These operations may be conducted during periods of peace or hostilities. They may support conventional operations, or they may be undertaken independently when the use of conventional forces is either inappropriate or infeasible. The mission of the Special Forces Groups is to plan, prepare for, and when directed, deploy to conduct unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance and direct actions in support of U.S. national policy objectives within designated areas of responsibility. The soldiers are also schooled in direct action operations and special reconnaissance. Approximately 1,400 soldiers are assigned to each group.
Rangers are the masters of special light infantry operations.
These include attacks to temporarily seize and secure key objectives and other light infantry operations requiring unique capabilities. Like their Special Forces counterparts, Rangers can infiltrate an area by land, by sea or by air. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is a unique unit. It provides support to Special Operations Forces on a worldwide basis with three types of modified helicopters. The capabilities of the aviation units include inserting, resupplying and extracting U.S. and Allied SOF personnel.