One of the tiny details very many people miss these days regarding U.S.-and allied-SOF, is that there are a shit load of ‘Weekend Warriors’ (though they serve far more than the typical one weekend a month, two weeks every summer). Every branch of the United States military has Reserve Component (RC) SOF units. From Navy Special Warfare to Air Force Special Tactics to US Army Special Forces to Marine Force Recon.
In today’s lesson, we will be covering units known as SODs (Special Operations Detachments). These are all unanimously USASOC units, and though they are ‘owned’ by the National Guard and populated primarily by troops from the two Guard SF Groups (19th and 20th), they are plugged in and operationally controlled (OPCONed) all over the MAJCOMs, and elsewhere. There have been 10 such units scattered throughout 10 states’ Guards. These SODs, “which support a specific U.S. Special Operations Command component headquarters or theater headquarters, world-wide,” field approximately 30 soldiers, with three having bulked up manning documents due to their responsibilities. (SOD-G, for example-G is for GLOBAL-run several more troops than the “typical” SOD.) Those responsibilities include functioning as a sort of core node within a SOC, around which other SOF missions and personnel may be shifted to best support the MAJCOM and Theater commanders. Additionally SODs provide support in the planning, directing, and executing of Special Operations by providing C2 capabilities to the supported commanders.
So here’s the list. Don’t worry, these were all yanked off the respective recruiting websites, so they’re as open source as the shit gets.
Special Operations Detachment - Africa, SOD-A. Located in Austin, TX. Owned by the 71st Troop Command, Texas Army National Guard, but works for SOCAFRICA (along with gangs like JSOTF-TS and NSWU 10).
Special Operations Detachment - Central, SOD-C. Located in Tampa, FL. Owned by 83rd Troop Command, Florida Army National Guard, but works for SOCCENT, adjacent to units like SOJTF-A.
Special Operations Detachment - Europe, SOD-E. Located in Kingwood, WV. Owned by Joint Forces Headquarters (JFHQ), West Virginia, but works for SOCEUR. Just like 1st Battalion, 10th SFG(A) and USAF 352nd SOG.
Special Operations Detachment - Global, SOD-G. Located in Coventry, RI. Owned by JFHQ, Rhode Island, but plugs into USSOCOM proper, cohesive to each respective Service SOC (AFSOC, MARSOC, etc.) and JSOC.
Special Operations Detachment - Joint, SOD-J. Was located in Laurel, MD. Owned by 58th Troop, but plugged into the former Joint Forces Command.
Special Operations Detachment - Korea, SOD-K. Located in Aurora, CO. Owned by JFHQ, CO, but I’ll give you two guesses where they go when they do work. (This unit is related to what is known as the ‘resident team’ in Korea, Det-K.)
Special Operations Detachment - North, SOD-N. Located in Los Alamitos, CA. Owned by JFHQ, CA, but folds into SOCNORTH.
Special Operations Detachment - Pacific, SOD-P. Located in Tacoma, WA. Owned by the 96th Troop Command, WA Army National Guard, but reports to SOCPAC (with 1BN, 1 SFG(A), and NSWU 1).
Special Operations Detachment - South, SOD-S. Located in Jackson, MS. Owned by the 66th Troop Command, MS Army National Guard, but plugs into SOCSOUTH.
Special Operations Detachment - X, SOD-X. (Sounds so secretive and cool, but the X here is the Roman numeral 10. It was the 10th SOD to stand up.) Located in Raleigh, NC. Owned by JFHQ, NC. This is the SOD that kicks it with JSOC. So, they fall in adjacent to units like 1SFOD-D and 24STS on that org chart.
So that’s the basic OB (Order of Battle) breakdown of SODs. Over time, I’ll continue to drop nuggets here and there regarding other Reserve Component SOF units, missions, and history-for the U.S., as well as globally.
SODs have a very specific mission slice, and I personally think it’s fantastic that they’ve shredded that out to RC units and personnel. Despite everyone’s delusions that M-Day (drill weekend) troops are somehow substandard to the soldiers in regular units. DoD-wide.
Featured Image courtesy of warisboring.com
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Love this story. We kinda departed from O's wonderful but too short intro into SOD Land... The importance of communication from home can't be understated. A favorite cousin deployed to Saudi during Desert Storm. I made sure to write a couple times a week, not knowing when or if any letters would arrive. Years later he told me I was the only writer. His own parents/sibs waited for the satellite calls. I adopted 2 guys +a gal during Kosovo. They were like younger sibs to me. The letters flew fast and thick, and photos!!! I believe that support and encouragement are priceless.
Medically retired? Sorry about that, Super; that must have sucked. I trust you are kept busy as a contractor now and keeping out of mischief. Have you retired that "Potty Mouth Expert Badge" yet??
I have been out for a few years now. I was medically retired from the Army. I am currently a federal contractor via DHS/FEMA
Beautiful story, Super 68; thank you for sharing it. How lovely that both your father and your grandfather told you how much they love you and are proud of you. Your dad obviously found it easier to tell you about his feelings than your grandfather - different times with different expectations of how men should behave, I guess. How funny your grandma would smack your grandpa every time you swore! You have a lovely, loving family; you are blessed. Are you still in or are you doing something else now?
Not exactly sure it is in any handbook, but I was a potty mouth or sorts prior to going into the Army Infantry. Yet coming out of Infantry School and then to an operational unit, Potty Mouth Expert Badge for me!! Much to my mother's chagrin. Funny though, I made a conscious effort to minimize the potty mouth in front of my beloved grandmother, but I messed up few times. My Grandfather (Career Army 30+ years, WW2 / Korea, Vietnam), poor guy, every time I uttered an expletive, my grandmother gave him a smack on the back of the head where she admonished him (lovingly of course) with, "You are the one who wanted him in the Army so badly and now look, another potty mouth!!" On an unrelated note (but telling you this story brought up another memory) I was a momma's boy, but make NO mistake, I loved my father (also an Army veteran, Vietnam) and although he rarely if ever said it (not an emotional guy to say the least) I knew he loved me too. Same with my grandparents. Well, my grandmother loved me to pieces, and ALWAYS reminded me I was special and could do and/or be anything I wanted to do/be, and never failed to tell me how much I was loved. My grandfather on the other hand, stern, unemotional ALWAYS. The only jobs he ever had were 30+ years in the Army through two wars and a police action (Korea). When I left for boot camp (Infantry OSUT Ft. Benning, Georgia / Infantry School) I got a lot of mail (ask anyone in the military during boot camp how crucial letters from home were) But there were two letters I will never forget, one from my dad and the other from my grandfather. My dad told me how much he loved me and how proud he was. What really got me though was when he said, " I know I was never much for foo-foo stuff, but I need you to know how much I have always loved you." Then he wrote how terrified he was for me. He said a lot of people are getting hurt/killed and please be careful My grandfather wrote that my grandma loved me more than anything in the world, that she was worried sick, that she wants you to know it is OK to be scared, just do as your told by your NCO's, keep your head down and you will be OK. He wrote how proud my grandma was of me... Funny because I know damn well he wasn't really talking about my grandma, but that was just his way of telling his grandson how much he loves them...