You have probably heard the mention of maroon berets more than once, but there are also green military berets. Moreover, to some extent, they are no less important than, say, speckled hats. About the meaning of green berets, their application and history - in this article.
American Army Elite
The most famous Green Berets are United States Special Forces.
Special Forces troops are actively used abroad in eight designated areas. The main goals and objectives that are set before the fighters of these units are as follows:
- strategic intelligence;
- organization and management of partisan activities;
- real raid operations in military conditions;
- assistance to foreign states in ensuring security within them.
One of the main characteristics of each of the groups of "green berets" of the special forces is a special regional orientation. We will write the most important of them:
- The Asia-Pacific region is assigned to the first group.
- Africa (excluding Kenya, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia) is supervised by the third group.
- The Near and Middle East is the orientation of the fifth group; African countries that are not covered by the third group also belong to this part of the troops, namely Kenya, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
- Central and South America is the sphere of activity of the seventh group.
- The European zone is defined by the tenth group.
It is very interesting that the so-called depth of the tasks of any of the groups is practically not limited (with the exception of some special points) and is almost completely determined by the orders of the command authorities, to which this or that group is directly subordinate and in whose interests it is used. Another factor in determining the depth of tasks is purely technical: the capabilities of transport and communications.
The total strength of each group of Special Forces is approximately 1, 400 fighters. As a rule, up to fifty-four operational detachments consisting of twelve people each can be selected from the composition of the unit.
The history of the formation of "green" US special forces
The command was officially established in the fall of 1990, namely on November 27th. According to the Pentagon’s leaders, the Green Berets are the pride of the US Army. This is the most well-trained contingent with a high level of training. It is expected that the Special Forces are recognized as the elite of the American army.
The beginning of this kind of troops was laid in the middle of the eighteenth century, during the Anglo-French Wars. They were established as a reward for the capture of French territories on the continent of North America. The first name these units received by the name of the starting commander Robert Rogers, who holds the rank of major. Accordingly, previously the "green berets" were widely known as the glorious rangers. From English, ranger is translated as a reconnaissance saboteur of the corresponding group. Rogers taught the fighters of their troops that they must "move fast and be crushing." Further, in the next time period, in fact, the nucleation, and after that, the final formation of the Special Forces troops in the United States took place.
The White House in a special memorandum proposed its interpretation of the concept of "green beret." From the point of view of the American government, it is a symbol of direct superiority, a sign of courage and a special symbol of direct participation in the struggle for freedom.
Psychological training
Green Berets in the USA also differ in a certain way through the psychological preparation of the fighters. Ideas of superiority of their kind of troops, selectivity and uniqueness, as well as absolute confidence in themselves and in the rightness of what they are doing are laid in the heads of men. Fighters, among other things, are taught to be proud of their military units. All this is laid in the foundations of the psychological training of warriors. In order for these ideas to be potentially feasible, the Special Forces troops, in addition to everything else, pay special attention to the history and traditions of the "green berets" of the special forces.
Decals
How is the elite soldier of the American military units distinguished from the representatives of other types of troops (unless, of course, he has the famous green beret on it)? Very simple: the whole thing is the patch on the sleeve, which is made in the shape of the tip of an Indian arrow, while the part itself has a dark blue color. A patch is nothing more than a symbol of simultaneous secrecy and courage. This conclusion can be drawn by the shape of the badge: these are the qualities that natural Indians possessed. Another important and interesting detail is the golden dagger, understood with its tip up. The dagger says that the "green tickets" are designed to constantly solve non-traditional tasks in battle. The blade of the cold steel depicted is pierced by three golden lightning bolts. They confirm the speed, strength, determine three ways to approach the enemy units (land, sea, air).
However, do not confuse the patch with the emblem. The emblem of the US special forces is a coat of arms black with silver elements, equipped with the Latin inscription De oppresso liber (in translation this name sounds like “For the freedom of the oppressed”). An unconventional (for example, civil) war and their role in this event is symbolized by two arrows crossed among themselves.
Sworn Oath
Separately, it is worth mentioning the code of the commandos (otherwise it can be called a true oath), which contains the main principles of morality, political principles and so on. Here is an excerpt from the oath of a fighter of the Special Forces unit:
I am a soldier of the American special forces! Professional! I will do everything that my nation requires of me. I am a volunteer who is well aware of the whole risk of my profession.
I am a professional soldier. I will fight whenever it is necessary to give freedom to the oppressed.
I will never fail those with whom I serve. I will not bring shame on myself or on my troops.
I will maintain myself, my weapons and property in impeccable condition, as befits a soldier of special troops.
The experience of past years and today's reality clearly demonstrate that the Green Berets are a truly integral element of the United States military machine. By their active actions, special forces of the ground forces are capable of exerting a serious influence on the military, and, accordingly, the political situation of various world regions.
Selection of candidates
Everyone knows the army song “Mercenary, ” in which the trials that befell the soldiers have one explanation: “You’re a mercenary in a green beret.” And how to become a fighter in the United States Army? What are the standards for putting on a green beret? And maybe green berets and songs should be performed?
First of all, we denote the characteristics and advantages that a candidate in the Special Forces should possess (all of them are necessarily reflected in the personal file of a potential warrior).
- Good education and extensive knowledge in the fields of physics, history, foreign languages, political science, geometry, economics and even agriculture.
- Excellent physical condition and easy tolerance of serious physical exertion.
- Sufficiently developed willpower.
- Ability to self-control and responsible attitude to service.
- Tolerant of different cultures, nationalities and religions.
- Solid character and durability.
- Judiciousness and self-control.
- Determination.
- Sociability.
Moreover, it is not enough to show all these qualities periodically. It is necessary that they be demonstrated daily and everywhere, being the actual and actual essence of the candidate for "green berets".
Do you think this long list of your characteristics will be enough? Of course not. Just imagine, they will not be enough even for you to become a candidate for taking a qualification course. Before you step over a few more steps.
Basic course
The first thing a potential "green beret mercenary" should do is take a basic training course for soldiers. It includes mandatory for any military knowledge and skills. Moreover, "basic" means the initial, up to whom and how to salute and how to march. Also, such indisputably necessary skills as rifle shooting, first aid in accordance with all the rules, using a gas mask, studying the air for radioactivity and contamination with substances hazardous to human health, and at the same time a course on tactics of fighting one soldier. The basic course lasts 2-3 months.
Special course
The next step is the proper development of a military specialty. Moreover, at this stage, there is already a separation of candidates from the position of what role they claim: an infantryman, a sapper, a signalman, a medical worker, an artilleryman, and so on. A special course lasts 2-4 months (depending on the required amount of acquired skills).
Airborne training
The third step, in which cadets for a month engaged in the development of ground training using specialized simulators. As part of the course, separation from the aircraft, handling with a parachute and behavior in the air are trained. After these skills are mastered, cadets begin to parachute jump. During the final week of the airborne school, candidates make five jumps from military transport aircraft.
Qualification course
Finally we got to the qualification course. For its passage, as a rule, approximately 350 candidates are recruited. The rest either remain in other branches of the army (Air Force, Navy and others), or are eliminated.
“Q-course” (another name for the qualification course) consists of six phases:
- assessment of candidates and their selection (2 months);
- tactical work in small groups (similarly - 2 months);
- specialization (duration increases by 30 days - 3 months);
- language training (again 2 months, or 8 weeks);
- partisan actions and their development (1 month, or 4 weeks);
- official entry into the camp of "green berets" (1 week).
Later, a survival school, a course of evading the battle, as well as courses of necessary resistance and, finally, escape from captivity were added to the starting stage of the qualification course. Work with hostages and, in fact, the course of the hostage (based on the government program) were also integrated.
Green berets in Russia
All right. Not only the United States is famous for its "green berets." Russia has its own troops, which have the exclusive right to wear this headgear. Only here, the special forces in our country, distinguished by their special courage and valor, are awarded with the famous maroon beret. This, if you will, is the Russian elite of the Special Forces.
Determining the type of troops by an exceptional headdress (or rather, its color) is generally widespread in the Russian Federation. So, for example, blue berets are supposed to be worn by the landing troops, black ones are intended for the marines, and you will see orange ones at the representatives of the Ministry of Emergencies. The green one is elected for reconnaissance and border units.
The status of the green beret in the Russian Federation
As already mentioned above, the wearing of a maroon beret is considered the most honorable in Russia, however, the green headdresses of the military are not without honor in our country. They also target elite units. In the green beret, you can see representatives of the highest echelon of military intelligence of the Ministry of the Interior.
Headwear of this color is also worn by fighters of special border military units, namely, air assault and reconnaissance units, sabotage and paratrooper troops. The soldiers of these units, as a rule, are given the most difficult and dangerous tasks. They are located on particularly heavy sections of the Russian border, usually in a southerly direction, next to Asian countries.
Shades of green in Russian troops
Separately, it is worth mentioning the shades of green fabric applicable for sewing hats of various branches of the armed forces. The introduction of tint dyeing of delicate fabric was proposed in order to avoid confusion between the various army units. The green beret of the border guard has a non-fir warm, light emerald cold color. The green color of intelligence, in turn, is presented in the classic (warm) version.
