Polish special forces troops at Umm Qasr during the 2003 invasion of Iraq Special forces and special operations forces are units trained to conduct. Defines special operations as 'military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, trained, and equipped forces, manned with selected personnel, using unconventional tactics, techniques, and modes of employment'. Special forces emerged in the early 20th century, with a significant growth in the field during the, when 'every major army involved in the fighting' created formations devoted to special operations behind enemy lines. Depending on the country, special forces may perform some of the following functions:,,,,,,, /,,, and. The term special forces in the United States refers to the U.S. Army's forces, while the term special operations forces (SOF) refers to all units. In Russian-speaking countries special forces are typically called, an acronym for 'special purpose'.

Likewise, Russian speakers refer to special forces of other nations as spetsnaz; for example, U. Macbook Pro 17 Pouces. S. Special Forces would be referred to as amerikanski spetsnaz in Russian. Japanese drawing of the archetypical, from a series of sketches ( ).

Special forces have played an important role throughout the history of warfare, whenever the aim was to achieve disruption by 'hit and run' and, rather than more traditional conventional combat. Other significant roles lay in, providing essential intelligence from near or among the enemy and increasingly in combating irregular forces, their infrastructure and activities. Chinese strategist, in his, described recruiting talented and motivated men into specialized elite units with functions such as commanding heights and making rapid long-distance advances. Of ancient had a special forces platoon known as. In Sicily (249 BC) had specialized troops trained to launch several offensives per day.