View Full Version : Special Forces Detachment Korea redesignated
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=32305
NousDefionsDoc
10-16-2005, 19:18
Can somebody explain this to me? It sounds like a mistake to me...
They have been there as long as I recall. We always refered to them as "The Resident Team". -- a coveted assignment.
The Reaper
10-16-2005, 20:22
I know most of the guys in that article.
No idea why the name change, other than the usual desire to fix something that isn't broken.
I will have to ask someone there about it.
TR
Ah, I think the 10th is the longest serving SF unit. It split and formed the 10th and 77th (becoming the 7th). Late 50s early 60s there was the 14th Detachement and then the three others that came along and formed the 1st Group.
I'm no expert on SF History. Others can take it from here.
The Reaper
10-16-2005, 21:04
They also mistook the old Det-K unit colors for the new ones.
TR
Can somebody explain this to me? It sounds like a mistake to me...
Aha!! Now I see the question. My mind reading skills are dull lately. Someone probably traced their lineage back to the Korean war (incorrectly I think). I knew they were there but that is the extent of my knowledge. Some things just weren't meant for public knowledge just like the boys of Det-A who wore low quarters, bus driver hats and USAREUR patches. I don't think they (Det-A) were "officially" part of any Group.
i find that choice of designation...interesting...
i find that choice of designation...interesting...
All I could find on western (PACOM) detachments were:
On April 1, 1956 16 SF troopers formed the 14th Special Forces Operational Detachment (SFOD). They deployed to VN to train VN Special Forces. The first American soldier killed in VN was a Captain from that detachment and he was killed in October 1956.
Other independant detachments followed, the 12th, 13th and 16th. These three were combined to form the 8231st Army Special Operations Detachment. On june 17, 1957 the 14th SFOD joined the 8231st ASFOD and formed the 1st SFG(A).
That was all the numbered independant detachments I could find. No combination equals 39th.
Geographical ref. maybe?
Edit Info (more info)
Captain Harry G Cramer from the 14th SFOD became the first American soldier killed in VN on October 21, 1956.
Korean War - United Nations Partisan Forces - Korea (UNPF-K) conducted behind the lines operations. They were called "donkeys" by the Americans who worked with them after the Korean word for freedom Dong-il. By the end of the war they numbered up to 22,000 and claimed up 69,000 of the enemy KIA.
I figured it had something to do with the 39th parallel
I figured it had something to do with the 39th parallel
WOW!! That would be a loaded situation since the DMZ is on the 38th parallel.
Frankly, I've never discerned much logic to the numbering of military units. Who knows, the CO may be 39 years old.:D
Never said anything about the DMZ...just noting the location of the North Korean capital :D
Never said anything about the DMZ...just noting the location of the North Korean capital :D
Choson Minjujuui Inmin Konghwaguk:D
While the 38th par. was set as the dividing line at the end of WW II the North Koreans tried to change that in 1950. The DMZ now runs from just south of the 38th P. on the western side in a wiggly line north/east to almost the 39th on the eastern side.
And the North Korean capital is right close to the 39th. Anybody with map quest able to give a Geo for it's center of mass????