Advanced Force Operations

Advanced Force Operations (AFO) is a term used by the United States Department of Defense to describe a task force that encompasses personnel from 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), DEVGRU and United States Army Intelligence Support Activity (USAISA). According to Gen. Michael Repass, who conducted it in the Iraq War and was very familiar with its use in Afghanistan, "AFO consists of United States Secretary of Defense-approved military operations such as clandestine operations, source operations, and deployment of enabling forces and capabilities to conduct target-specific preparations prior to the conduct of an actual operation It is logically part of Operational Preparation of the Battlespace (OPB), which follows the Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace, a concept well-known in US and NATO doctrine, OPB is seldom used outside of Special Operations Forces channels. OPB is defined by the United States Special Operations Command as “Non-intelligence activities conducted prior to D-Day, H-Hour, in likely or potential areas of employment, to train and prepare for follow-on military operations".^[1]

An AFO unit reported to Joint Special Operations Command in the Afghanistan War. In the Iraq War, Respass, who first commanded the 10th Special Forces Group, took control of a Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force, which used the 5th and 10th Groups to conduct AFO. AFO units were heavily involved in Operation Anaconda.

References

v t e United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Portal:Military of the United States United States Army USASOC Special Forces · U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School · 75th Ranger Regiment · 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment United States Marine Corps MARSOC Part of SOCOM: Marine Special Operations Regiment United States Navy NAVSPECWARCOM Navy SEALs · Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen United States Air Force AFSOC Units: 1st Special Operations Wing · 27th Special Operations Wing · 352nd Special Operations Group · 353rd Special Operations Group Types: Air Force Pararescue · Combat Control Team · Special Operations Weather · SERE · Tactical Air Control Party Special Mission Units JSOC Army: 1st SFOD - Delta (Delta Force) · Intelligence Support Activity Navy: Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU / SEAL Team Six) Air Force: 24th Special Tactics Squadron Other: Advanced Force Operations (AFO) Source: SOCOM Fact Book