The History of Robin Sage
U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School
For more than 50 years the Robin Sage exercise has been the litmus test for Soldiers hoping to earn the coveted Green Beret of the Special Forces. It is during Robin Sage, held in the rural counties of North Carolina, that Soldiers must put all the skills they have learned throughout the Special Forces Qualification course to the test in an unconventional-warfare training exercise.
In 1952 Colonel Aaron Bank, the man known as the father of Special Forces, created Robin Sage which was designed to put Soldiers in “real world” scenarios that would test their training and adaptability. The first exercise was played out in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia and later in the Pisgah and the Uwharrie National Forests in North Carolina.
In its earlier days, the exercise was known as Cherokee Trail and Gobbler’s Woods; however, the current operation derives its name from the town of Robbins, N.C., a central area of operations for the exercise, and former Army Colonel Jerry Sage, a World War II veteran and an Office of Strategic Services, or OSS, officer who taught unconventional-warfare tactics.
Robin Sage Facts
- The exercise is conducted over 8,500 square miles.
- Conducted in 15-county area: Alamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Chatham, Davidson, Guilford, Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly and Union.
- Approximately 1,000 people participate in the exercise including students, cadre, civilian auxiliary and military role players.
- Approximately 400 North Carolina residents volunteer support for each iteration of Robin Sage.
- Robin Sage is conducted 8 times per year and is part of the Special Forces Training Pipeline.
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