speak about the various kinds of SOF only insofar as is necessary to discuss the general issues of SOF we focus on, especially the question of SOF’s strategic utility. We also say little about special mission units, a term applied to SOF that specialize in combating terrorism and other secret and often especially demanding missions. These SOF

In the second, a SOF special mission unit (SMU), a force specially trained in conducting high-risk raids, flew into Pakistan, breached bin Laden’s compound, which was near a Pakistani military facility, killed him, and gathered large amounts of useful intelligence in the form of disc drives and papers before exfiltrating without casualties.2

Warner, John W., and Carl Levin. “Review of the Circumstances Surrounding the Ranger Raid on October 3–4, 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia.” Washington, DC: United States Senate, Committee on Armed Services, 1995.

Waller, Douglas C. The Commandos: The Inside Story of America’s Secret Soldiers. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Naylor, Sean. Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command. New York: St. Martin’s, 2016.

Moyar, Mark. Oppose Any Foe: The Rise of America’s Special Operations Forces. New York: Basic Books, 2017.

McRaven, William H. Spec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare: Theory and Practice. Novato, CA: Presidio, 1995.

McCabe, Peter, and Paul Lieber, eds. Special Operations Theory. Hurlburt Field, FL: Joint Special Operations University Press, 2017.

Marquis, Susan L. Unconventional Warfare: Rebuilding U.S. Special Operations Forces. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1997.