The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) (1st SFG) (A) is a unit of the

U.S. Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mi ...

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,

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...

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 Information Operations is a category of direct and indirect support operations for the United States Military. By definition in Joint Publication 3-13, "IO are described as the integrated employment of electronic warfare (EW), computer networ ...

counterproliferation Counterproliferation refers to diplomatic, intelligence, and military efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons, including both weapons of mass destruction (WMD), long-range missiles, and certain conventional weapons. Nonproliferation ...

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 Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equi ...

. 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 Prefectures of Japan, 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 Square kilometre, km2 (880 sq mi). ...

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 ...

s are stationed at

Joint Base Lewis-McChord A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...

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 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 Cu ...

, 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 Fort Buckner is a United States Army base located immediately south of Camp Foster, near Futenma, on Okinawa, Japan. The 78th Signal Battalion and E Co. of the 53d Signal Battalion (SATCON) are the only units on this small installation. All loca ...

, 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, 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 (refl ...

deploying to Vietnam. It also earned the

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

for its work during the year 1973. Following the war in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

, 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 mainland ...

, 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 N ...

. 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, NC. After a 10-year hiatus, the need for an Asian unconventional warfare force was recognized, and

Alpha Company A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. ...

, 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,

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 Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

, Central Asia, and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

. Operational Detachments "Alpha" deployed to

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. Additional ODAs conducted

Humanitarian Demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contra ...

Operations in

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

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 Thailand ...

, 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 ...

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 transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

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 The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It ...

in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Following the 11 September attacks, members of the 1st SFG (A) deployed to support

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 a ...

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 foug ...

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 {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and

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 ...

as the 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, First Regiment, First Special Service Force, a combined

Canadian-American Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship. The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadian ...

organization Activated 9 July 1942 at Fort William Henry Harrison,

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 In United States Army units, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within ...

, 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 The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as Army Rangers, is the U.S. Army's premier light infantry unit and special operations force within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The regiment is headquartered at Fort Benning, G ...

– 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 Isl ...

*, 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

(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