:''Further information: List of special forces units and List of defunct special forces units; Not to be confused with Special Troops Battalion''

Special forces, or ''Special Operations forces'' are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform. Special Forces soldiers need to be physically and mentally robust and have the confidence, courage, and skill to operate individually or in small teams, often in isolation and in a hostile environment. They are high-value assets commanded at the strategic level, delivering effects disproportionate to their size.

Evolution

Structured military activities have always required the support of specialised assets providing additional capabilities, some of which now come under the umbrella of what are now described as Special Forces capabilities. The tactics and techniques used by these assets may have remained the preserve of specialist units, or be cascaded out to more standard units over time.

Special Forces as they would now be recognised emerged in the early 20th Century, with a significant growth in the field during the Second World War.

Prior to the beginning of the 20th Century the emergence of formed units intended to exploit the opportunities of newer capabilities might be described as ''Special Forces'' , such as the superiority of the rifle over the musket. Similarly some conventional units learned from irregular opponents, such as Boer and developed tactics accordingly.

Capabilities

Core Special Forces capabilities include:

Reconnaissance in the deep battlespace

Training and development of other states' military and security assets

Offensive action

Battlespace preparation

Support to counter-insurgency through population engagement and support

Support to counter-terrorism operations

Disruption of logistic routes in the deep battlespace

History

Special forces have played an important role throughout the history of warfare whenever the aim has been to achieve disruption by "hit and run" and sabotage, rather than more traditional conventional army combat using large formations of troops and motorized armor groups. Other significant roles lay in reconnaissance, providing essential intelligence from close to or among the enemy, and increasingly in combating terrorists, their infrastructure and activities.

In antiquity, Hamilcar Barca in Sicily had specialized troops trained to launch several offensives per day. Chinese strategist Jiang Ziya, in his ''Six Secret Teachings'', describes recruiting talented and highly-motivated men for serving in specialized elite units with such functions as commanding heights and making rapid long-distance advances. The In the late Roman or early Byzantine period, Roman fleets used small, fast camouflaged ships crewed by picked men for scouting and commando missions. Similarly, Muslim forces also had several naval special operations units, including one which used camouflaged ships to gather intelligence and launch raids, and another which consisted of soldiers who could pass for Crusaders who would use ruses to board enemy ships and then capture and destroy them.

During the Napoleonic wars, rifle and sapper units existed who were not committed to the formal lines that made up most battles of the day. They instead held more specialised roles in reconnaissance and skirmishing.

For the British Army, it was during the Second Boer War (1899–1902) that the need for more specialised units became most apparent. Scouting units such as Lovat Scouts, a Scottish Highland regiment made up of phenomenal woodsmen outfitted in ghillie suits and well practised in the arts of marksmanship, field craft, and military tactics, best filled this role. This unit was formed in 1900 by Lord Lovat and early on reported to an American, Major Frederick Russell Burnham, the Chief of Scouts under Lord Roberts. After the war, Lovat's Scouts went on to formally become the British Army's first sniper unit. Additionally, the formation of the Bushveldt Carbineers in 1901 may be seen as an early manifestation of a unit for unconventional warfare.

World War II

Australia

The Z Special Unit was an Australian Commando unit which sank several Japanese ships in Singapore Harbour as part of Operation ''Jaywick''.

Germany

The German army had the Brandenburger Regiment, which was originally founded as a special forces unit used by the Abwehr for infiltration and long distance reconnaissance in Fall Weiss of 1939 and the Fall Gelb and Barbarossa campaigns of 1940 and 1941. Later during the war the 502nd SS Jäger Battalion, commanded by Otto Skorzeny, also conducted many special operations. On October 21, 1944 Adolf Hitler — inspired by an American subterfuge which had put three captured German tanks flying German colours to devastating use at Aachen — summoned Skorzeny to Berlin and assigned him to lead a Panzer brigade. As planned by Skorzeny in Operation Greif, about two dozen German soldiers, most of them in captured American army Jeeps and disguised as American Military Police officers, penetrated American lines in the early hours of the Battle of the Bulge and sowed disorder behind the Allied lines by mis-directing convoys away from the front lines. A handful of his men were captured by the Americans and spread a rumour that Skorzeny was leading a raid on Paris to kill or capture General Dwight Eisenhower. Although this was untrue, Eisenhower was confined to his headquarters for weeks and Skorzeny was labelled "the most dangerous man in Europe".

Italy

In Italy, the Decima Flottiglia MAS were responsible for the sinking and damage of considerable Allied tonnage in the Mediterranean. After the division of Italy in 1943, those fighting with Germany retained the original name and those fighting with the Allies retitled as the Mariassalto. Also there were other Italian special forces like A.D.R.A. (Arditi Distruttori Regia Aeronautica). This regiment was used in raids on Allied airbases and railways in North Africa in 1943. In one mission they destroyed 25 B-17s.

United Kingdom

During World War II, in 1940, the British Commandos were formed following Winston Churchill's call for "specially trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast." The Commandos were selected from volunteers among existing servicemen and went on to spawn a number of other specialist units including the Parachute Regiment, the Special Air Service and the Special Boat Service. Another multi-national unit was formed around the same time the Long Range Desert Group for service in the western desert. In the Burma Campaign, the Chindits, whose long range penetration groups were trained to operate from bases deep behind Japanese lines, contained commandos (King's Regiment (Liverpool), 142 Commando Company) and Gurkhas. Their jungle expertise, which would play an important part in many British special forces operations post war, was learnt at a great cost in lives in the jungles of Burma fighting the Japanese.

The British No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando was formed with complete troops of men from France, Belgium, Norway, The Netherlands and Poland. Most of these troops formed the foundation for their own countries special forces after the war.

United States and Canada

The United States formed the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII under the Medal of Honor recipient William J. Donovan. This organization was the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and was responsible for both intelligence and Special Forces missions. The CIA's elite Special Activities Division is the direct descendant of the OSS. In mid-1942, the United States formed the Rangers. The United States and Canada also formed a sabotage ski brigade for operations in Norway who became known as the Devil's Brigade, officially known as the First Special Service Force, during their eventual service in Italy. Merrill's Marauders were modelled on the Chindits and took part in similar operations in Burma. In late November 1943, the Alamo Scouts were formed to conduct reconnaissance and raider work in the Southwest Pacific Theater under the personal command of then Lt. General Walter Krueger, Commanding General, Sixth U.S. Army. Krueger envisioned that the Alamo Scouts, consisting of small teams of highly trained volunteers, would operate deep behind enemy lines to provide intelligence-gathering and tactical reconnaissance in advance of Sixth U.S. Army landing operations. In 1988, the Alamo Scouts were individually awarded the Special Forces Tab for their services in World War II and included in the lineage of today's U.S. Army Special Forces.

Late 20th and early 21st century

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.

The US-led invasion of Afghanistan involved coalition special forces from several nations, who played a major role in removing the Taliban from power in 2001–2002. Coalition special forces have continued to play a role in combating the Taliban in subsequent operations. Special forces involved in these operations, occasionally working together, included US Special Operations Forces, UK Special Forces, the Italian 9th Parachutist Assault Regiment ''Peak Moschin'', the Australian Special Air Service Regiment, the French Commandement des Opérations Spéciales, the Canadian Joint Task Force 2, the Danish Jægerkorpset, the Polish GROM, the German KSK, the New Zealand Special Air Service, the Netherlands Korps Commandotroepen and the Norwegian Forsvarets Spesialkommando and Marinejegerkommandoen. Special forces from other nations have supported the parallel NATO mission in Afghanistan.

Special Forces have been used in both wartime and peacetime military operations such as the 1971 Indo-Pak War, Vietnam War, Portuguese Colonial War, Falklands War, The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the first and second Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia, first Chechen War and second Chechen War, the Iranian Embassy siege (London), the Air France Flight 8969 ( Marseille), Operation Defensive Shield, Operation Khukri, Moscow theater hostage crisis, Operation Orchard, 2006 Lebanon War, Japanese Embassy hostage crisis (Lima) in Sri Lanka against the LTTE, and the raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

See also

Ninja (Special Operations)

S.W.A.T. Team

Mercenary

References

;Bibliography

Breuer, William B. (2001). Daring missions of World War II. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-40419-4.

Haskew, Michael E (2007). Encyclopaedia of Elite Forces in the Second World War. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-84415-577-4.

Molinari, Andrea (2007). Desert Raiders: Axis and Allied Special Forces 1940–43. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-006-2.

;Notes

External links

* Category:Combat occupations Category:Warfare by type Category:Counter-terrorism

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name	Laura Izibor
background	solo_singer
birth name	Laura Elizabeth Arabosa Izibor
born	May 13, 1987Dublin, Ireland
instrument	Vocals, piano
genre	R&B, soul, pop
occupation	Singer–songwriter, pianist, producer, arranger, composer
years active	2000–present
label	Jive, Atlantic
website	www.lauraizibor.com }}

Laura Elizabeth Arabosa Izibor (born 13 May 1987) is an Irish recording artist, musician and producer. She won the RTÉ 2fm song contest while still in secondary school. She went on to win an award at the 2006 Meteor Music Awards. She also performed at that year's Electric Picnic music festival and Music Ireland 2007. Izibor has opened for Aretha Franklin, India.Arie, Estelle, Maxwell and John Legend on tour.

Her debut album, ''Let the Truth Be Told'', was released in Ireland on Friday 8 May 2009, and in the UK on Monday 18 May with a U.S. release to follow on 16 June.

Izibor is currently featured in The CW television show, ''One Tree Hill''., where she plays Erin Macree.

Life and career

1987–2003: Early life and career beginnings

Laura Elizabeth Arabosa Izibor was born in 13 May 1987 in Dublin, Ireland. She is the fourth of five children born to Irish mother Trish and Nigerian father Saul and brother Evan. Izibor's parents separated when she was seven and she was raised by her mother. As a child, she faced racial discrimination. She recalled being "paranoid about one teacher in particular, who I think was a racist" as well as "a few kids who made stupid little comments here and there". After singing "When You Believe", a duet by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, in her drama class, she discovered her interest for music; she began writing songs at age 13 and taught herself how to play the piano at 14. At age 15, public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) held a song competition by radio station RTÉ 2fm, which Izibor won. Her winning song, "Compatible", received constant airplay after she won the competition; RTÉ also filmed a documentary of Izibor after winning the competition.

2004–present: ''Let the Truth Be Told''

At age 17, Izibor was signed to Jive Records and dropped out of school to record her debut album. After a dispute with the label, she signed with Atlantic Records and subsequently moved to New York after her mentor, Steve Lunt, was offered a job at the label. She won an award at the 2006 Meteor Music Award and became the first unsigned recording artist to receive a nomination. Izibor's debut album, ''Let the Truth Be Told'', was released in May 2009. The album debuted at number two on the Irish Albums Chart.

Film and television

Her song "From My Heart to Yours" featured in an episode of Grey's Anatomy and the Vh1 reality series Tough Love.

Her single ''Shine'' was the lead track for the movie Nanny Diaries, is currently used in the Hibernian Aviva commercial in the Republic of Ireland and in the Norwich Union (soon to be Aviva) commercial in the United Kingdom. Withfirst-week sales in the United States.The CD's first-week chart position is 27 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums. Diana Ross is rumored to have recorded a duet with Izibor for the European edition of her upcoming album.

Her song "Mmm..." is featured in ''Step Up 2: The Streets'', ''Why Did I Get Married?'' and ''Seven Pounds'' starring Will Smith.

Her song "Carousel" is featured on the P.S. I Love You soundtrack.

Her song "Shine" is featured in an episode of Ghost Whisperer called 'Cursed' which aired 1 May 2009

Her song "Shine" is featured on the Special K advert

Her music was used in ''Second Chances'' an episode of MTV's The Hills.

Her song "If Tonight is my Last" was used as ''America's Best Dance Crew'' Season 4 elimination song.

A video of her performing her song "Mmm..." was featured in an episode of Bones called 'The Parts in the Sum of the Whole' as murder victim Gemma Arrington

Her song 'Mmm...' is featured in an episode of ''Private Practice'' called 'A Death In The Family' which aired 1 October 2009.

Laura debuts in One Tree Hill during the 8th Season (2010). Her song "Can't be Love", which she created specifically for the show, debuted during the 6th episode on October 20, 2010.

Musical style

Izibor cites James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Carole King as her inspirations. She described Phil Lynott as her idol, while naming Roberta Flack, Nina Simone, Candi Staton and Thin Lizzy her "musical heroes".

Izibor music has been compared to recording artists Aretha Franklin, Corinne Bailey Rae and Alicia Keys; her writing is compared to that of Carole King and Joan Armatrading. Nicole Frehsée of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine described Izibor's debut album, ''Let the Truth Be Told'', as "a sunny, chick-flick-worthy take on vintage soul". Noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of 'Blues & Soul' described the album as "Anchored firmly in classic R&B and effectively combining a reverence for the traditions of vintage, warm piano-driven soul with a fresh twist of modern sensibility". While Pete Daniel Smith of ''Sunday Mercury'' described the album as a "dazzling R&B debut", noting a "a remarkable soul vocal that'll send shivers down your spine".

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable" !width="20" rowspan="2"|Year !width="250" rowspan="2"|Album !colspan="4"|Peak chart positions !width="200" rowspan="2"|Certifications(sales thresholds) |- !width="30"|IRE !width="30"|FRA !width="30"|NLD !width="30"|U.S. |- |2009 |''Let the Truth Be Told''

First studio album

Released: 8 May 2009

Label: Atlantic

|align="center"|2 |align="center"|60 |align="center"|64 |align="center"|27 | |}

Singles

2008: "From My Heart to Yours" #26 US R&B #7 US Urban AC

2009: "Shine" - Released on 27 February 2009 as a digital download on the iTunes Store. #2 JP

2009: "Don't Stay" - Released on 11 May 2009 2009: "If Tonight is My Last"

Soundtrack songs

2008: "Carousel" (from P.S. I Love You)

2008: "Mmm..." (from Step Up 2: The Streets)

2008: "Shine" (from The Nanny Diaries)

2010: "Can't be love" (from One Tree Hill)

2010: "What More Can They Do" (from For Colored Girls)

2010: "WTF" (from Nothing)

Collaboration songs

2010: "Baby Baby" (from Miho Fukuhara in her album Music Is My Life)

Awards and nominations

!Source |- |align="center"|2004 |RTÉ 2fm Song Contest 2004 |Best Newcomer | |align="center"| |- |align="center"|2006 |Meteor Ireland Music Awards 2006 |Emerging Artist | |align="center"| |- |align="center" rowspan="2"|2009 |MOBO Awards |Best UK Newcomer | |align="center"| |- |Soul Train Music Awards |Centric Award - Soul Approved/Underground | |align="center"| |-

References

External links

Official website

Category:1987 births Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Irish female singers Category:Irish people of Nigerian descent Category:Irish pianists Category:Irish pop singers Category:Neo soul singers Category:Irish record producers Category:Irish singer-songwriters Category:Music from Dublin (city) Category:Living people

de:Laura Izibor fr:Laura Izibor it:Laura Izibor