Published on 30 Mar 2024 on Insider Monkey via Yahoo Finance

15 Most Elite US Military Special Forces and Their Role

In this article, we look at the 15 most elite US military special forces and their role. You can skip our detailed analysis on these formidable, well-trained units and head over directly to the 5 Most Elite US Military Special Forces and Their Role.

American special forces have captured the imagination of popular culture in the country for quite some time, and often bring to mind movies such as the Black Hawk Down, or video games like Call of Duty. There is immense prestige associated with these warrior units within the US military as well. These top-notched special forces are made up of some of the finest soldiers recruited from across the nation after a high level of rigorous training.

Special forces have historically worked in small units and were called in only for critical missions. However, since the advent of the war against terrorism, their role has significantly expanded. The United States Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, has grown from 38,000 personnel since the September 11 attacks in 2001 to 73,000 by 2020, with their budget also skyrocketing 495% from $2.3 billion to $13.7 billion during the period.