United States Army Special Forces

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{{Infobox Military Unit |unit_name= United States Army Special Forces |image=Image:US Army Special Forces.Airborne patch.jpg |caption=United States Army Special Forces Shoulder Sleeve Insignia |nickname= Green Beret |motto= De oppresso liber ("To liberate the oppressed")
|colors= |march= |ceremonial_chief= |type= Special Operations |branch=United States Army |dates= June 19, 1952 – |country=United States |allegiance= |command_structure=U.S. Army Special Operations Command |size= |specialization=Counterterrorism, Direct Action, Foreign Internal Defense, Special Reconnaissance, Unconventional Warfare |challenge= |response= |current_commander= |garrison= |battles= Operation Eagle Claw
Operation Urgent Fury
Operation Just Cause
Operation Desert Shield
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Restore Hope
Battle of Mogadishu
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Iraqi Freedom |notable_commanders= |anniversaries= }}

Image:SFsoldierAfghanistan.jpg

The United States Army Special Forces —also known by the nickname Green Berets or simply Special Forces (capitalized)— is a Special Operations Force of the U.S. Army trained for unconventional warfare and special operations. The force was founded by Aaron Bank and their official headgear is the green beret, thanks to the efforts of an early officer, Edson Raff.

Their official motto is De oppresso liber ("To liberate the oppressed").

1 The Green Beret
2 Organization
3 Training
4 Jobs Within Special Forces
5 Popular culture
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

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The Green Beret

The Green Beret was originally unauthorized for wear by the U.S. Army. However, in 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized them for use by the Special Forces [1]. 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."

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Organization

U.S. Army Special Forces is divided into five Active Duty Special Forces Groups (SFG). 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 responsibility:

1st Special Forces Group - 1st battalion stationed in Okinawa, the 2nd and 3rd battalions headquartered at Fort Lewis, WA. 1st Group has responsibility for the Pacific.

3rd Special Forces Group - headquartered at Fort Bragg, NC. 3rd Group has responsibility for all of Africa except for the eastern Horn of Africa.

5th Special Forces Group - headquartered at Fort Campbell, KY. 5th Group has responsibility for the Middle East, Persian Gulf, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa.

7th Special Forces Group - headquartered at Fort Bragg, NC. 7th Group has responsibility for Latin and Central America as well as the Caribbean.

10th Special Forces Group - 1st battalion stationed near Stuttgart, Germany, and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions headquartered at Fort Carson, CO. 10th Group has responsibility for Europe, mainly Central and Eastern, the Balkans, Turkey, Israel and Lebanon.

19th and 20th Special Forces Group - the two National Guard groups for the Special Forces.

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Training

A completely new recruit to the United States Army, who has signed on for the special forces, starts his (all United States Special Forces are closed to females) training in Fort Benning, Georgia. This consists of basic training and Infantry training combined in a 14 week course. After graduation, he moves to Airborne training, which lasts for 3 weeks. Upon graduation from Airborne school the potential Special Forces Soldier is next shipped to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for Phase I, the SFAS course, a preparation course which lasts twenty four days. If the potential recruit makes it past this stage, he usually returns to his previous unit to await a class date to begin the Special Forces Qualification Course ("Q Course"). Afterwards, recruits usually attend the Primary Leadership Development Course/Basic Non-Commissioned Officer's Course at Camp Mackall before officially beginning Phase II, a five-week block of instruction in Small Unit Tactics. In late 2005, three weeks of SERE training was integrated into an expanded Phase II curriculum, and follows immediately upon successful completion of the Small Unit Tactics phase. The recruit then ships back to Fort Bragg for Phase III of the Q course, where he trains within one of five specialties within special forces, those being: 18A, Detachment Commander; 18B, SF Weapons Sergeant; 18C, SF Engineer Sergeant; 18D, SF Medical Sergeant; and 18E, SF Communications Sergeant. 18A-C training courses are 14 weeks long, 18D training course is 46 weeks long, and 18E is 14 weeks long. Upon graduation the soldier attends Robin Sage, a large-scale unconventional warfare exercise (Phase IV) and language school (Phase V) before being awarded the Special Forces tab.

Soldiers who successfully complete SFAS and who are not already Airborne qualified will be assigned a class date to attend Basic Airborne School at Ft. Benning, Georgia prior to reporting to Ft. Bragg.

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Jobs Within Special Forces

"18A" - The Detachment Commander, usually a Captain, is the Commanding Officer of the 12 man team.
"180A" - The Executive Officer, usually a Warrant Officer, second in command to the Detachment Commander.
"18Z" - The Operations Sergeant, usually a Master Sergeant, head of operations for the team.
"18F" - Operations & Intelligence NCO, usually a Sergeant First Class, in charge with Intelligence and assistance to the Operations Sergeant.
"18B" - Weapons NCO, usually a Sergeant First Class, in charge of identifying and the usage of foreign high-density light and heavy weapons
"18B" - Assistant Weapons NCO, usually a Staff Sergeant, assistant to the Weapons NCO.
"18C" - Engineer NCO, usually a Sergeant First Class, in charge of demolitions and construction projects.
"18C" - Assistant Engineer NCO, usually a Staff Sergeant, assistant to the Engineer NCO.
"18D" - Medical NCO, usually a Sergeant First Class, heals members of the team and mission important allies.
"18D" - Assistant Medical NCO, usually a Staff Sergeant, assistant to the Medical NCO.
"18E" - Communications NCO, usually a Sergeant First Class, in charge of establishing and maintaining tactical and operational communications.
"18E" - Assistant Communications NCO, usually a Staff Sergeant, assistant to the communications NCO.

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Popular culture

The #1 hit song "Ballad of the Green Berets" and the book The Green Berets are in reference to this elite force.

John Wayne's movie The Green Berets was about the early years of the Vietnam war where Green Beret advisors were sent to SE Asia to aid the South Vietnamese in fighting the Communist North.

Set during the Vietnam War, Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. U.S. Army Captain Benjamin L. Willard (played by Martin Sheen) is assigned a special mission up-river into the remote Cambodian jungle to find Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, a former member of the Special Forces (played by Marlon Brando).

Sylvester Stallone's character John Rambo in the Rambo movies was a former Green Beret Lieutenant.

The 2005 TV series, E-Ring, portrays a former Special Forces operative, played by Benjamin Bratt, who has transferred over into the Pentagon.

Ubisoft's Ghost Recon video game series features a fictitious squad of US Special Forces operators from Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina . This squad, sometimes called the Ghosts, is commanded by Captain Scott Mitchell. The series has made these soldiers "see action" in Russia (Ghost Recon 1), Eritrea (Ghost Recon Desert Siege), Cuba (Island Thunder), Colombia (Jungle Storm), North Korea (Ghost Recon 2), Kazakhstan (Ghost Recon 2 Summit Strike), and Mexico City (Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter).

America's Army, a popular US Army-sponsored first person shooter game, features training and "deployment" for the US Army Special Forces. To gain access to Special Forces maps and training, as well as Special Forces weapons, you need to complete stealth training and Airborne training.

The popular 80s TV show The A-Team was about a group of Vietnam War-era Special Forces soldiers convicted for a crime they didn't commit.

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