Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan or CJSOTF-A is a task force unit lead by US Army Special Forces. It's headquartered at Bagram Airfield and is part of the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan / NATO Special Operations Component Command - Afghanistan. The core tasks of CJSOTF-A include advising the Afghan National Army’s special operations forces and local police, and training forces associated with the Village Stability Operations (VSO) and counterinsurgency (COIN) - a strategy that establishes expanding security and stability in rural villages. The unit also controls highly specialized battalion-level task forces built around US Army Special Forces, Infantry, Marine Special Operators and Navy SEALs. The Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) is a sub-unified command of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). It is responsible for planning special operations throughout the CENTCOM area of responsibility (AOR), planning and conducting peacetime joint/combined special operations training exercises, and orchestrating command and control of peacetime and wartime special operations as directed. The command is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. SOCCENT FWD (formerly known as Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command) is located at Al Udeid in Qatar. The Command's motto is Molon labe (Greek for "Come and take them", was said by King Leonidas I of Sparta before the Battle of Thermopylae in response to the Persian demand to surrender their weapons.) In the initial stages of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, the formation's commander was Rear Admiral Albert Calland. SOCCENT stood up Joint Special Operations Task Forces (JSOTFs). Beginning on 5 October 2001, Joint Special Operations Task Force-North (JSOTFN) was established under command of Col Frank Kisner at Karshi-Kanabad (K2), Uzbekistan, and the bombing of Afghanistan began on 7 October. The 5th Special Forces Group, under the command of COL John Mulholland, deployed to K2 and formed the core of this JSOTF, more commonly known as Task Force Dagger. Unconventional Warfare became DAGGER's principal mission. This task force included aviators from the 160th SOAR (A) and Special Tactics personnel from AFSOC. A comparable task force, Task Force K-Bar, deployed to southern Afghanistan. In the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, SOCCENT assigned the 5th Special Forces Group the task of establishing Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-West (CJSOTF-W), and its three battalions would constitute the bulk of the task force. As operations approached, CJSOTF-W grew to include Australian and British special forces, Psychological Operations (PSYOP) elements from B Company, 9th PSYOP Battalion, and 301st PSYOP Company, with Civil Affairs augmentation. Most U.S. special operations forces left Iraq in May and June 2003. CJSOTF-N/Task Force Viking was deactivated, and CJSOTF-W was re-designated CJSOTF-Arabian Peninsula (CJSOTFAP), having moved to Baghdad in April. By July 2003, CJSOTF-AP had drawn down to the 5th Special Forces Group Headquarters, consisting of one Naval Special Warfare Task Unit (NSWTU) and one FOB. The FOB commanded 14 ODAs, a few of them at full strength. The bulk of these forces remained in Baghdad with outstations covering Al Qaim, Ramadi/Fallujah, Najaf/Nasiriyah, Hillah, Kut/Amarah, Tikrit, Balad, Samarra, and Kirkuk. According to a 2006 online edition of Special Operations Technology magazine,[8] SOCCENT, operating with coalition partners as the CFSOCC, consists of two combined joint special operations task forces [CJSOTFs], one Combined Joint Special Operations Aviation Command (also referred to as 'Component'), which seems to be at Balad Air Base,[9] one joint psychological operations task force, one Naval Special Warfare Unit and three Special Operations command and control elements [SOCCEs]. The two CJSOTFs are CJSOTF-Arabian Peninsula, whose headquarters directs United States Army Special Forces and CJSOTF Afghanistan. Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula (CJSOTF-AP) is a "white," or unclassified, special operations task force that is always organized around the headquarters of the 5th Special Forces Group or 10th Special Forces Group. Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula (CJSOTF-AP), itself answers to While information is scarce, it consists of two battalions of the United States Army Special Forces (the 'Green Berets') and a west coast-based Navy SEAL Team. CJSOTF-AP is task-organized into three Special Operations Task Forces (SOTFs): SOTF-Central, SOTF-North, and SOTF-West. CJSOTF Afghanistan's headquarters has been provided in rotation by a number of Army Special Forces Groups, including the 3rd and the 19th. CJSOTF Afghanistan has included elements of the 7th Special Forces Group operating in southern provinces, including Kandahar, as Task Force 71. The Afghan Commandos and Afghan Special Forces were at first commanded by Brig General Dadon Lawang. Lawang is a long-time veteran of the Afghan military. Lawang commanded the SOF Brigade when it was composed of nine Commando Kandaks, staff, and support elements. General Lawang later became a ANA brigade commander with the 201st Corps in northeastern Afghanistan and then was promoted to Major General to become the commander of the 215th ANA Corps in southwest Afghanistan. ANA Special Operations Command (ANASOC). This division sized headquarters grew from the SOF Brigade when the ANA decided to expand the ANASF and build support elements to augment the Commandos and ANASF. The ANA Commandos will be the 'direct action" force while the 1st Special Forces Brigade will conduct internal defense, reconnaissance, and direct action missions. Planned for the future are two Commando brigades, one Special Forces brigade, one training brigade, one support brigade, and one strategic battalion. Learn more about the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command. UPDATE: It appears the Afghan Army SOF forces have been reconfigured into SOF Brigades with the 1st SO Brigade at Gardez, Paktiya and the 2nd SO Brigade at Kandahar (2nd SOF BDE). Within the SOF brigades are found SOF kandaks comprised of ANA Special Forces and ANA Commandos. ANASF - "Train the Trainer". One of the motives for establishing the ANASF was to provide a force-multiplier for U.S. SOF teams. There are only so many U.S. (and ISAF) SOF teams that are available yet the need is so great. ANASF soldiers are recruited, selected, trained, equipped and organized much like U.S. Army Special Forces. Once they reach a certain level of training and garner enough experience - these ANASF teams can work along-side and then eventually independent of USSF conducting the very same missions that USSF are currently doing in Afghanistan. A plus is they speak the language, know the culture, and can be more effective over the long run conducting missions like Village Stability Operations. 

United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is a component command of the United States Special Operations Command that comprises the Marine Corps' contribution to SOCOM. Its core capabilities are direct action, special reconnaissance and foreign internal defense. MARSOC has also been directed to conduct counter-terrorism, and information operations. The first Marine Special Operations Company was stood up in June 2006, shortly after the creation of MARSOC. It was deployed supporting the Global War on Terrorism in December 2013 alongside the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) where they conducted various special operations missions, ranging from Direct action (military), reconnaissance and other mission sets. The first Marine Special Operations Individual Training Course began at Camp Lejeune on 6 October 2008.[4] MARSOC's stated end-goal is 850 CSOs. On August 6 of 2014, MARSOC was renamed the Marine Raiders after the fabled and elite World War II unit. United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is a component command of the United States Special Operations Command that comprises the Marine Corps' contribution to SOCOM. Its core capabilities are direct action, special reconnaissance and foreign internal defense. MARSOC has also been directed to conduct counter-terrorism, and information operations. The first Marine Special Operations Company was stood up in June 2006, shortly after the creation of MARSOC. It was deployed supporting the Global War on Terrorism in December 2013 alongside the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) where they conducted various special operations missions, ranging from Direct action (military), reconnaissance and other mission sets. The first Marine Special Operations Individual Training Course began at Camp Lejeune on 6 October 2008.[4] MARSOC's stated end-goal is 850 CSOs. On August 6 of 2014, MARSOC was renamed the Marine Raiders after the fabled and elite World War II unit. The legendary Raiders existed for a short, kinetic period between 1942 and 1944. During those years, the four Raider battalions conducted amphibious raids in the Asia-Pacific region as one of the first U.S. special operations contingents to fight in the war. They were later disbanded, and the battalions were re-purposed under 4th Marine Regiment. Those units remain active across the Marine Corps. The Marines' reconnaissance battalions can also lay claim to the Raiders bloodline. Prior to MARSOC's activation, the elite recon units were the Marines' closest connection to the special operations world. When MARSOC was created in 2006, its first personnel came from 1st and 2nd Force Reconnaissance Companies, which were briefly deactivated due to a lack of manpower. The Raiders influence can be seen in the insignias used by all these units. The 1st Battalion, 4th Marines emblem uses a version of the Raiders' Southern Cross, while the Marines' four reconnaissance battalions — three active and one Reserve — all feature an adaptation of the iconic skull. MoD analysts in this report further note that although the “official” Marine Raider designation patch does not contain the “death’s head skull”, substituting it for a dagger, it is allowed to be worn unofficially, and as reported by the US Marine Corp News Service: “Regardless of philosophy and lineage, however, MARSOC’s Raiders will continue to sport the vintage skull patch, albeit in an unauthorized capacity. Though not formally approved for uniform use, MARSOC troops have made a habit of donning the patch during deployments. “That insignia is a source of pride and has been a source of pride,” said Maj. Ed Norris, the commanding officers of 3rd Marine Raider Support Battalion. “It is something that Marines have identified with T-shirts, with hats, really just to honor the Marines that have gone before us. And now to officially have that is an honor.”

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