Special Forces expands

[unhappycamper]

Special Forces expands
By Sean D. Naylor - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Aug 9, 2008 17:43:02 EDT

The Army stood up its first new Special Forces battalion in nearly 16 years Aug. 8 when 4th Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, was activated in a ceremony at Fort Campbell, Ky.

The establishment of 4th Battalion, which will be repeated in each of the other four active Special Forces groups, at the rate of one per year, is intended to allow 5th Group more flexibility in executing missions.

If the current rate of SF battalion deployments persists, it will also increase the amount of dwell time SF teams spend at their home post by about 33 percent, 5th Group commander Col. Chris Conner said in an interview Aug. 6.

The new battalion opens up career opportunities as the Army fills the billets for both SF-qualified soldiers and those who want to work in support roles, Conner said.

The new battalion will consist of roughly 200 SF-qualified soldiers and 150 non-SF qualified support soldiers. The support troops will mostly be drawn from outside the group, according to Conner.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/army_specialforces_080908w/