1st Special Forces Group (United States)

September 2026 March 2020 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) 1sfg.svg 1st Special Forces Group beret flash 24 June 1957 – 28 June 19744 September 1984 – present US United States of America United States 20px 1st Special Forces Command Special Operations Forces Primary tasks: Unconventional Warfare (UW) Foreign Internal Defense (FID) Direct Action (DA) Counter-Insurgency (COIN) Special Reconnaissance (SR) Counter-Terrorism (CT) Information Operations (IO) Counterproliferation of WMD (CP) Security Force Assistance (SFA) 4 Battalions: One at Torii Station, Okinawa, Japan, three in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington Joint Base Lewis-McChord First in Asiahttps://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/indigenous-approach-podcast-1st-special-forces-group-preferred-partners-indopacom Small Wars Journal INDIGENOUS APPROACH PODCAST: 1ST SPECIAL FORCES GROUP - PREFERRED PARTNERS IN INDOPACOM Vietnam WarWar on terror Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Inherent Resolve Operation Freedom's SentinelSisk Richard 26 August 2016 Green Beret Killed by IED Was on Patrol with Afghan Special Forces http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/08/26/green-beret-killed-by-ied-was-on-patrol-afghan-special-forces.html https://web.archive.org/web/20220605110613/https://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/08/26/green-beret-killed-by-ied-was-on-patrol-afghan-special-forces.html 5 June 2022 Military.com Siege of Marawi 150px|center Former 1st SFG(A) recognition bar, worn by non-Special Forces qualified soldiers—in lieu of a beret flash—from the 1960s to 1984Rottman Gordon L. https://books.google.com/books?id=pLPvCwAAQBAJ&dq=us+army+recognition+bar&pg=PT65 US Army Special Forces, 1952-84 Osprey Publishing 2012 978-1782004462 London 813846700 29 March 2019 150px|center 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) shoulder sleeve insignia, worn by all 1st SFC(A) units U.S. Special Forces Groups 3rd Special Forces Group 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. It is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions throughout the Indo-Pacific Command area of operations: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counter-insurgency, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, information operations, counterproliferation of weapon of mass destruction, and security force assistance.2018 ARSOF Fact Book 2018 https://www.soc.mil/USASOCHQ/USASOCHQFactSheet.html https://web.archive.org/web/20210318015331/https://www.soc.mil/USASOCHQ/USASOCHQFactSheet.html 18 March 2021 United States Army Special Operations Command1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/1-1sfg.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20211212182057/https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/1-1sfg.htm 12 December 2021 GlobalSecurity.orghttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/campaign/ground/specialforces.html Campaign Against Terror 8 September 2002 Frontline https://web.archive.org/web/20220203155513/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/campaign/interviews/franks.html 3 February 2022 PBS Interview U.S. Army General Tommy Franks Unit history thumb|left|1st SFG(A) operators instructing Pa Wai Airborne soldiers at Thailand in 1998. thumb|right|A 1st SFG(A) operator from the 1st Battalion armed with a SOPMOD Block II variant M4A1 carbine with other nation's Special Operations Forces (SOF) include 3 JSDF's SBU operators disembark from an MH-60S helicopter to take up fighting positions during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. The 1st Special Forces Group is responsible for operations in the Pacific. Currently, the First Battalion is stationed at Okinawa while the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and Group Support Battalions are stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.Hocker Kayla 9 December 2020 1st SFG (A) celebrates the legacy of elite forces during Menton Week https://www.army.mil/article/241648/1st_sfg_a_celebrates_the_legacy_of_elite_forces_during_menton_week https://web.archive.org/web/20220605101152/https://www.army.mil/article/241648/1st_sfg_a_celebrates_the_legacy_of_elite_forces_during_menton_week 5 June 2022 Army.mil1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) https://www.soc.mil/USASFC/Groups/1st/1stSFGHomepage.html https://web.archive.org/web/20220621063928/https://www.soc.mil/USASFC/Groups/1st/1stSFGHomepage.html 21 June 2022 United States Army Special Operations Command 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.Gibbons-Neff Thomas 17 April 2016 After 13 years, CIA honors Green Beret killed on secret Afghanistan mission The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/04/17/after-13-years-cia-honors-green-beret-killed-on-secret-afghanistan-mission/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200309212118/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/04/17/after-13-years-cia-honors-green-beret-killed-on-secret-afghanistan-mission/ 9 March 2020Piasecki Eugene G. 2009 Training the Trainers: Donald D. Blackburn and the 77th Special Forces Group (Airborne) https://arsof-history.org/articles/v5n1_blackburn_page_1.html Veritas 5 1 1553-9830 https://web.archive.org/web/20211217042501/https://www.arsof-history.org/articles/v5n1_blackburn_page_1.html 17 December 2021Briscoe Charles H. 2008 Sidebar: 8th Special Forces Group https://arsof-history.org/articles/v4n1_el_salvador_airborne_sb_8th.html Veritas 4 1 1553-9830 https://web.archive.org/web/20210717210415/https://arsof-history.org/articles/v4n1_el_salvador_airborne_sb_8th.html 17 July 2021 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 AsiaPiasecki Eugene G. 2017 Special Action Force Asia https://arsof-history.org/articles/v13n1_saf_asia_page_1.html Veritas 13 1 1553-9830 https://web.archive.org/web/20220511180129/https://arsof-history.org/articles/v13n1_saf_asia_page_1.html 11 May 2022 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 deploying to Vietnam. It also earned the Meritorious Unit Commendation for its work during the year 1973.Bowery Jr. Charles H. 7 January 2019 Lineage and Honors 1st Special Forces Group 1st Special Forces Regiment https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/sf/001sfgp1sf.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20210126133048/https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/sf/001sfgp1sf.htm 26 January 2021 US Army Center of Military History Following the war in South Vietnam, and the withdrawal of American military forces from Southeast Asia, the emphasis on military actions shifted away from the Asia-Pacific region and focused more on Europe and NATO. 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, 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, Okinawa 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, Washington.Jacobson Jake 1st Special Forces Group https://www.specialforces78.com/about-the-special-forces/1st-special-forces-group/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20210628034923/https://www.specialforces78.com/about-the-special-forces/1st-special-forces-group/ 28 June 2021 Special Forces Association Chapter 78 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. Additional ODAs conducted Humanitarian Demining Operations in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam 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 that supported the development of the Central Asian Battalion (CENTRASBAT), a regional peace-keeping force in the mid-1990s.1st SFG (A) History https://www.soc.mil/USASFC/Groups/1st/1stSFGHistory.html https://web.archive.org/web/20220621032650/https://www.soc.mil/USASFC/Groups/1st/1stSFGHistory.html 21 June 2022 United States Army Special Operations Command By the end of the millennium, 1st SFG (A) soldiers had deployed for the Stabilization Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina.July 2022 Following the 11 September attacks, members of the 1st SFG (A) deployed to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and sustained back-to-back battalion rotations to the Philippines. 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 (AFP) in order to assist the Government of the Philippines (GOP).All About the 1st Special Forces Group https://www.ourmilitary.com/first-special-forces-group/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20210226124732/https://www.ourmilitary.com/first-special-forces-group/ Feb 26, 2021 Our Military Over the next three years, 1st SFG (A) members built an significant record in the Philippines training six light infantry 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 militant cells. Throughout 2003–2004, the 1st SFG (A) deployed numerous personnel in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan respectively. By November 2004 the unit deployed an entire battalion to Afghanistan as part of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force- Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A).Loveluck Louisa 7 April 2021 U.S. and Iraq conclude talks on troop presence https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-iraq-talk-troops/2021/04/07/e9a15998-97cb-11eb-8f0a-3384cf4fb399_story.html https://web.archive.org/web/20210421062351/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-iraq-talk-troops/2021/04/07/e9a15998-97cb-11eb-8f0a-3384cf4fb399_story.html 21 April 2021 28 April 2021 The Washington Post Today, 1st SFG (A) supported the global war on terrorism with operations in the Philippines, Iraq and Afghanistan as well as maintaining US security relationships with partner nations throughout the Pacific until 2021.26 October 2020 Special Forces Soldiers Reinforce Arctic Combat Skills https://www.army.mil/article/240291/special_forces_soldiers_reinforce_arctic_combat_skills https://web.archive.org/web/20210715040655/https://www.army.mil/article/240291/special_forces_soldiers_reinforce_arctic_combat_skills 15 July 2021 Army.mil Lineage Constituted 5 July 1942 in the Army of the United States as the 2d Company, 1st Battalion, First Regiment, 1st Special Service Force, a combined Canadian-American organization Activated on 9 July 1942 at Fort William Henry Harrison, Montana Disbanded on 6 January 1945 in France Reconstituted on 15 April 1960 in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with Company B, 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion (activated 19 June 1942), and consolidated unit redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces Consolidated on 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 the consolidated unit was designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces (organic units concurrently constituted and activated 4 October 1960) Group inactivated 30 June 1974 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina Activated 1 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 redesignated as Company N, 75th Ranger Regiment – hereafter separate lineage) Redesignated 1 October 2005 as the 1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces Regiment Organization 1000px|center|thumb|Current structure of the 1st SFG (A) Campaign participation credit * signifies Earned Credit World War II: Aleutian Islands* Naples-Foggia* Anzio*, Rome-Arno* Southern France (with arrowhead)* Rhineland* War on Terrorism (Additional campaigns to be determined) 1st Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Global war on terrorism 2nd Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Afghanistan: Consolidation I Decorations Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered PACIFIC AREA 1972–1973 Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered ASIA 2002 Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered SOUTHWEST ASIA 2014–2015 Army Superior Unit Award, Streamer embroidered 2013 Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered JULY-AUGUST 1972 1st Special Forces Battalion elements entitled to: Company A, 1st Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered EASTERN AFGHANISTAN FEB-SEP 2012 Company C, 1st Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN IRAQ 2007 Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered CENTRAL IRAQ 2008–2009 2nd Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN 2013–2014 Company A, 2d Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered IRAQ JUL 2009-JAN 2010 Company B, 2d Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Presidential Unit Citation (Navy), Streamer embroidered HELMAND RIVER VALLEY 2010 Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN MAY-NOV 2013 Company C, 2d Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN IRAQ 2007 Army Superior Unit Award, Streamer embroidered 2017 3rd Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN 2011–2012 Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered WAR ON TERRORISM 2011–2012 Company A, 3d Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN JUL-DEC 2016 Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN JUN-AUG 2010 Company B, 3d Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN AUG 2010-APR 2011 4th Special Forces Battalion entitled to: Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN 2011–2012 Army Superior Unit Award, Streamer embroidered 2016–2018 Support Battalion elements entitled to: Company A, Support Battalion entitled to: Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered AFGHANISTAN MAY 2011-FEB 2012 References http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/sf/001sfgp1sf.htm Lineage and Honors 1st Special Force Group External links 1st SFG, SOC.mil Archived GlobalSecurity.org Archived Category:Military units and formations established in 1957 Category:Military units and formations in Washington (state) Special Forces 001