The origins of the famous ‘green beret’ date back to World War II, when OSS commandos—among the first special forces in US history—adopted the headgear while serving in France.

The Green Berets are US Army Special Forces, with a defining mission of unconventional warfare—specifically, operating with and training resistance forces. Established during the Cold War for the purpose of infiltrating Soviet-controlled territories and assisting indigenous resistance movements to wage guerrilla warfare, the Green Berets are a small number of highly trained Americans capable of generating influence far beyond what their personnel numbers would suggest.

The Origin of the Green Berets

World War II showed all major combatants the usefulness of “special forces” teams—elite commando units equipped to do battle in unusual conditions, including behind enemy lines. The British founded a specialized “Commando” unit in 1940 for this purpose, while the US Army created the Army Rangers in 1942. The US government also set up the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), its first civilian intelligence agency, whose Special Operations Branch trained commandos in spycraft, foreign language skills, infiltration, and psychological warfare.

The emergence of the Cold War—and the need for a greater US presence all around the world—created a demand for such specialized commandos well into the future. On June 11, 1952, Colonel Aaron Bank established the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), the first formal special forces unit in the US Army. (The unit was reportedly given the “10th” moniker in order to give the Soviet Union the impression that there were nine other units like it in service.) Bank, a former leader in the OSS, served as the unit’s first commander. Following a series of administrative changes, it was re-established as the 7th Special Forces Group in 1960 and based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where it remains to this day.

The unit’s distinctive choice of headgear reflected its hybrid origins. Many OSS personnel had worn berets while in France, and green had been the color of the British commandos. However, as the US Army did not allow berets as official headgear, the distinctive berets could be worn only in the field. Still, they gave the unit a distinctive identity, and in 1962, President John F. Kennedy formally authorized their use, describing them as “a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom.”

<iframe src=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fusasoc.mil%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0V4Cn6vzUZZh88BzVDAWabWEyCEkHD1dHEBkc6trS93uusoM9YnmVYLzPs17woLEbl&show_text=true&width=500″ width=”500″ height=”737″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”true” allow=”autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share”></iframe>

De Oppresso Liber: The Green Berets’ Core Philosophy

The Green Berets spent the next six decades living up to Kennedy’s words.

Operating with the motto De Oppresso Liber, “To Free the Oppressed,” there are around 7,000 Green Berets in the United States today, both in active duty and in the National Guard reserve. Each Green Beret team consists of basic fighting units of 12-man Operational Detachment Alphas (ODAs) known as the “A-Team.” An ODA typically features a detachment commander, warrant officer, operations sergeant, intelligence sergeant, two weapons sergeants, two engineer sergeants, two medical sergeants, and two communications sergeants. The redundancy in each role is deliberate: if one specialist is killed, wounded, or separated, another can perform the same job. But members still cross-train extensively. They also receive language and cultural training, because persuading or advising foreign fighters often requires fluency.

The core mission sets of the Green Berets are unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and security-force assistance. Indeed, unconventional warfare is what most clearly separates Green Berets from other commando units built principally around raids. The basic Green Beret model is built on long-term relationships with local allies; its mission set features infiltration, establishing contact with friendly indigenous forces, assessing their competence and political dynamics, organizing and training them, supplying the team with weapons and equipment, coordinating intelligence and (if necessary) American supporting fire, and ultimately turning that indigenous force into a strategic asset. The Green Berets are a way to leverage local forces to do what America needs, without America having to do absolutely everything themselves.

How the Green Berets Fit in America’s Special Forces

The Green Berets are regarded as a Tier 2 “Special Mission Unit,” comparable to the Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, but below the most elite Tier 1 units (the Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, and the Air Force’s Task Force White).

The unit is nominally a part of the US Army, and its members are recruited from the Army. However, it falls outside the traditional Army chain of command, reporting to the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), as other special forces units do.

As with other special forces units, the recruitment process is grueling and highly selective, lasting roughly 1.5 to 2.5 years with a dropout rate of roughly 75 percent. However, given the psychological nature of the Green Berets’ mission profile, their training is somewhat different from other special forces units, with an emphasis on cultural and linguistic fluency in addition to raw combat skills.

How Are the Green Berets Different from Other Special Forces Units?

It is useful to understand the distinction between the Green Berets and other special forces elements. The Army Rangers are light infantry, capable of larger raids and airfield seizures. Delta Force is highly specialized for national-level counterterrorism, hostage rescue, and direct action. The Navy SEALs are maritime-oriented with broad direct-action and recon capabilities. But when the objective is to enter a foreign country and convert a friendly guerrilla force into an effective fighting force, there is no better unit than the Green Berets.

From a tactical perspective, the Green Berets emphasize stealth, mobility, autonomy, and improvisation. Crucially, because an ODA may operate in hostile areas far from conventional American forces, they must often solve their problems independently. As far as training indigenous forces, Green Berets can train others in infantry tactics, ambushes and raids, recon, demolitions, comms, weapons, and guerrilla operations. And when needed, Green Berets can coordinate US assets, like air power, artillery, ISR, and logistics, giving relatively unsophisticated troops access to enormous support. 

The most famous example of Green Beret activity took place in 2001 during the US invasion of Afghanistan, when Green Berets worked alongside Northern Alliance fighters—serving as a critical force multiplier for allied Afghan ground forces while calling in devastating American airstrikes against the Taliban.

For equipment, the Green Berets’ loadout completely depends on the mission. There is no standard loadout. The Berets commonly use the M4A1 carbine, suppressed weapons, pistols, machine guns, sniper rifles, and anti-armor systems. There is a heavy emphasis on night-vision devices, thermal optics, encrypted radios, satellite communications, GPS/navigation equipment, drones, and laser target-designation equipment.

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a writer and attorney focused on national security, technology, and political culture. His work has appeared in Tablet, City Journal, The Hill, The Spectator, and The Cipher Brief. He holds a JD from the University of Oregon and a master’s in Global & Joint Program Studies from NYU. More at harrisonkass.com.

The post What Makes the ‘Green Berets’ Unique (Other Than Their Hats) appeared first on The National Interest.