11/24/2025
Since 1952, the U.S. Army has conducted various manifestations of formal unconventional warfare training. Guerrilla warfare-inspired exercises under such names as Gobbler Woods and Cherokee Trail operated over the next two decades in the states of West Virginia, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. By definition, UW consists of “operations and activities that are conducted to enable a resistance movement or insurgency to coerce, disrupt or overthrow a government or occupying power by operating through or with an underground, auxiliary and guerrilla force in a denied area. In 1974, what is now known as “Robin Sage,” the U.S. Department of Defense’s premier UW exercise, held its first training iteration.
While Robin Sage has undergone numerous changes and program-of-instruction modifications since its inception, the Special Forces Qualification Course culmination exercise remains a relevant and necessary gate for entry-level U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers in the 21st century.
Credit: JFK/SWCS and Major Adam Woytowich.
---Mud
