JSOC - Operations
JSOC has carried out numerous operations since it was incepted in 1980, with only a fraction of them being publicly known. This page looks at some of JSOC's more notable operations.
1993 - Somalia
A JSOC task force (Task Force Ranger) was deployed to this war-and-famine-ravaged country in order to hunt down militia leaders responsible for much of the turmoil. Numerous operations were carried out, with the most famous one being the basis for the 'Black Hawk Down' film.
Mid-90s - The Balkans
JSOC elements hunted down war criminals in the former Yugoslavia.
2001 - Present - Afghanistan
JSOC have been embroiled in the war in Afghanistan from very early on.
Grey Fox (ISA) were among the first US forces into Afghanistan after 911, deploying with CIA Special Activities Division (SAD) paramilitaries.
October 20th, 2001 - supported by Rangers and other SOCOM elements, Delta Force commandos stormed a compound belonging to Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar.
more info: Objective Gecko
Delta, DEVGRU and Grey Fox elements joined special operations task forces TF SWORD and TF BOWIE. These groups hunted Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership targets.
In December 2001, elements from Delta Force and Grey Fox chased Osama Bin Laden through the Tora Bora mountains .
more info : Delta Hunt Bin Laden
Operation Anaconda
Reconnaissance specialists from Delta Force and DEVGRU, along with Grey Fox SIGINT operators formed Advance Force Operations (AFO) teams. AFO teams infiltrated into the Shah-i-Khot mountains to prepare the ground for Operation Anaconda, a large-scale operation against reaming Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in the region. These small teams
One DEVGRU team, Mako 30, got into trouble when it attempted to insert atop the 10,469-foot mountain of Takur Ghar. When the MH-47E helicipter carrying the 8-man JSOC team tried to land it came under fire. A SEAL fell from the aircraft and was later killed in a firefight. The helicopter crash landed further down the mountain. Several U.S. lives were lost during fierce fighting at the crash site. A QRF of Rangers eventually arrived and secured the area.
As a coda to Operation Anaconda: a short while after, when intelligence assets tracked down al-Qaeda elements that had fled the fighting, a JSOC team swooped on their convoy, killing all of them and recovering items of equipment that were believed to have been taken from U.S. dead during the Takur Ghar confrontation.
September 2002 - DEVGRU bodyguards protected Afghan's new president, Hamid Karzai during a failed assination attempt.
JSOC vs the Insurgency
When the US-led invasion of Iraq happened in 2003, Delta Force was re-tasked to the Middle East. DEVGRU stayed in Afghanistan and continued its campaign against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. DEVGRU has continued to target key members of the Taliban and other militant groups. Some notable DEVGRU ops include:
October 2010 - DEVGRU attempted to rescue Scottish aid worker, Linda Norgrove, from her kidnappers in Kunar province. She was tragically killed in error by a fragmentation grenade thrown by a DEVGRU operator.
more info: Linda Norgrove Rescue Op
June 2012 - DEVGRU, supported by a detachment of Rangers, took part in a hostage rescue operation in the Shahri Buzurg district. In a joint mission with British SOF, 4 aid workers were successfully rescued from their kidnappers.
JSOC continues to wage war on the insurgency, with a focus on targetting key leaders of the Taliban, Al Qaeda and its affiliates. JSOC have carried out numerous direct action raids against compounds sheltering enemy commanders.
2003 - Present - Iraq
JSOC played a key role in the Iraq war. Delta Force had inserted before the first shots were officially fired.
One Delta Force team attempted to take out Saddam before the war even stated.
more info: Delta op in Baghdad
Task Force 20
Other JSOC elements, grouped into a task force called Task Force 20, swept into the western Iraqi desert. TF 20 raided key installations, looking for WMD stockpiles. One such mission was a helicopter raid on a suspected chemical weapons plant at Al Qadisiyah.
more info: mission at Al QadisiyahOne Delta Force squadron pushed into Western Iraq in convoys of vehicles, supported at times by M1A1 tanks.
Once the dust had settled, Task Force 20 set up shop in Baghdad in order to fight a burgeoning insurgency. JSOC's mission in Iraq evolved into a highly kinetic campaign, with Delta Force spearheading the fight (DEVGRU had been given the Afghanistan theatre). Along with other elements such as a Special Forces CIF Company and British SOF (22nd Special Air Service), JSOC carried out numerous raids, developing new missions based on intel gathered in previous ones. The pace of operations increased until JSOC teams were carrying out daily operations, sometimes several a day. This tempo bewildered the enemy, giving them no time to react or adapt. It also took a heavy toll on the JSOC operators, with a high rate of casualties. The effect that the JSOC / UKSF campaign had on the insurgency has been estimated to have been highly significant, with thousands killed and many more captured.
Delta Force was instrumental in the capture of Saddam Hussein and were part of the assault force that killed his two sons.
more info: Delta capture SaddamDuring their stint in Iraq, Delta got to carry out several hostage rescue missions.
more info : Delta Force hostage rescue
more info : Delta Force rescue Roy Hallums
2001 - Present Pakistan
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, JSOC set up several Grey Fox (ISA) listening posts in Pakistani cities. These ISA cells intercepted phone traffic of suspected Al Qaeda operatives. Other notable JSOC activity in Pakistan includes
In 2005 CIA and JSOC operators infiltrated into Pakistan during the chaos caused by massive earthquake in Kashmir.
Operation SCREEN HUNTER was a JSOC and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) run to route out Al-Qaeda (AQ) sympathizers in the Pakistani intelligence service (ISI).
VIGILANT HARVEST was a JSOC effort, spearheaded by DEVGRU's Black squadron, to hunt AQ terrorists operating in the Pakistan/Afghanistan border areas. For legal reasons, JSOC elements operating in Pakistan would be under the authority of the CIA.
Operation NEPTUNE SPEAR - in May 2011, JSOC sent a team of DEVGRU operators in stealth helicopters into Pakistan on a mission that killed Osama Bin Laden.
Over a long period of time, JSOC had established intelligence cells in Pakistan in order to track AQ/Taliban targets. Following the May 2011 raid that killed Bin Laden, tensions between the US and Pakistan rose to such a level that many of these JSOC assets were quietly withdrawn.
Task Force Green (TF 3-10), which includes DEVGRU operatives and CIA Special Activities Division (SAD) paramilitaries, has carried out numerous cross-border raids to target militants inside Pakistan.
Other Operations
In recent times, JSOC has carried out operations in various locations around the world.
Mohammed Jamal Khalifa
January 31, 2007 - JSOC operators assassinated Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, one of Osama Bin Laden's brother in laws and an Al Qaeda financier, at his home in Madagascar.
Hostage Rescue - Colombia
July 2nd, 2008 - A small Delta Force team played a role in the rescue of Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages from their SARC captors.
Syria Raid
In late October 2008, a JSOC team were flown by helicopter into to kill/capture Abu Ghadiya, a high-level Al Qaeda operative.
more info : JSOC Syria raid
Captain Phillips
DEVGRU snipers ended the ordeal of the U.S. captain of the MV Maersk Alabama cargo ship who had been taken captive by Somali pirates.
more info : Captain Phillips rescue
Somalia
January 2012 - DEVGRU rescue 2 western aid workers from Somali kidnappers.
April 19th 2001 - JSOC operators capture Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali man with alledged links to al-Qaeda and its Somali affiliate tal-Shabab. Warsame was on board a small vessel on the Gulf Of Aden when JSOC, likely in the form a DEVGRU team, took him into custody.
Operation NOISEMAKER
This reportedly was a joint JSOC/Colombian military operation against Iranian operatives and drugs smugglers along the Venzuelan border.
CELESTIAL BALANCE
14th December 2009 - a DEVGRU / 160th SOAR operation in Somalia killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a terrorist behind several attacks in Africa.
more info : Celestial Balance
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