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7th Special Forces Group

Home > Groups > 7th SFGA

The 7th Special Forces Group was formed up in May 1960. The 77th Special Forces Group was reorganized and renamed as the 7th Special Forces Group. in May 1962, and element of 7th SFGA departd Fort Bragg for Panama to form up the 8th Special Forces Group. In the 1960s, responding to the increased demand of Special Forces mobile training teams throughout the world, the 7th SFGA provided the nucleus for the 3rd and 6th Special Forces Groups.

Basing. For many decades 7th SFGA was based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina - the home of the U.S. Army's Special Forces. When the 8th Special Forces Group in Panama was disbanded - it formed the nucleous of the 3rd Battalion 7th Special Forces Group. Later the 3rd Battalion would move to Fort Bragg; its Charlie company going to Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico. Eventually C/3/7 would move to Fort Bragg. In 2011 7th Group would depart Fort Bragg for Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

Regional Focus. In the 1960s and early 1970s the 7th SFGA had a worldwide focus - covering those parts of the world not covered by the 10th Special Forces Group and other SF units. In time, it would concentrate on Central and South America. 7th Group played key roles in the countries of El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Colombia. It became involved in the counter narcotics fight in countries of the Andean Ridge region including Venezula, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia.

Laos. The 7th SFGA was involved in the Indochina War very early - deploying teams to Laos as part of Operation White Star.

Vietnam. Shortly after its involvement with sending training teams to Laos 7th SFGA sent teams to work in South Vietnam and Thailand.

Grenada. 7th SFGA participated in the invasion of Grenada in 1983 - Operation Urgent Fury.

El Salvador. 7th SFGA played a crucial role in adising the El Salvadorian military in its fight against insurgents in the 1980s. Read "7th SFG Stemmed the Tide, Guaranteed the Peace in El Salvador", Special Operations.com, January 21, 2019.

Panama. 7th SFGA was a key player in the invasion of Panama and overthrow of the Noriega regime. Operation Just Cause took place in December 1989 to January 1990. Operation Promote Liberty immediately followed Just Cause. Read more about Operation Just Cause and Operation Promote Liberty here.

Operation Safe Border. In early 1995, a long-standing border dispute between Peru and Ecuador resulted in armed conflict. A Military Observer Mission Ecuador / Peru (MOMEP) element was formed to provide a multinational peacekeeping force. 7th SFGA, along with SOCSOUTH, played a leading role in the resolution of this conflict.

Afghanistan. After 9/11 the 7th Special Forces Group became heavily engaged in the Afghan conflict. It's first unit to deploy was 2nd Battalion based in Kandahar in 2002 with some 7th Group staff officers and NCOs augmenting 20th Special Forces Group which had taken over command of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A) located at Bagram Air Field (BAF). Within a year the 7th SFGA would be rotating its battalions and group hqs with the 3rd Special Forces Group. Many of the officers and NCOs of 7th SFGA would also participate in the advisory effort with specialized advisory teams working with the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command and also fill out staff positions with the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan (SOJTF-A) based in Kabul. During the later part of the Afghan conflict the teams of 7th SFGA were advising the ANA Commandos, ANA Special Forces, and the Afghan Local Police (ALP). The ALP were an integral part of the USSF Village Stability Operations (VSO) program.

Operation Willing Spirit (2003-2008). 7th SFGA was a key player in the long operation to recover three U.S. Department of Defense contractors who were shot down in a reconnaissance aircraft over Colombia. They were captured by the FARC until rescued five years later.

Iraq War (2003-2011). A small number of 7th SFGA personnel also participated in selected advisory operations in the Iraq War - deploying with units of South American countries that provided troops to that conflict. For instance, SFODA 741 conducted a SFLE with the El Salvador Cuscatlan Battalion in Al Hillah, Babylon Province, Iraq circa 2004.

Other Facts and Trivia

Nickname. At some point in the 2000s the group started referring to itself as "The Red Empire".


Websites with Info about 7th Special Forces Group

7th Special Forces Group Facebook
www.facebook.com/7thspecialforcesgroup

7th Special Forces Group by Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_Special_Forces_Group_(United_States)

U.S. Special Operations Command South
www.socso.southcom.mil/default_new.aspx

7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Eglin Air Force Base
www.eglin.af.mil/units/7specialforcesgroup/

The Red 7 Newspaper. An online newspaper serving the 7th Special Forces Community.
www.thered7.net

Fact Sheet - 7th Special Forces Group, Eglin Air Force Base
www.eglin.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=19911

Profile: 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) by Military.com
www.military.com/special-operations/profile-7th-special-forces-group-airborne.html

7th Special Forces Group by Special Forces Search Engine.
www.groups.sfahq.com/7th/

Chapter 7 Special Forces Association, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
www.sfa7.com

Special Forces Association Chapter 7 Facebook
www.facebook.com/SFA07

 

 


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