The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) (1st SFG) (A) is a unit of the U.S. Army Special Forces operating under the

United States Pacific Command United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific region. Formerly known as United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) since its inception in 1947, ...

. It is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions throughout the Indo-Pacific Command area of operations:

unconventional warfare Unconventional warfare (UW) is broadly defined as "military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare" and may use covert forces, subversion, or guerrilla warfare. This is typically done to avoid escalation into conventional ...

foreign internal defense Foreign internal defense (FID) is a term used by the military in several countries, including the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, to describe an integrated, and possibly multi-country, approach to combating actual or threatened i ...

, direct action, counter-insurgency,

special reconnaissance Special reconnaissance (SR) or Recon Team is conducted by small units of highly trained military personnel, usually from special forces units or military intelligence organizations, who operate behind enemy lines, avoiding direct combat and detec ...

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

, information operations, counterproliferation of

weapon of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...

, and

security force assistance Security Force Assistance (SFA) is the strategic-level military practice of a donor country creating, equipping, training, advising, and supporting one or more groups of a foreign host country, such as a military, police, paramilitary, coast gua ...

Unit history

Multinational SOF Teams Participate in Range Training During RIMPAC 001

It was among the first groups of the Special Forces. The group is responsible for operations in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. Currently, the First Battalion is stationed at

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

while the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and Group Support

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

s are stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. 1st Special Forces Group's history began at Fort Bragg, NC, in 1955. Four Special Forces Operational Detachments - the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 16th - were selected from the 77th Special Forces Group and transferred to the Pacific theater over the next year. 1st Special Forces Group was officially activated at Fort Buckner, Okinawa, on 24 June 1957, with LTC A. Scott Madding as commander and MSG Robert L. Voss as the sergeant major. The 1st Special Forces Group holds the distinction of having the first and last Special Forces soldiers killed in Vietnam: Captain Harry Cramer killed 21 October 1957, and Captain Richard M. Rees killed 15 December 1973. Decades later, another 1st Special Forces Group soldier became the first American to die by hostile fire in Afghanistan: Sergeant First Class Nathan Chapman killed 2 January 2002. The 1st Special Forces Group on Okinawa was one of two Special Action Forces/Security Assistance Forces (SAF) built around Special Forces Groups. The other was built around the 8th Special Forces Group in Panama. SAF Asia was flexible and 1st Group could task organize a detachment for any time of mission in the Pacific rim. During the Vietnam War, it sent teams to Vietnam for six-month temporary duty. It also ran Camp Hardy Combat Training Center in the Northern Training Area of Okinawa to train SF,

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sm ...

, and US

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

deploying to Vietnam. It also earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its work during the year 1973. Following the war in South Vietnam, and the withdrawal of American military forces from

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

, the emphasis on military actions shifted away from the Asia-Pacific region and focused more on Europe and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. Special Forces, which had grown to a total of seven groups in 1963, faced severe cuts in the peacetime army; as a result, 1st Group was inactivated 28 June 1974 at

Ft. Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, NC. After a 10-year hiatus, the need for an Asian unconventional warfare force was recognized, and Alpha Company, 1st Battalion was reactivated at Fort Bragg on 15 March 1984. This company and the remainder of the 1st Battalion were assembled and deployed to

Torii Station US Army Garrison Okinawa is a United States Army facility located in Yomitan, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Home to the United States Army on Okinawa, 10th Support Group (Regional), along with the 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), ...

during the spring and summer of 1984. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions, along with Headquarters and Service Company were officially reactivated 4 September 1984 at Fort Lewis,

. Brought back to life as part of overall growth in the support to U.S. strategic efforts in Asia, the unit focused on the Pacific Command area of operations but were routinely deployed out of Asia to support unified commanders throughout the world. Unit members supported theater security engagement within the PACOM area of operations, contingency operations in Haiti, Central Asia, and Bosnia. Operational Detachments "Alpha" deployed to Haiti to conduct Coalition Support Team missions in 1993–94 in support of U.S. Joint Task Force 190 and Multi-National Force operations supporting

Operation Uphold Democracy Operation Uphold Democracy was a military intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by t ...

. Additional ODAs conducted Humanitarian Demining Operations in Laos,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

earning Humanitarian Service Medals for their efforts in both Laos and Thailand. Elements from the 1st SFG (A) conducted training with military units from newly created states from the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

that supported the development of the Central Asian Battalion (CENTRASBAT), a regional peace-keeping force in the mid-1990s. By the end of the millennium, 1st SFG (A) soldiers had deployed for the Stabilization Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Following the

11 September attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

, members of the 1st SFG (A) deployed to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and sustained back-to-back battalion rotations to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Starting in February 2002, elements of the 1st SFG (A) deployed to conduct unconventional warfare in the Southern Philippines by and with the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The ...

(AFP) in order to assist the

Government of the Philippines The Government of the Philippines ( fil, Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas) has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and d ...

(GOP). Over the next three years, 1st SFG (A) members built an admirable record in the Philippines training six

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

battalions, three light reaction companies from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), treating over 31,000 Filipinos in MEDCAP events, helping to professionalize the AFP, and providing operations and intelligence fusion teams to actively assist the AFP in targeting terrorist cells. Throughout 2003–2004, the 1st SFG (A) deployed many soldiers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. By November 2004 the unit deployed an entire battalion to Afghanistan as part of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force- Afghanistan ( CJSOTF-A). Today, 1st SFG (A) continues to support the

Global War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

with operations in the Philippines, Iraq and Afghanistan as well as maintaining US security relationships with partner nations throughout the Pacific.

Lineage

Constituted 5 July 1942 in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States is one of the four major service components of the United States Army (the others being the Regular Army, the United States Army Reserve and the Army National Guard of the United States), but it has been inactive si ...

as the 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, First Regiment,

First Special Service Force The 1st Special Service Force was an elite American–Canadian commando unit in World War II, under the command of the United States Fifth Army. The unit was organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana i ...

, a combined Canadian-American organization Activated 9 July 1942 at

Fort William Henry Harrison Fort William Henry Harrison is the Montana National Guard training facility. It is also home to the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center and Montana State Veterans Cemetery, located adjacent to the military installation. History Fort William Henr ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. Disbanded 5 December 1945 in

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

, France Reconstituted 15 April 1960 in the

Regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

. concurrently consolidated with Company B, 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion (activated 19 June 1942), and consolidated unit re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces Consolidated 30 September 1960 with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Forces Group (constituted 14 June 1957 in the Regular Army and activated 24 June 1957 in Japan), and consolidated unit designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces (organic units concurrently constituted and activated 4 October 1960) Group inactivated 28 June 1974 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina Activated 4 September 1984 at Fort Lewis, Washington (Former Company B, 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion, withdrawn 3 February 1986, consolidated with Company N, 75th Infantry, and consolidated unit re-designated as Company N, 75th Ranger Regiment – hereafter separate lineage)

Organization

1st Special Forces Group - New 4-digit numbers ODA

Campaign participation credit

''* signifies Earned Credit''

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

*, Naples-Foggia*,

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands ...

*, Rome-Arno*, Southern France (with arrowhead)*,

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

Decorations

* Meritorious Unit Commendation(Army) for PACIFIC AREA 1972–1973* *Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) for ASIA 2002* *

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation The Philippine Presidential Unit citation BadgeThe AFP Adjutant General, ''Awards and Decorations Handbook'', 1997, OTAG, p. 65. is a unit decoration of the Republic of the Philippines. It has been awarded to certain units of the United States mi ...

for JULY-AUGUST 1972 *

References

External links

1st SFG, SOC.mil

{{DEFAULTSORT:1st Special Forces Group (United States) Military units and formations established in 1957 Military units and formations in Washington (state) Special Forces 001