page_title: Special Service Group
section_title: Battalions in the Special Forces
hierarchical_section_title: Special Service Group / Organizational structure / Battalions in the Special Forces
caption_attribution_description: Русский: В Карачаево-Черкесии стартовало совместное российско-пакистанское учение «Дружба-2017»
context_page_description: The Pakistan Army Special Service Group, also known as Maroon Berets due to their distinctive head gears, are the special operation forces of the Pakistan Army tasked with five primary missions: foreign internal defense, reconnaissance, direct action, Counter-Terrorism Operations, and unconventional warfare– their most important missions.
  The Special Service Group's other roles included the combat search and rescue, seek and destroy, counter-proliferation, military hostage rescue, information operations, peacekeeping missions, psychological operations, security assistance, and enemy manhunts.
  The command and control of the special forces falls in the domain of the Pakistan Army's Strategic Forces Command, and its personnel are directly recruited into ISI's Covert Action Division upon their retirements. Many of their operational work and war techniques are kept in secrecy and knowledge of their work became known in public through the published literary work by the army veterans or authorized documentaries in the news media.
context_section_description: The Special Service Group is organized in eight battalions and three companies– all trained and specialists in the specific type of war operations. In common practice and military formation, the Battalions typically consists of between ~300–800 personnel, but the department of army has never issued an actual strength number of its personnel serving in the battalions in the special forces. The official strength number of serving personnel in each battalions is subjected to the classified information.
  In Pakistan Army, the Special Forces battalions are typically commanded by the lieutenant-colonels (varies, and depends on availability), and the battalions are organized into the groups under the command of the serving colonels.
  The command of the Army's Special Service Group (Army SSG) is under the command of the Major-General whose identity is also kept in secrecy, alongside with other army personnel, citing security.
  
  Sources:Sharma, Rajeev (1999). Pakistan's Proxy War: A Story of ISI, Bin Laden and Kargil. New Delhi, India: Kaveri Book Service. p. 223. ISBN 9788174790354.. For a description of the modern special forces, see: global context of the Special forces.
caption: The Pakistan Army soldiers saluting during the tactical exercise with Russian Ground Forces, wearing their maroon berets for which they are popular for.
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