100 STAT. 1783-123
PUBLIC LAW 99-500—OCT. 18, 1986
"§ 167. Unified combatant command for special operations forces "(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—With the advice and assistance of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the President, through the Secretary of Defense, shall establish under section 161 of this title a unified combatant command for special operations forces (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 'special operations command'). The principal function of the command is to prepare special operations forces to carry out assigned missions. "(b) ASSIGNMENT OF FORCES.—Unless otherwise directed by the
Secretary of Defense, all active and reserve special operations forces of the armed forces stationed in the United States shall be assigned to the special operations command. "(c) GRADE OF COMMANDER.—The commander of the special oper-
ations command shall hold the grade of general or, in the case of an officer of the Navy, admiral while serving in that position, without vacating his permanent grade. The commander of such command shall be appointed to that grade by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for service in that position. "(d) COMMAND OF ACTIVITY OR MISSION.—(1) Unless otherwise directed by the President or the Secretary of Defense, a special operations activity or mission shall be conducted under the command of the commander of the unified combatant command in whose geographic area the activity or mission is to be conducted. "(2) The commander of the special operations command shall exercise command of a selected special operations mission if directed to do so by the President or the Secretary of Defense. "(e) AUTHORITY OF COMBATANT COMMANDER.—(1) In addition to the authority prescribed in section 164(c) of this title, the commander of the special operations command shall be responsible for, and shall have the authority to conduct, all affairs of such command relating to special operations activities, including the following functions: "(A) Developing strategy, doctrine, and tactics. "(B) Training assigned forces. "(C) Conducting specialized courses of instruction for commissioned and noncommissioned officers. "(D) Validating requirements. .•'4 "(E) Establishing priorities for requirements. "(F) Ensuring combat readiness. "(G) Developing and acquiring special operations-peculiar equipment and acquiring special operations-peculiar material, supplies, and services. "(H) Ensuring the interoperability of equipment and forces. "(I) Formulating and submitting requirements for intelligence support. "(J) Monitoring the promotions, assignments, retention, training, and professional military education of special operations forces officers. "(2) The commander of such command shall be responsible for monitoring the preparedness of special operations forces assigned to other unified combatant commands to carry out assigned missions. "(f) BUDGET.—In addition to the activities of a combatant command for which funding may be requested under section 166(b) of this title, the budget proposal of the special operations command shall include requests for funding for—
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