The U.S. Has Created Nearly 60,000 Secret Forces for Specific Missions: Newsweek

The U.S. Department of Defense has established approximately 60,000 secret forces over the past decade. Their missions include countering terrorism and confronting powers such as Russia and China, according to Newsweek.

This information has emerged from a two-year investigation, which included interviews with participants in this program and decision-makers in the U.S. defense sector.

According to Newsweek, these types of forces (which number ten times as many as similar units in the CIA) comprise both active-duty military personnel and operational staff disguised as civilians, sometimes working in commercial enterprises or consulting firms. They operate in real-world conditions as well as in cyberspace.

This 'secret army' also employs civilians and contractors who 'work under false names.' This is partly a natural outcome of the growth of covert special forces, but also a deliberate response to the complexities of travel and operations in an increasingly transparent world.