Profession special forces officer

Special forces officers operate in specialised missions such as counter terrorism missions. They perform combat and intelligence missions in order to impede with enemy equipment and installations, and to gather information on enemy strategy and movement.

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Knowledge

• Military drill

  The marching techniques and use of weapons, and other disciplinary methods applied in military operations.

• Camouflage

  The different kinds of materials and specialised clothing used for concealment of people, vehicles or other equipment.

• Surveillance methods

  Surveillance methods used in the gathering of information and intelligence for investigation purposes.

• Military combat techniques

  The fighting techniques specific to military operations, using military weapons and equipment, and the regulations concerning military combat actions.

• Military weaponry

  The types of arms used by different military organisations, such as army, navy or air force and in different nations worldwide; the weapons' aspects, damage potential and ways to defend against them.

• Military code

  The code language used in specific intelligence or military organisations and operations, how to use and decipher them.

• Geographic information systems

  The tools involved in geographical mapping and positioning, such as GPS (global positioning systems), GIS (geographical information systems), and RS (remote sensing).

Skills

• Use different communication channels

  Make use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.

• Assess danger in risk areas

  Assess the potential dangers involved in performinig military or humanitarian missions in risk areas, such as combat areas, areas affected by natural disasters, or politically tense areas.

• Devise military tactics

  Devise the strategic and tactical components of a military operation, taking into account the available equipment and assigning tasks to the different troops, and supervising the use of weapons and other battle equipment.

• Handle surveillance equipment

  Monitor surveillance equipment to observe what people are doing in a given area and ensure their safety.

• Use geographic information systems

  Work with computer data systems such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

• Develop investigation strategy

  Develop strategies used in an investigation to gather information and intelligence in the most productive way, compliant with legislation, ensuring that the strategy is adapted to each individual case in order to obtain intelligence as efficiently and quickly as possible.

• Identify terrorism threats

  Identify the possibility of terrorism activities posing threats and danger in a specific area by monitoring activities of potentially dangerous groups of people, assessing risks in different areas, and gathering intelligence.

• Identify security threats

  Identify security threats during investigations, inspections, or patrols, and perform the necessary actions to minimise or neutralise the threat.

• Perform covert investigations

  Perform investigative duties in a manner which ensures the private and covert nature of the operation, and that the investigator is not discovered by any parties which may negatively influence the investigation.

• Apply information security policies

  Implement policies, methods and regulations for data and information security in order to respect confidentiality, integrity and availability principles.

• Ensure compliance with types of weapons

  Use different kinds of firearms and other types of weapons and their matching ammunition, in compliance with legal requirements.

• Lead military troops

  Lead the actions of military troops on the field during a mission, either combat, humanitarian or otherwise defensive, compliant with the strategies devised prior to the operation and ensuring communication with other troops is maintained.

• Maintain operational communications

  Maintain communications between different departments of an organisation, between the staff, or during specific operations or missions, to ensure that the operation or mission is successful, or that the organisation functions smoothly.

• Ensure public safety and security

  Implement the relevant procedures, strategies and use the proper equipment to promote local or national security activities for the protection of data, people, institutions, and property.

• Perform military operations

  Perform military operations according to given instructions from superiors, such as battle operations, rescue missions, aid missions, search and intelligence missions or other operations concerning defense.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB