The failure of Operation EAGLE CLAW, the mission to rescue U.S. hostages held by Iran, in April 1980 prompted the Department of Defense to begin restructuring and revitalizing its special operations forces (SOF). As part of this effort, the U.S. Army identified a void in force capabilities at the pre-crisis and low-intensity conflict levels. Increasing instability in Latin America and the Middle East required an agile, unconventional solution.
1st SOCOM SSI
Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF), though designed for such missions, was still reeling from post-Vietnam War force reductions. It also lacked a unifying command and control headquarters, prompting the Army to provisionally establish the 1st Special Operations Command (1st SOCOM) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (known as Fort Liberty since 2023), on 1 October 1982. Commanded by Brigadier General (BG) Joseph C. Lutz, its mission was to prepare, provide, and sustain active-duty Army Special Forces, Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, and Ranger units.
Formally activated on 1 October 1983, 1st SOCOM was the first headquarters to exercise both administrative and operational control of the full spectrum of ARSOF units. Within weeks of activation, 1st SOCOM was at war in the Caribbean Island of Grenada, supporting Operation URGENT FURY. Its units would later see combat in Panama and the Persian Gulf.
VIDEO: 1st SOCOM Change of Command Ceremony, 7 Aug 1984
Under the leadership of BG Lutz and his successor, Major General Leroy N. Suddath, Jr., 1st SOCOM advocated effectively for the expansion of ARSOF. The command grew significantly through the mid-1980s, adding new Ranger, Special Operations Aviation, and ARSOF Support units, as well as a fourth active-duty Special Forces Group. By 1987, when 1st SOCOM became the Army component of the newly established U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), its major subordinate units were the 75th Ranger Regiment; the 1st, 5th, 7th, and 10th Special Forces Groups; the 4th Psychological Operations Group; the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion; the 528th Support Battalion (Special Operations); the 112th Signal Battalion (Special Operations), and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Group.
While the creation of 1st SOCOM was a major step forward in ARSOF command and control, by 1989, the Chief of Staff of the Army agreed that it was time to establish a major command (MACOM) for ARSOF. On 1 December 1989, the Army activated the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), at which time 1st SOCOM became a major subordinate command, responsible for all active-duty ARSOF. A year later, on November 27, 1990, 1st SOCOM was redesignated as the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (USASFC) and assigned the mission of equipping, training, and validating all Army Special Forces. In 2014, USASFC was merged into the new 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), a division-level ARSOF headquarters under USASOC that commands and controls all active-duty Army Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Psychological Operations units.
Special Forces (SF) Operational Detachments – Alpha (ODA) from 7th SF Group, including ODA 793 (pictured here), were among the 1st SOCOM forces that supported Operation JUST CAUSE in Panama in December 1989.
