Special Forces NCO History

Specialized forces have been on this continent since the days of the French and Indian War if one includes Native American warrior societies. Limiting the discussion to the European peoples who migrated to this continent, however, we know that troops such as Roger's Rangers(commanded by Major Robert Rogers during the Revolutionary War) were unconventional forces employing specialized techniques (U.S. Army Special Forces, 1998). The men comprising the preliminary stages of Special Forces were the elite of the elite. These men were most often the equivalent of today's Special Forces NCO. They fought in terrain that challenged even the most skilled of normal troops, occasionally employing hand-to-hand combat, but most often relying on their own wits to sabotage and interfere with enemy activities. The tradition they created would become part of the of the American Revolution with Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox), the Civil War with the Confederate Colonel John Singleton Mosby (the Gray Ghost), and on into World War II. It was during the period centering around World War II where special operations troops would find ultimate acclaim with units such as the Devil's Brigade, Darby's Rangers, Merrill's Marauders and the Alamo Scouts (U.S. Army Special Forces, 1998). Specialized forces were also employed in Korea and in Vietnam as well as numerous other places around the world. They wreaked havoc on the enemy, oftentimes against overwhelming odds.