Спецназ Армии США: «Зелёные береты» и их миссии

Special operations branch of the U. S. Army

The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, is the special operations branch of the United States Army. Although technically an Army branch, the Special Forces operates similarly to a functional area (FA), in that individuals may not join its ranks until having served in another Army branch. The core missionset of Special Forces contains five doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counterterrorism, The unit emphasizes language, cultural, and training skills in working with foreign troops; recruits are required to learn a foreign language as part of their training and must maintain knowledge of the political, economic, and cultural complexities of the regions in which they are deployed. Other Special Forces missions, known as secondary missions, include combat search and rescue (CSAR), counter narcotics, hostage rescue, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian demining, peacekeeping, and manhunts. Other components of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) or other U. S. government activities may also specialize in these secondary missions. The Special Forces conduct these missions via five active duty groups, each with a geographic specialization; and two National Guard groups that share multiple geographic areas of responsibility. Many of their operational techniques are classified, but some nonfiction works and doctrinal manuals are available. Special Forces have a longstanding and close relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency, tracing their lineage back to the Agency's predecessors in the OSS and First Special Service Force. The Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) highly secretive Special Activities Center, and more specifically its Special Operations Group (SOG), recruits from U. S. Army Special Forces. Joint CIA–Army Special Forces operations go back to the unit MACV SOG during the Vietnam War, and were seen as recently as the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).

The primary mission of the Army Special Forces is to train and lead unconventional warfare (UW) forces, or a clandestine guerrilla force in an occupied nation. The 10th Special Forces Group was the first deployed SF unit, intended to train and lead UW forces behind enemy lines in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe. As the U. S. became involved in Southeast Asia, it was realized that specialists trained to lead guerrillas could also help defend against hostile guerrillas, so SF acquired the additional mission of Foreign Internal Defense (FID), working with Host Nation (HN) forces in a spectrum of counter guerrilla activities from indirect support to combat command. Special Forces personnel qualify both in advanced military skills and the regional languages and cultures of defined parts of the world. While they are best known for their unconventional warfare capabilities, they also undertake other missions that include direct action raids, peace operations, counter proliferation, counter drug advisory roles, and other strategic missions. As strategic resources, they report either to USSOCOM or to a regional Unified Combatant Command. To enhance their DA capability, specific units were created with a focus on the direct action side of special operations. First known as Commander's In extremis Force, then Crisis Response Forces, they are now supplanted by Hard Target Defeat companies which have been renamed Critical Threats Advisory Companies. SF team members work closely together and rely on one another under isolated circumstances for long periods of time, both during extended deployments and in garrison. SF non commissioned officers (NCO) often spend their entire careers in Special Forces, rotating among assignments to detachments, higher staff billets, liaison positions, and instructor duties at the U. S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. With the creation of USSOCOM, SF commanders have risen to the highest ranks of U. S. Army command, including command of USSOCOM, the Army's Chief of Staff, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Special Forces traces its roots as the Army's premier proponent of unconventional warfare from purpose formed special operations units like the Alamo Scouts, Philippine guerrillas, First Special Service Force, and the Operational Groups of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Although the OSS was not an Army organization, many Army personnel were assigned to the OSS and later used their experiences to influence the forming of Special Forces. During the Korean War, individuals such as former Philippine guerrilla commanders Col. Wendell Fertig and Lt. Col. Russell W. Volckmann used their wartime experience to formulate the doctrine of unconventional warfare that became the cornerstone of the Special Forces. In 1951, Major General Robert A. McClure chose former OSS member Colonel Aaron Bank as Operations Branch Chief of the Special Operations Division of the Psychological Warfare Staff in the Pentagon. In June 1952, the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was formed under Col. Aaron Bank, soon after the establishment of the Psychological Warfare School, which eventually became John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was split, with the cadre that kept the designation 10th SFG deployed to Bad Tölz, Germany, in September 1953. The remaining cadre at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty) formed the 77th Special Forces Group, which in May 1960 was reorganized and designated as today's 7th Special Forces Group. The Special Forces branch was established as a basic branch of the United States Army on 9 April 1987 by Department of the Army General Order No. 35.

A Special Forces company normally consists of six Operational Detachments A (ODA or "A Teams"). Each ODA specializes in an infiltration skill or a particular mission set (e. g. Military Freefall (HALO), combat diving, mountain warfare, maritime operations, etc.). Each ODA Team's number is unique. Prior to 2007, number typically consisted of three digits reflecting the Group, the specific ODB within the battalion, and the specific ODA within the company. Starting in 2007, though, the number sequence was changed to a four digit format. The first digit would specify group (1=1st SFG, 3=3rd SFG, 5=5th SF, 7=7th SFG, 0=10th SFG, 9=19th SFG, 2=20th SFG). The second digit would be 1 4 for 1st through 4th Battalion. The third digit would be 1 3 for A to C Companies. The fourth digit would be 1 6 for the particular team within that company. For example, ODA 1234 would signify the fourth ODA in Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group. Be a U. S. citizen

The Special Forces soldier trains on a regular basis over the course of their entire career. The initial formal training program for entry into Special Forces is divided into four phases collectively known as the Special Forces Qualification Course or, informally, the "Q Course". The length of the Q Course changes depending on the applicant's primary job field within Special Forces and their assigned foreign language capability, but will usually last between 55 and 95 weeks. After successfully completing the Special Forces Qualification Course, Special Forces soldiers are then eligible for many advanced skills courses. These include, but are not limited to, the Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, the Combat Diver Qualification Course, the Special Operations Combat Medic Course, the Special Forces Sniper Course, among others.

During the Green Berets' missions in other nations, they would use Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV) S Humvees made by AM General for various uses. While using purpose built technicals for patrol on rugged terrain which would help preserve the clandestine nature of their missions. They have also had access to the General Dynamics M1288 GMV 1.1 variant of the Army Ground Mobility Vehicle as well as the Oshkosh M ATV Special Forces variant MRAPs. For aircraft other than the ones used by the US military and its special forces/special operations forces units, they extensively used the CIA operated Mi 8 and Mi 17 variants of those military helicopters in Afghanistan during the initial stages of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In countries other than the U. S., the term "special forces" or "special operations forces" (SOF) is often used generically to refer to any units with elite training and special mission sets. In the U. S. military, "Special Forces" is a proper (capitalized) noun referring exclusively to U. S. Army Special Forces (a. k. a. "The Green Berets"). As a result, the terms USSF and, less commonly, USASF have been used to specify United States Army Special Forces.

The term "Operator" pre dates American Special Operations and can be found in books referring to French Special Operations as far back as WWII. Examples include A Savage War of Peace by Alistair Horne and The Centurions by Jean Larteguy. The origin of the term operator in American special operations comes from the U. S. Army Special Forces (referred to by many civilians as "Green Berets"). The Army Special Forces were established in 1952, ten years before the Navy SEALs, and 25 years before Delta Force. Every other modern U. S. special operations unit in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines was established after 1977. In Veritas: Journal of Army Special Operations History, Charles H. Briscoe states that the Army "Special Forces did not misappropriate the appellation. Unbeknownst to most members of the Army Special Operations Force community, that moniker was adopted by the Special Forces in the mid 1950s." He goes on to state that all qualified enlisted and officers in Special Forces had to "voluntarily subscribe to the provisions of the 'Code of the Special Forces Operator' and pledge themselves to its tenets by witnessed signature." This pre dates every other special operations unit that currently uses the term/title operator. Inside the United States Special Operations community, an operator is a Delta Force member who has completed selection and has graduated the Operators Training Course. Operator was used by Delta Force to distinguish between operational and non operational personnel assigned to the unit. Other special operations forces use specific names for their jobs, such as Army Rangers and Air Force Pararescuemen. The Navy uses the acronym SEAL for both their special warfare teams and their individual members, who are also known as Special Operators. In 2006 the Navy created "Special Warfare Operator" as a rating specific to Naval Special Warfare enlisted personnel, grades E 4 to E 9 (see Navy special warfare ratings). Operator is the specific term for operational personnel, and has become a colloquial term for almost all special operations forces in the U. S. military, as well as around the world.