10 U.S.C. § 167 — Unified combatant command for special operations forces

(a) Establishment. With advice from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the President — acting through the Secretary of Defense — must create a special unified command for special operations forces, called the "special operations command." Its main job is getting special operations forces ready for their missions. (b) Assignment of Forces. Unless the Secretary of Defense says otherwise, every active and reserve special operations unit based in the United States is assigned to this command. (c) Grade of Commander. Its commander holds the rank of general (or admiral, for a Navy officer) while serving, without losing their permanent rank. The President appoints the commander to that rank with Senate approval. (d) Command of Activity or Mission. Normally, a special operations mission is run by whichever combatant commander controls the geographic area where it happens. But the President or Secretary of Defense can direct the special operations commander to personally run a chosen mission instead. (e) Authority of Combatant Commander. The commander has all the normal powers of a combatant commander, plus full authority over special operations matters. Under the direction of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, the commander also handles, across all special operations forces (not just this command): setting strategy, doctrine, and tactics; preparing budget and program proposals; controlling spending for the command's own forces and (to the extent the law or the Secretary directs) for special operations forces in other commands; training forces; running special training courses for officers; validating and prioritizing requirements; keeping equipment and forces interoperable; requesting intelligence support; and tracking promotions and coordinating training, retention, and pay for special operations personnel with the military departments. The commander must keep the command's own forces combat-ready and must monitor readiness of special operations forces serving in other commands. The commander also controls developing and buying equipment, supplies, and services unique to special operations, subject to the Secretary of Defense, and can exercise the powers of an acquisition agency head for that purpose. The commander's staff must include an acquisition executive who oversees all of this buying — negotiating deals with the military departments, supervising purchases, representing the command in acquisition talks, and making sure the command has a seat in relevant program discussions — and who reports to the commander while also answering to the Pentagon's top acquisition official and following the same oversight rules as the military services' own acquisition chiefs. The staff must also include an inspector general to audit and inspect the command's purchasing and contracting, plus any other inspector general duties assigned. (f) Administrative Chain of Command. Unless the President says otherwise, administrative authority over the command flows from the President to the Secretary of Defense, then to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, then to the special operations commander. "Administrative" here means control over special-operations-specific support — readiness, organization, resources, equipment, and civilian staff. It does not mean control over operations (that stays with combatant commanders) or over ordinary personnel, resources, and equipment that aren't special-operations-specific (that stays with the armed forces generally). (g) Budget. Beyond what a normal combatant command can request, the special operations command's budget must also request money for developing and buying equipment and supplies unique to special operations. (h) Intelligence and Special Activities. This section does not by itself authorize any activity that — if the Defense Department did it as an intelligence activity — would require notifying the Senate and House Intelligence Committees under the National Security Act. (i) Regulations. The Secretary of Defense must write regulations governing the command's activities, including rules letting the commander protect the operational security of special operations forces and missions. (j) Identification of Special Operations Forces. "Special operations forces," for this section, means forces listed as core or augmenting forces in a 1985 Joint Chiefs planning document, forces described in a 1986 Joint Special Operations Command reference document, or any forces the Secretary of Defense designates as such. After consulting the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the special operations commander, the Secretary can decide that a force otherwise covered by the first two categories doesn't count as a special operations force after all. (k) Special Operations Activities. "Special operations activities" covers, as it relates to special operations: direct action; strategic reconnaissance; unconventional warfare; foreign internal defense; civil affairs; military information support operations; counterterrorism; humanitarian assistance; theater search and rescue; and any other activity the President or Secretary of Defense names. (l) Budget Support for Reserve Elements. Before sending its yearly budget to the Secretary of Defense, the special operations command must talk with each military department about funding reserve special operations units. If a department's Secretary disagrees with the funding level for one of its reserve units, the command must include that Secretary's views along with its budget request. In the same way, before a military department submits its own budget, it must consult the special operations commander about reserve-unit funding; if the commander disagrees, the department must include the commander's views in its submission.