Special Forces Around The World

Special forces is a generic term for elite, highly-trained military, police or civilian paramilitary tactical teams that conduct specialized operations. These include reconnaissance, surveillance, sniping, guerilla and unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action and counter-terrorism actions.
The U.S. Navy's Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC, read "swick") are Special Operations Forces who operate and maintain an inventory of state-of-the-art, high-performance boats used to support special operations missions, particularly those of the U.S. Navy SEALs. Individually, SEALs and SWCC go through separate, but similar, specialized training programs that emphasize special operations in the maritime environment. SWCC are trained extensively in craft and weapons tactics, techniques and procedures. Focusing on clandestine infiltration and exfiltration of SEALs and other special operations forces, SWCC provide dedicated, rapid mobility in shallow water areas where large ships cannot operate. Like SEALs, SWCC must be physically fit, highly motivated, combat-focused, and responsive in high stress situations.
Throughout the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st century, special forces have come to higher prominence, as governments have found objectives can sometimes be better achieved by a small team of anonymous specialists than a larger and much more politically controversial conventional deployment. In both Kosovo and Afghanistan, special forces were used to co-ordinate activities between local guerrilla fighters and air power. Typically, guerrilla fighters would engage enemy soldiers and tanks causing them to move, where they could be seen and attacked from the air.