Editing First Special Service Force (section)

=== US recruitment ===
The US volunteers for the force consisted initially of officers from [[Fort Belvoir|Forts Belvoir]] and [[Fort Benning|Benning]].

Letters of recruitment were posted to all US Army units in the Southwest and on the Pacific coast. The letters called for single men, aged 21–35 with three or more years of [[grammar school]]. Occupations preferred: Rangers, lumberjacks, north woodsmen, hunters, prospectors, explorers, and game wardens. Married men were not accepted for the Force. Inspection teams also scoured the western camps for ideal candidates. Those chosen, due to the secrecy of the mission, were often told that they had been selected to undergo training for a parachute unit. Indeed, the unit was so secretive, that many soldiers did not know where they were when they arrived in Helena for training, as the windows of the trains carrying the troops were painted black.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Ted|title=A Commemorative History: First Special Service Force|year=1995|publisher=Taylor Publishing|location=Dallas|page=3}}</ref>

The combat force was to be made up of three regiments. Each regiment was led by a lieutenant colonel and 32 officers and had 385 men. The regiments were divided into two battalions with three companies in each battalion and three platoons in each company. Each platoon had two sections.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Ted|title=A Commemorative History: First Special Service Force|year=1995|publisher=Taylor Publishing|location=Dallas|page=2}}</ref>

Following initial training period in Montana, the FSSF relocated to Camp Bradford, Virginia, on 15 April 1943, and to [[Fort Ethan Allen]], Vermont, on 23 May 1943.