page_title: 10th Special Forces Group (United States)
section_title: 1990s – 2000s
hierarchical_section_title: 10th Special Forces Group (United States) / History / 1990s – 2000s
caption_attribution_description: Photograph of 10th Special Forcecs Group soldiers in Mali training local military forces
context_page_description: The 10th Special Forces Group is an active duty United States Army Special Forces Group. 10th Group is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counter-insurgency, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, information operations, counterproliferation of weapon of mass destruction, and security force assistance. 10th Group is responsible for operations within the EUCOM area of responsibility, as part of Special Operations Command Europe.
  In 2009, as part of a new SOCOM directive, the group is now also responsible for operations within the AFRICOM area of responsibility. 10th SFG was deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1991 during the First Persian Gulf War. The 10th SFG has been heavily involved in the War on Terrorism, deploying to Georgia, North Africa, Afghanistan, and consistently to Iraq.
context_section_description: Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, an MTT deployed to Kuwait to train the Saudi Arabian National Guard. During the Battle of Khafji, the MTT accompanied the SANG forces into battle, coordinated troop movements, called in airstrikes, and assisted with artillery fire support. Other elements of 10th Group deployed to southeast Turkey in support of operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The Boston Herald reported: "The 10th Special Forces Group's penchant for secrecy is so exacting the base publicist didn't know the unit had gone to war until they were on their way home from Operation Desert Storm." Following the end of the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein turned his attention to Iraq's Kurdish minority, causing over half of a million Kurds to flee into the mountains on the Turkish-Iraqi border. Under the leadership of Colonel William Tangney, all three battalions of 10th Group were deployed to the area for Operation Provide Comfort, a UN humanitarian effort. 10th Group coordinated the ground relief effort, and was credited by General Galvin, the EUCOM commander, as having "saved half a million Kurds from extinction".
  During Operation Restore Hope, 10th Group deployed a Coalition Support Team to support the 1st Belgian Para-Commando Battalion. In addition to supporting the Para-Commando unit, the CST assisted the 10th Mountain Division, and provided security for meetings with Somali leaders. Following the ethnic conflict in Rwanda, 10th Group deployed to Entebbe airfield, Uganda. The group assisted the displaced persons in returning to their homes.
  On 2 September 1994, 2nd Battalion, 10th SFG(A) transferred to Fort Carson, Colorado, followed by 3rd Battalion on 20 July 1995. The group headquarters moved to Fort Carson on 15 September 1995, ending a 27-year presence in Massachusetts.
  Affiliated for operations with Special Operations Command – Europe, 10th Group is continuing to conduct Joint Combined Exchange Training and FID/anti-terrorist operations as part of Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara.
  Such activities have included training the Military of Mali and the Military of Mauritania. The 1st and 3rd Battalions of 10th Group also participated in training in Senegal in 2006, along with the 352d Special Operations Group of the US Air Force. 10th SFG(A) has also deployed numerous times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, but mostly to Iraq, since the start of the War on Terrorism. 10th SFG(A) and CIA's Special Activities Division Paramilitary Officers were the first to enter Iraq prior to the invasion. They organized the Kurdish Peshmerga to defeat Ansar al-Islam, an ally of al-Qa'ida, for control of a territory in Northeastern Iraq that was completely under Ansar al-Islam's control. This battle, one of the most important engagements for Special Forces since Vietnam, led to the elimination of a substantial number of terrorists and the discovery of a chemical weapons facility at Sargat (the only facility of its type discovered in the Iraq war). Three Silver Stars and six Bronze Stars for valor were conferred for this engagement. These terrorists would have been part of the subsequent insurgency had they not been eliminated during this battle, which could be called the Tora Bora of Iraq. While several key leaders escaped into Iran, it was a sound defeat for al-Qaeda and Ansar al-Islam. The Americans then led the Peshmerga against Saddam's northern Army. This effort kept Saddam's forces, including 13 Armored Divisions, in the north and denied them the ability to redeploy to contest the invasion force coming from the south. This effort likely saved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of coalition service members.
caption: A soldier from 10th Group training soldiers from Mali
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