Special Operations Command Central The Special Operations Command Central ( SOCCENT ) is a sub - unified command of the U . S . Central Command ( USCENTCOM ) . It is responsible for planning special operations throughout the USCENTCOM area of responsibility ( AOR ) , planning and conducting peacetime joint / combined special operations training exercises , and orchestrating command and control of peacetime and wartime special operations as directed . The command is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa , Florida . SOCCENT FWD ( formerly known as Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command ) is located at Al Udeid in Qatar . The Command ' s motto is " Molon labe " ( Greek for " Come and take them " , reportedly said by King Leonidas I of Sparta before the Battle of Thermopylae in response to the Persian demand to surrender their weapons . ) In the initial stages of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan , the formation ' s commander was Rear Admiral Albert Calland . SOCCENT stood up Joint Special Operations Task Forces ( JSOTFs ) . Beginning on 5 October 2001 , Joint Special Operations Task Force - North ( JSOTFN ) was established under command of Col Frank Kisner at Karshi - Kanabad ( K2 ) , Uzbekistan , and the bombing of Afghanistan began on 7 October . The 5th SFG ( A ) , under the command of COL John Mulholland , deployed to K2 and formed the core of this JSOTF , more commonly known as Task Force Dagger . Unconventional Warfare became DAGGER ’ s principal mission . This task force included aviators from the 160th SOAR ( A ) and Special Tactics personnel from AFSOC . A comparable task force , Task Force K - Bar , deployed to southern Afghanistan . In the leadup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq , SOCCENT assigned 5th Special Forces Group the task of establishing Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - West ( CJSOTF - W ) , and its three battalions would constitute the bulk of the task force . As operations approached , CJSOTF - W grew to include Australian and British special forces , Psychological Operations ( PSYOP ) elements from B Company , 9th PSYOP Battalion , and 301st PSYOP Company , with Civil Affairs augmentation . Most U . S . special operations forces left Iraq in May and June 2003 . CJSOTF - N / Task Force Viking was deactivated , and CJSOTF - W was re - designated CJSOTF - Arabian Peninsula ( CJSOTFAP ) , having moved to Baghdad in April . By July 2003 , CJSOTF - AP had drawn down to the 5th Special Forces Group Headquarters , consisting of one Naval Special Warfare Task Unit ( NSWTU ) and one FOB . The FOB commanded 14 ODAs , few of them at full strength . The bulk of these forces remained in Baghdad with outstations covering Al Qaim , Ramadi / Fallujah , Najaf / Nasiriyah , Hillah , Kut / Amarah , Tikrit , Balad , Samarra , and Kirkuk . According to a 2006 online edition of " Special Operations Technology " magazine , SOCCENT , operating with coalition partners as the CFSOCC , consists of two combined joint special operations task forces [ CJSOTFs ] , one Combined Joint Special Operations Aviation Command ( also referred to as ' Component ' ) , which seems to be at Balad Air Base , one joint psychological operations task force , one Naval Special Warfare Unit and three Special Operations command and control elements [ SOCCEs ] . The two CJSOTFs are CJSOTF - Arabian Peninsula , whose headquarters directs United States Army Special Forces and CJSOTF Afghanistan . Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Arabian Peninsula ( CJSOTF - AP ) is a " white , " or unclassified , special operations task force that is always organized around the headquarters of 5th Special Forces Group or 10th Special Forces Group . Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Arabian Peninsula ( CJSOTF - AP ) , itself answers to While information is scarce , it consists of two battalions of the United States Army Special Forces ( the ' Green Berets ' ) and a west coast - based Navy SEAL Team . CJSOTF - AP is task organized into three Special Operations Task Forces ( SOTFs ) : SOTF - Central , SOTF - North , and SOTF - West . CJSOTF Aghanistan ' s headquarters has been provided in rotation by a number of Army Special Forces Groups , including the 3rd and the 19th . CJSOTF Afghanistan has included elements of the 7th Special Forces Group operating in southern provinces , including Kandahar , as Task Force 71 . Unit decorations . The unit awards depicted below are for Headquarters , US Special Operations Command Central at MacDill AFB . Award for unit decorations do not apply to any subordinate organizations , commands or any other activities unless the orders specifically address them .