Term Paper on "History of Special Operations in the United States Army"

Term Paper 4 pages (1355 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

History Of Special Operations in the United States Army

The operational elements of the Army Special Forces can be traced to the units of the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, OSS, which infiltrated metropolitan France during World War II. The tasks of the OSS units were to organize, train, supply and direct the Maquis of the Forces Francaises de I'Interieur, FFI, in order to support the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, Operation Overlord, and the invasion of Southern France, Operation Dragoon, in August 1944. Although the Army Special Forces is not a direct descendant of the OSS units employed in other parts of the world, the organization and the mission of the operational detachments of the original 10th Special Forces Group are very similar to the organization and activities of the OSS Operational Group, or "OG, that became Company B, 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion, Separate (Provisional) in August 1944."

The concept of the OG's, which was inspired by Major General William Donovan, was to use American soldiers who had "language skills and were trained in commando-type tactics;" they would "provide training and material support for the resistance, and would form the nucleus for local resistance forces" that would "attack enemy facilities and lines of communication deep behind the lines." The majority of the training, which emphasized physical training, demolitions, special weapons and offensive operational techniques of guerrillas, was based on the experience of British commandos.

Major Cox commanded the French OG's, who were organized as a field-service headquarters, FSHQ, referred to as Unit B, 1st Contingent Operational Groups, 2677 Headquarters Company 055, in North Africa. Compared to the SF B-detachment of years later, the FSHQ, which consisted of eight officers and twenty enlisted men, "included the operations, medical, communication, supply and administrative personnel who were active in the training, preparation, deployment and support of the OG's in the operational area."

After World War II, Colonel Aaron Bank, Colonel Wendell Fertig and LTC Russell Volckmann took their OSS experience and formulated the principles of "unconventional warfare" that became the foundation of the Special Forces. According to the Army's official Lineage and Honors, the Special Forces Groups are linked to the regiments of the First Special Service Force, that elite group of Canadian-American forces who fought in North Africa, Italy, and Southern France. The SF sprung from the Special Operations Division of the Psychological Warfare Center that was established at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in May 1952, now known as the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. In September 1953, the 10th Special Forces Group left for Bad Tolz, Germany, and the remaining cadre at Fort Bragg formed the 77th Special Forces Group, which became the 7th Special Forces Group in May 1960.

In 1953, Special Forces Soldiers, deployed from the 10th SFG to Korea, saw their first combat when they worked with partisan forces who were conducting operations behind enemy lines, and during the late 1950's and early 1960's, Special Forces Soldiers worked with the Royal Laotian Army in Laos.

Operation WHITE STAR was the precursor to Special Forces operations in Viet Nam. In Viet Nam, Special Forces teams worked as advisors to the Vietnamese Army and the Civilian

Irregular Defense Forces, trained and led quick reaction units called Mike Forces and conducted cross-border operations as the Studies and Observation Group, MACV-SOG. 5th Special

Forces Group was formed as the requirement for Special Forces troops grew.

During the fourteen years they were in Vietnam, the Special Forces set a precedence for bravery and proficiency "second to none."

Following Vietnam, the Special Forces have participated in every campaign fought by the United States Army, including Grenada, Haiti, Panama, the Balkans, and Operation Desert Storm. General Norman H. Schwarzkopf described them as "the eyes and ears" of the conventional forces and the "glue that held the coalition together." Special Forces teams played an important role in establishing the Northern Alliance coalition that "ousted" Afghanistan's Taliban government in Operation Enduring Freedom, and were crucial to the success of the ground campaign in Iraq. In Operation Iraqi Freedom, they… READ MORE

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