“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 and distinct. Grammatically, Etiologically diagrammed, this phrase becomes "Just That"..., adulterated, interpreted more than transliterated, lesser actualized; intangible, convoluted, almost ethereal but nevertheless, important for historical purposes, applications and usages.

Meaning

It is US Army tradition that the phrase is Latin for "[to free from oppression]" or "[to liberate the oppressed]". However, literally translated it most likely means "Of the oppressed free," though liber can also mean book.

The only conjugation of libero that manifests as liber is the unlikely-in-this-context present passive subjunctive first person, so in this motto liber probably needs to be interpreted not as a verb, but rather as the adjective meaning "free," which, in the masculine singular form here used, may be interpreted as a noun, meaning "a free man"; while "oppressus" is not "oppression" but "overwhelmed, overthrown, overpowered, crushed." As it stands, the phrase might be translated "Out of the overthrown man, (comes/is made) the free man." (The structure resembles that of the motto "E pluribus unum

E pluribus unum

E pluribus unum , Latin for "Out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782...

": "Out of many, one.") Other translations, just as viable: "From a man caught, a man free," and "From the man seized, a man free."

This translation may have morphed over time to resemble a small portion of a famous St. Augustine quote:

The turbulent have to be corrected, The faint-hearted cheered up, The weak supported; The Gospel's opponents need to be refuted, Its insidious enemies guarded against; The unlearned need to be taught, The indolent stirred up, The argumentative checked; The proud must be put in their place, The desperate set on their feet, Those engaged in quarrels reconciled; The needy have to be helped, The oppressed to be liberated, The good to be encouraged, The bad to be tolerated; All must be loved.

Corripiendi sunt inquieti, pusillanimes consolandi, infirmi suscipiendi, contradicentes redarguendi, insidiantes cavendi, imperiti docendi, desidiosi excitandi, contentiosi cohibendi, superbientes reprimendi, desperantes erigendi, litigantes pacandi, inopes adiuvandi, oppressi liberandi, boni approbandi, mali tolerandi, omnes amandi.

Cf. Isaiah 1:17:

Learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed judge for the fatherless, defend the widow.

discite benefacere quaerite iudicium subvenite oppresso judicate pupillo defendite viduam

Lineage

The phrase stems from the exploits of World War Two OSS Jedburgh/Sussex Teams operating behind the lines in France. Colonel Aaron Bank

Aaron Bank

Colonel Aaron Bank was an officer of the United States Army, and the founder of the US Army Special Forces, commonly called "Green Berets". He is also famous for his exploits as an OSS officer during World War II, parachuting into France to coordinate and activate the French Resistance and...

, father of US Army Special Forces, and his teams enabled the French Resistance to grow and oppose the occupying German Army. The unconventional warfare

Unconventional warfare

Unconventional warfare is the opposite of conventional warfare. Where conventional warfare is used to reduce an opponent's military capability, unconventional warfare is an attempt to achieve military victory through acquiescence, capitulation, or clandestine support for one side of an existing...

 tactics of Colonel Bank differed from the conventional warfare

Conventional warfare

Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted byusing conventional military weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined, and fight using weapons that primarily target the opposing army...

tactics of the rest of the US Army in that they included clandestine support for one side of an existing conflict and that they were subversive to the Nazi forces in power.

External links

• De Oppresso Liber by Kentucky Senator Mitch Mcconnell