The Special Operations Command Pacific, known as SOCPAC, is a sub-unified command of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

for

special operations forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

in the

United States Indo-Pacific Command The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is the unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific region. It is the oldest and largest of the unified combatant commands. Lead ...

(USINDOPACOM) area of responsibility.

History

The Special Operations Center, Pacific Command was established 1 November 1965. Headquartered in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, the unit provided unconventional warfare task force support for operations in Southeast Asia. After these functions transferred to the Commander in Chief, Pacific Command (CINCPAC), the command dissolved on 1 July 1969. A special operations staff was established in the CINCPAC Operations Directorate on 15 May 1976, for planning and coordinating in-theater special operations. In October 1983, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff established special operations commands in the Pacific and European Theaters. Special Operations Command, Pacific (SOCPAC) was activated on 1 November 1983 with only eighteen personnel. Six years later, on 28 December 1989, SOCPAC was assigned operational control of what is now the

353d Special Operations Group The 353rd Special Operations Wing is an operational unit of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command, stationed at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The group (military aviation unit), Wing's first predecessor was activated in 1944 as the ...

and 1st Battalion,

1st Special Forces Group The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) (1st SFG) (A) is a unit of the U.S. Army Special Forces operating under the United States Pacific Command. It is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions throughout the Indo-Pacific Command ...

(Airborne), which are located on Okinawa, Japan at

Kadena Air Base (International Air Transport Association airport code, IATA: DNA, International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO: RODN) is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena, Okinawa, Kadena and Chatan, Okinawa, Chatan and the ...

and

Torii Station US Army Garrison Okinawa is a US Army facility located in Yomitan, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Home to the United States Army on Okinawa, 10th Support Group (Regional), along with the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), 247th M ...

, respectively. On 8 July 1991, SOCPAC assumed control of Naval Special Warfare Task Unit-Pacific and a platoon of

United States Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main func ...

, based at

Apra Harbor Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwat ...

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

. In early March 2001, SOCPAC established the Joint Special Operations Aviation Component. On 11 June 2001, SOCPAC gained control over E Company, 160th Special Operations Regiment (Airborne), which is based in

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

in South Korea. As a subordinate unified command of the

, SOCPAC units deploy throughout the Pacific. SOCPAC annually conducts small unit exchanges, joint and combined training events, and operational deployments throughout the Pacific. Units are used for counterdrug and humanitarian demining operations, training forces in countries such as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. SOCPAC hosts an annual Pacific Area Special Operations Conference in Hawaii for over 200 U.S. and foreign delegates. The command can operate as a rapidly deployable Joint Task Force. In January 2002, SOCPAC deployed to the Southern Philippines as JTF 510, conducting counterterrorist operations with the Philippine Government under

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

. The force redeployed on 1 September 2002, leaving elements to form the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Peppery Philippines with the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Philippine Army, Army, the Philippine Air Force, Air Force, and the Philippine Navy, Navy (including the P ...

. The command is headquartered at Camp H. M. Smith in Hawaii. From 1995 to 1997 Air Force General Charles R. Holland commanded SOCPAC. From 2000 to 2003 Donald C. Wurster was commander, David P. Fridovich commanded from 2005 to 2007, and then Salvatore F. Cambria. In June 2009 Rear Admiral Sean A. Pybus became commander of SOCPAC. From 2020 to 2021, under the leadership of Jonathan P. Braga, the command oversaw a

propaganda campaign White propaganda is propaganda that does not hide its origin or nature. It is the most common type of propaganda and is distinguished from black propaganda which disguises its origin to discredit an opposing cause. It typically uses standard pu ...

to spread

disinformation Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic dece ...

about the Chinese-manufactured COVID-19 vaccine

Sinovac Sinovac Biotech Ltd. () is a Chinese biopharmaceutical company based in Haidian District, Beijing that focuses on the research, development, manufacture, and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases. The com ...

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

described the U.S. campaign as designed to "counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines". A Pentagon spokesperson stated it was a response to "China's COVID diplomacy and

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

." As part of the campaign, military personnel and contractors at

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

operated hundreds of fake social media accounts which targeted the Philippines and later expanded to Central Asian and Middle Eastern countries. The private defense contractor for the project was General Dynamics IT.

List of commanders

* Maj Gen Charles R. Holland, June 1995 – June 1997 * Brig Gen Donald C. Wurster, October 2000 – February 2003 * MG David P. Fridovich, 2005 to 2007 * Salvatore F. Cambria * RADM Sean A. Pybus, June 2009 * Maj Gen Norman J. Brozenick Jr., June 2011 * RADM P. Gardner Howe III, 10 June 2013 * RADM Colin J. Kilrain, ~August 2014 * MG Bryan P. Fenton, 9 June 2016 * MajGen Daniel D. Yoo, 12 May 2017 * MG Jonathan P. Braga, 27 July 2018 * MG Joshua M. Rudd, 14 August 2020 * RDML Jeromy B. Williams, 19 July 2022

References

{{US Special Operations Forces +Pacific Command Military units and formations in Hawaii Organizations based in Honolulu Military units and formations established in 1965