3rd Battalion - 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
The Headquarters and Support Company, 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) are located at Camp Blanding. The Headquarters is located at the Post Headquarters Building, and the Support Company is located adjacent to the Post Airfield.
Unquestionably the world's finest unconventional warfare expert. Often (and wrongly) compared to Navy SEALs, the Special Forces Soldier is much more than a warrior of uncommon physical and mental caliber, he is also a skilled teacher. Special Forces Soldiers are the Army's cutting edge. Only the most technically proficient and highly-motivated soldiers will ever wear the Special Forces tab. Special Forces demands a tremendous amount of inventiveness and self-reliance.
A Special Forces Soldier is capable of thinking "outside the box" - ignoring the often inept conventional mentality to find intelligent solutions to unconventional situations. This is what makes the Special Forces what it is. Special Forces sergeants must be experts in their individual MOS plus other related duties and specialties important to their far-reaching missions. The Special Forces Soldier must also be able to teach these same skills to the people with whom he works.
Besides the individual skills of operations and intelligence, communications, medical aid, engineering and weapons, each Special Forces Soldier is taught to train, advise, and assist host-nation military or paramilitary forces. Special Forces Soldiers are highly skilled operators, trainers, and teachers. These SF soldiers are area-oriented, and specially trained in their area's native language and culture.
The operators of 3/20SFG(A) portray a wide and varied cross section of civilian professionals. The very fabric of Special Forces is based on a diverse pool of skilled civilian operators (just like the OSS of WW II), and a National Guard SF unit provides just that.
By every definition, the men of 3/20SFG(A) offer a seasoned pool of operators. Most members have over 10 years of SF experience and hold civilian jobs such as: Paramedics, Police, Federal Agents, Firefighters, Attorneys, Building Contractors, SCUBA Instructors, Teachers, Language Instructors, Security Consultants, Business Managers, Physical Therapists, Physician Assistants, Engineers, and yes, even a Rocket Scientist or two. The merging of these civilian job skills with Special Forces skills makes for a very effective and capable force. Such a wealth of experience further enhances the capability to fulfill the unconventional missions of Special Forces.
Life in a National Guard SF unit sometimes exacts a great toll on the unit members- held to the exact same standard as their active duty counterparts, the Guard SF soldiers have to deal with finding time from their civilian jobs to attend mandatory schools, some of which can last nearly a year. Deployments are another consideration- the Guard SF soldier operates way outside the normal "one weekend a month - two weeks a year" of regular National Guard duty. The monthly drills and yearly deployments are nearly twice as long as the normal Guard requirements.
National Guard Special Forces units are routinely placed on State Active Duty by order of their respective state Governor. These activations take place during times of state emergencies such as; hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, riots, civil unrest, etc.
The Rapid Impact Assessment Team concept was developed by the State of Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. South Florida experienced one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history when Andrew struck on 24 August 1992 and many hard lessons were learned. The mission of the RIAT Team is to rapidly mobilize and deploy to a disaster area and, jointly with local officials, determine and report immediate victim needs (food, water, shelter, medical, security) and assess and report the associated loss of, or damage to, supporting infrastructure (utilities, communications, transportation, medical facilities, emergency services) following a major or catastrophic disaster.
The RIAT mission is a function of the Florida Department of Emergency Management and is effected by the rapid deployment of Florida National Guard Personnel. Special Forces soldiers from 3/20 SFG(A) make up the actual RIAT Teams. Each team member receives specialized training which allows them to successfully perform the RIAT mission in conjunction with local officials. The ability of SF personnel to rapidly deploy by aircraft or other means is the key to accomplishing the RIAT mission. SF personnel employ high frequency and satellite communication devices to establish and maintain communication during the mission. This allows the rapid "real time" reporting of on the ground conditions at the disaster or emergency site.
This capability allows the state emergency management officials to quickly deploy all needed assistance without wasting resources. The RIAT mission is a perfect example of the effective use of Special Forces capabilities. The State of Florida, the Florida National Guard, and 3/20 SFG(A) have set a new standard in disaster response.
Company A/3/20th SFG (A) is located in Ocala, Florida. It is a sub-unit of 3rd Battalion 20th SFG (A) located at Camp Blanding, Florida. The company is made up of six Special Forces Operational Detachments Alpha (SFODA) and one Special Forces Operational Detachment Bravo (SFODB). Each detachment has a specific specialty SCUBA, HALO, Mountain, and is assigned specific wartime missions, Direct Action, Special Reconnaissance ...etc. All detachment are regionally orientated to a particular part of the world. All detachment members attend the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course, the Special Forces Qualification Course, and the Basic Language Course.
Charlie Company is unique in that it is split into two locations; C Co (-), in South Florida, and Det 1 in West Central Florida. C Co (-) is located at the National Guard Armory in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Det 1 is located at the National Guard Armory in Brooksville Florida (near Tampa). C- and Det 1 have operational ODAs that are supported by a consolidated ODB.
The Battalion Support Company is the most diverse of all the companies within a Special Forces Battalion. Over 100 soldiers are assigned to the company with 35 different Military Occupational Skills (MOS), 4 officer branches, and 1 Warrant Officer branch. Many personnel assigned to the company have an opportunity to attend special skill training such as: Special Forces Qualification Course, Ranger School, Jumpmaster, HALO, Pathfinder, SCUBA, Rigger, Fast-Rope Master, and Linguist. The Battalion Support Company has four detachments, each with a unique mission in support of the SF Battalion.
The Company Headquarters provides routine administrative and logistical support to the Battalion Headquarters Detachment, the companies organic elements, and the Forward Operating Base's (FOB) Support Center and Signal Center. The Company Headquarters includes personnel to maintain the Battalion's diving and marine equipment. When deployed, the Battalion Support Company is responsible for providing security for the operating base.
The Service Detachment has responsibility for performance of unit level supply, services, and maintenance functions for the base and it's attached elements. Service Detachment maintains property accountability and basic loads for the entire Battalion and procures non-standard and SF peculiar supplies and equipment. The supply and transportation section performs consolidated unit level supply functions for the base and its deployed SF teams. The food service section provides consolidated food service to the base; it establishes and operates a dining facility in the Support Center for 24-hour feeding operations while continuing to conduct remote feeding as required. The mechanical maintenance section performs consolidate unit level maintenance support for the base's organic wheeled vehicles and power generation equipment. It coordinates for direct support maintenance and performs recovery operations. The rigger air delivery section provides personnel and cargo parachute packing, unit level maintenance of air delivery items, rigger support and limited air delivery support to the base.
The Signal Detachment has responsibility for two primary functions: Install, operate and maintain secure Forward Operating Base (FOB) radio communications with it's higher, adjacent, subordinate, supporting, supported headquarters, and deployed SF teams. Install, operate and maintain continuous internal FOB communications. Base communications support includes communications center services, telephone communications and electronic maintenance.
The Military Intelligence Detachment has responsibility for providing integrated all source intelligence collection management, analysis, production, and dissemination in support of Battalion level situation and target development. These functions correspond to those performed by the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) of a conventional military intelligence unit. The MI Detachment establishes and operates a tactical Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) in the FOB center and provides Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) communication between the FOB and the deployed SF teams. The MI detachment also has three organic Special Operations Teams. These teams deploy with SF teams to provide signal intelligence and electronic warfare support.
