Posted on Jan 25, 2021
What is a National Guard Special Operations Detachment?
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I've been doing research into the numerous National Guard units in my area of interest for civilian careers and stumbled across a unit under the Maryland National Guard known as the "Special Operations Detachment - OTAN/NATO." I did some digging and found that there are ten of these units scattered throughout the U.S. National Guard, each with separate areas of responsibility, but I really couldn't find much else about these units. I understand they are ~30 soldiers each, but how can they operate Guard units this small? What kind of MOSs do they consist of? What do they do when called to active service? And are their slots "interview only" or can they be entry-level for some MOSs?
NGB
Special Operations
Special Forces
Posted 4 y ago
Responses: 9
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These are SOD's, they are not Special Forces Detachments, or ODA's like it sounds. It's not a secret, and it's perfectly OK to discuss in an open forum. I even pasted a link to an article about them.
They have some SF in them, yes but only a handful. They also have MI as well, and a skeleton crew of support. Detachments like this usually analyze threats in an area and provide advice and assistance to the leaders of an area, where an ODA will usually train the Soldiers in an area. These are 100% interview only positions and you won't even be welcome for an interview if you aren't coming from Special Operations experience.
https://medium.com/war-is-boring/maryland-now-has-a-special-forces-unit-dedicated-to-countering-russia-ff4cc5688d4f
They have some SF in them, yes but only a handful. They also have MI as well, and a skeleton crew of support. Detachments like this usually analyze threats in an area and provide advice and assistance to the leaders of an area, where an ODA will usually train the Soldiers in an area. These are 100% interview only positions and you won't even be welcome for an interview if you aren't coming from Special Operations experience.
https://medium.com/war-is-boring/maryland-now-has-a-special-forces-unit-dedicated-to-countering-russia-ff4cc5688d4f
Maryland Now Has a Special Forces Unit Dedicated to Countering Russia
Small detachment could provide extra skills in Europe
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SFC (Join to see)
Great share- I worked with one of these based out of TXARNG that provides a SOD for Africa during an exercise run by the TSOC. Interesting opportunity.
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LTC Jason Mackay
The OTAN/ NATO part is they support North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations and Training. It’s in the NATO charter that official correspondence etc is in French and English, because of DeGaulle. OTAN is the French syntax acronym for NATO
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The team in Maryland is part of the 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne), which is headquartered in Birmingham, AL.
I served in the 20th from AUG69 to DEC74.
CSM Charles Hayden SFC(P) Jonathan P. CPL Richard Hughes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Special_Forces_Group
I served in the 20th from AUG69 to DEC74.
CSM Charles Hayden SFC(P) Jonathan P. CPL Richard Hughes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Special_Forces_Group
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CPL Richard Hughes
Once upon a long time ago. There was an 11th Group Detachment at Meade. It was in an old Quonset hut next to the 144th EOD Detachment there.
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LTC Stephen C.
CPL Richard Hughes, the 11th SFG(A) was active from 1961 to 1994 and was part of the US Army Reserve. I served with a number of guys from 11th.
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CPL Richard Hughes
I figured you would know sir. I was sidetracked to an SMU when I was laying up after an injury in Pineland. I served at Detrick with the Aeromedical Isolation Team. The 11th Group ODA at Meade was part of our USAMIIA Composite group. CPL Richard Hughes
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CPL Richard Hughes
I did get to train up at some interesting places and do some pretty intense stuff. Wouldn’t trade it for the world. CPL Richard Hughes
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I recommend, get your Bachelor's Degree on your PD off time. If you have passed probation, You are protected if you decided to join the Army National Guard or army reserve. You can always go in As enlisted. Upon completing basic training, You will be eligible for up to $3500 a year in educational tuition reimbursement. This is the incentive to get your bachelor's Degree in any Field. To becoming officer in the guard or reserve, it just needs to be a Bachelor's degree. It could be in psychology, history, English, business, You name it. Then you could go to Officer Candidate School. If SF is your goal, you need to be E4 or higher. You can also join as a Captain. Civil Affairs is a sister Special Operations Unit in the USAR. That Branch keeps you informed of opportunities in SF, Airborne and Air Assault. SF is only in the Guard and there is no Civil Affairs in the Army National Guard. Civil Affairs can use your Police Experience if deployed to help another country. 85% of Civil Affairs Soldiers are Reservists. Fort Bragg has actice duty Airborne Civil Affairs Brigades.
https://m.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/special-operations/civil-affairs/civil-affairs-req.m.html
https://m.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/special-operations/civil-affairs/civil-affairs-req.m.html
Civil Affairs Requirements | GoArmy.com
Learn about the requirements to becoming a Civil Affairs Soldier.
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