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19th Special Forces Group (United States)
Encyclopedia
The 19th Special Forces Group is one of two National Guard groups of the United States Army Special Forces
. Headquartered in Draper
, Utah, with detachments in Washington, West Virginia
, Ohio
, Rhode Island
, Colorado
, California and Texas, the 19th SFG shares responsibility over Southwest Asia
with the 5th Special Forces Group
, and the Pacific with the 1st Special Forces Group
.
, Utah, the soldiers of the 19th SFG received their parachuting
instruction at Fort Benning until the mid-1970s when the idea was born for a cost effective course to be taught for the 19th SFG, and other western U.S.-based military components, in the western territory of the country. In keeping with the rigorous high standards of the Airborne, the Aerial Fire Depot, a Smokejumper
base founded around 1940 in Missoula
, Montana, was selected as the site, and the first course was completed there in May 1978. This experiment was short lived. 19th SFG(A) paratroopers now attend the same Airborne training as their active duty counterparts and every other paratrooper in the US military at Fort Benning, Georgia. The group, headquartered in Utah
, draws soldiers from more than a dozen states across the country and is deployed in support of Special Operations in various places around the world. Their official motto is De Oppresso Liber
(Latin
: "To Liberate the Oppressed"), a reference to one of their primary missions to train and assist foreign indigenous forces.
Also had a in 1969 a Detachment from Buffalo, New York
In April 2007, the 5th Battalion of 19th SFG and troops from the 2nd Battalion were called to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The unit came home with no deaths and very few minor injuries.
On September 2008, the following units of the 19ths SFG were called to active duty (Operation Enduring Freedom XIII)
United States Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with six primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue, and...
. Headquartered in Draper
Draper, Utah
Draper is a city in Salt Lake and Utah Counties in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Between 1990 and 2000 Draper was Utah's fastest-growing city over 5,000 people . Its population in 1990 was 7,143 and had grown to 25,220 by the 2000 census...
, Utah, with detachments in Washington, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, California and Texas, the 19th SFG shares responsibility over Southwest Asia
Southwest Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within Asia...
with the 5th Special Forces Group
5th Special Forces Group (United States)
The 5th Special Forces Group is a United States Army Special Forces unit that was activated on 21 September 1961 during the Cold War.-Unit history:...
, and the Pacific with the 1st Special Forces Group
1st Special Forces Group (United States)
The 1st Special Forces Group is a U.S. Army Special Forces unit that was activated on 24 June 1957 at Camp Drake, Japan.-Unit history:It was among the first groups of the Special Forces to be officially formed. The group is responsible for operations in the Pacific...
.
History
Activated on 1 May 1961 in Salt Lake CitySalt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Utah, the soldiers of the 19th SFG received their parachuting
Parachuting
Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...
instruction at Fort Benning until the mid-1970s when the idea was born for a cost effective course to be taught for the 19th SFG, and other western U.S.-based military components, in the western territory of the country. In keeping with the rigorous high standards of the Airborne, the Aerial Fire Depot, a Smokejumper
Smokejumper
A smokejumper is a wildland firefighter who parachutes into a remote area to combat wildfires.Smokejumpers are most often deployed to fires that are extremely remote. The risks associated with this method of personnel deployment are mitigated by an extremely well developed training program that has...
base founded around 1940 in Missoula
Missoula, Montana
Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...
, Montana, was selected as the site, and the first course was completed there in May 1978. This experiment was short lived. 19th SFG(A) paratroopers now attend the same Airborne training as their active duty counterparts and every other paratrooper in the US military at Fort Benning, Georgia. The group, headquartered in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, draws soldiers from more than a dozen states across the country and is deployed in support of Special Operations in various places around the world. Their official motto is De Oppresso Liber
De Oppresso Liber
“De Oppresso Liber” is a motto of one of the United States Army’s Special Forces Groups, Green Berets. Members of this Elite Fighting Unit and more broadly, know this to mean: “The Oppressed Freed”, or, “The Oppressed Liberated” and as such, so also is their training and mission, straightforward...
(Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
: "To Liberate the Oppressed"), a reference to one of their primary missions to train and assist foreign indigenous forces.
Also had a in 1969 a Detachment from Buffalo, New York
Activation
On 13 November 2002, the following units of the 19th SFG were called to active duty:- A Company, 1st Bn SFG—Fort LewisFort LewisJoint Base Lewis-McChord is a United States military facility located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis-McChord....
, Washington - C Company and Support Company, 2nd Bn/19th SFG—Kenova, West Virginia
- B Company, C Company, and Support Company 1st Bn/19th SFG—Utah
- A Company, 2nd Bn/19th SFG—Rhode Island
- B Company, 2nd Bn/19th SFG—Ohio
- A Company, B Company, C Company and Support Company from the 5th Bn/19th SFG—Colorado
In April 2007, the 5th Battalion of 19th SFG and troops from the 2nd Battalion were called to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- A Company (California National GuardCalifornia National GuardThe California National Guard is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of California. It comprises both Army and Air National Guard components and is the largest national guard force in the United States with a total authorized strength of 22,900 soldiers and airmen...
) - B Company (Colorado National GuardColorado National GuardThe Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is a state agency of the Government of Colorado. It supervises both the Colorado National Guard , and non-military state safety agencies.The Department consists of the Department of Military Affairs, and the Division of Veterans' Affairs, and...
) - 5th Bn/19th SFG Headquarters and Support Company, 5/19th
The unit came home with no deaths and very few minor injuries.
On September 2008, the following units of the 19ths SFG were called to active duty (Operation Enduring Freedom XIII)
- A Company, 2nd Bn/19th SFG—Rhode Island
- B Company, 2nd Bn/19th SFG—Ohio
- C Company, 2nd Bn/19th SFG—Camp Dawson West Virginia
- Support Company and HHC 2nd Bn/19th SFG—Kenova West Virginia