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Question 1

What are the nine principle tasks of SF?

Answer 1

UW
FID
COIN
CT
SR
DA
CP/WMD
SFA
OPE

Question 2

What is the definition of Preparation of Environment (PE)?

Answer 2

An umbrella term for operations and activities conducted by selectively trained SOF to develop an environment for potential future special operations.

Question 3

What are the activities of PE? Describe each

Answer 3

Operational Preparation of the Environment (OPE): The conduct of activities in likely or potential areas of operations to prepare and shape the operational environment.

Advance Force Operations (AFO): Operations conducted to refine the location of specific, identified targets and further develop the operational environment for near-term missions.

Intelligence Operations (Intel Ops): The variety of intelligence and counterintelligence tasks that are carried out by various intelligence organizations and activities within the intelligence process.

Question 4

In what ways does Special Forces conduct PE?

Answer 4

SF conducts preparation of the environment as a type of shaping activity supporting the other principal tasks that may be conducted in the future.

Covert
Low visibility
Clandestine

Question 5

What is the definition of Special Reconnaissance (SR)

Answer 5

Reconnaissance and surveillance actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments to collect or verify information of strategic or operational significance, employing military capabilities not normally found in conventional forces.

Question 6

What type of capabilities make a reconnaissance mission Special Reconnaissance?

Answer 6

Military capabilities not normally found in conventional forces.

Language
Culturalal

Reconnaissance and surveillance actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments to collect or verify information of strategic or operational significance, employing military capabilities not normally found in conventional forces.

Question 7

Define Direct Action (DA).

Answer 7

Short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets.

Question 8

What type of operations are found in Direct Action?

Answer 8

SF may employ raid, ambush, or direct assault tactics (including close-quarters battle); emplace mines and other munitions; conduct standoff attacks by fire from air, ground, or maritime platforms; provide terminal guidance for precision-guided munitions; conduct independent sabotage; and conduct anti-ship operations.

Question 9

Describe how conventional offensive actions are not Direct Action

Answer 9

Levels of professional risks

Direct action differs from conventional offensive actions in the level of physical and political risk, operational techniques, and the degree of discriminate and precise use of force to achieve specific objectives

Question 10

What is DOD’s definition of terrorism?

Answer 10

The unlawful use of violence or threat of violence, often motivated by religious, political, or other ideological beliefs, to instill fear and coerce governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are usually political.

Question 11

What is the definition of Counter Terrorism (CT)?

Answer 11

Actions taken directly against terrorist networks

and indirectly to influence and render global and regional environments inhospitable to terrorist networks.

Question 12

What activities directly target terrorist networks?

Answer 12

• Intelligence operations to collect, exploit, and report information on terrorist organizations, personnel, assets, and activities. 68
CMF 18 SLC, NCOA Module B, Lesson 3 - Tactical Level of War
• Network and infrastructure attacks to execute preemptive strikes against terrorist organizations. The objective is to destroy, disorganize, or disarm terrorist organizations before they can strike targets of national interest.
• Hostage or sensitive materiel recovery to rescue hostages or to recover sensitive materiel from terrorist control. Ensuring the safety of the hostages and preventing destruction of the sensitive materiel are essential mission requirements.

Question 13

How does Special Forces indirectly target terrorist networks?

Answer 13

Nonlethal activities to defeat the ideologies or motivations that spawn terrorism by nonlethal means. These activities could include FID and a range of information-related capabilities integrated though information operations.

Question 14

What is the definition of Counter Proliferation CPWMD)?

Answer 14

Those actions taken to defeat the threat and/or use of weapons of mass destruction against the United States, our forces, allies, and partners.

Question 15

What are the major objectives of combating Weapons of Mass Destruction?

Answer 15

Nonproliferation, counter-proliferation, and consequence management activities, are to prevent the acquisition of WMD’s and delivery systems, to roll back proliferation where it has occurred, to deter and defeat the use of WMD’s and their delivery systems, to adapt U.S. military forces and planning to operate against the threats posed by weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, and to mitigate the effects of weapons of mass destruction use.

Question 16

What is the definitions of Security Force Assistance (SFA)?

Answer 16

The Department of Defense activities that contribute to unified action by the U.S. Government to support the development of the capacity and capability of foreign security forces and their supporting institutions.

Question 17

What is the definition of Foreign Internal Defense (FID)?

Answer 17

Participation by civilian and military agencies of a government in any of the action programs taken by another government or other designated organization to free and protect its society from subversion, lawlessness, insurgency, terrorism, and other threats to its security.

Question 18

Compare and contrast FID vs SFA

Answer 18

SFA- Tactical (OTERA), Operational (FSF), Strategic (SSR)
FID- Tactical (TAA), Operational (Population), Strategic (IDAD)

SFA deals with external threats and internal threats
FID deals with internal threats

Question 19

How does the military conduct FID operations?

Answer 19

Indirect support, direct support, and combat operations. The levels are not constrained to a specific level of involvement. All levels of support can occur independently or simultaneously, and a specific level of escalation is not required.

Question 20

What is DOD’s definition of Insurgency?

Answer 20

The organized use of subversion and violence to seize, nullify, or challenge political control of a region. Insurgency can also refer to the group itself.

Question 21

What is the definition of Counterinsurgency (COIN)?

Answer 21

Comprehensive civilian and military efforts designed to simultaneously defeat and contain the insurgency and address its root causes.

Question 22

What would be the context for U.S. Government involvement in COIN?

Answer 22

• The context for US involvement in COIN is based on three possible strategic settings: assisting an established HN government; as an adjunct to US major combat operations; or US operations in a UGA.
• An incipient insurgency can often be more easily addressed by a small-scale US response with greater emphasis on non-military US resources than a mature insurgency. However, most affected nations will only seek US assistance when the insurgency has developed sufficient maturity to pose a real threat, by which time the smaller scale response options may no longer be effective.
• Where US COIN efforts follow major combat operations or occur in a UGA, US forces will typically be the only ones available to conduct combat operations, and the joint force may be called upon to play a role in governance and civil administration until civilian counterparts can deploy, or a new indigenous government can be established. (JP 3-24 pg III-16 § 4 para a)

Question 23

How does the military conduct COIN?

Answer 23

• Indirect: Emphasizes HN self-sufficiency and focuses on building strong national infrastructures through economic and military capabilities.
• Direct NOT Involving Combat Operations: US personnel are directly engaged in providing assistance to the HN civil administration, security forces, and/or civilian populace. Direct support operations are normally conducted when the HN has not attained self-sufficiency and is faced with social, economic, or military threats beyond its capability to handle. Assistance may take the form of SFA, direct participation in civil-military operations (CMO) (primarily, the provision of services to the local populace), military information support operations (MISO), communications and intelligence cooperation, mobility, and logistic support.
• Combat Operations (Combat FID): US forces may conduct operations in coordination with HN security forces, or constitute the main COIN force where no HN government is present.
• Security Cooperation (SC): Involves all DOD interactions with foreign defense establishments to build defense relationships. 84
CMF 18 SLC, NCOA Module B, Lesson 3 - Tactical Level of War
•Crisis Response Direct Intervention: Direct intervention in a COIN operation or campaign would be the initial involvement directly by US combat operations as the result of a crisis response, not a transition through a FID program (CombatFID). This would be the least favored requirement for intervention. The campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan were not standard examples of direct COIN intervention,since forces were initially deployed to bring about regime change, and there wasno progressive FID program.

Question 24

What is the difference between Reconnaissance Surveillance?

Answer 24

Reconnaissance is a mission

Surveillance is the systematic observation