10th Special Forces Group ( United States ) The 10th Special Forces Group ( Airborne ) is an active duty United States Army Special Forces ( SF ) Group . The 10th Special Forces Group is responsible for operations within the EUCOM area of responsibility , as part of the Special Operations Command , Europe ( SOCEUR ) . 10th Group has also been involved in parts of Africa and the Middle East . 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 formed on 19 June 1952 , at Fort Bragg , North Carolina , under the command of Colonel Aaron Bank . The group was split in 1953 , with one half being sent to Germany , while the other half remained at Fort Bragg to form the core of the 77th Special Forces Group . In 1968 , the majority of the unit transferred to Fort Devens , Massachusetts , with the exception of 1st Battalion , which remained in Germany . Between 1994 and 1995 , 10th SFG moved to Fort Carson , Colorado , which remains its current home . 10th Special Forces Group began training with unconventional warfare groups from friendly countries in the 1960s , beginning with NATO allies . The group has also trained various components of the militaries of several Middle Eastern countries , including Lebanon , Jordan , Yemen , Iran , as well as Kurdish tribesmen . Units of the 10th SFG have participated in humanitarian missions to the Congo , Somalia , and Rwanda . 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 . History . 1950s . In 1950 , the Lodge Act was passed , which provided for the recruiting of foreign nationals into the United States military . It was originally planned that half of the members of the Special Forces would be native Europeans . Many of the initial members of the 10th SFG were Lodge Act recruits , who were strenuously anti - Communist . Among the more notable of these men was MAJ . Larry Thorne , a former Finnish Army soldier who was awarded the Mannerheim Cross during World War II . By the end of June 1952 , the group had 122 officers and men assigned . Many had been OSS , Ranger , and Airborne troopers during World War II . The group ' s mission was to conduct partisan warfare behind Soviet lines in the event of a Soviet invasion of Europe . On 10 November 1953 , the 10th SFG was split in half , with one half deployed to Bad Tölz and Lenggries in West Germany , and the other remaining in Fort Bragg to become the 77th Special Forces Group ( which in 1960 became the 7th Special Forces Group ) . The green beret was authorized for wear by Col . Eckman , the group commander , in 1954 , and it became group policy . By 1955 , every soldier in the unit wore a green beret as part of the uniform . However , the Department of the Army ( DA ) did not recognize the beret as headgear . The DA banned the wear of the beret , but it was later restored by President Kennedy , a major champion of the Special Forces . The 10th SFG encountered publicity for the first time in 1955 when the " New York Times " published two articles about the unit , describing them as a " liberation " force designed to fight behind enemy lines . Pictures showed soldiers of the group wearing their berets , with their faces blacked out to conceal their identities . 1960s . The A - teams of 10th Group began exchange training with unconventional forces in friendly countries , including United Kingdom , Germany , France , Norway , Spain , Italy , and Greece . This training taught 10th Group soldiers how to subsist on native food , and built valuable rapport with the host nation forces . In the summer of 1960 , 10th Group deployed to the newly independent Congo , to evacuate Americans and Europeans to Leopoldville , where there would be a larger evacuation , led by Belgian paratroopers . The group evacuated 239 civilians without a single casualty in only nine days . As the United States became increasingly involved in Vietnam , counter - insurgency became the primary focus of the Special Forces , rather than the traditional unconventional warfare . While the 10th SFG was never deployed to Vietnam , the soldiers and officers assigned to it did rotate through the country as part of different special forces groups . During the Vietnam War , detachments of 10th Group began training Middle Eastern special warfare forces . In Jordan , B Detachment established the first airborne school , and King Hussein attended the graduation parachute jump . In 1963 , Company C of 10th Group trained 350 officers and NCOs of a guerrilla force fighting the socialist government in Yemen . Detachments also traveled to Iran to train the Iranian Special Forces , along with Kurdish tribesmen in the mountains of Iran . A - Teams also trained Turkish and Pakistani special forces . In 1968 , the 10th Special Forces Group , minus the 1st Battalion , was transferred to Fort Devens , Massachusetts . 1st Battalion remained in Bad Tölz , Germany . 1970s – 1980s . Following the military cuts after the end of the Vietnam War , operational deployments decreased in both number and frequency . However 10th Group still deployed frequently to Europe to train with NATO allies . From 11 May 1983 to 25 October 1985 , 10th Group deployed 17 Mobile Training Teams ( MTT ) to Lebanon , to support the Lebanese Army . The teams created a training program for over 5 , 000 officers , NCOs , and soldiers , which included basic training sites , unit training , unit combined arms live fire training , and urban live fire training . The entry of the Syrian Army into Lebanon ended the program prematurely . An MTT from the 1st Battalion , Bad Tolz , Germany deployed to Somalia for four months to conduct disaster relief operations in June 1985 . In 1986 , a detachment of 10th Group trained the nucleus of the Nigerian Airborne forces . The 10th SFG was the leading force behind the development of the M25 sniper rifle in the late 1980s , at Fort Devens . The rifle is an improvement on the previous M21 sniper rifle , itself a modification of the M14 semi - automatic rifle . 1990s – 2000s . 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 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 SFG 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 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 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 Star s and six Bronze Star s 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 . See also . Department of Defense photo gallery of 10th Special Forces Group ( Airborne ) conducting airborne operations in Colorado .