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How are U.S. Special Operations Forces units assigned?
Some of the assignments relate to the U.S. Military's Unified Combatant Commands. There are six U.S. Unifed Combatant Commands with regional responsibility. The regional responsiblity breaks down different parts of the world into sections, those sections are called AOR (Areas of Responsibility). Some U.S. SOF units are assigned to specific Unified Commands, and based on that U.S. Command's AOR reflects the part of the world that the U.S. SOF unit specializes in. However, that does not preclude a unit from being assigned to a mission or tour of duty outsite their normal AOR (example: the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan). For the complete list of U.S. Unified Combatant Commands and their websites:
- AFRICOM - Stands for African Command and is made up of fifty three countries in Africa. It was started in 2007.
- CENTCOM - Stands for Central Command and is made up of about twenty countries primarily in the Middle East.
- EURCOM - Stands for European Command and is made up of fifty one countries and territories in Europe and parts of the Middle East.
- NORTHCOM - Stands for Northern Command and is made up of primarily North America, Mexico, and parts of the Gulf of Mexico.
- PACOM - Stands for Pacific Command and is made up of thirty six countries primarily in Asia.
- SOUTHCOM - Stands for Southern Command and is made up of about thirty countries and territories primarily in Latin America.
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