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Home > Culture
A tightly-knit elite group such as Special Forces that exists
for decades forms a specific culture unique to it's organization.
This page will provide some information and history on that
culture.
Green Beret. The most obvious historical and cultural aspect
of Special Forces is their unique hat - the Green Beret. It is a
symbol of their heritage and special training and is only earned
by attending and successfully passing the Special Forces
Qualification Course or SFQC. The Green Beret was authorized for
wear at Bad Tolz, Germany by the 10th Special Forces Group
commander (Col William Ekman) on November 17, 1955. The
Department of the Army did not recognize the headgear as
official - which caused all sorts of cultural clashes between
the Special Forces Soldiers and conventional commanders and
SGMs. In October 1961 President John F. Kennedy visited Fort
Bragg where he met with Special Forces leaders. Kennedy was a
champion of unconventional warfare
and the Special Forces. He issued a Presidential Directive
recognizing the Green Beret as the "Symbol of Excellence" and
the Green Beret was then made the official headgear of Special
Forces. In earlier days enlisted men who were Special Forces
qualified wore the group 'flash' and SF crest on the beret.
Those men non-SF qualified wore a 'candy stripe' with the crest.
Officers wore the flash with their rank on the flash.
Ballad of the Green Beret. Special Forces has its own song.
Wrote and sung by SSG Barry Sadler during the height of the
Vietnam War it became extremely popular. In fact, it was the
number one song in 1966 hitting the top of the charts.
www.specialforcestraining.info/balladgreenberets.htm
Bronze Bruce. The Special Warfare Memorial
Statue (known as Bronze Bruce) is representative of a Special
Forces non-commissioned offcer.
Bronze Bruce is
located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Special Warfare Museum. For many decades the
Special Warfare Museum located on Ardennes Street, Fort Bragg,
NC was the place to go to learn about the history of Special
Forces. Its many exhibits provided deep memories for former SF
soldiers and were an inspiration for young Green Berets and
potential recruits to SF. In 2020 the United States Army Special
Operations Command (USASOC) closed the museum. This was an
action that drew a quick and angry response from current and
former members of Special Forces.
http://www.specialforceshistory.info/culture/special-warfare-museum.html
Special Forces Branch. The
Special Forces Branch
was established by the U.S. Army on April 9, 1987.
Camp Mackall. This WW II training base for
U.S. paratroopers held thousands of soldiers training for the
European theater. Since WW II Camp Mackall has become a primary
training facility for Special Forces soldiers and units. Read
more in "Historic Camp Mackall", by Lt. Col. Robert P. Curtin
(Ret), Pine Straw Magazine, (date unknown).
https://pinestrawmag.com/historic-camp-mackall/
Coin Check. Each Special Forces Soldier has his coin. It is
usually sold by someone within the group headquarters. Some are
serial numbered. There are some very unique rules and history
about SF coins. For instance if you are in a bar and someone
conducts a coin check and you don't have yours it can get
costly. For a description of the rules and regulations
pertaining to SF coins see "Coin Rules and History" at the link
below:
http://sfalx.com/h_coin_rules_and_history.htm
Green Beret Sport Parachute Club. For
decades the Special Forces community had their own on base
'clubs' to gather at during lunch and evening hours. One of
these was the Annex located in one of the one-story wooden
buildings at the edge of the 7th Special Forces Group Parade
Field (now site of an Engineer Brigade). A more popular drinking
establishment was the Green Beret Sport Parachute Club located
near the base hospital. The club was moved several decades ago
to a one story building near Gruber Road not far from the MATA
Mile. Somewhere around 2014 the Green Beret Sport Parachute Club
was discontinued and the building was turned into the
Smoke Bomb Grille.
Martha Raye. Actress and entertainer helped
form up the USO during World War II and toured through combat
zones during the war. She continued this during the Korean and
Vietnam Wars. Due to her interest in Special Forces - visiting
many SF A teams in Vietnam - she was made an honorary member of
the U.S. Army Special Forces. Watch a video published by the
USASOC PAO (Mar 31, 2019, 2 mins).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIHHw_ogRfY
Mistress. There is an old adage about Special Forces being a
mistress.
www.specialforceshistory.info/culture/mistress.html
Movies about Green Berets. A
listing
of movies about the Green Berets, paratroopers, and legacy
units like the First Special Service Force, the Office of
Strategic Services, and other special operations units of the
past.
Cult Films. Some movies are considered 'cult
films' within the SF community.
The Green Berets,
Starship Troopers,
The Last of the Mohicans,
The Wild Geese, and
Battle of Algiers. Also, check out this site that lists 'cult' films favored by Green
Berets.
http://www.specialforceshistory.info/culture/Green-Beret-cult-movies.html
Special Forces Creed, USASOC
www.soc.mil/USASFC/SFcreed.html
Special Forces Crest. The SF crest insignia was adopted in
1960. Its design reflects both the lineage and mission of
Special Forces. It was approved as the Special Forces regimental
designator in 1984.
www.soc.mil/USASFC/SFCrest.html
Special Forces Shoulder Sleeve Insignia. The gold and teal SF
shoulder patch, originally approved in 1955, is authorized for
wear by personnel of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command and
subordinate units. The teal blue arrowhead alludes to the
American Indian's basic skills in which Special Forces personnel
are trained to a high degree. The dagger represents the
unconventional warfare nature of Special Forces operations. The
three lightning flashes reflects their ability to strike rapidly
by air, land, or water.
www.soc.mil/USASFC/Sleeve.html
Special Forces Tab. The Chief of Staff, U.S. Army approved
the wear of the Special Forces tab in June 1983 to those
personnel who successfully graduated from the Special Forces
Qualification Course (SFQC). The SF tab is sometimes referred to
as "the long tab".
www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=16094=SF-tab
Special Forces Motto. "De Oppresso Liber"
translates into "From oppression we will liberate them."
The Resister. An online and print
magazine was published by the "Special Forces Underground"
circulated within the Special Forces community in the 1990s. The
ideas expressed in the publication was critical of 'mainstream
media' and covered topics such as the 1993 assault of David
Koresh's Branch Davidian compound in Waco, the 1995 Oklahoma
City bombing, the U.S. occupation of Haiti in 1994-1995, and
NATO's 1999 intervention in Kosovo. It also weighed in on SF
specific topics closer to home at Fort Bragg, NC. The full title
of the publication was The Resister - The Political Warfare
Journal of the Special Forces Underground. View some of the
pubs online at archive.org. Read more about The Resister
in
Hoover Library Acquires Rare Underground Magazine of Army
Special Forces, Hoover Institute, August 18, 2015;
Special Forces Underground, Rotten.com; and
Special Forces Underground: A Defector in Place,
U.S. Department of Justice, 1999.
Trojan Horse Crest. This crest was worn by
members of the 10th SFGA on their berets during the 1950s. On
December 10, 1982, the 1st Special Operations Command (Airborne)
adopted the Trojan Horse part of this crest as its official
emblem.
Special Forces Prayer. The history and
origin of the Special Forces prayer by Special Forces Search
Engine.
www.prayer.sfahq.com
President John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy had a special
relationship with the U.S. Army Special Forces. Kennedy was an
astute student of unconventional warfare, political warfare, and
communist insurgencies. He advocated for a strong unconventional
warfare and counterinsurgency capability within the U.S.
military - and especially with the Army's Special Forces.
1.
SF Underground. Rumors abound about 'secret
societies' within the Special Forces community - especially
among the retired Soldiers. Read one story in
"Inside 'The Special Forces Underground'", The Fifth
Column, April 23, 2015.
Rings, Watches, Knives, etc. Special Forces
soldiers tended to wearing specific items on their person. This
is especially true for rings, watches, and knives. For many
years during the Vietnam era the standard was a Randall knife
(sometimes a Buck knife), Rolex watch, and Star Sapphire ring.
It was also bantered that to be truly SF you had to have at
least one divorce. Between Vietnam and GWOT the SF crest ring
was popular - as well as the Buck knife and demo knife. The GWOT
generation tended towards Yarborough knifes and Suunto watches.
'G-shock' and Siekio watches were also popular.
Randall Knives. During the Vietnam era . . .
and to some degree even today
Randall
knives were very popular among Special Forces troops. During
the Vietnam War SF troopers carried the Model 1, 5, 14, 15, 16,
and 18. During the GWOT era the Model 16 seemd to be the most
popular.
Tattoos and Weight Lifting. During the
several decades of the 'Cold War' the U.S. Army Special Forces
community frowned on SF soldiers getting tattoos due to
operational necessity. The prospect of conducting long-term
behind the lines unconventional warfare in Soviet-occupied
Europe discouraged getting 'inked up'. In addition, there was
more emphasis on running and rucking than 'hitting the gym'
during the Cold War era. With the beginning of the Global War on
Terror (GWOT) there was a cultural shift to SF team members
getting tattoos and hitting the gym to bulk up. Read more about
this in
"The Weight Training Puzzle: Six-Shooters, 'Six Packs', or Men
with a Sixth Sense - What Does SF Need?", by Anna Simmons,
Small Wars Journal, November 5, 2020.
Watering Holes. Some favorite places (all
former) to drink and meet with friends include:
"Annex 11" and the "Green Beret Sport Parachute Club" on FBNC
"Lulu's" on the Mekong
"Lucy's Tiger Den" in Bangkok
"The Bitter End" on Camp Lemonier
"Taliban Tavern" on Bagram
"The Pub" and "The Silver Dollar" in Fayetteville
"The Green Door" in Can Tho RVN
"El Tropico" in San Miguel, El Salvador
"Duede Azul" in Trinidad, Bolivia
Websites about Special Forces Heraldry
Special Forces Heraldry - Special Forces Search Engine
www.groups.sfahq.com/sf_heraldry/index.htm
Special Operations Forces (SOF) News
www.specialforcestraining.info/SOF-News.html
Endnotes
1. For more on President Kennedy and the Green Berets:
See
"Green Berets" on the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and
Museum website.
www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Green-Berets.aspx and
"The Green Berets and Kennedy: Two legacies forever united",
Army.mil, November 21, 2019.
Keith Nightingale provides an 'inside perspective' on how the U.S. Army Special Forces was authorized to wear the Green Beret. (LinkedIn, Oct 12, 2020).
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/battle-beret-a-never-ending-campaign-keith-nightingale/
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