HQ$History - United States Special Operations Command

Peace Operations and Crisis Responses
Since the symbolic fall of the Berlin Wall,
SOF have performed a variety of missions that
fell under the category of “Operations Other
Than War.” At one time, these operations were
considered extraordinary, but during the 1990s,
operations other than war became the norm.
For example, in its first 40 years, the UN conducted
only 13 such operations, but in the years
from 1988 to 1994, the number of peace operations
more than doubled. Although peace operations
were not new to the 1990s, what was
unprecedented were the numbers, pace, scope,
and complexity of recent operations.
Operations other than war included a wide
range of missions, such as humanitarian assistance
and disaster relief, non-combatant evacuation
operations (NEOs), humanitarian demining
operations, peacekeeping operations, crisis
response, combating terrorism, enforcement of
sanctions or exclusion zones, and show of force.
With conventional forces, SOF participated in
these types of operations, often as the lead military
organization. Such capabilities as cultural
and language familiarity, warrior-diplomat
skills, maturity and professionalism made SOF
an ideal force for these operations.
Operation PROVIDE COMFORT
SOF’s diverse talents made it a natural
choice to support humanitarian assistance
efforts. Perhaps the best example of SOF’s capabilities
to deal with a large scale disaster was
Operation PROVIDE COMFORT. At the end of
DESERT STORM, in February 1991, Iraqi
Kurds revolted against Saddam Hussein, but his
forces quickly crushed the rebellion. Hundreds
of thousands of Kurds fled to the mountains in
northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey.
In April 1991, EUCOM initiated Operation
PROVIDE COMFORT to stop further Iraqi
attacks and to establish a safe haven for the
Kurds. On short notice, MC-130Es led in other
aircraft to drop emergency supplies to the
Kurdish refugees in the mountains of Iraq and
Turkey. Next, Special Forces personnel, supported
by MH-53J helicopters, located suitable
sites for refugee camps and worked with refugee
leaders to organize and distribute supplies to the
populace. Civil Affairs units developed plans for
medical assistance, food distribution, and daily
camp operations, and then managed their implementation.
Joint SOF medical teams provided
medical assistance and training, such as camp
Operation PROVIDE COMFORT (1991-1996) Following DESERT STORM, Saddam Hussein put down a Kurdish
uprising in northern Iraq. The U.S. and its allies saved countless Kurds by establishing safe havens and providing
humanitarian assistance. SOF spearheaded this effort.
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