Special Forces: A Guided Tour of U.S. Army Special Forces Read online

  • Quality of Life—Nobody doubts that the SF lifestyle is hard on personal relationships, and that the kinds of people who are attracted to SF can be difficult to live with. (The joke that anyone who survives more than five years of service on the teams without a divorce is not working hard enough contains more than a little truth.) In order to provide his SF troops and their families with something better, General Boykin has done what he could to lessen the intrusions upon his people’s private time, by, for example, reducing OpTempos, by allowing soldiers to fully use their accumulated leave, and by giving more time off in general—where possible.

  • Modernization—The Special Forces have spent the majority of their history using equipment and supplies developed for conventional military units. Now that much of this gear has become worn out or obsolete, SFC has stood up its own procurement shop (G7) to help develop and procure the “stuff” that SF soldiers will need into the early twenty-first century.

  • Infrastructure—The rebirth of Special Forces in the 1980s did not change the condition of the places they call home (usually the poorest and least desirable real estate on Army posts). Most of these were falling apart. Some groups had headquarters and barracks buildings that dated back to the Second World War. Though change has been slow, that situation has changed, and with the exception of the 5th SFG (at Fort Campbell, Kentucky), who are still waiting for new buildings and facilities, all the SF units are getting new purpose-built headquarters, barracks, and training facilities.

  Supporting General Boykin is a compact command staff, reflecting the lean character of the Special Forces: His command sergeant major is Mike Bishop, while the deputy commanding general is Brigadier General John Scales (who is actually assigned to the National Guard). There is a chief of staff, along with the usual staff officers for intelligence (G-2), operations (G-3), and so on, as well as a chaplain. All told, SFC has only about a hundred military and twenty civilian staff assigned to run a command of more than 10,000 personnel with a worldwide mission ... a tiny number compared with other military units of comparable size. This says a lot about the no-nonsense nature of the Special Forces.

  One measure of combat units is called the “nose-to-tail” ratio, referring to the number of combat troops compared to support personnel. In a typical Army combat unit, this runs about one out of three. By comparison, SF units typically have two out of every three personnel assigned to combat roles. In other words, every SF unit, from the office of the commanding general to the smallest detachment, is lean and combat-oriented.

  The Groups: The Sharp Edge

  The twelve-man Operational Detachment Alpha, as we’ve seen, is the basic SF unit. But these units do not go on missions alone. Every ODA is part of a larger parent unit, called a Special Force Group—Airborne,56 of which there are a total of seven. Though all seven share a similar organization and structure, each carries its own history, missions, and cultures (and two of them are part of the Army National Guard, meaning that they are manned by part-time “weekend warriors”). A few small units are also assigned to SFC, which need to be looked at because of their growing relevance in the current world climate.

  One quick caution: I will be introducing you to a number of real-world personnel. Since it’s in the job description that military personnel are moved around a lot, what you will see is a “snapshot” that reflects the status of the various groups around March 1st, 1999. And since I will be describing men whose regular trips downrange place them at a relatively high risk of hostile action, I will only give a few names.

  Structure: Makeup of a Special Forces Group

  When Colonel Aaron Bank set up the 10th SFG in 1952, he was surely unaware that he was designing a template that would survive for half a century (with no sign of wearing out). Today, seven SFGs make up the fighting power of the SFC. Except for the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia, they are the largest SOF units in the U.S. military. And with apologies to the fine fighting qualities of the Rangers, I defy any other combat unit in the world to conduct a wider variety of tasks than a deployed SFG.

  Let’s review the complement of a fully manned ODA:• Command—The command of an ODA is given to an SF captain (18A), and his executive officer, a warrant officer (180A).

  • Operations/Planning—The jobs of operations planning and intelligence are split between two senior sergeants. A master sergeant acts as the team sergeant and the operations non-commissioned officer (NCO—18Z). He is assisted by another more junior NCO, with specialization in intelligence and operations (18F).

  • Weapons—The A-Team has two NCOs assigned as weapons specialists (18B). Again, one is senior to the other, with both carrying the same specialty code.

  • Engineering—As with the weapons section, two engineering (18C) NCOs are assigned to each A-Team.

  • Medical—Two of the SF’s superb medical specialists (18D) are assigned to each A-Team. They are among the busiest and most valuable personnel in the SFC.

  • Communications—Each A-Team has two communications (18E) NCOs.

  As is normal with SF personnel, the team members are cross-trained in other skills, in the event of casualties, split-team operations, or a shortage of personnel prior to a mission deployment. All have regionally relevant language skills and training to deal with local cultural sensitivities, traditions, and mores.

  The structure and personnel of a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA), or A-Team.

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  To build an SFG, you start by grouping six ODAs into a company. To these are added an Operational Detachment Bravo (ODB), which acts as the company headquarters. There are communications (18E) and engineering (18C) specialists. A company warrant (180A) provides operational expertise and leadership, with an SF major (18A) and sergeant major (18Z) commanding.

  This SF company then provides the core units for the next piece in the SFG: the SF battalion.

  Each SF battalion is composed of three SF companies, a support company (logistics, transportation, etc.), and a headquarters and headquarters detachment (HHD). The SF battalion HHD is composed of thirty-seven personnel, including a lieutenant colonel (18A) commander, a major (18A) executive officer, and a command sergeant major (1800Z). Officially called an Operational Detachment Charlie, the battalion headquarters has a full operations staff, as well as medical, communications, engineering, intelligence, and even civil personnel.

  The three SF companies—labeled Alpha (A), Bravo (B), and Charlie (C)—are each marked for particular specialty tasks. Thus for example, A-Company is assigned to maintain on ODA capable of military free-fall (MFF) parachute operations, while B-Company has an A-Team qualified for underwater operations (UWO).

  All told, the SF battalion has a total of 383 personnel, which makes the SF battalion a self-contained SOF force, requiring only intelligence, logistic, and transportation support from higher headquarters and agencies to begin operations. In fact, when a major regional contingency (MRC ... a nice way of saying that the shit is hitting the fan57) breaks out somewhere, the first response from SOCOM is frequently an SF battalion sending in its lead company.

  The structure and personnel of a Special Forces Company Headquarters, Operational Detachment Bravo (ODB), or B-Team.

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  The final step is to group three SF battalions together with another HHC/ODC (89 personnel—about twice the size of the battalion HHD) and a group support company (144 troops). This creates a complete group, which is roughly the strength of a traditional Army infantry brigade, and has a total of 1,382 personnel, two thirds of which are in the teams as deployable, mission-ready SF soldiers.

  Each SFG (including the two ANG—Army National Guard—groups) has been assigned to conduct and support operations in particular parts of the world. This means that the personnel all have appropriate language and cultural training, and the group HHC constantly monitors the political and military situation in their assigned region. This means
that some portion of the group may actually be forward deployed or based, so that transit times to a crisis zone can be reduced. Thus 10th SFG still maintains a battalion based in Germany. 1st SFG has one in Okinawa and 7th SFG has a company in Puerto Rico.

  The regional orientation has a number of interesting consequences. For example, the assigned region frequently defines the culture and lifestyle of a particular group. There is a standing joke in the 7th SFG (which covers Latin America) that an unmarried SF soldier will bring home a Latino wife before he’s been deployed downrange twice. And in 1st SFG (assigned to the Far East), oriental food and spouses are the norm.

  More to the point, the noncombat missions overseas ensure a likelihood there’ll be an ODA near a breaking crisis. A quick change of orders and clothing can instantly transform a team conducting humanitarian or training operations into a special recon-naissanceteam ready to be inserted into the trouble spot. This has often put reliable eyes on a situation just hours or minutes after the outbreak of trouble. To say that politicians and diplomats find such capabilities useful is an understatement.

  The structure and personnel of a Special Forces Battalion Headquarters, Operational Detachment Charlie (ODC), or C-Team.

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  1st Special Forces Group

  We’ll start our tour at what is arguably the prettiest spot in the SF world: Fort Lewis, Washington, near Tacoma at the southern end of Puget Sound, and within sight (on a clear day) of Mount Rainier. Fort Lewis is a hub for all variety of Pacific coast military operations; and nearby McCord AFB will soon be home to the second operational wing of C-17A Globemaster III heavy-lift cargo jets, the choice carrier of logistics professionals everywhere. Also based at Fort Lewis is the U.S. Army’s I Corps, commanded by an old friend, Lieutenant General George Crocker.58

  The structure and personnel of a U.S. Army Special Forces Group (SFG).

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  The units and organization of the U.S. Army Special Force Command.

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  Over on the north side of the post is the new home of the 1st SFG. Built in the same style as the other new SF headquarters complexes, it is low to the ground and recessed into a hill. All around the headquarters are barracks, training facilities, and other buildings, as well as the requisite security fences and surveillance cameras.

  A trip inside the 1st SFG headquarters (after a quick ID check) got me a surprisingly good cup of Army coffee and an informative visit with the commanding officer, Colonel Thomas R. Csrnko (pronounced Chernko) and his command sergeant major (SGM) James McDaniel.

  The 1st provides SF services to the U.S. Pacific Command (whose CINC is Admiral Dennis Blair). PACOM covers an area from the West Coast of the U.S. to the India/Pakistani border (and includes Korea, whose U.S. commander is General John H. Tilleli, Jr.). In between is an area covering almost half the known world. Or, as Colonel Csrnko proudly likes to point out, the 1st SFG’s area of responsibility covers more square miles, people, cultures, and languages than that of the rest of the groups combined. In fact, the region contains over three billion people, as much as the rest of the world combined.

  This can stretch the personnel thin. Luckily, they get help from one of the ANG groups.

  Like the other groups within SFC, 1st SFG is composed of three SF battalions, but only two of these are actually based at Fort Lewis, the 2/1 SFG and the 3/1 SFG. Because of the time and distances involved in rapidly moving personnel and gear across the Pacific, the 1st Battalion of the 1st SFG (1/1 SFG) is forward-based on Okinawa, and commanded by a lieutenant colonel. 1/1 SFG provides a rapid response capability in the event of a conflict in Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, or other Far East hot spot.59

  A map showing the home bases of the various Special Forces Command units in the continental United States.

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  Originally formed in 1960 to support the Vietnam War, the 1st SFG traces its spiritual lineage back to the 2nd Company of the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Special Service Force (the Devil’s Brigade). In 1974, following Vietnam, they were disestablished at Fort Bragg, and the group colors were cased and preserved for almost a decade, in anticipation of the day that they might be needed again.

  That happened in the 1980s, during the Reagan expansion of the Special Forces, and the group now provides SFC and the nation a solid base of skills in jungle, winter, and mountain warfare, along with skills in countermine operations.

  So what exactly is 1st SFG doing out there in Asia these days? Quite a bit actually.

  Their missions break down into four distinct areas. They include:• Contingencies—Without question, the single biggest worry for 1st SFG continues to be the threat from North Korea. Thus the group has a continuing presence in South Korea, as well as a significant place in operations plans in the event of a communist invasion. 1st SFG also stands ready to support U.S. interests in Taiwan, Thailand, and other allied nations in the area, in the event of conflict.60 As for emerging threats, the group is watching closely the growth of China’s military, and the ethnic and economic chaos along the Java barrier.

  • Operations—Over the past few years, 1st SFG has been involved in two kinds of ongoing operations. The first is the effort to support demining and unexploded ordnance (UXO) disposal in Southeast Asia. Worldwide, disposal of mines and UXO is a major problem, and has become a significant public health hazard. Areas containing mines and UXO are obviously hazardous, and thus unusable for cultivation or raising livestock. 1st SFG has been involved in ninety-day rotations into Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, to support the training of personnel to remove these hazardous war relics. The Laotian effort has been particularly successful, with the program due to come to a close within a year or two. The other ongoing 1st SFG operation has included support of counterdrug efforts in PACOM. Each year, the group sends eight ODAs on thirty-day overseas rotations to selected nations, where they conduct training with law enforcement and military units to improve their skills at slowing the flow of narcotics.

  • JCS Exercises—When an SFG sends an ODA overseas for a particular job or mission, it is always at the direction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and has the support of the State Department, the host nation, and a number of other coordinating agencies. For our purposes, these missions come under the heading of “JCS exercises.” These cover a variety of tasks, most have code names (which can tell you where they take place and what they are about), and most fall under the heading of the Joint Combined Exercise Training (JCET) program. JCETs normally involve only one or two ODAs, possibly with an ODB to provide command and control. JCET missions are designed primarily to conduct ODA training, though sometimes they are conducted in support of humanitarian or civil engineering projects. (SF training is, of course, always the primary goal of any JCET mission.) This is a sampling of the JCET missions being run by 1st SFG: —Ulchi Focus Lens/Foal Eagle—In Korea, 1st SFG has been running a pair of large-scale (battalion-sized) headquarters defense exercises that run for weeks at a time.

  —Cobra Gold—Held annually in Thailand, a 1st SFG battalion acts as the Joint Special Operations Task Force (JSOTF) headquarters for a large force of I Corps troops and Marines doing force-on-force training with regional military forces.

  —Balikatan—A somewhat smaller (company-sized) operation held in the Philippines, Balikatan is a force-on-force training exercise. It allows the Philippine military to practice critical low-intensity conflict skills.

  -Balance-series JCETs61— Every year, PACOM schedules 1st SFG to run nearly forty JCET missions, of which about 80% are actually run. (The other 20% are not run because there can be as much as eighteen months between planning for missions and their execution. During that time, governments and economies fall, wars occur, and politics change.)1/1st SFG runs approximately twelve, while the other two battalions usually execute around nine each. In FY99, 1st SFG planned to run Balance (B.) Iron (Indonesia), B. Mint
(Malaysia), B. Saber (Singapore), B. Magic (Mongolia), B. Nail (Nepal), B. Tiger (Tonga), and B. Passion (Papua New Guinea), among others.

  • CONUS Training—Along with their overseas missions, the 1st SFG conducted a full array of training in the continental United States (CONUS). This included a pair of JRTC rotations for the 2nd and 3rd battalions (1st is excluded because of its forward basing), as well as support for counterdrug training and proficiency training for live-fire, winter war, and mountain operations.

  The official shoulder flash (emblem) of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne)

  OFFICIAL U.S. ARMY GRAPHIC

  3rd Special Forces Group

  Once you’re at USASOC headquarters at Fort Bragg, getting to the 3rd SFG is easy. All you have to do is walk out the front door, go two hundred yards across the parking lot, jog over a small road, and you are there. The 3rd SFG is housed in a new buff-colored headquarters building much like the 1st SFG’s at Fort Lewis. Here you will run into Colonel Gary Jones and his CSM David Farmer.

  The 3rd, like the 1st, was stood up as an SFG in 1960, served during the 1960s, was disestablished (in 1969), and was reactivated in the 1980s. The 3rd also traces its lineage back to the Devil’s Brigade—in their case, the HHC detachment of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Regiment.