U.S. 10th Special Forces Group Green Berets Requalify Combat Divers for Covert Maritime Missions.

U.S. Army Green Berets assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) are preserving one of the U.S. military's rarest and most demanding special operations capabilities through annual combat diver requalification training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Conducted on July 15, 2026, the training ensures U.S. Army Special Forces remain capable of executing covert maritime infiltration missions into contested coastal areas where conventional land, air, or amphibious forces cannot operate without detection.

The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), headquartered at Fort Carson, Colorado, with its 1st Battalion forward-deployed in Böblingen, Germany, is the U.S. Army's primary Green Beret formation focused on the U.S. European Command (EUCOM). Its expertise in unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, direct action, foreign internal defense, and counterterrorism also makes it a key contributor to NATO special operations missions and multinational readiness across Europe.

Related Topic: Why the US Green Berets are the World’s Most Unique Special Forces Unit

U.S. Army Green Berets assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) conduct a covert beach landing during annual combat diver requalification training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, on July 15, 2026.(Picture source: U.S. Department of War/Defense)

Rather than serving as a routine qualification, the annual certification sustains an operational capability that few military units possess. Green Berets combat divers enable small teams to infiltrate hostile coastlines, ports, offshore infrastructure, rivers, and island objectives without alerting an adversary. Their missions range from hydrographic reconnaissance and intelligence collection to target designation, direct action, sabotage, and preparation of landing zones for follow-on joint operations.

Combat divers rely on closed-circuit oxygen rebreathers that produce virtually no bubbles, dramatically reducing both visual and acoustic signatures during underwater movement. Combined with advanced underwater navigation, maritime communications, and clandestine insertion techniques, these systems allow operators to penetrate defended littoral areas while avoiding modern surveillance systems and coastal defenses.

Maintaining this expertise has become increasingly important as military planners prepare for operations in contested littoral environments, where anti-access and area-denial (A2/AD) systems, unmanned surveillance networks, long-range precision weapons, and integrated coastal defenses complicate conventional force deployment. Covert maritime infiltration gives commanders a low-signature option for gaining access, collecting intelligence, identifying targets, and shaping the operational environment before larger formations are committed.

The strategic role of U.S. Army Special Forces has also evolved beyond the counterterrorism missions that defined much of the past two decades. Today's Green Berets operate as force multipliers, building partner capacity, supporting allied militaries, establishing resistance networks, conducting strategic reconnaissance, coordinating precision fires, and enabling multidomain operations across land, maritime, air, cyber, and space domains. Their ability to deploy in small autonomous teams provides commanders with flexible response options during both crisis response and high-intensity conflict.

For combat diver detachments, that flexibility extends into the maritime domain. Teams can deploy from submarines, surface combatants, combat rubber raiding craft, helicopters, or other maritime assets to conduct beach reconnaissance, survey ports and waterways, inspect offshore infrastructure, recover sensitive equipment, monitor maritime activity, or execute precision raids against high-value coastal objectives. These missions frequently occur before conventional forces arrive, providing critical intelligence while preserving operational surprise.

The capability also reinforces NATO's growing emphasis on protecting critical maritime infrastructure, strategic ports, offshore energy facilities, and sea lines of communication. As Allied special operations forces expand cooperation across the North Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean, and Arctic regions, maintaining interoperable maritime infiltration skills strengthens collective readiness for future coalition operations.

By sustaining its elite Green Berets combat diver capability through annual training at Camp Pendleton, the U.S. Army is preserving a specialized military skill that remains exceptionally difficult to replicate. As future conflicts increasingly demand discreet access into contested maritime environments, these highly trained operators provide U.S. and Allied commanders with a unique means of projecting combat power, gathering intelligence, and enabling joint operations where conventional forces would face unacceptable risk.

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Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.