7th Special Forces Group (United States)

The 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), commonly referred to as 7th Group, is one of the active duty special forces groups of the United States Army Special Forces. It is responsible for operations within the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility, which includes Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as counter-narcotics operations worldwide. 7th Group is garrisoned at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

The unit’s lineage dates back to World War II with the formation of the 1st Company, 1st Regiment, 1st Special Service Force, a combined American-Canadian unit known as the "Devil's Brigade." The modern 7th Special Forces Group was officially activated on 20 May 1960.

The 7th Group’s primary mission is to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counter-insurgency, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, security force assistance, counter-proliferation, and information operations. These missions are carried out by Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) teams, also known as A-teams, typically composed of 12 soldiers with expertise in various skills such as weapons, engineering, medicine, communications, and intelligence.

Throughout its history, 7th Group has been involved in numerous conflicts and operations, including the Vietnam War, Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada), Operation Just Cause (Panama), and the ongoing Global War on Terrorism with deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. They have also participated in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

The 7th Special Forces Group is a highly trained and versatile unit with a distinguished history of service to the United States. Their expertise in unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense makes them a valuable asset in a variety of challenging environments.