United States Special Operations Command Europe

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SOCEUR sleeve badge

The Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) is a composite command that unites and leads the Special Operations Forces of the US European Command (EUCOM) . The headquarters of SOCEUR is located in the Patch Barracks in Stuttgart-Vaihingen , Germany . SOCEUR was set up on January 11, 1955 as the Support Operations Task Force Europe .

SOCEUR is commanded by Mark Schwartz , Major General in the US Army.

history

Beret badge of SOCEUR

With the passing of the Goldwater-Nichols Act and the resulting reorganization of the US command structure, the competencies and tasks of the Unified Combatant Commands were redefined. A direct consequence of this was the establishment of the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) , which, as a functional command , is responsible for all matters relating to the Special Operations Forces of the US armed forces . At the same time, all five regional commands, including the European Command, have set up joint command staffs for the special forces, which act as the management level for all special operations components within the regional command and are on the same level as the staffs of the four armed forces in the chain of command. In this capacity, SOCEUR bundles the troops provided by SOCOM depending on the order situation and ensures their optimal operational capability.

The SOCEUR became known when under his leadership during the Kosovo war in 1999 two successful rescue and repatriation operations come in which two downed pilots of the US Air Force were evacuated from hostile controlled territory. In the same conflict, it was responsible for the undercover search and arrest of Serbian war criminals behind enemy lines and for target marking operations in preparation for air strikes.

In the course of the integration and adaptation of the new former Warsaw Pact states from Eastern Europe into NATO , SOCEUR was also responsible for observing and covertly containing extremist groups in these countries. Since then, the density of operations ( operating theater pace ) has increased dramatically. Only the reorganization of the US Africa Command and the fall of the African continent out of the area of ​​responsibility will lead to relief in the future.

assignment

The SOCEUR has to perform the job, all the special forces of the four branches of the armed forces operative whose commitment through the planning and execution of appropriate maneuver sure to develop the targeting to determine and optimize as well as cooperation and implementation of composite exercises with special forces of NATO partners to promote and vote. In addition, the command is responsible for the military fight against terrorism , which it also coordinates with the allies and sometimes carries out jointly. For this task, SOCEUR has a permanent alarm task force ready for the EUCOM commander and at the same time forms a tactical reserve within the regional command with its special forces. The SOCEUR is also well connecting member to the new and potential NATO countries and probed in this capacity, the potential of these countries for special operations and combat the development of appropriate skills and resources.

Major General Frank J. Kisner , USAF , Commander of SOCEUR 2008

organization

The Special Operations Command Europe is a subordinated command , but is hierarchically on the same level as the respective commands of the armed forces and is directly subordinate to the commander of the United States European Command.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ SOCEUR history. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013 ; accessed on May 15, 2018 (English).
  2. ↑ The predecessor was Frank J. Kisner , USAF : [...] May 20, 2008 - present, Commander, Special Operations Command Europe, and Director, Special Operations, US European Command, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany [...] at af.mil ( Memento from February 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed July 7, 2008)
  3. ^ Special Operations Command, Europe (SOCEUR). In: globalsecurity.org. Retrieved on May 15, 2018 (English, In the recent Balkans conflict, joint SOF, under the direction of COMSOCEUR, were employed to expand the range of military options available to USCINCEUR. Most notable were two successful combat recoveries of American pilots downed by enemy fire over Serbia.).
  4. ^ US Special Operations Command Europe ( Memento from December 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive )