to special equipment of their own, such as motor vehicles, various grenades, and early detection gear.

Episodes

Reviews

Mike Hale of ''

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'' offers suspicion regarding the realism of the program. Viewer response, on the other hand, has been primarily positive, and the show had an average rating of 5/5 on the

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References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, 1469154, Special Ops Mission American military television series American Heroes Channel original programming 2009 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings