HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) is an Australian Defence Force command that was established on 5 May 2003 to unite all of the
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...
's special forces units and by 2008 was fully operational. Australia's Special Operations Command is of equivalent status to Australia's
Fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...
, Forces and Air Commands. It is modelled on the equivalent commands in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
military forces, and is led by a
major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
as Special Operations Commander Australia (SOCAUST). The origins of SOCOMD began in 1979 with the army creating a small Directorate Special Action Forces—Army. On 13 February 1990, Headquarters Special Forces was established, which was renamed in 1997 to Headquarters Special Operations and in 2003 to Special Operations Headquarters or SOCOMD.


History

*
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
(May 2006 – 2007) *Security for the 2006 Commonwealth Games in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
(March 2006) *
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
(2001–02) (2005–06) (2007–) *
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
(2003–09) (2014–) *Security for the
2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...
(October – November 2003) *Security for President George W. Bush's visit to Canberra (October 2003) While Special Operations Command had not formally commenced operations at the time, it appears that the headquarters may have overseen the boarding of the North Korean freighter MV '' Pong Su'' in April 2003, which involved elements of both the
Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The re ...
and 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Commando) Tactical Assault Groups. In November 2018, the 30th
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
(APEC) meeting held in
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
in
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
had Special Operations Command involvement to enhance the
Papua New Guinea Defence Force The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It originated from the Australian Army land forces of the territory of Papua New Guinea before independence, coming into be ...
's Incident Response Group to provide security as world leaders, including
Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for th ...
, Mike Pence,
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
, Dmitry Medvedev and other government and economic leaders were in attendance. The Incident Response Group had received extensive training to build its capabilities in preparation for the meeting from SOCOMD units and the New Zealand Special Operations Command.


Structure


Order of battle

*Headquarters, Special Operations Command Headquarters (SOHQ) ( GJBC and Russell Offices) ** Headquarters, Special Forces Group ***
Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957, it was modelled on the British SAS sharing the motto, "Who Dares Wins". The re ...
( Swanbourne, WA)
''Incorporates the role of Tactical Assault Group (West).'' **** 1 Squadron **** 3 Squadron **** 4 Squadron **** 152 Signals Squadron **** Specialist Support Squadron **** Operational Support Squadron *** 1st Commando Regiment a mixed Regular Army and
Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...
Unit **** Regimental Headquarters (
Randwick Barracks Randwick Army Barracks is a military base in Sydney, Australia. It is the base for a number of support and Australian Army Reserve units. List of units 1st Division * 39th Operational Support Battalion 2nd Division * Headquarters, 2nd Divi ...
, Sydney) **** 1 Commando Company ( HMAS Penguin, Sydney) **** 2 Commando Company ( Williamstown, VIC) **** 301 Signals Squadron (
Randwick Barracks Randwick Army Barracks is a military base in Sydney, Australia. It is the base for a number of support and Australian Army Reserve units. List of units 1st Division * 39th Operational Support Battalion 2nd Division * Headquarters, 2nd Divi ...
, Sydney with elements in the commando companies) ***
2nd Commando Regiment The 2nd Commando Regiment is a special forces unit of the Australian Army and is part of Special Operations Command. The regiment was established on 19 June 2009 when the 4th Battalion RAR (Commando) was renamed. It is based at Holsworthy, ...
(
Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...
, NSW)
''Incorporates the role of Tactical Assault Group (East).'' **** A Company **** B Company **** C Company **** D Company **** 126 Signals Squadron **** Operations Support Company **** Logistics Support Company *** Special Operations Engineer Regiment (
Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...
, NSW) **** A Squadron **** B Squadron **** Logistic Support Troop *** Special Operations Logistics Squadron (
Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...
, NSW) ***
Defence Special Operations Training and Education Centre Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...
(
Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...
, NSW) **** Australian Defence Force School of Special Operations (
Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...
, NSW) ****
Australian Defence Force Parachuting School The Australian Defence Force Parachuting School is an Australian Army unit part of the Defence Special Operations Training and Education Centre (DSOTEC) that provides training in parachuting techniques, develops parachute doctrine and techniques ...
( HMAS ''Albatross'', NSW)


Special Operations Commander Australia (SOCAUST)

The Special Operations Commander Australia (SOCAUST) is responsible for the peacetime 'raise, train and sustain' functions of Special Operations Command reporting to the Chief of Army, while the Chief of Joint Operations is responsible for the operational functions of Special Operations Command deployments. The SOCAUST is responsible for the domestic
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...
deployments of Special Operations Command reporting directly to the Chief of the Defence Force. The following have held the position of Special Operations Commander Australia, with the ranks and honours as at the completion of their tenure:


See also

* Special Operations Command (New Zealand) * United States Special Operations Command Pacific *
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM; french: links=no, Commandement des Forces d'opérations spéciales du Canada; COMFOSCAN) is a command of the Canadian Armed Forces. It is responsible for all special forces operations that ar ...


Notes


Further reading

* * * {{Australian Army Commands of the Australian Defence Force Military units and formations of the Australian Army Special forces of Australia Leadership of the Australian Defence Force Military of Australia Australian Defence Force Military units and formations established in 2003