Special Operations Forces - Training and Experimentation Center
Who We Are
The Special Operations Forces – Training and Experimentation Center (SOF-TEC) enables SOF units to achieve specified Irregular Warfare training objectives and complete the required certification, validation, and verification process prior to conducting special operations in support of theater and national objectives. Headquartered at White Sands Missile Range and including additional training land on Fort Bliss, Texas, SOF-TEC serves as a base of operations that provides Special Operations Task Forces (SOTF) realistic and challenging training scenarios from decentralized locations.
Our Objectives
• Provide a Joint Force training and experimentation environment
• Enable remote and decentralized Mission Command
• Test new equipment and operational designs
• Exercise Cyber, Space, EW and Cross Functional Teams
• Employ competition-focused scenarios and denied environments
Our History
While serving as the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) Commanding General in June of 2020, MG Brennan challenged the 1st SFC (A) staff to establish a premier warfighting training venue. In response, his staff defined a scalable, tailorable venue that could test, train, certify and validate special operations forces (SOF) against a variety of contingencies and missions in an anti-access/area denial, multi-domain environment. White Sands Missile Range was quickly identified as the perfect location to establish this innovative SOF training venue to test new equipment and operating designs. At the time, a smaller Army SOF pre-mission training site already existed on FT. Bliss, TX, to which MG Brennan’s new training venue concept was combined.
Today, in addition to six SOTF level “Sage Eagle” exercises a year, SOF-TEC hosts MARSOC and AFSOC tactical training events, as well as Special Forces detachment-level training and testing. SOF-TEC stands ready as the premier irregular warfare training and experimentation venue for U.S. special operations forces and their partners. SOF-TEC was officially activated on 8 March 2022.