| 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) | |
|---|---|
 3rd Special Forces Groupberet flash | |
| Active | 5 December 1963 – 1 December 1969 1 Jul 1990–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Type | Special operations forces |
| Role | Primary tasks:
|
| Size | 4 battalions |
| Part of |  1st Special Forces Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Bragg,North Carolina |
| Motto | "De Oppresso Liber" |
| Engagements | Vietnam War |
| Insignia | |
| Former 3rd SFG(A) recognition bar, worn by non-special operations qualified soldiers—in lieu of a beret flash—from the 1960s to 1984[1] |  |
| 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)shoulder sleeve insignia, worn by all 1st SFC(A) units | .png) |
| U.S. Special Forces Groups | ||||
|
The3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) – abbreviated 3rd SFG (A) and often simply called 3rd Group – is an active dutyUnited States Army Special Forces (SF) group which was active in theVietnam Era (1963–69), deactivated, and then reactivated in 1990. 3rd Group is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions:unconventional warfare,foreign internal defense,direct action,counter-insurgency,special reconnaissance,counter-terrorism,information operations,counterproliferation ofweapon of mass destruction, andsecurity force assistance.[2] The 3rd SFG (A) was primarily responsible for operations within theAFRICOMarea of responsibility, as part of theSpecial Operations Command, Africa (SOCAFRICA). Its primaryarea of operations (AO) is now Africa as part of a 2015SOCOM directive[3] but 3rd Group has also been involved in theCaribbean and theGreater Middle East. The 3rd SFG (A) has seen extensive action in thewar on terror and its members have distinguished themselves on the battlefield inAfghanistan.
3rd Group was first activated on 5 December 1963 atFort Bragg,North Carolina. The four colors of the quadrants of 3rd Group's beret flash are derived from the flashes of the pre-existing SF units from which 3rd Group's members were initially drawn (hence its original motto: "From the Rest Comes the Best"). These colors are: yellow (1st SFG (A)), red (7th SFG (A)), black (5th SFG (A)), and white (Special Forces Training Group (A)). 3rd Group was originally oriented towards the Middle East and Africa during the 1960s. The unit trained the armed forces ofMali,Iraq,Ethiopia,the Congo, andJordan – in addition to supporting theGemini 6 and7 space launches in 1965. 3rd Group also worked with the 5th SFG (A) in Vietnam. In 1966, 3rd Group transferred assumed control of the 403rd Army Security Agency Special Operations Detachment and the 19th PSYOP Company over to 5th Group.[4] With the "Vietnamization" of the conflict, the 3rd SFG (A) was inactivated in 1969 and its members were transferred back to the other Special Forces Groups. One 3rd group officer who stayed on in South Vietnam—Major George W. Petrie—was first man on the ground in theSon Tay Raid (1970) and subsequently helped plan theSaigon evacuation (30 April 1975), becoming the last SF soldier to leave the country.[5]
The 3rd Special Forces Group was reactivated in 1990. Its AO initially consisted of theCaribbean and West Africa. New group members were drawn primarily from the 5th SFG (A). At the outbreak of theGulf War, 3rd Group's only functioning battalion (1st BN) was deployed toDhahran, Saudi Arabia, for three months. Its A-Teams carried outreconnaissance andsabotage missions into denied areas of Iraq and Kuwait.[6] In February 1991, 3rd Group was tasked with the mission of securing and occupying the U.S. Embassy inKuwait City.[7] The 2nd BN and 3rd BN of 3rd Group were reactivated in 1991 and 1992, respectively. 3rd Group also took part in therestoration of democracy in Haiti in 1994.[8] In the late '90s, 3rd Group helped train forces inSenegal,Uganda,Malawi,Mali,Ethiopia, andTrinidad and Tobago, among others.[9]
In the fall of 2000, the 3rd SFG (A) was involved in training and stabilization efforts in West Africa, dubbed "Operation Focus Relief" by theState Department; the training mission was geared towards combating theRevolutionary United Front.[9]
Since9/11, the 3rd SFG (A) has been heavily involved inAfghanistan and Central Asia. Two of 3rd Group's battalions spend roughly six months out of every twelve deployed to Afghanistan as part ofCombined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan. In 2008, ten members of ODA 3336 were awardedSilver Stars for combat action during theBattle of Shok Valley. It was the largest set of citations for a single battle since theVietnam War. After the citations were read then-commander ofUnited States Army Special Operations Command,Lieutenant GeneralJohn F. Mulholland, Jr., stated:[10]
As we have listened to these incredible tales, I am truly at a loss for words to do justice to what we have heard here, where do we get such men? … There is no finer fighting man on the face of the earth than the American soldier. And there is no finer American soldier than our Green Berets. If you saw what you heard today in a movie, you would shake your head and say, "That didn’t happen." But it does, every day.
Members of the 3rd SFG were involved in the2003 invasion of Iraq. 26 soldiers from 3rd Group were given the task of securing a key crossroads near Debecka in NorthernIraq between the cities ofIrbil andKirkuk. If they succeeded, they would cut Highway 2, preventing the Iraqi army moving north intoKurdistan, and allow friendly forces to take the crucial Kirkuk oilfields. The 26 Green Berets were divided into two A-teams; ODA 391 and ODA 392, they were equipped with GMVs (Ground Mobility Vehicles), modified Humvees withM2 .50-caliber machine guns andMark 19 Grenade launchers, that could travel a thousand miles without resupply. The ODAs conducted battle training inFort Bragg,North Carolina andFort Pickett,Virginia between October and December 2002. On 8 March 2003, the ODAs flew fromPope Air Force Base toRomania and on 26 March 2003 they infiltrated northern Iraq via aMC-130 Combat Talon landing atAl-Sulaymaniya, some 60 miles east of Kirkuk. In their first few days in Iraq they participated inOperation Viking Hammer and then on 1 April 2003, they moved to Irbil and onto a staging area where they linked up with ODA 044,10th SFG and theirPeshmerga allies. On 4 April 2003, they were given a new mission, code-namedNorthern Safari, which directed them to seize the Debecka intersection until relieved by the173rd Airborne Brigade's artillery component, On 5 April, they moved into position to seize the intersection and then on 6 April they ran intoIraqi Army forces and theBattle of Debecka Pass ensued, resulting in an American and Peshmerga victory. The Special Forces secured the crossroads and endured two days of Iraqi artillery fire before moving into Kirkuk to secure the oil facilities to prevent their destruction by Iraqi forces.[11]
In October 2010, Staff SergeantRobert James Miller was posthumously awarded theMedal of Honor. On 25 January 2008, Miller's team was ambushed during a combat reconnaissance patrol inKunar Province near the Pakistan border. Miller's commander was seriously wounded within the first minutes of the attack. Wounded and under intense enemy fire, Miller pushed forward and laid down suppressive fire on multiple insurgent positions, which allowed his wounded commander to be pulled out of the line of fire and his teammates to safely reach cover. Miller single-handedly eliminated multiple insurgents before succumbing to his wounds.[12]
The 1st Battalion, 3rd SFG (A) were awarded the CanadianCommander-in-Chief Unit Commendation on 23 May 2012, for their actions duringOperation Medusa in 2006. The ceremony was presided by Major-GeneralCharles Cleveland, the commander ofUSASOC, and the award presented byCEFCOM Commander Lieutenant-General Stuart Beare, on behalf of theCanadian Monarch and theGovernor General of Canada. The 1st Battalion, 3rd SFG (A) is the first non-Canadian unit, and seventh overall, to receive this honour.[13] The citation read:
During August and September 2006, the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), United States Army, displayed extraordinary heroism and outstanding combat ability while battling insurgents in support of a Canadian-led operation in Afghanistan. After completing their initial objectives, they willingly engaged a much larger force to secure the Canadian Battle Group's flank and prevent the enemy from staging an effective counter-offensive. Outnumbered and facing a well-prepared enemy, they were relentless in their assault and eventually captured the position after days of intense fighting.
On 4 October 2017, 12 soldiers from the 3rd SFG and 30 Nigerien soldierswere ambushed in the Nigerien village ofTongo Tongo by forces of theIslamic State in the Greater Sahara. During the battle,four Americans andfour Nigeriens were killed.[14]
In 2023, a social media post drew attention for aTotenkopf patch worn on the helmet of one of the group's soldiers. A spokesperson for the group confirmed that the Nazi-inspired patch was formerly used by some elements of the group as an unofficial emblem, but use of that patch was banned in 2022 because of its connections to Nazi Germany.[15] The patch was used before and duringWorld War II by the3rd SS Panzer Division, which engaged in a number of war crimes during World War II. In recent times, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists have used the Totenkopf as a hate symbol.[15][16] In March 2024, the controversy resurfaced and drew media attention when anInstagram post from20th Special Forces Group showed a soldier wearing a variant of the patch. Initially, a public affairs officer from 20th SFG denied the association, defending and downplaying the post, claiming the patch was a "3rd group team patch taken out of context,"[17][18] The Army initially made "conflicting statements" about the patch,[19] before quickly deleting the post after receiving "hundreds of comments" of criticism, prompting an investigation.[20] According to aUSASOC spokesperson, "The use of symbols and patches depicting historic images of hate are not tolerated and a clear violation of our values," and that "We are aware of the situation and looking into the matter further."[19]
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MSC: "I came to know Captain McDonald when he reported to the 3rd Special Forces Group. I was his sponsor… In the latter part of August… 1969…"
