The Special Operations Forces Liaison Element (SOFLE) is small group of

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

personnel, sometimes just one or two at a time, attached to embassies in Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, or elsewhere that terrorists are thought to be operating, planning attacks, raising money or seeking safe haven, especially those teams in the United States. These units work to gather information on possible terror threats, but do not actively hunt down terrorists. In addition, MLEs are not undercover. SOCOM, under then Secretary of Defense

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...

, first deployed MLEs in 2003 under the name "Operational Control Elements" a term changed in 2005 because it was considered inappropriate and unpolitic by regional commanders and ambassadors. MLEs were first introduced to the general public by a New York Times expose.THOM SHANKER and SCOTT SHANE
Elite Troops Get Expanded Role on Intelligence
8 March 2006

Taiwan

As of March 2024 U.S. Defense Officials have reportedly decided to expand the Liaison Element within

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, as several Teams of

Green Berets 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, is a branch of the United States Army United States Army Special Operations Comm ...

with the

1st Special Forces Group The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) (1st SFG) (A) is a unit of the U.S. Army Special Forces operating under the United States Pacific Command. It is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions throughout the Indo-Pacific Command ...

, 2nd Battalion, Alpha Company will soon or have already arrived at Amphibious Bases used by the

Taiwanese Army The Republic of China Army ( Chinese, 中華民國陸軍) also known as the ROC Army (ROCA); colloquially the Taiwanese Army ( Chinese, 台湾陆军) by western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Army ( Chi ...

on the Islands of

Penghu The Penghu ( , Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, about west of the main island of Taiwan across the Penghu Ch ...

and

Kinmen Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), only east from the city of Xiamen in Fujian, located at the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, from wh ...

which is only roughly 6 Miles from the Chinese Mainland. The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense have Refused to Officially Confirm or Deny this Deployment.

References

{{reflist Special Operations Forces of the United States United States military presence in other countries