U.S. Army Special Forces Organization

High and Low Level Organization of Army Green Berets

Aug 15, 2009

Having earned their Green Berets, the recruits are now assigned to a particular Special Forces Group based on their interests and current needs.

The last article discussed the Special Forces Qualification Course, or “Q” Course, as well as “Robin Sage,” their final exam, which all potential recruits must pass in order to earn their coveted Green Beret. Now, the focus will be on talking about the overall organization of the U.S Army Special Forces, both from a high-level and a unit-level perspective.

Special Forces Unit Organization

The basic Special Forces unit consists of twelve men, and it called an Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA), consisting of six seniors and six juniors, each specializing in a function as discussed in the last article. A fully manned ODA consists of:

· Operations/Planning – two sergeants, one of which serves as an officer, and the other serving as an intelligence/planning operative

In case of casualties, each of these men receive some training in another man’s specialty, plus all of them are fluent in the local customs and language(s) of the area they are operating in.

A Special Forces Company consists of six ODAs (thirty-six men), and an Operational Detachment Bravo (ODB), which include communications and engineering specialists, as well as a Major and Sergeant Major commanding the entire company.

A Special Forces Battalion consists of three companies, with the addition of another support company for logistics and transportation, as well as more personnel, called Operational Detachment Charlie (ODC), for engineering, communications, and medical functions, even some civilian staff are included. It includes a lieutenant colonel commander, a major, and a command sergeant major.

Finally, three Special Forces Battalions come together to form a group. In total, each group has 1,382 personnel. Each group is under SOCOM’s command, and has an area of the world that it operates in.

U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM)

The first article in this series talked a little about SOCOM, as well as the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) - located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina - to which the Special Forces belong.

The last section discussed how a Special Forces Group is made, now to discuss where the various groups are stationed, and what part of the world they are responsible for:

· 1st Special Forces Group – located at Fort Lewis, Washington, this group services the Far East from the India/Pakistan border all the way to the west coast of the U.S.

· 3rd Special Forces Group – located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (home of SOCOM), this group is tasked with the continent of Africa.

· 5th Special Forces Group – located at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, their area of responsibility includes most of the Muslim world - the Horn of Africa and Central Asia (the Middle East). Currently, the U.S. is engaged in two major conflicts in this region (Iraq and Afghanistan), so this is the busiest out of all the SF groups.

· 7th Special Forces Group – also located at Fort Bragg, their area of responsibility includes Latin America, or Central and South America, in addition to the Caribbean. They are used extensively in anti-drug operations.

· 10th Special Forces Group – located at Fort Carson, Colorado, this group is tasked with all of Europe. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, this group spends most of its time training the armies of emerging democracies in Eastern Europe.

These are the five active-duty Special Forces groups. In addition, there are two more groups, the 19th and the 20th, who are Army National Guard units that perform certain tasks in a broad geographic area. They are not full-time SF soldiers; many have regular jobs during the week, so they are not expected to maintain peak physical fitness, and as such, are not used in combat. That is reserved for the five active-duty groups, as well as the 75th Ranger Regiment.

The 75th Ranger Regiment out of Fort Benning, Georgia is also under SOCOM’s command. It is used primarily for missions that require nothing but pure brute-strength.

The next article will talk about some of the missions Special Forces soldiers go on, which can range from parachuting behind enemy lines to rescue captured POWs, to providing humanitarian aid to a village destroyed in a battle.

The copyright of the article U.S. Army Special Forces Organization in Modern War is owned by Shri Desai. Permission to republish U.S. Army Special Forces Organization in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.