Direct action (military)
 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (March 2016) |
Direct action (DA) is a term used in the context of military special operations for small-scale raids, ambushes, sabotage or similar actions.
The
US Department of Defense has defined direct action as "Short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets. Direct action differs from conventional offensive actions in the level of physical and political risk, operational techniques, and the degree of discriminate and precise use of force to achieve specific objectives."[1]
The
US Navy SEALs, and the UK Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) continue to perform a primary DA role with special reconnaissance (SR) as original missions. The SEALs, SAS, and SBS added additional capabilities over time, responding to the needs of modern conflict. Russia's Spetsnaz
combines DA and SR units.
Under the US
Special Activities Division to operate without apparent national identification for plausible deniability. The Joint Special Operations Command and the frequently-renamed Intelligence Support Activity
are similar units.
References
- ^ US Department of Defense (2007-07-12). "Joint Publication 1-02 Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-08. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
- ^ James, Michael (2006). "SAMS Monograph Body" (PDF). United States Army Special Operations Command. pp. 2, 44. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2021-04-22.