US Army Part 4: The Green Berets

Part 4: The Green Berets

“Fearless men who jump and die”

US Army Special Forces had its genesis during WWII when the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was created.

The OSS mission definition was intelligence gathering, support of resistance movements, and sabotage. Toward these ends, the OSS created “Jedburgh” teams (named after the English town where they trained) consisting of three men: a leader, an executive officer, and a radio operator. Normally the radio operator was American, one officer was Free French, and the other American. They parachuted into Nazi-occupied France to conduct sabotage and guerrilla warfare, and to lead French guerrilla forces (called the manquis) against the Germans. They provided advice, expertise, and leadership, and arranged airdrops or arms and ammunition.

In 1952, the Army Special Forces were formed by recruiting former OSS

They were trained in at least two of the basic Special Forces skills: intelligence, communications, demolitions, weaponry, and medical aid, as well as how to operate behind enemy lines with little or no outside support. Special Forces units were organized into “A” teams consisting of two officers and ten enlisted men. Special Forces units had worn a green beret since it was designed by Major Herb Brucker in 1953. He got the idea from the berets worn by the elite troops in European armies, but his green beret was not officially authorized Army Headgear. President John F. Kennedy became a big supporter of Special Forces because he appreciated the value of elite troops and he considered the green berets that were worn by many Special Forces soldiers to be ”symbolic of one of the highest levels of courage and achievement of the United States military.” Kennedy’s support was instrumental in convincing the Army to make the green beret the official headgear of all Special Forces units in 1961. Thereafter, all Special Forces units were known as Green