The 10th special forces are one of the most storied fighting forces in modern United States military history. Based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the 10th special forces were founded in 1952 and have served in every US military engagement from the Korean War to the international war on terrorism. They've produced multiple medal of honor awardees, and are commonly known as the green berets.
Since their founding, they've now moved headquarters from Fort Bragg to Fort Carson, Colorado. They stage their deployments, however, from all over the world and are considered an "action-ready" battallion, able to get to any theatre of combat in 48 hours or less and create an American presence on the ground in the most hostile of environments.
The 10th special forces move to Fort Carson came on September 15, 1995, and was the group's third permanent home after Fort Bragg and then Fort Devens, Massachusetts, where they were based from 1968 until 1995. The 1st battallion of the 10th special forces unit, however, has been based in Germany for more than fifty years now.
The 10th special forces unit is an airborne unit, meaning they can deploy from low-flying aircraft and parachute directly into a conflict. This requires extensive, extra training beyond that of normal military infantry.
When joining the army, a new recruit is given the option of pursuing different paths based upon what they desire to have as their career. "Airborne" is one of the paths offered, and for anyone who chooses airborne there is extra pay and extra traing. Airborne training is mandatory for those who choose special forces as their modus operandi in the army, which then itself requires further specialized training at an all-together new location.
A friend of mine who served a year in Iraq was with the 37th engineers, themselves an airborne regiment. He worked with special forces units nearly every day, and described them as "at a different level." He explained that their training was so severe and disciplined that they were able to overcome situations - be they enemy encounters or weather related - that had left the normal troops at a loss. This in turn raised the morale amongst all the troops deployed, and allowed them to work more effectively as a whole and approach new situations with confidence in their ability to overcome any obstacle.
Obviously the 10th special forces were a big part of that, having served with distinction not only in Iraq, but also in Tora Bora in Afghanistan in the pursuit of Al Qaeda.
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