Since the beginning, the group has been the principal organisation upon which SF units have been based. Though there have been major reorganisations, the detachment or team concept of internal organisation has remained basically the same. The group has always been commanded by a colonel.
The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was organised under Table of Organization and Equipment (TOE) 33-510, which was approved on 14 May 1952. It consisted of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) which controlled a large number of different functionally organised Special Forces Operational Detachments (SFOD). The group at this time had no organic aviation support and required additional service support elements to be fully functional. There was also no Communications Company at this time. The key to group organisation and the concept behind the SFODs was flexibility in organisation, so that tailoring for specific mission requirements could be accomplished with ease. The actual number of SFODs assigned to a given group at any given time will vary.
The HHC consisted of the staff sections and support elements required for the command and control and service support of the SFODs. All radio contact with deployed teams was maintained by a Communications Section only, which could be augmented by additional personnel and equipment in wartime.
A mixed assortment of uniforms are worn by personnel of the 8th SFGA while returning from a counter-guerrilla exercise in the Panama Canal Zone, early 1970s. (US Army)
SFODs FD, FC, and FB were deployable to the area of operations for the command and control of SFODs FA. These were, and are, commonly referred to as D, C, B, and A Teams. D, C, and B Teams each had six officers and 18 NCOs. Each team had its own complete staff of officers and NCOs, plus NCOs who gave it the same basic capabilities as an A Team.
Directly under the group was a single SFOD FD (Area). It could be deployed to the area of operations if necessary, and was commanded by the Group Commander.
Also directly under the group were three SFODs FC (District A) each commanded by a lieutenant colonel. Guerrilla units were to be organised on a district basis. This C Team could control from two to five B Teams and their subordinate A Teams. The C Team was normally responsible for the control of operations in a given country. In garrison the C Team was augmented by an Administrative Detachment AB (Battalion), together forming a provisional battalion headquarters for four or five B Teams and their subordinate A Teams. The detachment, consisting of two officers (one a warrant) and six enlisted men, provided administrative and supply functions as well as the operation of a motor pool.
Two to five SFODs FB (District B) could be attached to each C Team, depending upon the mission requirements. Anywhere from four to ten or more A Teams could be attached to each of these B Teams, which were each commanded by a major. While a C Team was responsible for the operations within a designated country, the B Team was responsible for a given region within that country. An Administrative Detachment AA (Company) would be attached to the B Team in garrison to enable it to act as a provisional company headquarters. This consisted of one warrant officer and 12 enlisted men, and provided administrative, supply, and mess support. In event of deployment of the SFODs, both the Admin. Detachments AA and AB would revert to group control and augment the logistical support functions of the HHC.
The SFOD FA (Regiment), or A Team, was and is the heart of all SF missions and operations. It was originally intended to be capable of organising, equipping, training, and advising an indigenous guerrilla force of company, battalion, or regimental size, up to 1,500 guerrillas. The original A Team consisted of two officers and 13 NCOs. Due to strength reductions at different times they could be found with an authorised strength as low as one officer and five NCOs. Regardless of its authorised strength, the A Team could be split, enabling it to function on two separate missions if necessary. The concept of the A Team was based on the OSS Operational Groups, which consisted of four officers and 30 NCOs trained in speciality skills. They too were able to split and operate separately.
A full-strength A Team in 1958 consisted of:
| Team Leader | … | Captain |
| Executive Officer | … | 1st Lieutenant |
| Team Sergeant | … | Master Sergeant |
| Weapons Specialists (four) | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Demolitions Specialists (four) | … | Specialist 2nd Class |
| Medic | … | Master Sergeant |
| Radio Operators (two) | … | Sergeant and Specialist 3rd Class |
| Radio Repairman | … | Sergeant |
National Guard and Reserve SF units were first formed in 1959. They were not organised in a group structure at that time, but the same organisational principles were present. The SF units in the West Virginia Army National Guard will serve as an example. Though they were under the control of a D Team, they were not collectively assigned to any given unit: they were merely a grouping of SFODs organised under TOE 33-510R. Located in three West Virginia communities, they comprised the 170th SFOD FD; 101st SFOD FC; 166th Admin. Det. AA; 165th SFOD FA; 167th–169th SFOD FA; 171st–176th SFOD FA. In 1961 the D Team was expanded to form the basis for HHC, 16th SFGA. The C Team became the group’s Company A, to which the expansion of some existing A Teams also contributed. Additional detachments were formed and other A Teams expanded to form Company B; and the group’s Company C was formed from existing SFODs in North Carolina.
In 1960 the SFGA underwent its first major reorganisation under TOE 31-105D. A number of internal changes increased the group’s capabilities, reducing reliance on outside support, though certain types of support attachments were still required. The group HHC was expanded by increasing the number of organic service support elements. This made it more self-sufficient, but it still required some augmentation. An SF Signal Company was added, greatly improving the group’s ability to maintain communications with its deployed SFODs, higher headquarters, and supporting units. It also provided communications equipment maintenance and photographic processing support.
An SF Aviation Company was added in 1963. For the first time—and all too briefly—the group had its own organic aviation support to provide limited air infiltration and exfiltration, resupply, reconnaissance, fire support, command and control, and communications relay. Authorised aircraft were four U-10 Heliocourier light single-engine short-take-off-and-landing aircraft; two CV-2B Caribou light twin-engine transports; four CH-34C Choctaw cargo helicopters, and two UH-1 Huey utility helicopters. The Aviation Companies were inactivated in 1965, to furnish aircraft to either the 1st Cavalry Division when it was converted to the airmobile role or to aviation units in Vietnam. The company was still part of the TOE, but none were ever again formed, forcing SF to rely on attached aviation units. National Guard and Reserve groups never received an Aviation Company.
Normally a group consisted of four lettered SF Companies, but anywhere from two to five could be assigned. The ‘F’ and parenthetical titles were also dropped from the designation of the SFODs in the 1960s. A company contained the following:
SFOD C (Company Headquarters)
Administrative Detachment (attached to the C Team)
SFODs B (three)
SFODs A (12, with four attached to each B Team)
The B and C Teams still acted as command and control elements for deployed SFODs. Both were deployable into the area of operations, but the C Team had less ability to conduct some of the same operational functions as an A Team. The C Team consisted of six officers and 12 NCOs. In conjunction with the two officers and 13 enlisted men of the Admin. Detachment, it doubled as the Company Headquarters in garrison. The B Team had six officers and 17 NCOs. It additionally had the full capabilities of an A Team. In garrison it functioned in much the same manner as a platoon headquarters for its subordinate A Teams.
The A Team was reduced to two officers and 12 NCOs. The reason for the change was to take full advantage of having two specialists in each skill, and to enhance its ability to split into two elements for the conduct of separate missions. Minor changes in duty position titles were made during this period, but the 1965 titles listed below provide a common example. As within any military organisation, the use of official terms is not always the case, and SF is no exception. The commonly used titles for duty positions are given in parenthesis following the official titles:
Vietnam veterans assigned to the 6th SFGA crossing a three-rope bridge at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. The two in the rear wear tiger-stripes while the one in the centre wears a Mike Force beret of the same pattern. (US Army)
| Detachment Commander (Team Leader) | … | Captain |
| Executive Officer (XO or, jokingly, ‘Excess Officer’) | … | 1st Lieutenant |
| Operations Sergeant (Team Sergeant) | … | Master Sergeant |
| Heavy Weapons Leader (Heavy Weapons Man) | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Intelligence Sergeant (Intel Sergeant) | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Light Weapons Leader (Light Weapons Man) | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Medical Specialist (Senior or Team Medic) | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Radio Operator Supervisor (Senior Radio Operator) | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Assistant Medical Specialist (Junior Medic) | … | Staff Sergeant |
| Demolitions Sergeant (Engineer Sergeant) | … | Staff Sergeant |
| Chief Radio Operator (Junior Radio Operator) | … | Sergeant |
| Combat Demolitions Specialist (Demo Man) | … | Specialist 5 |
From late 1968 a somewhat different A Team organisation, with 14 men, was employed by the 5th SFGA in Vietnam, the better to answer the needs of its counterinsurgency rôle:
The old type tree penetration suit is worn by an A Team waiting to board their infiltration aircraft for insertion into Uwharrie National Forest, North Carolina, early 1970s. (US Army)
| Detachment Commander | … | Captain |
| Executive Officer | … | 1st Lieutenant |
| Civic Action/Psychological Operations Officer | … | 1st Lieutenant |
| Operations Sergeant | … | Master Sergeant |
| Heavy Weapons Leader | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Intelligence Sergeant | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Light Weapons Leader | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Medical Specialist | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Radio Operator Supervisor | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Assistant Medical Specialist | … | Staff Sergeant |
| Demolitions Sergeant | … | Sergeant 1st Class |
| Chief Radio Operator | … | Sergeant |
| Assistant Intelligence Sergeant | … | Sergeant |
| Civic Action/Psychological Operations Specialist | … | Specialist 5 |
National Guard and Reserve SF units were formed into groups in 1961, and were organised under the same basic structure with some exceptions. Initially they had anywhere from one to four SF companies (two or three was the norm). They had no Aviation Company, and did not receive a Signal Company until 1966. The reorganisation of that year reduced total strength to two National Guard and two Reserve SF groups, with elements scattered throughout different states. These groups were not usually authorised a full complement of A and B Teams.
Due to the detachment designation of the SFGAs’ organic sub-units, a problem was often encountered by SF officers when credit for command time was given. The C Team was commanded by a lieutenant-colonel and the B Team by a major (a lieutenant-colonel in Vietnam from the late 1960s); but the unit they commanded was still designated a detachment, which in the US Army is defined as a unit organised as a company, but with a strength of under 80. As far as many in the Department of the Army were concerned, an A Team commander was nothing more than a glorified squad leader, even though he could command a battalion of indigenous troops with all of its responsibilities. In effect, some SF NCOs and junior officers often served on the level of captains, majors, and lieutenant-colonels with indigenous troops in the field. Not only were the careers of serving SF officers being damaged: this handicap dissuaded many other officers from seeking duty in SF. For these reasons and others, a major internal reorganisation was made in the SFGA’s TOE in 1970, although it was not put into practice until 1972 as TOE 31-105H:
The HHC was reduced in size, with many of its elements reassigned to the new Service Company. The HHC now had only the staff and planning elements it required to provide effective command and control of the group.
The SF Signal Company was changed only slightly. This was due primarily to improved equipment being introduced.
A new unit, the SF Service Company, was formed. This greatly expanded the group’s capability for logistical and service support. It also reintroduced much-needed organic aviation support with U-10 Heliocourier fixed-wing and UH-1 Huey rotary-wing utility aircraft. The U-10s have since been withdrawn due to age and have not been replaced.
An NCO accompanies a Montagnard Village Defense Corps patrol in the Vietnamese highlands, January 1963. He wears the OG 107 fatigues with M1945 jungle boots, and is armed with the M1A1 carbine. The Montagnards wear a mixture of ARVN olive green and black uniforms, the latter being standard issue to the Village Defense Corps. They are armed with M1 carbines, and the radio operator carries an AN/PRC-10. (US Army)
An SF Combat Intelligence Company was added in the late 1970s. The SFGA had previously had to rely on attached Military Intelligence Detachments for their extensive intelligence requirements; in Vietnam the 5th SFGA had ten such detachments assigned to it. The addition of this unit greatly increased the group’s operational capabilities.
Initially the group was also authorised an SF Support Battalion Headquarters to control the Service and Signal Companies; but it was determined that the group HHC could control all support units, and this was phased out in the mid-1970s.
Rather than lettered companies, the group was now organised into three numbered battalions. An overall decrease of B and C Teams was realised, as well as a slight increase in A Teams. In addition, the C Teams are now capable of being deployed (when augmented from the Signal, Service, and Intelligence Companies) with less dependence upon group, and can operate a separate forward operations base. The SF Battalion is composed of:
SFOD C (Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment)
SF Companies (three, designated A, B, C) with each containing:
SFOD B (Company Headquarters)
SFODs A (six)
The C Team is basically the same as the pre-1972 version, having eight officers and 14 NCOs, and functions in the same manner. The B Team now consists of only two officers and three NCOs. It acts solely as a command and control element. When deployed to the area of operations it will co-locate with one of its A Teams for security and support. In garrison it acts as a company headquarters for its subordinate A Teams. During the period of post-Vietnam manning cuts, there were often only four A Teams. This was done to prevent reducing the strength of all A Teams.
The A Team remains basically the same, with only slight changes in duty position titles. Due to lessons learned in Vietnam and elsewhere, the number of indigenous troops that an A Team can train has been reduced to a more realistic 500: a battalion. Rank structure is the same as the 1965 A Team.
| Detachment Commander | Medical NCO |
| Executive Officer | Radio Op. S’rvisor |
| Operations Sergeant | SF Engineer Sgt. |
| Heavy Weapons Leader | Asst. Medic NCO |
| Asst. Ops. Sgt. | Chief Radio Op. |
| Light Weapons Leader | SF Engineer |
National Guard and Reserve SFGAs were reorganised shortly after the regular groups. Some groups initially had up to six battalions, although some of these had only a headquarters. They now have three battalions each and their B Teams contain five A Teams. National Guard and Reserve groups do not have a Combat Intelligence Company, but rather a Military Intelligence Detachment. These are all Army Reserve units. The plan is to reorganise them as Combat Intelligence Companies in the near future.
In the early 1960s a new organisation, the Special Action Force (SAF), began to be formed. Its function was to provide assistance to developing countries in the form of counterinsurgency training for its armed forces and assistance in improving the quality of life for rural inhabitants.
The SFGA was the principal unit around which the area-oriented SAFs were built. Additional units capable of providing military training and civil assistance were added as required. SAFs are now referred to as Security Assistance Forces, and are not currently formed as such, but can be when required. Organised SAFs in the late 1960s and early 1970s were: SAF Asia (1st SFGA); SAF Africa (3rd SFGA); SAF Middle East (6th SFGA); SAF Latin America (8th SFGA); SAF Europe (10th SFGA).
Montagnard Mountain Commandos prepare for a reconnaissance mission disguised as local civilians, Plei Yt Commando Training Center, March 1963. The M3A1 submachine guns and grenades were concealed in the rice baskets. The blankets and loin cloths are deep blue with yellow, red and blue braiding and fringing. (US army)
The organisation of SAFs varied due to the requirements of their assigned area of responsibility. The 10th SFGA had almost no attached units, while the others had a varied mix which might include: Psychological Operations Battalion or Company; Civil Affairs Battalion or Company; and Military Intelligence, Army Security Agency, Military Police, Engineer, and Medical Detachments.
There are a number of future changes in store for the SFGA. Most of these involve improving support capabilities and easing manpower constraints. It is planned that the Combat Intelligence Company be reorganised into a Combat Electronic Warfare Intelligence (CEWI) Company combining the standard military intelligence disciplines with the electronic warfare and communications intelligence capabilities of the now dissolved Army Security Agency. The Reserve companies (now detachments) will likewise be reorganised.
It is also planned for a Special Operations Aviation Group to be activated in the future. The groups may again lose their organic aviation, but detachments from the Aviation Group will be co-located with SF and other special operations units. Procurement of additional aircraft, such as the UV-18 Twin Otter medium utility short-take-off-and-landing transport, is also planned.
The A Team, too, will go through a number of changes. Lieutenants as Executive Officers are being phased out, to be replaced by warrant officers promoted from senior SF NCOs. This has the advantage of conserving commissioned officers of whom there has often been a shortage in SF. It also provides an opportunity to retain experienced NCOs who might otherwise leave the service. It is currently planned that the A Team will be reduced to two officers and eight NCOs in 1988.