As with all Military wristwatches, Special Ops watches are required to meet a certain specification if they are to be used by military personnel. Some brands of military wristwatches are produced only for official military issue with their own NATO stock number, proving their military pedigree.
Traditionally military wristwatches have been developed over the years by certain key brands specifically for military use. But one watch, that on the face of it does not look like other military wristwatches, and in fact that not have the traditional analogue face of a military watch, has become the unofficial choice of Special Ops and Special Forces around the world. That watch is the CASIO G Shock.
The history of the G Shock is very different from that of a lot of military wristwatches, since it was not initially developed as a watch for military use. Originally the G -Shock was targeted at people looking for a watch for sports and outdoor adventure oriented activity, and an urban fashion watch. The G-Shocks are ideal for this outdoor extreme sports lifestyle, as, most of them have some kind of stopwatch feature, countdown timer, are light and water resistance. This meant that they are an affordable but tough watch that could survive the knocks and bashes dished out during extreme sports. More recently they have done more designer and fashion styles, collaborating with famous designers, whilst at the same time increasing the resilience of some of their ranges. Over time the G-Shock has traded of its toughness and ruggedness, developing more and more tough watches.
It is exactly that tough and resilient nature of the G Shock that has made the watch appeal to Special Forces around the world, and has been adopted as the unofficial Special ops watch. According to Wikipedia, in the Blackhawk Down book by Mark Bowden, the DELTA Operators wore G-Shock watches during the now infamous military operation in Somalia that was subsequently made into the film by Ridley Scott. Since then, G-Shocks watches have become very popular with Special Forces groups in both American and other NATO nation units, due to their being "battle tested".
Check out any watch forum, and you will soon discover the G-Shock is popular amongst Special Forces personnel. You even find mention of the G-Shock in the novels of ex-SAS member Chris Ryan. In addition, the idea of the G-Shock as a military or Special Ops watch has been reinforced by its numerous appearances in action including being the watch of choice for Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible, featuring on the FBI character played by Keanu Reeves in Speed, and in the war movie JarHead.
So yes, while there are specific military wristwatches manufactured specifically for the Special Forces, such as Traser H3; MTM Special Ops and SAS issued Nite MX10, you will find that when it comes to a personal choice, the affordable G-Shock is and has often been used in the field of combat by Special Ops around the world.
