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Home > SF Units
The Special Forces Groups can be found at the Special Forces
Groups page. Below are listed individual units - whether formed
up for a temporary timeframe or during a conflict, war, or
special operation.
SFODA. The base unit in Special Forces is
the Special Forces Operational Detachment - Alpha. Currently
(2023) the structure is a twelve man team. It wasn't always that
way. An online article by the USASOC History Office entitled
"The Evolution of the Special Forces (SF) Operational
Detachment-Alpha (ODA)" describes how it has ranged from 12
men to 15 men based on era, doctrine, and force structure
requirements. (Veritas, January 2023).
Detachment A - Berlin Brigade
46th Company - Thailand
8240th Army Unit. This
provisional unit was established in the early 1950s to train up
anti-Communist North Korean partisans to conduct unconventional
warfare in North Korea.
8251st Army Unit. In 1956 the 8251st Army Unit was activated
at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The name of the unit was the
cover designation for the 14th Special Forces Operational
Detachment (FD). This unit was designed to operate as a command
and control unit within a "denied area" in the Pacific region
and would later form the cadre of the newly established 1st
Special Forces Group (Airborne). The unit spent time at Fort
Shafter, Hawaii and Fort Buckner, Okinawa. It executed Foreign
Internal Defense (FID) missions in South Vietnam, the Republic
of China, and Thailand. (Info taken from 1st Special Forces
Facebook
entry).
Delta Force. The
official name of Delta Force is the 1st Special Forces
Operational Detachment "D". Delta Force was created in the 1970s
in response to a new age of terrorism.
Intelligence Support
Activity (ISA). Formed up after the failure of Operation
Eagle Claw, the ISA was formed to collect actionable
intelligence overseas for special operations forces that would
conduct covert, clandestine, and overt missions. It now has a
different name (keeps changing every few years) and is
subordinate to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).
Joint Special
Operations Command (JSOC). The joint organization was formed
to coordinate the various special operations forces across the
services in the conduct of counter-terrorism and surgical strike
missions.
USSOCOM. United States
Special Operations Command, a 4-star command, was established in
1987 at McDill Air Force Base, Florida.
Central Intelligence
Group (CIG). The CIG was formed in January 1946 - replacing
the intelligence arm of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
Navy SEALs. The U.S. Navy
SEALs operate on the Sea, in the Air, and on Land. Their recent
exploits (Osama bin Laden raid, Maresk Alabama, etc.) have
spawned a number of books and movies that has projected the unit
into the public eye.
Psychological Operations.
Special Forces has a long and shared history in unconventional
warfare with units that conducted psychological operations. Both
type units were part of larger commands with a shared mission -
currently under the United States Army Special Operations
Command (USASOC).
World War II Special Operations Units
Office of Strategic Services
(OSS). The OSS was formed in World War II to conduct
intelligence and unconventional warfare missions around the
globe.
Jedburghs. The Jedburgh
teams usually consisted of an American from the Office of
Strategic Services (OSS), a Brit from the Special Operations
Executive (SOE), and a Frenchman (French resistance or Free
French Army). Teams were usually 2-4 men (or women) in strength.
1st Special Service Force.
Nick-named the Devil's Brigade, the 1st Special Service Force
was a joint American-Canadian command unit formed up in Helena,
Montana during World War II. Many of the American and Canadian
special elite units trace their heritage from this WWII unit.
Darby's Rangers. The
U.S. Army Rangers were established in World War II. They were
modeled after the British Commandos. The name 'Darby's Rangers'
came from the original commander of the Rangers - Colonel
William Darby.
Alamo Scouts. The U.S.
Army Sixth Special Reconnaissance Unit was established on
November 28, 1943 on New Guinea.
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