- During the Cold War, military planners wanted nuclear weapons they could use without triggering all-out nuclear war.
- That led to the development of tactical nuclear weapons for use against military or military related targets.
- Army green beret teams were trained to carry those nuclear weapons to their targets, which they saw as a one-way mission.
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During the Cold War, as the nuclear arms race intensified, a nuclear confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union remained a major problem.
With intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles, and air bombs, both countries had different options when it came to nuclear warfare.
But the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the closing days of World War II revealed the destructive potential of nuclear weapons and the danger of full-blown nuclear conflict.
As a result, US strategists sought ways to use nuclear weapons without sparking all-out nuclear war.
The tactical nuclear option
An M-388 Davy Crockett nuclear weapon mounted on a recoilless rifle at Aberdeen Proving Ground, March 1961.
US government DOD
In the 1950s, the US military came up with the tactical nuclear option, with lower yield and range weapons than their strategic counterparts.
These weapons would be used on the battlefield or against a military related target to gain an operational advantage. For example, the Air Force could drop a tactical atomic bomb on a Soviet division invading Poland to stop its advance without provoking a disproportionate response – like a nuclear strike on New York City.
There were two types of tactical nuclear munitions: the Medium Atomic Demolition Munition (MADM) had an average yield and required several troops to carry it. The Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM) had a low yield, but could be carried by one soldier.
The order to use tactical nuclear weapons should still come from both political and military authorities. SADMs were subject to the same command and control procedures as other tactical nuclear weapons and were only intended to be used when there were no other means to create the desired effect.
Tactical nuclear weapons came in a variety of forms, including artillery shells, gravity bombs, short-range missiles, and even landmines. But perhaps the most interesting iteration was the “backpack bomb”, which was supposed to be carried by operators of the Army’s Special Forces.
Green Light Teams
US officials with an M-388 Davy Crockett nuclear weapon. It used one of the smallest warheads ever developed by the US.
The United States Government
Specially trained Green Berets were assigned to Green Light Teams. Their goal was to deploy clandestinely in NATO or Warsaw Pact countries and detonate their SADM in a conflict with the Soviets. The Pentagon later included North Korea and Iran on its target list.
The main targets of Green Light teams were tunnels, large bridges, mountain passes, dams, canals, ports, major railway junctions, oil facilities, water works and underground storage or operational facilities.
In other words, SADMs were intended to slow the enemy by destroying or significantly altering the landscape, or to attack the logistical, communications, and operational hubs vital to an army, especially during offensive operations.
Green Light teams mainly carried the MK-54 SADM. Nicknamed the “Monkey” or “Pig,” the device weighed nearly 60 pounds and could fit in a large backpack.
In each team there was a lead operator who was primarily responsible for activating the SADM. He and other members of the team had the codes needed to activate the bomb.
Like any Green Beret team, the Green Light teams were trained in a variety of insertion methods, including skydiving – both static lines and military free fall – skiing and combat diving.
Free fall was probably the most realistic method of insertion, other than soil infiltration, but it was difficult to do with the device.
During parachute insertion, the lead operator was rarely able to jump with the device, as the jumper had a high risk of injury, and the lead operator was key to the success of the mission.
An operator would have to strap the SADM between his legs like a backpack, but the device would work against him if he tried to stabilize in mid-air before deploying his parachute. Even in static skydiving, when the rope is hooked to the plane, there would still be problems.
Paratroopers will release their backpacks or other heavy cargo attached to them via a line just before landing to avoid injuries. But the SADM tended to get stuck between the jumper’s feet in the crucial seconds before landing, resulting in several sprained ankles and broken legs.
Anything closely associated even with the Green Light teams was top secret, and the seriousness of the mission followed the Green Light operators outside of work. They were instructed to travel only on American planes and never to fly over a communist country in case the plane had to make an emergency landing, which could lead to them being detained by local authorities.
Nobody comes to get us
Soldiers of the 77th Special Forces Group are towed on skis during training at Camp Hale, Colorado, February 5, 1956.
The Denver Post via Getty Images
A common thread among successive generations of Green Light teams was their distrust of leadership when it came to their specific mission.
“During the training, the instructors had told us we had about 30 minutes to clear the beam of the device. We never really believed that,” a retired Special Forces operator who worked on a Green Light team told Insider. .
“On any other mission, teams would have an extraction plan. We didn’t. It was all up to us to get out of dodge. But that’s not how the military works. That’s why we never really believed we could. Get out alive. Just in case we had to use one of those things. It was a one-way mission, ”added the retired Green Beret.
Green Light teams had been deployed forward in Europe – even Berlin – always on standby to launch. Some Green Light teams even tried to come forward in East Germany to be ready in case the Soviets unleash their army on Western Europe.
Green Light teams were also deployed to South Korea at various times and were on standby in case tensions with North Korea turned into war.
With the end of the Cold War, the Green Light teams were eliminated. They were never used in a real operation.
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a veteran of the Greek Army (National Service to the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ) and a graduate of Johns Hopkins University.