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Special Forces Logo Special Forces
Overview
Qualifications & Benefits
Primary Missions
Training
Team Members
Equipment
Helicopters
ALREADY A SOLDIER?

Learn the skills behind conducting Special Forces missions, train to become one of the Army's most specialized fighting Soldiers and earn the Green Beret.

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FEATURED MISSION Photo of two Special Forces Soldiers in an inflatable boat

DIRECT ACTION

Special Forces Soldiers use the element of surprise as a tactic to defeat their enemy.

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Overview
YOUR MOST POWERFUL WEAPON IS YOUR MIND

If you possess boundless ideas and creativity and you always think of new ways to organize and strategize, the Army wants to talk. Warfare today has new rules and calls for a different type of Soldier's new warrior.

You need to be mentally superior and creative, highly trained and physically tough. Alone and part of a team, you'll work in diverse conditions, act as a diplomat, get the job done in hostile situations and, at times, establish residence in a foreign country for months.

These Soldiers are part of the Army's Special Forces (SF)'the Army's most specialized experts in Unconventional Warfare.

Photo of four Special Forces Soldiers

Qualifications & Benefits

To become part of the Army's Special Forces, also known as Green Berets, you need to be mentally agile, astutely aware and physically tough, endure difficult training and face all challenges head on.

Photo of Special Forces Soldier securing a room

Primary Missions

Special Forces Soldiers are either on a real-world mission or training for one. Their missions are conducted worldwide and are sometimes classified. They range from stopping acts of terrorism to supporting the global war on terrorism to humanitarian efforts.

Photo of a desert modified HUMVEE

Training

The Army is now recruiting civilians to join the U.S. Special Forces. This is a unique opportunity to join up, receive exceptional training and find strength you never knew you had. The road to calling yourself part of the Special Forces is tough and challenging, but once there, you earn something only a select few can claim: the Green Beret.

Photo of Soldiers preparing for a helicopter mission

Team Members

Special Forces groups are organized in small teams of 12 men'a.k.a. Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA). This team structure usually consists of two each of the following: Weapons Sergeants, Communications Sergeants, Medical Sergeants and Engineering Sergeants.

Photo of a Special Forces Soldier wearing urban warfare gear

Equipment

Special Forces Soldiers use the most advanced equipment and support teams to complete their missions. But their most critical tool is their mind and their ability to think quickly and react in any situation presented to them.

Photo of two MH-60K/L Pave Hawk helicopters

HELICOPTERS

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment provides SF teams with aviation support. They operate extremely modified and advanced aircraft to bring SF teams into unfriendly territory.

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