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Groups > 77th SFGA
The 77th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was activated at
Fort Bragg, North Carolina on September 22, 1953. The group was
formed when the 10th Special Forces Group, based at Fort Bragg,
departed for Bad Tolz, Germany. The cadre from 10th SFG left at
Fort Bragg, about 200 soldiers, formed the 77th SFG.
It's first commander was Lieutenant Colonel Jack T.
"Black Jack" Shannon.
Cadre for 1st SFG. In April 1956 four
detachments of the 77th SFG were transferred to the Pacific
theater to serve as the cadre for the activation of the 1st
Special Forces Group (Airborne) on Okinawa in June 1957.
Operation HOTFOOT. Laos was a Cold War area
of conflict between the West and the communist nations. It was
under the threat of Communist Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese
Army troops operating inside its borders. In 1959 the 77th SFG
began a classified operation to train Laotian Armed Forces
infantry battalions, armor, and artillery units on U.S. weapons
and individual soldier skills.U.S. Special Forces went to Laos
as 'contracted civilian technicians' and wore civilian clothing.
The first rotation of SF troops was under the command of
Lieutenant Colonel Arthur D. 'Bull' Simons.
Vietnam. In 1960 the group deployed teams to
South Vietnam to train Vietnamese Ranger and Special Forces
personnel.
Basing. 77th SFGA was based at Fort Bragg,
North Carolina - the home of the U.S. Army's Special Forces.
Deactivation. In 1960, the 77th SFG(A) was
designated as the 7th Special Forces Group.
Other Facts and Trivia
Motto. "Any Thing, Any Time, Any Place, Any
How".
References
Piasecki, Eugene G., "Training the Trainers: Donald D.
Blackburn and the 77th Special Forces Group (Airborne)",
Veritas, Vol. 5, No.1, 2009.
https://arsof-history.org/articles/v5n1_blackburn_page_1.html
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