United States Army Special Forces

United States Army Special Forces
United States Army Special Forces
	United States Army Special Forces Shoulder Sleeve Insignia.
Active	June 19, 1952 –
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Special Forces (commando)
Role	Counter-Terrorism, Direct Action, Foreign Internal Defense, Special Reconnaissance, Unconventional Warfare, Guerrilla Warfare
Size	~10,000
Part of	United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC); United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
Nickname(s)	Green Berets
Motto(s)	De Oppresso Liber ("To free from oppression");
Engagements	Vietnam War; Operation Eagle Claw; Operation Urgent Fury; Operation Just Cause; Operation Desert Shield; Operation Desert Storm; Operation Enduring Freedom; Operation Iraqi Freedom; * Battle of Debecka Pass

For other uses of the acronym, see USASF (disambiguation).

The United States Army Special Forces, known in the United States simply as Special Forces or SF, is an elite special operations force of the U.S. Army trained for guerrilla warfare, unconventional warfare, and special operations. SF was founded in 1952 by OSS Jedburgh Colonel Aaron Bank known as the father of the Special Forces, and its members are informally known as "the Green Berets", because of the unit's distinctive green beret headgear. Their official motto is De Oppresso Liber (Latin: "To Liberate the Oppressed"), a reference to one of their primary missions to train and assist foreign indigenous forces. ^[1]

Special Forces units are tasked with seven specific missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, combating terrorism, counter-proliferation, and information operations. Other duties include coalition warfare and support, combat search and rescue (CSAR), security assistance, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian de-mining and counter-drug operations. ^[2]

Currently, Special Forces units are deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. They are also deployed with other USSOCOM elements as the primary American military force in the ongoing War In Afghanistan.

Predecessors

The US Special Forces was established out of several special operations units that were active during World War II. Formally, its lineage comes from the 1st Special Service Force (Devil's Brigade), but that unit was more a Special Reconnaissance (SR) and Direct Action (DA) command, which operated in uniform without augmentation by local soldiers. While there were Ranger units in WWII, and 1st Special Service Force was more like a brigade-sized Ranger unit, the current 75th Ranger Regiment's lineage traces back to the WWII Ranger battalions. Arthur D. "Bull" Simons served with WWII Ranger units in the Pacific, and was to become a legendary Special Forces commander

Some of the Office of Strategic Services units have much more similarity, in mission, with the original Army Special Forces mission, Unconventional Warfare (UW), or acting as cadre to train and lead guerrillas in occupied countries. The Special Forces motto, de oppresso liber (Latin: "free from oppression) reflects this historical mission of guerrilla warfare against an occupier. Specifically, the 3-man Operation Jedburgh units provided leadership to French Resistance units. The larger OSS Operational Groups (OG) were more associated with SR/DA missions, although they did work with Resistance units. COL Aaron Bank, commander of the first Special Forces group, served in OSS during WWII.

While Fil-American guerrilla operations in the Japanese-occupied Philippines are not part of the direct lineage of Army Special Forces, some of the early Special Forces leadership were involved in advising and creating the modern organization. They included Russell Volckmann, who had commanded guerrillas in North Luzon and then in the Korean War ^[3] ,Donald Blackburn, who also served with the North Luzon force; and Wendell Fertig, who developed a division-sized force on Mindanao.

During the Korean War, United Nations Partisan Forces Korea operated on islands and behind enemy lines. These forces were also known as the 8086th Army Unit, and then as the Far East Command Liaison Detachment, Korea, FECLD-K 8240th AU. These troops directed North Korea's partisans in raids, harassment of supply lines and the rescue of downed pilots. Since the initial Special Forces unit, 10 Special Forces Group (Airborne) was activated on 19 June 1952, but the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, Army Special Forces did not operate as a unit in that war. Experience gained in that war, however, influenced the development of Special Forces doctrine.

US Army Special Forces (SF) are, along with psychological operations detachments and Rangers, the oldest of the post-WWII Army units in the current United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Their distinctive uniform item is the Green Beret. Their original mission was to train and lead Unconventional Warfare (UW) forces, or a guerrilla force in an occupied nation. 10th Special Forces Group was the first deployed unit, intended to operate UW forces behind enemy lines in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe. As the US become involved in Southeast Asia, it was realized that specialists trained to lead guerrillas also could help defend against hostile guerrillas, so SF acquired the additional mission of Foreign Internal Defense (FID), working with Host Nation (HN) forces in a spectrum of counter-guerrilla activities from indirect support to combat command.

Special Forces personnel qualify both in advanced military skills, and also specialize in an area of the world, for which they learn languages and culture. While they have a Direct Action (DA) capability, other units, such as Rangers, are more focused on overt direct action raids, in uniform but potentially behind enemy lines. SF personnel have the training to carry out covert DA, and other missions, including clandestine SR. Other missions include peace operations, counterproliferation, counterdrug advisory roles, and other strategic missions. As strategic resources, they report either to USSOCOM or are assigned to Unified Combatant Commands.

Their lineage dates back to more than 200 years of unconventional warfare history, with notable predecessors including the Revolutionary War Swamp Fox Francis Marion, the WWII OSS Jedburgh Teams and Detachment 101 in Burma, as well as the Alamo Scouts. Since their establishment in 1952, Special Forces soldiers have distinguished themselves in Vietnam (17 Medals of Honor), El Salvador, Panama,, Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, and Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and, in a FID role, with JTF-Horn of Africa, which is becoming Africa Command.

SF team members work closely together and rely on each other for long periods of time, both during deployments and in garrison. Because of this, they develop close relationships and personal ties. SF noncommissioned officers (NCO) often spent their entire careers in Special Forces, but, until the recent emphasis on the broad range of Special Operations and the creation of the USSOCOM, officers sometimes found the higher ranks closed to SF specialists. This has changed dramatically, with SF-qualified officers in four-star positions such as USSOCOM Commander and Army Chief of Staff.

Creation of Army Special Forces

Special Forces Command was developed out of the Special Operations Division of the Psychological Warfare Center which was activated in May 1952. June 1952, with the creation of the 10th Special Forces Group (SFG) under Colonel Bank, marked the forces' official founding. This coincided with the establishment of the Psychological Warfare School, which is now known as the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. The 10th SFG deployed to Bad Tölz, Germany the following September, The remaining cadre at Fort Bragg, North Carolina formed the 77th Special Forces Group, which in May 1960 became 7th Special Forces Group ^[4].

Initial Deployments

As well as preparing for the Warsaw Pact invasion that never came, Vietnam, El Salvador, and Afghanistan are the three major modern conflicts that have defined the Special Forces.

First European deployment

10th Special Forces Group was responsible, among other missions, to operate stay-behind guerrilla operation after a presumed Soviet overrunning of Western Europe. It acquired a large number of Eastern European immigrants who brought much area and language skills.

Southeast Asia

Special Forces units deployed, in 1961, to Laos, and then were among the first U.S. troops committed to Vietnam. Beginning in the early 1950s, Special Forces teams deployed from the United States and Okinawa to serve as advisers for the fledgling South Vietnamese Army. As the United States escalated its involvement in the war, Special Forces' mission expanded as well. Since Special Forces were trained to lead guerrillas, it seemed logical that they would have a deep understanding of counter-guerrilla actions, which became the Foreign internal defense (FID) mission. 5th Special Forces Group mixed the UW and FID missions, often leading Vietnamese units such as Montagnards and lowland Civilian Irregular Defense Groups.

The main SF unit in South Vietnam was the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) earned seventeen Congressional Medals of Honor in Vietnam, making it the most prominently decorated unit for its size in that conflict. Special Forces personnel also played key roles in the highly secret Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) Studies and Observation Group.

Latin America

In the 1980's the US Special Forces were deployed to El Salvador. The U.S. troops mission was to train the El Salvadorians who at the time were in trouble. They trained the El Salvadorians for combat by providing them with military tactics and techniques. The Special Forces saved them from Communist takeover under the Duarte Regime. In 1992 the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front reached an agreement with the government of El Salvador. Successful in El Salvador, the 3rd Special Forces Group was created in 1990 resulting in the current active duty Special Forces Group.

Current organization

U.S. Army Special Forces is divided into five active duty Special Forces groups. Each Active Duty SFG has a specific regional focus. The Special Forces soldiers assigned to these groups receive intensive language and cultural training for countries within their regional area of responsibility.

Insignia	Group
	1st Special Forces Group - 1st Battalion stationed in Okinawa, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions headquartered at Fort Lewis, Washington. 1st SFG has responsibility for the Pacific. Even if they are not part of PACOM, they can be asked to work with elements from that command.
	3rd Special Forces Group - Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 3rd SFG has responsibility for all of sub-Saharan Africa except for the eastern Horn of Africa. Even if they are not part of AFRICOM, they can be asked to work with elements from that command.
	5th Special Forces Group - Headquartered at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. 5th SFG has responsibility for the Middle East, Persian Gulf, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa (HOA). Even if they are not part of CENTCOM, they can be asked to work with elements from that command.
	7th Special Forces Group - Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. 7th SFG has responsibility for Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean. (In 2010, 7th SFG is scheduled to relocate to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round. Even if they are not part of SOUTHCOM, they can be asked to work with elements from that command.
	10th Special Forces Group - 1st Battalion stationed in the Panzer Kaserne (Panzer Barracks) in Boeblingen near Stuttgart, Germany, and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions are headquartered at Fort Carson, Colorado. 10th SFG has responsibility for Europe, mainly Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon and northern Africa. Even if they are not part of EUCOM, they can be asked to work with elements from that command.
	19th Special Forces Group - One of the two National Guard groups for the Special Forces. Headquartered in Draper, Utah, with detachments in Washington, West Virginia, Ohio, Rhode Island, Colorado, and California. 19th SFG has responsibility over Southeast Asia (shared with 5th SFG), as well as the Pacific (shared with 1st SFG).
	20th Special Forces Group - One of the two National Guard groups for the Special Forces. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with battalions in Alabama (1st Battalion), Mississippi (2nd Battalion), and Florida (3rd Battalion), with assigned Companies and Detachments in North Carolina ; Chicago, Illinois; Louisville, Kentucky; Baltimore, Maryland; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 20th SFG has an area of responsibility covering 32 countries, including Latin America south of Mexico, the waters, territories, and nations in the Caribbean sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. The area is shared with 7th SFG.
	Inactive Groups
	6th Special Forces Group - Active from 1963 to 1971. Responsible for Iraq AO and other middle eastern countries.
	8th Special Forces Group - Active from 1963 to 1972. Responsible for training armies of Latin America in counter-insurgency tactics.
	11th Special Forces Group - Active from 1961 to 1994.
	12th Special Forces Group - Active from 1961 to 1994.

The Green Beret

Edson Raff, one of the first Special Forces officers, is credited with introducing the green beret,^[5] which was originally unauthorized for wear by the U.S. Army. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized them for use exclusively by the US Special Forces. Preparing for an October 12 visit to the Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the President sent word to the Center's commander, Brigadier General William P. Yarborough, for all Special Forces soldiers to wear the beret as part of the event. The President felt that since they had a special mission, Special Forces should have something to set them apart from the rest. In 1962, he called the green beret "a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom." Aside from the well-recognized beret, Special Forces soldiers are also known for their more informal attire than other members of the U.S. military.

The men of the Green Beret caught the public's imagination and were the subject of a best selling book The Green Berets by Robin Moore, a hit record, Ballad of the Green Berets written and performed by Barry Sadler, The Green Berets (film) produced, directed, and starring John Wayne and a comic strip and American comic book Tales of the Green Beret written by Robin Moore with artwork by Joe Kubert. See United States Army Special Forces in popular culture.

Training and selection

A 19th Special Forces Group soldier mans an M60 machine gun on a HMMWV in Afghanistan, in March 2004. An AT4 anti-tank rocket can be seen in the foreground.

When Special Forces were first created in 1952 Col. Aaron Bank was the Commanding Officer. The recruits were personally selected by Bank himself and most of the members were from the 82nd Airborne. The Forces began with 200 soldiers and initial training was fourteen weeks in length.

Today, training is far more rigorous and can be anywhere from 13 to 29 months in length. Entry into Special Forces now begins with the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course (SFAS). A version of SFAS was first introduced as a selection mechanisim in the Mid 1980's by the then Commanding Officer Brigader General James Guest.

Today, there are two ways that an individual can gain orders allowing him (Army Special Forces is closed to females) to attend SFAS.

As an existing soldier in the US Army with the Enlisted rank of E4 (Corporal/Specialist) or higher or for Officers the rank of 03 (Captain).

The other path is that of direct entry, referred to as Initial Accession. Here an individual who either has no prior military service or who has separated from military service is given the opportunity to attend SFAS. In preparation an Initial Accession recruit will generally undertake upwards of five months of fulltime training prior to attending SFAS. Both the Active Duty and National Guard components offer Special Forces Initial Accession programs. The Active Duty program is often referred to as the 18-Xray or 18X Program because of the code that appears on the recruits orders.

This initial five months of training is comprised of three parts.

Infantry One Station Unit Training (OSUT) at Fort Benning, Georgia is essentially Infantry Basic Combat Training (BCT) and comprises of firstly anywhere up to two weeks at the 30th AG Reception Battalion where a recruit is administratively prepared for entry into the United States Army. Then the recruit proceeds to an Infantry focused version of BCT. Currently Infantry BCT is 10 weeks in length. Finally the recruit attends four weeks of Infantry Advanced Individual Training (AIT). Generally a recruit will graduate from this 16 week period with the Military Occupational Specialty of 11-Bravo or 11B (Infantryman).

After Infantry OSUT, a recruit will attend the Basic Airborne Course (BAC) held at the US Army Airborne School also situated at Fort Benning, Georgia. BAC is often referred to as Jump School. BAC is a three week course designed to train a soldier in the skill of military parachuting. Should the soldier graduate this course, and not all do, he will receive orders allowing him to wear the coverted 'jump wings' military parachutist badge.

Finally the recruit will attend the Special Operations Preparation Course (SOPC) on Temporary Duty (TDY) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. SOPC's is a four week course with the purpose to prepare SF candidates for Phase I of the Special Forces Training Pipeline: Special Forces Assessment and Selection

SFAS is an evaluation that lasts 24 days. As of December 2007 a shorter SFAS of 14 days is being trialed.

Enlisted selection at SFAS is normally around 35%. Not all who complete the course are selected but those who are will be allowed to continue with their Special Forces Training and will move into the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) often refered to as the Q Course.

Active Duty candidates usually return to their previous units to await being admitted to SFQC, and because of the current growth that Special Forces is experiencing and training backlog this wait can be anywhere from one to six months. However an Initial Accession (IA) candidate will normally enter the Q Course immediately.

When a candidate does enter the Q Course he is assigned to the 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg. IA Candidates and Active Duty candidate who have not already attended, will attend the Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC). The goal of the PLDC is to provide the candidate with the skills required to perform at the rank of E6 (Staff Sergeant), the eventual rank that almost all Special Forcecs Soldiers will reach in their first 4 years as a Special Forces Soldier.

Next an IA Candidate and all non Combat Arms trained Active Duty candidates will attend the Special Forces Preparation Course (SFPC), which is similar in nature to SOPC. SFPC is a four week course designed to familiarize SF candidates with basic patrolling, orienteering and woodland skills prior to attending the demanding second phase of the Q-Course.

Phase II is a ten-week block of instruction in Small Unit Tactics, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training and lethal hand to hand combat & element of surprise disarming techniques.

After Phase II, recruits then begin Phase III for specific training within one of the five initial Special Forces specialties: 18A, SF Officer; 18B, SF Weapons Sergeant; 18C, SF Engineer Sergeant; 18D, SF Medical Sergeant; and 18E, SF Communications Sergeant. 18A, C, and E training courses are 16 weeks long, and the 18D training course is 48 weeks long.

Following the completion of phase III, recruits begin what is called the "language blitz" portion. Depending on the language assigned to the recruit, it is either eight or twelve weeks of language training. Two two-week blocks of language training would have already been undertaken earlier on in the Q-Course.

The recruits finish their Special Forces training by participating in ". Robin Sage", a large-scale unconventional warfare exercise (Phase V) before being awarded the Special Forces tab and Green Beret.^[6]

Active Duty candidates who successfully complete SFAS but are not already Airborne qualified are assigned a class date to attend Basic Airborne School at Ft. Benning, Georgia prior to reporting to Ft. Bragg.

After successfully completing the Special Forces Qualification Course, Special Forces Soldiers are then eligible for many advanced skills courses. These include the Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, the Combat Diver Qualification Course, the Special Forces Sniper Course, and the Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance and Target Exploitation Techniques Course. Additionally, Special Forces Soldiers may participate in special operations training courses offered by other services and allied nations throughout their careers.

Special Forces MOS Descriptions

18A - SF Officer

180A - SF Warrant Officer

18B - SF Weapons Sergeant
18C - SF Engineer Sergeant

18D - SF Medical Sergeant

18E - SF Communications Sergeant

18F - SF Assistant Operations & Intelligence Sergeant

18X - SF Candidate (Enlistment Option)

18Z - SF Operations Sergeant

Note: Candidates for SF school may enlist directly into the 18X MOS, and upon successful completion of Basic Training, Infantry AIT (or alternatively, Infantry OSUT as a combination of both Basic and AIT), Airborne School, and Special Forces Assessment and Selection, will be enrolled into the Special Forces Qualification Course and be awarded one of the other SF MOS. It should be noted that until a "true" SF MOS has been granted, the 18X candidate is for all intents and purposes considered to hold MOS 11B (Infantryman).

Group Organization

A Special Forces Group is usually assigned to a Unified Combatant Command or theater of operations. The Operational Detachment-Charlie is responsible for a theater or major subcomponent, and can raise brigade or larger guerrilla forces. Subordinate to it are the Bravo (B) detachments, which can operate battalion and larger forces.

Alpha (A) detachments typically raise company-sized units when on UW missions. They can form 6-man "split A" detachments that are often used for Special Reconnaissance (SR).

SF Operational Detachment-Alpha (ODA) composition

A Special Forces company consists generally of six ODAs (Operational Detachments Alpha) or Alpha Detachments. Formerly, they were referred to as "A-teams", but this has fallen out of favor since the 1980s. The number of ODAs can vary from company to company, with each ODA specializing in an infiltration skill or mission set (e.g. HALO, combat diving, mountain, maritime operations, etc).

An ODA typically consists of 12 men, each of whom has a specific function on the team. The ODA is led by an 18A, usually a Captain, and a 180A who is his second in command, usually a Warrant Officer One or Chief Warrant Officer Two. The team also contains the following enlisted men: one 18Z, usually a Master Sergeant, one 18F, usually a Sergeant First Class, and two each of the B's, C's, D's, and E's. The B's, C's, D's and E's work in senior/junior roles with the seniors, ideally having the rank of Sergeant First Class, and the juniors having the rank of Staff Sergeant or Sergeant.

SF Operational Detachment-Bravo (ODB) composition

A Special Forces company, when in need, will deploy an Operational Detachment Bravo, (ODB) or "B-team," usually composed of 11-13 soldiers. While the A-team typically conducts direct operations, the purpose of the B-team is to support the A-teams in the company. There is one B-team per company.

The ODB is led by an 18A, usually a Major, who is the Company Commander (CO). The CO is assisted by his Executive Officer (XO), another 18A, usually a Captain. The XO is himself assisted by a company technician, a 180A, generally a Chief Warrant Officer Three, and assists in the direction of the organization, training, intelligence, counter-intelligence, and operations for the company and its detachments. The Company Commander is assisted by the Company Sergeant Major, an 18Z, usually a Sergeant Major. A second 18Z acts as the Operations NCO, usually a Master Sergeant, who assists the XO and Technician in their operational duties. He has an 18F Assistant Operations NCO, who is usually a Sergeant First Class. The company's support comes from an 18D Medical Sergeant, usually a Sergeant First Class, and two 18E Communications Sergeants, usually a Sergeant First Class and Staff Sergeant.

Note the distinct lack of a weapons or engineer NCO. This is because the B-Team generally does not engage in direct operations, but rather operates in support of the A-Teams within its company. Each SF company has one ODA that specializes in HALO (military free fall parachuting) and one trained in combat diving. Other ODA specialties include military mountaineering, maritime operations, and personnel recovery.

The following jobs are outside of the Special Forces 18-series CMF, but hold positions in a Special Forces B-Team. They are not themselves considered to be Special Forces, as they have not completed SFAS and SFQC:

The Supply NCO, usually a Staff Sergeant, the commander's principal logistical planner, works with the battalion S-4 to supply the company.

The Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) NCO, usually a Sergeant, maintains and operates the company's NBC detection and contamination equipment, and assists in administering NBC defensive measures.^[7]

In a regular force troop, this level of command could be compared to a company (although the commander is a Major (O-4) and not a Captain (O-3))

SF Operational Detachment-Charlie (ODC) composition

A C-team is one of the operational detachments of the Special Forces. It is a pure command and control unit with operations, training, signals and logistic support responsibilities. Its basic organization follows the same lines with a Lieutenant-Colonel (O-5) for commander and a Command Sergeant Major (E-9) for the leading NCO. There are an additional 20-30 SF personnel who fill key positions in Operations, Logistics, Intelligence, Communications and Medical.

A Special Forces battalion usually consists of 3 companies.

External links

References

^ "Special Forces Mission". Special Forces Search Engine. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
^ "U.S. Army Special Forces Command (A): Missions". United States Army Special Forces Command. Retrieved 2007-05-04.
^ "The History of PsyWar after WWII and Its Relationship to Special Forces". Timyoho. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
^ "Special Forces History". United States Army Special Operations Command. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
^ "History: Special Forces Green Beret". Special Forces Search Engine. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
^ "Final Exam for Green Berets". Special Forces Search Engine. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
^ "Structure". Fort Campbell Internet Home Page. Retrieved 2007-03-08.