Photo Gallery Summer 2001.html

Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC) is a sub-unified command and the Special Operations Forces component of the U.S. Pacific Command. SOCPAC headquarters is at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii, but its forces are forward deployed in the Pacific Theater – a Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command (USCINCPAC) area of responsibility encompassing over 100 million square miles of the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

U.S. Navy members of SEAL (Sea-Air-Land) Team One conduct marksmanship training with Republic of Philippines Navy SEALs in San Miguel, the Philippines.

Photo by PH1(NAC) Spike Call, USN

A U.S. Air Force MC-130H Talon II, such as this one based in Japan, is specially configured for long-range, infiltration-exfiltration special operations missions.

Photo by MSgt. Val Gempis, USAF

U.S. Army Special Forces and Philippine Army Special Forces students make an alley crossing during training in a combat town outside Fort Magsaysay, the Philippines.

U.S. soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, evaluate Royal Thai Army medics during casualty evacuation training conducted as part of humanitarian demining operations in Thailand.

SOCPAC conducts theater special operations, exercises operational control of in-theater and apportioned Special Operations Forces, and is the executive agent for all special operations, except civil affairs. Commander, SOCPAC is the advisor for special operations on the USCINCPAC staff.

SOCPAC has a command group and nine staff directorates. It is augmented by the Joint Intelligence Support Element/Joint Intelligence Center Pacific and by the 112th Signal Battalion, Signal Detachment, Hawaii. If tasked, SOCPAC could rapidly deploy as a Pacific Situation Assessment Team, as Joint Task Force 510, form a Joint Special Operations Task Force under another USCINCPAC Joint Task Force, or integrate with allies to form a combined special operations staff.

Forward-deployed ground, air, and naval components support SOCPAC in the Asia-Pacific region. These components are the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne); 353rd Special Operations Group; NavalSpecial Warfare Task Unit Pacific; E Company, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment; and the Joint Special Operations Air Component. Each component brings a unique ability to support USCINCPAC’s warfighting responsibilities and the Theater Security Cooperation Strategy.

1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group. This U.S. Army Special Forces battalion at Torii Station, Japan, has 18 Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha Teams and three Special Operations Team Alpha. These teams operate in extremely remote and hostile territory. They perform Foreign Internal Defense, Unconventional Warfare, Special Reconnaissance, and Direct Action missions.

353rd Special Operations Group. Located at Kadena Air Base, Japan, this group has two U.S. Air Force flying squadrons and one Special Tactics Squadron. These squadrons consist of uniquely equipped special operations fixed-wing aircraft. The two squadrons’ missions include insertion, extraction, resupply, refueling,combat search and rescue and psychological operations. Aircraft platforms include the MC-130H Combat Talon, and the MC-130P Combat Shadow. The Special Tactics Squadron comprises Combat Control Team and Pararescue personnel, who provide air-ground command and control, air traffic management, casualty recovery, treatment, and evacuation.

Naval Special Warfare Task Unit Pacific. This unit at Apra Harbor, Guam, integrates special operations with maritime operations. SOCPAC’s unit consists of one U.S. Navy Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) platoon. The SEALs provide unique expertise in small arms, close air support, combat search and rescue, demolitions, communications, and field medicine.

E Company, 160th Army Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Located at Daegu Air Base, Korea, this unit is equipped with MH-47 Chinook helicopters. Its mission includes infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply missions into hostile territory, including operating in adverse weather conditions.

Joint Special Operations Air Component. This is a new unit currently being formed. Elements from this unit will be located at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, Kadena Air Base, Japan, and Osan Air Base, Korea. It will provide joint air planning and coordination at the tactical and operational levels.

One of SOCPAC’s most visible roles is in support of USCINCPAC’s peacetime engagement strategy through operations such as demining activities, counterdrug operations, bilateral/multilateral exercises, Joint/Combined Exchange Training (JCET) program activities, and the annual Pacific Area Special Operations Conference (PASOC). These activities promote regional stability, cooperation and trust, deter potential regional aggressors, and build force interoperability.