In the 2001 war movie Black Hawk Down, Hoot Gibson, played by Eric Bana, says sardonically, “I won’t say a goddamn word. Why? They won’t understand. They won’t understand why we do it. They won’t understand it’s about the men next to you... and that’s it. That’s all it is.” Black Hawk Down is the story of the US operation in Somalia in which one Black Hawk Super Six One helicopter is shot down. United States Army Rangers, Delta Force and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment were deployed in Somalia to capture a warlord who loved genocide and 18 American soldiers were killed by militia. Delta snipers Gordon and Shughart were the first soldiers to be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. But, who were the soldiers in the downed Black Hawk really? A new book, The Command: Deep Inside the President’s Secret Army by Marc Ambinder and D B Grady tells it all.
Everyone knows the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), Navy SEALs, Marines and Special Forces. At least, anyone who reads thrillers and watches action films. When Americans put their boots on the ground in Afghanistan, countless US soldiers have been killed, and thousands wounded. But there is information blackout when it comes to JSOC casualties. The most secretive of all US Special Forces is JSOC—pronounced ‘Jaysock’—US Joint Special Operations Command. It is the private army of the President of the United States, ready to go into battle at a moment’s notice, on his command. As the Americans plan to pull out of Afghanistan, one unit that wouldn’t be leaving, and will be watching from their secret posts would be the battle-hardened warriors of the JSOC.
All rulers dating back centuries have had their own private army. The Peltasts of ancient Greece, the Immortals of Xerxes of Persia, and more recently the elite Republican Guard that surrounded Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi’s female bodyguards were historic examples. The JSOC is also one. It was the unit that captured and killed Osama bin Laden. JSOC have been planning and executing highly dangerous and classified missions for the United States Army. In 2009, JSOC snipers rescued an American ship’s captain held for ransom by Somali pirates. In 2003, JSOC hunted down and captured Saddam Hussein near Tikrit, Iraq. Before that, the secret soldiers were tracking Scud missiles during the Gulf War and rappelling down ropes in Panama. Here is all that you wanted to know about Barack Obama’s secret army but did not know what to ask.
What do JSOC soldiers do?
The US Army Delta Force (officially the Combat Applications Group) and the US Navy SEAL Team Six (officially the Naval Special Warfare Development Group) are JSOC’s elite top-tier forces. They conduct black operations for America, and function in absolute secrecy. When an operative from any of these units is killed in action, the Department of Defense never reveals the truth: his name is released, and cover story put out—like he died in a training accident.
Why was SEAL Team Six was established, when there were only two SEAL teams?
In 1980, when the Cold War was at its height and Communism was the enemy instead of Al-Qaeda, Richard Marcinko, commander of SEAL Team 2, was given the job of forming a new US Navy counterterrorist unit. He named it SEAL Team Six to mislead Soviet intelligence into believing the US had three other commando units working in secret.
How technologically advanced is JSOC?
Hi-tech technology is one of JSOC’s USPs. The documents the teams collect as intelligence on the battlefield—even if they are shredded or even burnt—can be resurrected with the help of a little known programme for document exploitation (called DOCEX) techniques. Algorithms assign values to data based on the probability that, for example, a faint “I” is indeed an “I”. DOCEX specialists can even reconstruct papers that have been burned beyond recognition.
Do JSOC commandos use special aircraft?
The helicopters, which carried Red Squadron of SEAL Team Six to Abbottabad, Pakistan, for the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound, were specially-modified Black Hawks. They boasted supersecret radar-spoofing technology allowing the team to slip across the Pakistan border unnoticed. These stealth aircraft were developed and tested at Area 51, near Groom Lake, Nevada.
How clandestine is the President’s secret army?
Alongside the CIA, operators from Delta Force and SEAL Team Six infiltrated China to map the locations of Chinese satellite transmission facilities. It has tracked members of Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in Peru. It is a JSOC team that usually shadows the American president when he travels overseas, to take over his security in the event of a total breakdown by US Secret Service—like in the 2008 thriller Vantage Point. Every European airport holds a secret JSOC base. Those happy families in Europe going on vacation are not aware a JSOC counterterrorist unit is on permanent alert at the airport, ready to take off to anywhere in the world at short notice.
Is there rivalry within JSOC?
The areas of operation in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan were demarcated with Delta Force running operations in Iraq, and SEAL Team Six responsible for Afghanistan. The former captured Saddam Hussein and the latter killed Osama bin Laden. But Osama was a prize both wanted. When SEAL Team Six got the mission, there were complaints in the army that this was because navy admirals commanded both JSOC and the US Special Operations Command. Mysteriously, the names of the men who took part in the Abbottabad raid were leaked to the press, but thankfully never published. Within the unit, Delta blamed SEAL for grabbing the spotlight and basking in the glory of having finished off America’s Enemy No.1.
Who was the best known leaders of JSOC?
During the infamous 1993 siege on Waco, Texas, it was JSOC that provided equipment and trainers to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). They did not participate in the raid. Then Attorney General Janet Reno complained prying information out of JSOC was like trying to persuade the Vatican to give up secrets. Hence, the commander of JSOC got the pseudonym, “the Pope”. The handle actually took only after the warrior-monk Stanley McChrystal took charge of JSOC in 2003. McChrystal was famous for relentless schedules, minimal sleep, intense physical fitness regimens, and eating only one meal a day.
How did JSOC get the Iraqi government to cooperate?
Shortly after McChrystal’s successor, Admiral William McRaven, assumed command of JSOC in 2008, he was served with a Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq that prohibited US counterterrorism forces from conducting raids without warrants. The President’s secret army had never bothered about warrants getting in the way of a mission. The Admiral, however, agreed to respect the agreement. JSOC built courthouses throughout Iraq, and flew in JAG (Judge Advocate General) officers to work with Iraqi judges. JSOC personnel would testify and judges would issue warrants. Because of this, the trust between the Iraqi government and the US commandos grew.
Can the JSOC predict incidents?
In movies like Minority Report, a police agency can predict a crime before it happens using technology. JSOC could do something similar in Iraq. A project codenamed NGA SKOPE tabulated data collected from just about any intelligence source which enabled JSOC to predict—based on patterns of movement—where militants were likely to be and what they were likely to do. (For example: The recorded locations and orientations of insurgents’ cars during one IED attack made it possible to predict future attacks based on similar movements.)