The United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) is a directorate comprising the
Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
, the
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...
, the
Special Reconnaissance Regiment
The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is a special reconnaissance unit of the British Army. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF).
The regiment conducts a wide range of classified activitie ...
, the
Special Forces Support Group,
18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the
Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing
The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) is a Royal Air Force (RAF) and British Army joint service organisation that coordinates the provision of aviation support to the United Kingdom Special Forces.
The wing is under the peacetime comma ...
, as well as the supporting
No. 47 Squadron.
[Special Reconnaissance Regiment, publications.parliament.uk](_blank)
Retrieved 21 February 2014[Elite special forces unit set up, BBC]
Retrieved 21 February 2014.[ (SBS)] In British
freedom of information law
Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfa ...
, "special forces" has been defined as "those units of the armed forces of the Crown and the maintenance of whose capabilities is the responsibility of the Director of Special Forces or which are for the time being subject to the operational command of that Director". The
Royal Marine Commandos
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marines ...
and the
Ranger Regiment (United Kingdom)
The Ranger Regiment is a special operations-capable unit of the British Army which was formed on 1 December 2021 under the Future Soldier reform and is part of the Army Special Operations Brigade. It is intended to be used primarily in an unconv ...
are
special operations–capable forces, however they do not form part of the UKSF.
The
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
and
Ministry of Defence (MOD) have a policy of not commenting on the UKSF, in contrast to other countries including 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 territorie ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. In 1996, the UKSF introduced a requirement that serving members sign a confidentiality contract preventing them from disclosing information for life, without the prior approval of the MOD, following the publication of several books written by ex-service members.
Formation
In 1987, the post of Director SAS became
Director Special Forces
Director Special Forces (DSF) is the senior British Armed Forces officer responsible for Special Forces. The post is a senior role within the Ministry of Defence (MoD). As Director, the incumbent is responsible for the provision of United Kingdo ...
. From that time, the director has had control of both the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
's
Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
and the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
's
Special Boat Squadron, which was renamed the
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...
during the formation. The directorate has since been expanded by the creation of the
Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing
The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) is a Royal Air Force (RAF) and British Army joint service organisation that coordinates the provision of aviation support to the United Kingdom Special Forces.
The wing is under the peacetime comma ...
, the
Special Reconnaissance Regiment
The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is a special reconnaissance unit of the British Army. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF).
The regiment conducts a wide range of classified activitie ...
,
18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the
Special Forces Support Group.
In 2015, the
Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
reported that approximately 40% of all UK Special Forces personnel are recruited from the Royal Marines.
On 1 September 2014, the two
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 ...
SAS regiments, the
21 (Artists) Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) and the
23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve) were removed from the UKSF and placed in
1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade (1 ISR Bde) under the command of
Force Troops Command
Force Troops Command was a combat support and combat service support command of the British Army. Its headquarters was at Upavon, Wiltshire. It was formed in 2013 as a re-designation of the previous Headquarters Theatre Troops. Force Troops Comma ...
.
Their role as part of 1 ISR Bde was to conduct Human, Environment, Reconnaissance and Analysis (HERA) patrols.
By April 2019, the two reserve regiments had returned to the UKSF.
Structure
The structure of the United kingdom Special Forces Group (UKSF Group) is as follows:
*HQ Directorate Special Forces (HQDSF)
**Specialist component
***SBS, 22 SAS, SRR
**Support component
***Special Forces Support Group
***18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment
***SF air component
****
Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing
The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) is a Royal Air Force (RAF) and British Army joint service organisation that coordinates the provision of aviation support to the United Kingdom Special Forces.
The wing is under the peacetime comma ...
,
No. 47 Squadron RAF
**Reserve component
***SAS(R), SBS(R), 63 (UKSF) Signal Squadron
Component units
The following units are part of UK Special Forces and UK Special Forces (Reserve).
Royal Navy
*
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...
**C Squadron
**M Squadron
**X Squadron
**Z Squadron
**
Special Boat Service (Reserve)
British Army
*
22 Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS)[Overstretched SAS calls up part-time troops for Afghanistan, www.telegraph.co.uk](_blank)
Retrieved 21 February 2014
**A Squadron
**B Squadron
**D Squadron
**G Squadron
**L Detachment (SAS Reserve)
*
21 Special Air Service Regiment (21 SAS)
**A Squadron
**C Squadron
**E Squadron
*
23 Special Air Service Regiment (23 SAS)
**B Squadron
**D Squadron
**G Squadron
*
Special Reconnaissance Regiment
The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) is a special reconnaissance unit of the British Army. It was established on 6 April 2005 and is part of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF).
The regiment conducts a wide range of classified activitie ...
Royal Air Force
*Special Forces Flight,
47 Squadron
Joint service units
*
Special Forces Support Group
** A Company
** B Company
** C Company
** D Company
** F Company
** G Company
**Support Company
*
18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment
**SBS Signal Squadron
**264 (SAS) Signal Squadron
**267 (SRR) Signal Squadron
**268 (SFSG) Signal Squadron
**63 (SAS) Signal Squadron (Reserve)
Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing
*
No. 7 Squadron (Royal Air Force)
*
No. 658 Squadron (Army Air Corps, British Army)
Special operations–capable forces
The Armed Forces have raised special operations–capable forces that will conduct special operations to train, advise and accompany UK partner countries' forces in high threat environments. The special operations–capable forces will not form part of the UKSF.
The
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
formed the
Ranger Regiment on 1 December 2021 within a new
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
, the
Army Special Operations Brigade
The Army Special Operations Brigade (Army Spec Ops Bde) (previously called the Specialised Infantry Group) is a formation of the British Army, initially created as a result of the Army 2020 Refine reorganisation, intended to Military advisor, tr ...
, established on 31 August 2021, that will take on some tasks traditionally done by special forces and work with partner forces.
The Ranger Regiment's
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
s are to be restructured by April 2023.
The
Chief of the Defence Staff has said that the Ranger Regiment will be similar to the
United States Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, are a special operations special operations force, force of the United States Ar ...
, known as the "Green Berets". Two of the four Ranger Regiment battalions will be deployed to Africa, the third will focus on Eastern Europe and the fourth will be deployed to the Middle East.
The
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
is transforming the
Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
through the
Future Commando Force
The Future Commando Force (FCF) is an in-progress (as of February 2022) modernisation programme and model of the future role and operations of the Royal Marines. The FCF essentially retasks 40 Commando and 45 Commando with implementing the infantr ...
concept, changing its role of amphibious infantry held at readiness to a versatile special operations–capable force.
The Marines will often be permanently deployed in two new
Littoral Response Group A Littoral Response Group (LRG) is a Royal Navy task group consisting of at least two amphibious warfare ships, a company of Royal Marines and supporting elements primarily tasked with amphibious warfare from the littoral areas. They were first d ...
s, with one in Northern Europe and the other in the Indian Ocean.
See also
*
List of military special forces units
This is a list of military special forces units, also known as special operations forces (SOF), currently active with countries around the world, that are specially organised, trained and equipped to conduct special operations.
These are dist ...
*
United Kingdom Special Forces Selection
UK Joint Special Forces Selection is the selection and training process for members of the United Kingdom's three regular Special Forces formations: 22 Special Air Service, Special Air Service Reserve, Special Boat Service, and Special Reconnai ...
References
External links
Official UKSF (Reserve) website
{{The British Army
1987 establishments in the United Kingdom
Military units and formations established in 1987
Organisations based in Hertfordshire