It was mid-April of 2012, when I was contacted by Chuck
Stanton, US Army Retired, First Sergeant (SF). Here is an excerpt from his
original message:
“…Serge,
A bit of personal background as to why I'm
sending this email to you. I am retired U.S. Army and served with Special
Forces. In particular, the Detachment in Korea is what this is all about (I
served three years on that team). Commonly known as Special Forces
Detachment-Korea, or, Det-K, it is the longest serving forward-deployed Special
Forces detachment in US Army history. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of
that deployment.
Presently, I
along with three other former members (Team Leader, Team Sergeant Major,
Operations/Intel Sergeant, and of course, myself) are preparing a book by, and
for, the current and past members of the team. A close analogy in format would
be a high school year book, or a military unit deployment book. There, the
similarity ends. Each member is writing a short narrative of their memories as
well as providing any photos they may have. We, the four horsemen are putting
it all together and will publish the book.
I am the one who
is doing the overall design and layout of the book, and I was looking through
the WWW for some clean copies of the uniform patches we wear on our uniform
which represent the Republic of Korea Army Special Forces (ROKA SF) brigades we
advise...which is how I happen to find your webpage.
I wonder if 1.)
I can use a couple of the Special Operations emblems you have created in our
book, and, 2.) Could I convince you to see if you might do a work-up on the
ROKA SF brigade patches for us to use in our book….”
As a result of this project, I have recreated several
SFD-K patches, learned a lot about the unit, amassed considerable amount of
information about Republic of Korea Army Special Forces, and recreated patches
of the ROKA Special Warfare Command (ROKASWC), all the seven ROKA SF brigades,
as well as one Special Missions Battalion. I also expanded my Special Forces section
of the “Military Insignia 3D” project - its Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR) section to be exact, and added an entirely new chapter to my
project dedicated to the Republic of Korea Army (or ROKA for short). At the
time of this writing, the final draft of the book called “DET-K: The First
Fifty Years” (with my insignia featured in it) has been sent to the publisher,
and I can’t wait for my very own hard copy of the book! Below are the results of this adventure,
along with a few notes on the units involved…
The 39th Special Forces Detachment, 1st Special Forces
Regiment was first constituted on 27 August 1965 in the Regular Army as the
39th Special Forces Detachment, 1st Special Forces. It was activated on 1
September 1965 in Germany. Stationed in Berlin as part of US forces there, the
Detachment was primarily tasked with preparing to assist partisans in a
stay-behind capacity in the event of a Soviet seizure of Allied areas of
Berlin.
The 39th Special Forces Detachment continued the
unconventional warfare mission in Berlin mission until it was inactivated on 1
October 1984 .
The 39th Special Forces Detachment was reactivated on 16
October 2005 in Korea. Concurrently, Special Forces Detachment - Korea (SFD-K)
was inactivated and reflagged as the 39th Special Forces Detachment. In Korea,
the 39th Special Forces Detachment took over the training and other missions
previously handled by SFD-K.
Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command (ROKASWC),
(Korean: 대한민국 육군 특수전사령부)
also known as Republic of Korea Black Beret Commandos is the military command
of the Republic of Korea Army responsible for their special operation forces.
It consists of 6 brigades, and its main tasks include conducting reconnaissance
and other tasks, mostly behind enemy lines. Its tasks include but not limited
to collecting secret information in enemy territory, spotting ROK military
firepower, and carrying out other designated tasks. The Special Warfare Command
brigades are trained for wartime missions behind enemy lines. Although
information on the organization of these units was unavailable in 1990, they
probably were among the best-trained and most combat-ready forces in the army.
ROK Special Forces brigades work in close relationship
with their counterparts in the United States Army Special Forces. Volunteers
for these brigades undergo training in high skilled weapon handling and
parachuting. Units of the command include:
• Special
Warfare Training Group
• 1st
Special Forces Brigade (Airborne) 'Eagle'
• 3rd
Special Forces Brigade (Airborne) 'Flying Tiger'
• 7th
Special Forces Brigade (Airborne) 'Pegasus'
• 9th
Special Forces Brigade (Airborne) 'Ghost'
• 11th
Special Forces Brigade (Airborne) 'Golden Bat'
• 13th
Special Forces Brigade (Airborne) 'Black Panther'
• Oversea
deployment Group or Special Mission Group
(formerly - 5th Special Forces Brigade ‘Black Dragon’)
• 707th
Special Mission Battalion 'White Tiger'
The United Nations Partisan Infantry Korea (UNPIK) (주한국제연합유격군), ), also known as the White Tigers, was a unit
during the Korean War that was consolidated under the control of Eighth United
States Army, Korea's 8th Army G-3 Miscellaneous Group, 8086th and 8240th Army
Unit. Formerly known as United Nations Partisan Forces Korea, or United Nations
Partisan Infantry Korea, it was a unit comprised of Indigenous personnel with
international military advisors (US personnel assigned under 8240th Army Unit
and 8242nd Army Unit, from February 1951 to February 1954) during the KOREAN
WAR; formerly known as Combined Command for Reconnaissance Activities Korea
(CCRAK). The covert techniques established by OSS, enhanced by UNPFK and JACK,
were inherited by SOG, and have since been passed to Joint Special Operations
Command (JSOC) and US Special Operations Command (USSOC). The details about the
undercover operation was made public by the US Army in 1990. The unit worked
deep inside North Korea to gather intelligence, conduct raids and sabotage,
rescue POWs, recruit & lead guerrilla armies and create confusion in the
enemy’s rear.
The unit is widely seen as the second steppingstone
towards the setting up of a permanent special forces doctrine in the US Army. A
documentary about the unit has been produced by the History Channel as part of their
Heroes under fire series. UNPIK was disbanded in 1954.
The island Wollaedo in the Yellow Sea was used as a base
by pro-Southern partisans during the war. This position was regularly bombarded
by Northern artillery on the mainland of Cape Changsan. In 1952, a group of
partisans working together with UNPIK landed on the cape. They successfully
took control of and destroyed the artillery site, escaping with small losses.
WOLFPACK Headquarters later moved to Kanghwa-do, an
island at the mouth of the Han adjacent to the mainland. Results by these two
units were excellent By the Cease-fire, they were credited with forcing the
enemy to have 75,000 troops on security duty in Hwanghae Province alone.
Additionally, they compiled a phenomenal record of successful actions combined
with a relatively small loss record.
On May 5, 1951, the Guerrilla Section, 8th Army G3
Miscellaneous Division, became an independent Army unit - the 8086th Army Unit.
This was changed to Far East Command Liaison Detachment, Korea, FECLD-K 8240th
AU on 10 Dec 1951 and all partisan operations came under its Guerrilla
Division, United Nations Partisan Forces, Korea (UNPIK). At this time, all
division TAC-Intel (TLO units) and 8th Army positive intelligence operations
were consolidated under Combined Command Reconnaissance Activities, Korea
(CCRAK), 8240th AU. BAKER split. The training section remained at Kijang as the
1st Partisan Airborne Infantry Regiment (PAIR). The operational section moved
to K-16 (Seoul City Airport between Seoul and Yongdong-po), was redesignated
the Airborne Special Missions Platoon, and given the code name AVIARY.
This structure remained in place until December 1952 when
LEOPARD, WOLFPACK, AND TASK FORCE SCANNON (formerly KIRKLAND) were redesignated
Partisan Infantry Regiments (PIR) and UNPFK headquarters the United Nations
Partisan Infantry, Korea (UNPIK). The 1st PIR moved to Yongdong-po at this
time. All units retained these designations until disbandment in April, 1954.
The 1st Special Forces Brigade (Eagle) (1 공수특전여단 '독수리') was the original unit of the ROK Army Special Forces.
It is a very proud unit with a long heritage. 1st BDE was founded on 01 April
1958 as the 1st Combat Regiment. On 01 October 1959, it was re-designated as
the 1st Airborne Special Forces Group. In September 1972, it was re-designated
again as the 1st ROK SF BDE. The BDE is very proud to have one of 10 its former
Commanders, BG Chun Doo Hwan, serve as the President of Korea from 1980-1987.
Their Mascot is the Eagle.
The 3rd Special Forces Brigade (Flying Tiger) (3+공수 특전 여단 '플라잉 타이거')
was founded on 18 January 1969 as the 1st Ranger BDE. On 10 September 1972, the
unit was re-designated as the 3rd ROK SF BDE. Although all the BDE’s practice martial arts, the 3rd BDE is well known for its
Tae-Kwon-Do. They performed Tae-Kwon-Do demonstrations in the 1986 Seoul Asian
Games, 1988 Seoul Olympics, and the Annual Armed Forces Day Demonstrations.
Their mascot is the Flying Tiger.
The Special Mission Group (Black Dragon) (특수임무단 (흑룡)), formerly – 5th Special Forces Brigade (5공수특전여단 '흑룡'), was founded on 17 February 1969 as the 2nd Ranger BDE. On 10
September 1972, the unit was re-designated as the 5th ROK
SF BDE, and finally became the
Special Mission Group in 1999, mostly deployed for
international peacekeeping missions worldwide. Peace Keeping Support Group (ROK - PKF) as of July 2010. Their mascot is the Dragon.
The 7th Special Forces Brigade (Pegasus) (7공수특전여단 '천마부대') was founded on 01 October 1974. The BDE is proud of their HAHO/HALO capabilities and maintains one of the only usable year-round Drop Zones. Their mascot is the Flying Horse.
The 9th Special Forces Brigade (Ghost) (9공수특전여단 '귀성부대') was founded along with the 7th BDE on 1 October 1974. The BDE is very proud of having one of their former Commanders, Rho Tae Woo, serve as the Korean President from 1987-1992. Their mascot is the Phantom.
The 11th Special Forces Brigade (Golden Bat) (11공수특전여단 '황금박쥐부대') was founded on 01 October 1977. Their mascot is the Bat.
The 13th Special Forces Brigade (Black Panther) (13공수특전여단 '흑표부대') was founded along with the 9th BDE on 01 October 1976 as a provisional unit along with the 11 BDE but not officially recognized until 01 October 1977. The 13th BDE maintains the SWC’s mountain training site near the BDE. Their mascot is the Panther.
The 707th Special Missions Battalion (White Tiger) (707특수임무대대 '백호부대') is the elite Special Forces unit in the Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command. The battalion's nickname is 'White Tiger.' The 707th Special Mission Battalion was founded in late 1981 under Republic of Korean Presidential Executive Order as a world-class Counter-Terrorist force to support Domestic and International Counter-Terrorism. It owns and operates a multi-complex CT training site for the SWC and hosts multi-national counter-terrorist training. The battalion's nickname is 'White Tiger.'
The 707th Special Mission Battalion also trains with
foreign partners, such as U.S. Army Special Operations Command Delta Force,
British Army SAS, Russian FSB Alpha Group, French Gendarmerie GIGN, US FBI HRT,
Hong Kong SDU, and Singapore Police Force STAR. The purpose is to experience
and increase relationships and exchanges with international Special Forces
communities. The South Korean government
lavishly funds the battalion, and as a result The 707th Special Mission
Battalion uses a wide variety of weapons. The HK MP5 is used as for close quarters
battle or hostage rescue missions. The Benelli Tactical Super-90 shotgun with
pistol grips is used for breaching purposes or to give a shock effect. For
sniping missions, the unit uses AW series sniper rifles or MOD.SSG-69 sniper
rifle. For common special operations, the unit uses K-1A Carbine, K-2 Assault
Rifle, and K-7 9mm Silenced Sub Machine Gun. If heavy firepower is needed, the
unit has K-3 Light Machine Gun, K-201 40mm grenade launcher and deploy Short
Brothers Javelin man-portable SAMs as a defense against low-level aircraft. The
unit's main secondary side weapons are IMI Jericho 941F Tactical and HK USP9
Tactical. The unit’s mascot is the White Tiger.
As always, the above insignia are available on a limited
number of selected quality products via my “Military Insignia” galleries atZazzle. You may simply follow the direct links in the article to navigate to
the corresponding galleries
I will also make my insignia designs available free of
charge to any military units and personnel, for any non-profit/non-commercial
and charitable causes, benefiting troops and their families. In addition, I
would make my designs available free of charge to any military branches,
formations and units for any non-commercial internal duty-specific purposes,
such as unit-related web design, training materials or presentations, as I did
on many occasions in the past.
Special thanks to Chuck Stanton, US Army Retired, First Sergeant (SF). The above information provided in part by U.S. Army Center
of Military history, The Institute of Heraldry, Global Security, and official
websites of the above-mentioned units.
Oversea deployment Group or Special Mission Group (formerly - 5th Special Forces Brigade ‘Black Dragon’) change to Peace Keeping support croup (ROK - PKF) since july 2010
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update! Added to the article...
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