7th Special Forces Group (United States)

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7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Special operations force
RolePrimary 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)
Part of
War on Terror
Commanders
Current
commander
COL Pat Nelson
Insignia
Former 7th SFG(A) recognition bar, worn by non-special operations qualified soldiers—in lieu of a beret flash—from the 1960s to 1984[5]
1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) shoulder sleeve insignia, worn by all 1st SFC(A) units

The 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (7th SFG) (A) is an operational

War on Terror.[7]
The 7th SFG has lost more SF soldiers in the
Global War on Terrorism
than any other SFG.

History

World War II

The 7th SFG(A) traces its lineage to the 1st Company, 1st Regiment,

The Devil's Brigade
" for fighting with distinction at the Anzio beachhead in Italy. It was the first Allied unit to enter Rome in June 1944. The commander of the 1st Regiment, Colonel Alfred C. Marshall, was killed in action leading that assault. The Force next served as an amphibious spearhead for the Allied landings in southern France in August 1944. The high rate of casualties from these campaigns made it necessary to disband the First Special Service Force at Menton, France on 5 December 1944.

77th Special Forces Group

The 77th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was activated at Fort Bragg, NC on 10 November 1953 under command of Lieutenant Colonel Jack T. Shannon. Its motto was "Any Thing, Any Time, Any Place, Any How." The group built rapidly from an initial strength of only 200 soldiers. The 77th Group wore their famous Green Beret headgear for the first time in a retirement parade for

Project Hotfoot
in an effort to forestall Communist encroachment in that kingdom. The group also deployed teams to South Vietnam in 1960 to train Vietnamese ranger and special forces personnel.

Reorganization as 7th Group

In 1960, the 77th was reorganized and redesignated as the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces. In the 1960s, the need for mobile training teams exceeded the capability of the US military, so the 7th Group provided the cadre for the 3rd Special Forces Group and the 6th Special Forces Group.

Vietnam

The 7th Group was active early in the

Latin America

Beginning of operations in Latin America

At the same time, Special Forces were expanding into

8th Special Forces Group.[citation needed] 8th Group was deactivated in 1972 and the unit redesignated as the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group.[citation needed] The entire 7th Special Forces Group was scheduled for inactivation on 1 October 1980, and was unfunded after that in the completed and approved US Army Program Objective Memorandum (POM). Army Chief of Staff General Edward C. Meyer reversed the decision after USSOUTHCOM briefings and discussions with LTG Wallace H. Nutting, the CINCSOUTH, and LTC Charles Fry, the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group commander, regarding the growing threat to Central America and the need for U.S. Army Special Forces to respond to the threat.[citation needed
]

Special Forces Activities in El Salvador

Throughout the 1980s, 7th Special Forces Group played a critical advisory role for the

counter-insurgency force under the tutelage of 7th Group. Due to the success of special forces in El Salvador,[citation needed] the 3rd Special Forces Group
was reactivated in 1990.

Special Forces Activities in Honduras

The 7th Special Forces Group played an important role in preparing the Honduran military to resist and defeat an invasion from Nicaragua.[citation needed] 7th Group also trained the Honduran military in counter-insurgency tactics, which enabled Honduras to defeat the Honduran communist-backed guerrillas.[citation needed]

Counter-Narcotics Operations

7th Special Forces Group also became involved in counter narcotics operations in the Andean Ridge countries of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The goal was not just to stop the flow of drugs into the United States, but to stem the violence that resulted from the drug trade in those countries.[citation needed]

Beginning of Operations against Manuel Noriega

During the 3 October 1989 coup against

Operation Just Cause to restore democracy to Panama. The 7th Group conducted combat operations on D-Day against multiple strategic targets. Over the next two weeks, 7th Special Forces Group conducted many reconnaissance and direct action missions in support of the operation.[citation needed
]

Raid to destroy Radio Nacional equipment

The 7th SGF was stationed in Hangar 450, at Albrook Air Force Station.[citation needed] The Panamanian radio station called Radio Nacional broadcast recordings of pro-Noriega propaganda to encourage the Panamanian population to continue fighting as an insurgency against the Americans. As the 7th SFG high command wanted the propaganda broadcasts to be disabled, a force of 7th SFG operators was sent in to disable the broadcasts. They would be going in with little intelligence. A team of operators flew in on helicopter transports to the radio station and fast-roped onto the roof of the seventeen-floor building, while a ground team attacked from below. The Americans had speed and surprise on their side. They blew the radio antenna off the roof with explosives, then assaulted the radio stations offices. There was no staff present and the broadcast source was an automated recording. The operators destroyed the radio equipment with rifle rounds and explosives, causing the automated radio transmissions, which were on the AM band, to cease. The operators then began to exfiltrate, but at one point, they were confronted by an armed civilian security guard, aiming his weapon at them. Not wishing to kill him, they shot him in the shoulder, then treated the injury and turned him over to Panamanian firefighters responding to the fire. The force then safely returned to hangar 450.[9][citation needed]

Successful Destruction of pro-Noreiga broadcasts

After the American Special Forces operatives came back to Hangar 450. They deployed again to destroy the FM broadcasts of pro-Noreiga propaganda. The American commandos placed demolition charges which finally and successfully destroyed the remote FM antenna. After successfully destroying the antenna, the broadcasts were finally off the air.[10]

Final Stability Operations

When combat operations ceased, Operational Detachments-A and -B fanned out over the entire country, living in villages with the people. 7th Group soldiers restored public utilities such as water and power while maintaining a watch on the (then) new Panamanian Police Force. Non-commissioned officers served as temporary judges and mayors gaining enormous support from the populace.

Global War on Terrorism

Since early 2002, the 7th SFG has deployed almost nonstop in support of

Global War on Terrorism than any other SFG.[citation needed
]

Relocation

In 2011, 7th SFG(A) relocated from

Subordinate units

Special Forces Group organization in the Vietnam era
Current structure of the 7th SFG(A)

Gallery

  • Soldiers from 7SFG(A) practice SPIE techniques from a MH-47 Chinook at Eglin AFB, February 2013
    Soldiers from 7SFG(A) practice SPIE techniques from a MH-47 Chinook at Eglin AFB, February 2013
  • MH-60L from 160th SOAR deploys an ODA from 7th SFG(A) on board a U.S. submarine
    160th SOAR
    deploys an ODA from 7th SFG(A) on board a U.S. submarine
  • Lieutenant R. Gutierrez from A Co, 1st Bn, 7th SFG(A) gives an Afghan boy a coloring book in Kandahar Province during a meeting with local leaders, September 2008
    Lieutenant R. Gutierrez from A Co, 1st Bn, 7th SFG(A) gives an Afghan boy a coloring book in Kandahar Province during a meeting with local leaders, September 2008
  • Honduran Tigers during a shooting drill at an Eglin Air Force Base range
    Honduran Tigers during a shooting drill at an Eglin Air Force Base range

Notable soldiers

References

  1. ^ a b Stanton, Doug (24 June 2009). "The Quiet Professionals: The Untold Story of U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan". Huffington Post.
  2. ^ "Most Popular E-mail Newsletter". USA Today. 9 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Red Empire welcomes familiar face to take command". US Army. 19 June 2017.
  4. ^ "7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) changes command". NWF Daily News. 18 July 2019.
  5. , last accessed 29 March 2019
  6. ^ Army Special Operations Forces Fact Book 2018 Archived 19 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, USASOC official website, dated 2018, last accessed 28 July 2019
  7. ^ "7th SFG". 7th Special Forces Group webpage. Archived from the original on 28 March 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  8. ^ "7th SFG". 7th SFG at Global Security. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  9. ^ "ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE - The 617th SOAD and 3rd Battalion, 7th SFG in Panama, 1989–1990". arsof-history.org. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  10. OCLC 57312001
    . Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  11. ^ "7th SPECIAL FORCES GROUP (AIRBORNE) BRAC INFORMATION BRIEFING" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011.