Company A, 5th Special Forces Group C-3 Operations Detachment
Arrived Vietnam: November 1964 Departed Vietnam: 1 January 1971 Previous Station: Fort Bragg Authorized Strength: Company and C-detachment 1966 - 358 1968 - 447
Company A, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, was a Corps - level line Special Forces Company commanded by a lieutenant-colonel. (In fact these "companies" would be redesigned after the Vietnam war by the Department of the Army as proper battalions.) It was composed of an administrative detachment and a C detachment, or operations detachment. The company in turn controlled several B-detachments which were in command of the various A-detachments, mobile strike forces, etc. Specifically, Company A and its C-3 Operations Detachment were responsible for activities in the III Corps Tactical Zone (Military Region 3) with the administrative detachment posted to Bien Hoa. During the May 1970 offensive into Cambodia, elements from the company's A-detachments at Duc Hue and Tra Cu assaulted a Viet Cong training area and won the encounter, accounting for over one-third of all crew-served weapons captured during the May offensive.
Company B, 5th Special Forces Group C-2 Operations Detachment
Arrived Vietnam: November 1964 * Departed Vietnam: 15 January 1971 Previous Station: Fort Bragg Authorized Strength: Company and C-detachment 1966 - 359 1968 - 447
* In Vietnam since October 1962 on a temporary basis.
Company B, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, was a Corp-level Special Forces line company organized along the lines of Company A. The company was tasked with Special Forces responsibilities in the II Corps Tactical Zone (later Military Region 2) and located jointly with its C operations detachment at Pleiku. Due to the rugged Highlands geography and close proximity to the Cambodian and lower Laotian border, the camps within Company B were often under fierce siege.
Company C, 5th Special Forces Group C-1 Operations Detachment
Arrived Vietnam: November 1964 * Departed Vietnam: 1 November 1970 Previous Station: Fort Bragg Authorized Strength: Company and C-detachment 1966 - 360 1968 - 447
* In Vietnam since September 1962 on a temporary basis.
Company C, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, was a Corp-level Special Forces line company organized along the lines of Company A. The company had charge of Special Forces activities in the I Corps Tactical Zone (later Military Region 1) and was colocated with its C- detachment at Da Nang. The heavy jungle, mountainous terrain and multitude of regular North Vietnamese Army contingents in the company's area of operations always placed their camps in particular jeopardy.
Company D, 5th Special Forces Group C-4 Operations Detachment
Arrived Vietnam: November 1964 Departed Vietnam: 16 December 1970 Previous Station: Fort Bragg Authorized Strength: Company and C-detachment 1966 - 361 1968 - 447
Company D, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, was a Corp-level Special Forces line company organized along the lines of Company A. The company (also known as the "Delta Company") was responsible for Special Forces activities in the IV Corps Tactical Zone (Military Region 4) and was colocated with its operations C-detachment at Can Tho in the heart of the Delta region. The flat Mekong Delta region of Vietnam gave rise to use of highly maneuverable fiber-glass air boats fitted with 180 horsepower aircraft engines. Armed with 30-caliber machine gun mounted up front with a second man carrying an M-79 grenade launcher, there air boats provided excellent mobility along the innumerable canals, rice paddies, and even across the dikes of the Delta. The terrain in the company's area of operations included the Seven Mountains near the Cambodian border which was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war. Thus, the company's border camps close to Cambodia often came under attack. On 10 August 1969 Company D was placed under the operational control of 44th Special Tactical Zone.