On January 25, 2008, Miller's team was ambushed during a combat reconnaissance patrol in Kunar Province near the Pakistan border. In October 2010, Staff Sergeant Robert James Miller was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. If you saw what you heard today in a movie, you would shake your head and say, ‘That didn’t happen.’ But it does, every day. And there is no finer American soldier than our Green Berets. Mulholland, Jr., stated: “Īs we have listened to these incredible tales, I am truly at a loss for words to do justice to what we have heard here, where do we get such men? … There is no finer fighting man on the face of the earth than the American soldier. After the citations were read then-commander of United States Army Special Operations Command, Lieutenant General John F. It was the largest set of citations for a single battle since the Vietnam War. In 2008, ten members of ODA 3336 were awarded Silver Stars for combat action during the Battle of Shok Valley. Two of 3rd Group's battalions spend roughly six months out of every twelve deployed to Afghanistan as part of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan. Since 9/11, the 3rd SFG(A) has been heavily involved in Afghanistan and Central Asia. In the fall of 2000, the 3rd SFG(A) was involved in training and stabilization efforts in West Africa, dubbed 'Operation Focus Relief' by the State Department the training mission was geared towards combating the Revolutionary United Front. In the late 90's, 3rd Group helped train forces in Senegal, Uganda, Malawi, Mali, Ethiopia, and Trinidad and Tobago, among others. 3rd Group also took part in the restoration of democracy in Haiti in 1994. The 2nd BN and 3rd BN of 3rd Group were reactivated in 19, respectively. In February 1991, 3rd Group was tasked with the mission of securing and occupying the U.S. Its A-Teams carried out reconnaissance and sabotage missions into denied areas of Iraq and Kuwait. At the outbreak of the Gulf War, 3rd Group's only functioning battalion (1st BN) was deployed to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, for three months. New group members were drawn primarily from the 5th SFG(A). Its AO initially consisted of the Caribbean and West Africa. The 3rd Special Forces Group was reactivated in 1990. With the ' Vietnamization' of the conflict, the 3rd SFG(A) was deactivated in 1969 and its members were transferred back to the other Special Forces Groups. In 1966, 3rd Group transferred assumed control of the 403rd Army Security Agency Special Operations Detachment and the 19th PSYOP Company over to 5th Group. 3rd Group also worked with the 5th SFG(A) in Vietnam. The unit trained the armed forces of Mali, Iraq, Ethiopia, the Congo, and Jordan – in addition to supporting the Gemini 6 and 7 space launches in 1965. 3rd Group was originally oriented towards the Middle East and Africa during the 1960s. These colors are: yellow ( 1st SFG (A)), red ( 7th SFG (A)), black ( 5th SFG (A)), and white (Special Forces Training Group (A)). The four colors of the quadrants of 3rd Group's beret flash are derived from the flashes of the pre-existing SF units from which 3rd Group's members were initially drawn (hence its original motto: 'From the Rest Comes the Best'). Special Forces Group organization in the Vietnam Eraģrd Group was first activated on 5 December 1963 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. History 1960s File:Vietnam era organization chart for Special Forces groups.GIF While not quite as seasoned (inactive from 1969-1990) as some of the other Special Forces groups, the 3rd SFG(A) has seen extensive action in the War on Terror and its members have distinguished themselves on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Its primary area of operations (AO) is now Central Asia as part of a 2009 SOCOM directive but 3rd Group has also been involved in the Caribbean and the Greater Middle East. The 3rd SFG(A) was primarily responsible for operations within the AFRICOM area of responsibility, as part of the Special Operations Command, Africa (SOCAFRICA). The 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) – abbreviated 3rd SFG(A) and often simply called 3rd Group – is an active duty United States Army Special Forces (SF) group which was active in the Vietnam Era (1963–69), deactivated, and then reactivated in 1990.

Special forces oda