Special forces are military forces with special training, equipment and expertise. The work of special forces may involve, for instance, personal protection, freeing hostages or collecting intelligence. Since 2011 Sweden’s special forces have been known as Särskilda operationsgruppen (SOG – the Special Operations Task Group). Internationally famous special forces include Britain’s SAS, America’s Delta Force and Russia’s Spetsnaz.
There have always been special or elite forces. Most of today’s special forces were originally created during the Second World War, during decolonisation after 1945 and during the Cold War. Some forces have also been created as counter-terrorism units.
Special assignments was produced by the Swedish Military Heritage network and was exhibited on board the destroyer Småland during the 2013 season.