|
|
Radeoaktv's Area 51 Command Post
Area 51, UFOs, Special Operations, Store
Click here for the Special Forces Picture Gallery
History of the Green Berets
8 Dec 95 - U.S. Army Special Operation Support Command formally activated at Fort Bragg, N.C. 15 Sep 95 - 11th and 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (U.S. Army Reserve) inactivated.
1 Sep 94 - 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) uncases colors at Fort Carson, Colorado, completing the move from Fort Devens, Mass.
01 Oct 91 - USACAPOC and USASOC gain full command and control of Army Reserve
27 Nov 90 - USASOC realigns its forces by function instead of component. 1st SOCOM and USAR SOC redesignated as U.S. Army Special Forces Command and U. S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command respectively.
29 Jun 90 - 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) activated at Fort Bragg, N.C.
16 May 90 - 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) formally activated at Fort Campbell. KY.
1 Dec 89 - U.S. Army Special Operations Command activated as the 16th major Army Command.
10 Jun 88 - HQ, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) moved from Ft. Bragg, N.C. to Ft. Campbell, KY.
9 Apr 87 - Special Forces branch established for officers.
16 Oct 86 - Task Force 160 redesignated the 160th Special Operations Aviation Group (Airborne)
17 Sep 86 - 112th Signal Battalion (Airborne) formally activated at Fort Bragg, N.C.
15 Aug 86 - A battalion of 5th SF Group moved from Bragg to Fort Campbell, Ky.
2 Jun 86 - 528th Support Battalion (Airborne) activated as the 13th Support Battalion at Fort Bragg.
16 Jan 85 - Task Force 160 transferred from 101st Airborne Division to 1st SOCOM.
19 Oct 84 - 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group activated at Torii Station Japan.
3 Oct 84 - 3rd Battalion, and Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 75th Ranger Regiment activated at Fort Benning, Ga.
1 Oct 84 - Special Forces established as a separate Army Career Field for enlisted soldiers (CMF 18).
18 Apr 84 - 1st SOCOM Augmentation Detachment activated to streamline peacetime command and control of USAR SOF units.
4 Mar 84 - 2d & 3rd Battalions 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) activated at Fort Lewis, Wash.
1 Oct 83 - 1st Special Operations Command (Airborne) activated.
21 Jul 83 - U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance renamed U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.
1 Oct 82 - 1st Special Operations Command (Airborne) provisionally activated at Fort Bragg.
Dec 74 - 96th Civil Affairs Battalion constituted at Fort Bragg from assets of 95th Civil Affairs Group deactivated at Fort Lee, Va.
1 Oct 74 - 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment activated at Fort Lewis, Wash.
1 Jul 74 - 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment moves to Fort Stewart (Hunter Army Airfield), Ga.
28 Jan 74 - 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment activated at Fort Benning, Ga.
15 Sep 71 - U. S. Army Civil Affairs School assigned to U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance and moves to Fort Bragg from Fort Gordon, Ga.
10 Jan 69 - U.S. Army Special Warfare School becomes the U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance.
7 Nov 67 - Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 4th Psychological Operations Group constituted into the Regular Army.
1 Dec 67 - 4th Psychological Operations Group organized in Vietnam from elements of the 6th PSYOPS Battalion.
21 Sep 61- 5th Special Forces Group activated at Fort Bragg, N.C.
10 Dec 56 - U. S. Army Psychological Warfare Center renamed the U.S. Army Special Warfare School.
19 Jun 52 - 10th Special Forces Group founded at Fort Bragg, N.C. by Col. Aaron Bank.
10 Apr 52 - U. S. Army Psychological Warfare Center established at Fort Bragg, N. C.
26 Aug 45 - 96th Headquarters & Headquarters Detachment, Military Government Group activated.
9 Jul 42 - 1st Special Service Force, a joint Canadian-American venture, formed at Fort William Henry Harrison, Montana
Special Forces Missions
Unconventional Warfare (UW):
A broad spectrum of military and paramilitary operations conducted in enemy-held, enemy-controlled or politically sensitive territory. UW includes, but is not limited to, the interrelated fields of guerilla warfare, evasion and escape, subversion, sabotage, and other operations of a low visibility, covert or clandestine nature. Conduct a broad spectrum of military and paramilitary operations.
Long-duration, indirect activities including guerrilla warfare and other offensive, low visibility, or clandestine operations.
Mostly conducted by indigenous forces organized, trained, equipped, supported, and directed in varying degrees by special operations forces.
Direct Action (DA):
Either overt or covert action against an enemy force. Seize, damage, or destroy a target; capture or recover personnel or material in support of strategic/operational objectives or conventional forces.
Short-duration, small-scale offensive actions.
May require raids, ambushes, direct assault tactics; emplace mines and other munitions; conduct standoff attacks by firing from air, ground, or maritime platforms; designate or illuminate targets for precision-guided munitions; support for cover and deception operations; or conduct independent sabotage normally inside enemy-held territory.
Special Reconnaissance (SR):
Special Forces teams are infiltrated behind enemy lines to provide the theater commander with intelligence on the enemy or to gather information on the terrain, local populace, etc. of an area. Verify, through observation or other collection methods, information concerning enemy capabilities, intentions, and activities in support of strategic/operational objectives or conventional forces.
Reconnaissance and surveillance actions conducted at strategic or operational levels to complement national and theater-level collection efforts.
Collect meteorological, hydrographic, geographic, and demographic data; provide target acquisition, area assessment, and post-strike reconnaissance data.
Foreign Internal Defense (FID):
FID operations are designed to help friendly developing nations by working with host country military and police forces to improve their technical skills, understanding of human rights issues, and to help with humanitarian and civic action projects. FID missions assist another government in any action program taken to free and protect its society from subversion, lawlessness, and insurgency.
U.S. government interagency activity to foster internal development of economic, social, political, and military segments of a nations structure.
Train, advise, and assist host-nation military and paramilitary forces.
Counter terrorism (CT):
Offensive measures taken to prevent, deter, and respond to terrorism. Preempt or resolve terrorist incidents. Interagency activity using highly specialized capabilities.
Psychological Operations (PSYOP):
Induce or reinforce foreign attitudes and behavior favorable to U.S. objectives. Influence emotions, motives, and behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.
Civil Affairs (CA):
Establish, maintain, influence, or exploit relations among military forces, civil authorities, and civilian populations to facilitate military operations.
May be conducted as stand-alone operations or in support of a larger force.
May include military forces assuming functions normally the responsibility of the local government.
Coalition Warfare/Support:
Ensures the ability of a wide variety of foreign troops to work together effectively, in a wide variety of military exercises or operations such as Operation Desert Storm. Draws upon the SOF soldier's maturity, military skills, language skills and cultural awareness.
Humanitarian and Civic Action (HCA):
SOF soldiers' diversified military skills, language capabilities and cultural training make them a natural choice for supporting humanitarian and civic action Operations.
Other Individual Missions
Besides the individual skills of operations and intelligence, communications, medical aid, engineering and weapons, each Special Forces soldier is taught to train, advise, and assist host-nation military or paramilitary forces. Special Forces soldiers are highly skilled operators, trainers, and teachers. Area-oriented, these soldiers are specially trained in their area's native language and culture.
Other Special Operations Missions
In addition to the above specialized missions, the various Special Operations Commands must:
Prepare assigned forces to carry out special operations missions as required and, if directed by the president or secretary of defense, plan for and conduct special operations.
Develop doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures for special operations forces.
Conduct specialized courses of instruction for all special operations forces.
Train assigned forces and ensure inter-operability of equipment and forces.
Monitor the preparedness of special operations forces assigned to other unified commands.
Develop and acquire unique special operations forces equipment, material, supplies and services.
Consolidate and submit program and budget proposals for Major Force Program II.
Monitor the promotion, assignments, retention, training and professional development of all special operations forces personnel.
The Beret
The green beret was originally designated in 1953 by Special Forces Major Herbert Brucker, a veteran of the OSS. Later that year, 1st Lt. Roger Pezelle adopted it as the unofficial head-gear for his A-team, Operational Detachment FA-32. They wore it whenever they went to the field for prolonged exercises. Soon it spread throughout all of Special Forces, although the Army refused to authorize its official use.
Finally, in 1961, President Kennedy planned to visit Fort Bragg. He sent word to the Special Warfare Center commander, Brigadier General William P. Yarborough, for all Special Forces soldiers to wear their berets for the event. President Kennedy felt that since they had a special mission, Special Forces should have something to set them apart from the rest. Even before the presidential request, however, the Department of Army had acquiesced and teletyped a message to the Center authorizing the beret as a part of the Special Forces uniform.
When President Kennedy came to Fort Bragg October 12, 1961, General Yarborough wore his green beret to greet the Commander-in-Chief. The president remarked, "Those are nice. How do you like the green beret?" General Yarborough replied: "They're fine, sir. We've wanted them a long time."
A message from President Kennedy to General Yarborough later that day stated, "My congratulations to you personally for your part in the presentation today ... The challenge of this old but new form of operations is a real one and I know that you and the members of your command will carry on for us and the free world in a manner which is both worthy and inspiring. I am sure that the green beret will be a mark of distinction in the trying times ahead."
In an April 11, 1962, White House memorandum for the United States Army, President Kennedy showed his continued support for the Special Forces, calling the green beret:
"a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom."
The Special Forces Soldier
Another kind of soldier. Mature. Highly skilled. Superbly trained.
Unquestionably the world's finest unconventional warfare expert. A teacher first, and fighter of uncommon physical and mental caliber. Ready to serve anywhere at any time.
Special Forces demands a tremendous amount of inventiveness and self-reliance. As its name implies, it deals with special combat situations you won't find in most textbooks. The mission: unconventional warfare operations and counter-insurgency.
You have to be resolute, resourceful and resilient to earn your place on a Special Forces "A" team. Each team member is a highly-skilled specialist - and cross-training ensures the multiple utility of each soldier on the team.
A CUT ABOVE THE REST
If scaling mountain tops, parachuting from airplanes and rappelling down sheer cliffs sounds like an adventure, then you're Special Forces material.
If moving undetected through jungle undergrowth, infiltrating deep into enemy-held territory and striking with a force of a lightning bolt is your kind of challenge, then we may have a job for you. Among the elite, the distinct, the proud...the Special Forces.
Special Forces involves the most rigorous, intensive and challenging training you'll ever tackle. You'll learn guerrilla warfare techniques and strategic intelligence collection. Field exercises will include aerial resupply, extraction, small boat operations, infiltration, raids, ambushes and intelligence collection.
ARE YOU TOUGH ENOUGH?
Special Forces training is the most difficult training challenge the Army offers. So you've got to be good to begin with because training builds on what you already know.
Special Forces requires raw guts, unwavering determination and dedication to duty. The stuff highly-motivated professionals are made of. Because only the best wear the distinctive emblems of the Special Forces. Do you have what it takes to wear the Green Beret?
NO PLACE FOR AMATEURS
Special Forces soldiers are the Army's cutting edge. Only the most technically proficient and highly-motivated non-commissioned officers will ever wear the Special Forces's tab. If you want to be challenged like you've never been challenged before, Special Operations is the field for you.
SERGEANT (CAPTAIN) (MOS 18A)
Special Operations Sergeants must be experts in their individual MOS plus other related duties and specialties important to their far-reaching missions. If being a technical expert weren't enough, the Special Forces soldier must be able to teach these related skills to the people with whom he works. In the jungle, the desert or on a frozen glacier. Wherever duty calls.
WEAPONS SERGEANT (MOS 18B)
The weapons expert. Capable of firing and employing most weapons in the Army's vast arsenal. Including foreign weapons like pistols, rifles, automatice weapons and mortars.
ENGINEER SERGEANT (MOS 18C)
Uses explosives for both sabotage and underwater demolitions. He destroys targets and constructs buildings and bridges.
MEDICAL SERGEANT (MOS 18D)
The life-saver. Employs the latest in field medical technology and limited surgical procedures. The Special Forces medic in an integral part of civic action programs in bringing medical treatment to native population.
COMMUNICATION SERGEANT (MOS 18E)
Transmits and recieves International Morse Code at a rate of 15 five-word groups per minute or better. Responsibilities include operation, employment and maintenance of team lightweight radios and communication equipment.
OPERATIONS/INTELLIGENCE SERGEANT (MOS 18F)
Develops operations and intelligence for missions in all operational environments. Advises the commander on the exploitation of intelligence and mission-essential information.
Special Forces Medal of Honor Recipients
* Indicates Posthumous Award.
*Eugene Ashley, Jr., Sergeant First Class, Intelligence sergeant, Detachment A-1O1, 5th Special Forces Group. Born 12 October 1931 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Entered service at New York, New York.
Personally led five counterattacks on 7 February 1968 at Camp Lang Vei, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, in effort to break through to comrades in overrun camp before he was killed.
Gary B. Beikirch, Sergeant, Medical specialist, Detachment B-24, 5th Special Forces Group. Born 29 August 1947 in Rochester, New York. Entered service at Buffalo, New York.
Retrieved and treated disabled soldiers on 1 April 1968 at Camp Dak Seang, Quang Duc Province, Vietnam, under heavy fire despite serious wounds.
Roy P. Benavidez, Staff Sergeant Headquarters, B-56 (Project SIGMA), 5th Special Forces Group. Born 5 August 1935, on a small farm near Cureo, Texas. Entered service in June 1955.
Voluntarily accompanied evacuation force from his forward headquarters on 2 May 1968 and rescued several isolated patrol members in heavy combat near Loc Ninh, Binh Long Province, Vietnam.
*William M. Bryant, Sergeant First Class, Advisor, 321 st CIDG Company, 32d Mobile Strike Force Battalion, Detachment B-36, 5th Special Forces Group. Born 16 February 1933 at Cochran, Georgia. Entered service at Detroit, Michigan.
Enabled his surrounded company to escape by charging several Viet Cong positions before he was killed by a rocket on 24 March 1969 in Long Khanh Province, Vietnam.
*Brian L. Buker, Sergeant, Advisor, 513th CIDG Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Mobile Strike Force Command, Detachment B-55, 5th Special Forces Group. Born 3 November 1949 in Benton, Maine. Entered service at Bangor, Maine.
Led the attack against a heavily defended mountain fortress on 5 April 1970 at Nui Khet, Chau Doc Province, Vietnam. during which he was mortally wounded assaulting a bunker.
Jon R. Cavaiani, Staff Sergeant, Platoon leader, Task Force I Advisory Element. Born 2 August 1943 in Royston, England. Entered service at Fresno, California.
Defended Hickory Hill Radio Relay site (Hill 953) in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, on 4-5 June 1971 against a North Vietnamese Army battalion until overwhelmed and captured.
Drew D. Dix, Staff Sergeant, Reconnaissance team leader (mixed LLDB/U.S. Navy SEAL) MACV Combined Studies Division (Central Intelligence Agency). Born 14 December 1944 at West Point, New York.
Entered service at Denver, Colorado. Helped lead repulse of Viet Cong from Chau Phu, Chau Duc Province, Vietnam, with jeep mounting machine gun from 31 January to I February 1968, single-handedly assaulted building and rescued personnel inside.
Roger H. C. Donlon, Captain Commanding officer, Detachment A-726, 7th Special Forces Group. Born 30 January 1934 Saugerties, New York. Entered service in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.
Heroically defended Camp Nam Dong, Thua Thien Province, Vietnam on 6 July 1964 despite serious wounds.
*Loren D. Hagen, 1st Lieutenant, Reconnaissance patrol leader, Task Force I Advisory Element. Born 25 February 1946 in Fargo, North Dakota. Entered service in Fargo, North Dakota.
Courageously defended patrol perimeter inside Demilitarized Zone on 7 August 1971 and repelled numerous charges until killed extracting comrades from imperiled bunker.
*Charles E. Hosking, Jr., Sergeant First Class, Advisor, 3d Mobile Strike Force, 5th Special Forces Group. Born 12 May 1924 in Ramsey, New Jersey. Entered service at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
Wrestled a Viet Cong prisoner with a live grenade to the ground and saved his men by absorbing the blast on 21 March 1967 in Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam.
Robert L. Howard, Sergeant First Class, Reconnaissance patrol leader, MACV Studies & Observation Group. Born 11 July 1939 in Opelika, Alabama. Entered service at Montgomery, Alabama.
Rallied surrounded platoon and covered its aerial extraction despite severe injuries on 30 December 1968 in Laos.
*John J. Kedenburg, Specialist 5th Class, Reconnaissance patrol leader, MACV Studies & Observation Group. Born 31 July 1946 in Brooklyn, New York. Entered service at Brooklyn, New York.
Defended landing zone and covered team aerial extraction on 13 June 1968 in Laos, giving his place to another team member, who suddenly came to pickup zone, and remained alone on LZ until overwhelmed and killed.
Franklin D. Miller, Staff Sergeant, Reconnaissance patrol leader, MACV Studies & Observation Group. Born 27 January 1945 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Entered service at Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Repelled several attacks on his patrol despite serious wounds, on 5 January 1970 in Laos.
*George K. Sisler, 1st Lieutenant, Exploitation force leader, MACV Studies & Observation Group. Born 19 September 1937 in Dexter, Missouri. Entered service at Dexter, Missouri.
Destroyed machine gun and personally counterattacked into NVA assault, at which point he was killed on 7 February 1967 in Laos.
Charles Q. Williams, 2d Lieutenant, Executive officer, Detachment A-342, 5th Special Forces Group. Born 17 September 1933 in Charleston, South Carolina. Entered service at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
Directed defense of beleaguered compound at Camp Dong Xoai, Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam, on 9 and 10 June 1965 despite grievous wounds, destroying numerous key Viet Cong positions.
*Gordon D. Yntema, Sergeant Platoon advisor, Detachment A-431, 5th Special Forces Group. Born 26 June 1945 in Bethesda, Maryland. Entered service at Detroit, Michigan.
Carried several personnel to safety from 16 to 18 January 1968 near Thong Binh, Kien Tuong Province, Vietnam, and returned to trenchline, which he defended until ammunition was exhausted, after which he used his rifle as a club until he was killed.
Fred W. Zabitosky, Staff Sergeant Reconnaissance patrol leader, MACV Studies & Observation Group. Born 27 October 1942 in Trenton, New Jersey. Entered service at Trenton, New Jersey.
Defended landing zone against determined NVA attack on 19 February 1968 in Laos and rescued pilot from downed helicopter before he passed out because of multiple wounds and burns.