The Army Green Berets are also known as Army Special Forces in the US. Their mission is generally rather complex. They are given special training for combat along with diplomacy and espionage. Army Special Forces are sometimes deployed on very secret missions that the public is never made aware of, and in many cases, these missions do not have any combat elements at all. The Army Green Berets were founded in 1953 as a replacement for the Office of Special Services (OSS) from World War II.
Overall requirements for entering Army Special Forces have varied over the years, but they are generally rather steep and include multiple years of distinguished service. Most soldiers who join the Army Green Berets have a college education along with extreme physical fitness. The actual training process is considered very grueling, and many people who apply for Special Forces duty don't make the cut.
Generally speaking, the Green Berets operate in the realm of unconventional warfare. They are used for pinpoint operations that would not work with a large number of soldiers. Their training is very diverse because they may be asked to perform many different duties on a given mission. Within a team of Army Green Berets, each person will have a specialty, but they can also fill in for each other if needed.
In the field, the Army Green Berets have been used in many different capacities. In some cases, they have very little oversight and are required to act independently. Sometimes their job is more like the job of a spy than that of a soldier, and in many cases, they operate out of uniform as undercover agents behind enemy lines.
Army Green Berets are often required to turn enemy agents on to the cause of the United States. They will enter a hostile country and find groups that want to resist the local leadership. Once a resistance movement is located, they help arm and train them to become guerrilla fighters. This job makes it important for green berets to be trained in languages, and they also need knowledge of diplomacy and cultural differences.
Another common mission for the Army Green Berets is the gathering of intelligence. Once behind enemy lines, Green Beret soldiers can help identify targets for pinpoint military strikes and identify secret enemy locations. In some cases, they may be sent in weeks before the launch of an offensive to secretly observe enemy targets or set up beacons for air-strikes.
