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Special reconnaissance
Special Reconnaissance (SR) is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from Special Operations Forces (SOF) who avoid combat with, and detection by, the enemy. SR is recognized as a key Special Operations capability at the level of the US Secretary of Defense[1]:
"Special Reconnaissance is the conduct of environmental reconnaissance, target acquisition, area assessment, post-strike assessment, emplacement and recovery of sensors, or support of Human Intelligence (HUMINT) and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) operations."
Military units that carry out SR missions include United States Army Special Forces, Marine Force Reconnaissance and United States Navy SEALs; UK Special Air Service, Special Boat Service and Special Reconnaissance Regiment; Israeli Sayeret Matkal and other "reconnaissance units", Russian and former Soviet Spetsnaz and Razvedchiki; Australian Special Air Service Regiment; and a variety of other units.
Sometimes, the SR mission is carried out by other than special operations professionals, such as the Australian Coastwatchers of the Second World War. Coastwatchers usually received military commissions in the hope it might protect them if captured, but, fundamentally, they were long-time residents of Pacific islands, able to survive there and report on Japanese operations.
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