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Groups > Reserve Component
Special Forces Groups
On April 15, 1960 four reserve component Special Forces
Groups were activated - the 11th, 12th, 19th, and 20th SFG(A)s.
Some sources say the dates of activation were May 1, 1961.
HQ, 11th SFG (USAR) relocated on March 1, 1961 to Boston,
Massachusetts. HQ, 12th SFG (USAR) relocated on March 24, 1964
to Chicago, Illinois.
The 19th SFG was withdrawn from the Regular Army and allotted
to the Utah Army National Guard on May 1, 1961. The 20th SFG was
withdrawn from the Regular Army and allotted to the Alabama Army
National Guard.
Currently there are only two Reserve Component (RC) Special Forces
Groups - both are in the U.S. Army National Guard (ARNG). The 19th Special
Forces Group is headquartered in Utah with subordinate units
located across the United States - most of them west of the
Mississippi River. The 20th Special Forces Group is
headquartered in Alabama with its subordinate units being
located east of the Mississippi River.
In March 1955, the 300th Special Forces Operational Detachment,
US Army Reserve (USAR) was established in the Fayetteville, NC,
the first Special Forces unit in the Reserve component.
With 3 subordinate detachments being authorized later in 1956:
3011st SFOD in Boise Idaho, 302nd SFOD in Chicago, IL and 303rd
SFOD in Kearny, NJ. In early 1959, Special Forces Detachments
were authorized in the US Army National Guard (ARNG) in 5
states; West Virgina, Utah, North Carolina, Louisiana, and
Alabama.
In
late 1959 the USAR and ARNG Special Forces detachments went
through several reorganizations. In early 1960, the USAR and
ARNG along with their Active-Duty Special Forces components were
reorganized under the CARs System into Groups. In the USAR: 2nd
SFG, 9th SFG, 11th SFG, 12th SFG, 13th SFG, 17th SFG and 24th
SFG were authorized. In the ARNG: 16th SFG, On May 1, 1961, the 19th SFG, 20th SFG
and 21st SFG were authorized. Many of these groups were not
fully filled with personnel - some containing only a company.
In the 1960s, the Reserve Components
were directed to reorganize and reconsolidate the Special Forces
units. The Reserve Components deactivated the 2nd, 9th, 13th,
16th, 21st, and 24th SFGs. This left the Army Reserves with the
11th and 12th SFGs and the ARNG with the 19th and 20th SFGs. The two USAR SF groups were
inactivated on September 15, 1994 with several companies transferring to
the 19th and 20th Special Forces Groups.
Army Reserve Special Forces Groups
300th FD Operational Detachment - Fayetteville, North
Carolina (1955). The 300th SFOD formed on March 31, 1955, under
the sponsorship of the 77th SFG(A). Its full TO&E strength was
six officers and eighteen enlisted. The FD and three FBs were
expected to fall lunder the 77th SFG(A) during times of war. The
300th was inactivated in 1960 and then reactivated as B Company,
13th SFG(A). 13th SFG(A) was deactivated and B Company 13th
SFG(A) would become F Company 11th SFG(A). For a more detailed
history of the 300th FD see
"300th Special Forces Operational Detachment (SFOD) - USAR",
by Mat Dorn, Sentinel, April 2026.
301st FB Operational Detachment - Boise, Idaho (1956). Some
sources say it was based in San Francisco, CA in the Sixth Army
area. It had the FB, AA, and 10 FA teams.
Another source states that the 301st SFOD(FC) was organized
in Boise Idaho, on 27 March 1959. It had sub-detachments, Team
FAs found in Washington, Montana, Oregon, and California. The
units in San Franciso were subordinate detachments to the 301st.
(via Matt Dorn, researcher on RC/NG SF units).
302nd FB Operational Detachment - Chicago, Illinois (1956).
It had the FB, AA, and 10 FA teams.
303rd FB Operational Detachment - Kearny, New Jersey (1956).
It had the FB, AA, and 10 FA teams.
2nd Special Forces Group
9th Special Forces Group
11th Special Forces Group
12th Special Forces Group
13th Special Forces Group
17th Special Forces Group
24th Special Forces Group
Army National Guard Special Forces Units
101st Special Forces Operational Detachment (FC)
102nd Special Forces Operational Detachment (FB)
16th Special Forces Group [1]
19th Special Forces Group
20th Special Forces Group
21st Special Forces Group
4th Special Forces Group
14th Special Forces Group
15th Special Forces Group
18th Special Forces Group
22nd Special Forces Group
23rd Special Forces Group
Footnotes
[1] Based on a post by Chapter 68 of the Special Forces
Association (West Virginia) the 16th Special Forces Group HQs
was located in West Virginia.
http://www.sfachapter68.org/?q=node/4
References
Forker, Jeff, "25 Special Forces Groups", The Drop,
pages 32-36,Summer 2020
http://www.viewmycatalog.com/SFA-2Q2020-Drop/index.html
Kane, Michael A., A Partial History of ARNG Special
Forces, SCRIBD, November 1, 2009.
https://www.scribd.com/document/23795898/A-Partial-History-of-ARNG-Special-Forces
RAND Corporation, National Guard Special Forces:
Enhancing the Contributions of Reserve Component Army Special
Operations Forces, Technical Report, 2012, PDF, 87 pages.
Page 49 provides a brief history of the early reserve component
Special Forces groups.
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/technical_reports/2012/RAND_TR1199.pdf
GAO, Special Operations Forces: Force Structure and
Readiness Issues, Government Accountability Office, March
24, 1994, PDF, 58 pages.
https://www.gao.gov/products/NSIAD-94-105
USAJFKSWCS, "Reserve Component Special Operations Forces",
Special Warfare Magazine, March 1992.
https://static.dvidshub.net/media/pubs/pdf_8280.pdf
Morgan, LTC Wayne, USA, Reserve Component Special Forces
Integration and Employment Models for the Operational Continuum,
U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, PA, 1992, PDF, 59 pages.
https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a251195.pdf
Dorn, Matthew. Provided information contained in the above
paragraphs.
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