Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon THE GHOSTS FAQ GENERAL | Ghost Recon Series Overview | THE GHOST RECON SERIES | Ghost Recon | Desert Siege | | Island Thunder | Jungle Storm | | Ghost Recon 2 | LATEST UPDATES This page last updated on: 2004 Feb 25 Updated Question 12 Added new Question 13 Updated several links THE GHOSTS FAQ 1. Who are the Ghosts? WE ARE THE NATION'S CHOSEN FEW WE ARE SWIFT, SILENT, AND INVISIBLE. WE WILL NOT FAIL OUR COUNTRY. WE WILL NOT FAIL EACH OTHER. WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER. WE FIGHT, SO THAT PEACE MAY REIGN. WE ARE THE GHOSTS. (From the Ghost Recon Fall 2002 ad campaign) The Ghosts are a fictional elite United States Army Special Forces unit. (The U.S. Army Special Forces are also known as "Green Berets".) The Ghosts are the spearhead of the U.S. Army’s rapid response to any contingency around the world. They are the first unit deployed into dangerous situations and the last ones to leave ("First In, Last Out"). 2. Why the name "Ghost Recon"? The unit uses the nickname "The Ghosts" as they rely more on stealth to accomplish their missions rather than sheer firepower. However, if things get rough, they can cut loose with the most advanced technology the United States has to offer. "Recon" refers to the fact that the Ghosts operate in small self-contained units which can do their work swiftly and silently. Their missions may include: penetrating deep into enemy territory to rescue captured personnel; surgical strikes prior to a main assault force; reconnaissance and intelligence gathering; pathfinding and target designation for air strikes. The Ghost Recon game emphasizes that the Ghosts are the "tip of the spear", and only lets you command a small element of up to six Ghosts during each mission. 3. Are the Ghosts an international force like Team RAINBOW? No. The Ghosts operate exclusively as part of the United States Army. However, they often work together with soldiers from friendly allied nations, such as the United Kingdom and Germany. Although the Ghosts are all American citizens, Red Storm was careful to make sure that the ethnic composition of the Ghosts reflects that of the population of the United States. 4. Are the Ghosts the same as Delta Force? No. The Ghosts are Green Berets. Although both Green Berets and Delta are under the auspices of the U.S. Army, they each have a different organization and function. Delta Force is still not officially acknowledged to exist, although it is known as the U.S. Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD-D). Delta is principally tasked with counter-terrorist operations outside the United States. Note that Green Berets and Delta Force are not the only special ops units under the U.S. Army. Others include the Rangers and the elite 160th SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) known as the "Night Stalkers". For more information about other U.S. special ops units under the United States SOCOM (Special Operations Command), check this link. 5. So what distinguishes Green Berets from other special ops units? U.S. Army Special Forces doctrine states that Green Berets are trained in five areas: Unconventional warfare Foreign internal defence Direct action Special reconnaissance Combating terrorism Green Berets can carry out extended operations in hostile territory behind enemy lines. There is increasing emphasis on the SF soldier's role as a diplomat, teaching military skills to friendly foreign military forces, and supporting global humanitarian relief efforts. The Special Forces motto is: "To liberate the oppressed." 6. What is the Ghosts' unit designation? The Ghosts belong to the: U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) 5th Special Forces Group 1st Battalion D CompanyThis is their arm patch: 7. Are the Ghosts based on a real Special Forces unit? No. Although the nickname "Ghosts" is commonly applied to special ops groups that emphasize stealth, the Ghosts are an entirely fictional group of soldiers. However, the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) that the Ghosts belong to is a real unit in the U.S. Army that was established in 1961. 8. Where is the Ghosts' headquarters? From the location of the training level included in Ghost Recon, we can tell that the Ghosts are based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. This location differs from where the real 5th Special Forces Group is based. The real 5th SFG was based in Fort Bragg until 1988, but have now moved to their current home at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. 9. Are the Ghosts and Ghost Recon based on a Tom Clancy novel? No. The idea behind the "Ghosts" and the Ghost Recon series of games came entirely from the minds of the game developers at Red Storm Entertainment. Although Tom Clancy wrote a novel concurrently with the development of the original Rainbow Six game, there are no known plans to write a novel based on Ghost Recon, or that the Ghosts will be part of Tom Clancy's "Jack Ryan universe". 10. When were the Ghosts formed? The official Ghost Recon site's specialists bios section reveals that the Ghosts were formed in 1994. (Taken from Major Harold "Buzz" Gordon's dossier.) 11. Who is the commanding officer of the Ghosts? The commanding officer of the Ghosts is Major Harold "Buzz" Gordon. His bio says that he was born March 17, 1955, and that the soldiers under his command refer to him as "The Old Man". Gordon was one of the first soldiers assigned to the Ghosts when they were formed in 1994. Major Harold "Buzz" Gordon Click on the image for a larger version 12. How many soldiers are in the Ghosts' unit? The Ghost Recon "actor" data files reveal that the game designers have actually named 241 distinct individual members of the Ghosts (76 Riflemen, 60 Support/Heavy Weapons, 59 Demolitions, 40 Snipers, and 6 Specialists). However, based on real-world figures, a typical Special Forces company like the Ghosts would be comprised of 72 soldiers (six 12-man "A-Teams"). See more details about this below. Check out this link to find out more about the U.S. Army's chain of command structure and the approximate number of soldiers that make up each level. 13. Why are there only two female Ghosts? Currently, women in the real-world U.S. Army are restricted from serving in front-line infantry, tank or artillery units, and Special Forces units. Thus, the fact that Ghost Recon has no selectable female soldiers as "non-specialist" Ghosts (in single player) is realistic. Video games and movies often portray women as part of counter-terrorist units (like Team Rainbow) or SWAT units despite the fact that in real-life, females are not allowed to join these units either. However, to allow female gamers to feel more at home playing Ghost Recon, Red Storm game designers did include two female Ghosts as specialists (Captain Susan Grey and Captain Lindy Cohen) for the single player campaigns, and the choice of playing as a female in multiplayer. 14. The Ghosts belong to the 5th Special Forces Group. Can you tell me more about the other SFGs? According to this article, Green Berets belong to either the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (based in at Fort Bragg, North Carolina), or one of 7 three-battalion "groups". (There are five active SFGs and two in the Army National Guard.) Each SFG is assigned and trained to operate in a certain region in the world, such as Europe, Central and South America, and the Pacific. The real 5th Special Forces Group, based at Fort Campbell, is responsible for operations in the Middle East and Central Asia. Check out this link to find out where other SFGs operate. 15. What is the organization structure of a Special Forces Group? Check out this link for the best summary of the organizational structure of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command. The following is the organizational structure of a typical SFG from the smallest to largest unit: A 12-man "Operational Detachment-A" (better known as an "A-Team") is the fundamental building block for all Special Forces Groups. A detachment is commanded by a captain. Six detachments make up one SF company. A company is commanded by a major. There are typically 3 or more companies in one SF battalion. A typical battalion can have 250 to 400 soldiers, and is commanded by a lieutenant colonel. Three battalions, along with a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), and one support company make up one Special Forces Group. A SFG is approximately 1,400 soldiers strong. 16. What vehicles do the Ghosts use? This of course depends on what type of environment the Ghosts are operating in. For air insertions, the Ghosts' vehicle of choice is the MH-60K Black Hawk. For covert water insertions, they use Zodiac rubber rafts. 17. Where can I find out more about the U.S. Army Special Forces? Check out these links below that served as references for this page: The official U.S. Army Special Forces site The official 5th Special Forces Group site Special Operations.com American Heritage.com Global Spec Ops.com Global Security.org Content on this page maintained by CR6