Unit Profile
The 1st Special Service Force, the Devil's Brigade was a joint World War II American-Canadian commando unit. The unit trained at Fort Harrison near Helena, Montana in the United States.
The volunteers for the 1600 man force consisted primarily of enlisted men recruited by advertising at Army posts, stating that preference was to be given to men previously employed as lumberjacks, forest rangers, hunters, game wardens, and the like. The 1st Special Service Force was officially activated on July 20 1942 under the command of Lt. Colonel Robert T. Frederick. Force members received rigorous and intensive training in stealth tactics, hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives for demolition, amphibious warfare, rock climbing and mountain fighting, and as ski troops. Their formation patch was a red arrowhead with the words CANADA and USA. They even had a specially designed fighting knife made for them called the V-42. The unit was oficially disbanded in January 1945.
Many modern American and Canadian Special Forces units trace their heritage to this unit.
Mission
- Direct action
- Strategic reconnaissance
Raised and Disbanded
- Raised: April 20th 1942
- Disbanded: January 6th 1945
Units
- Headquarters Detachment
- 1st Special Service Regiment
- 2nd Special Service Regiment
- 3rd Special Service Regiment
Headquarters
- Various