Pathfinders (military)

Pathfinders are paratroops who are dropped into place before a major operation in order to place and operate navigational devices to assist the primary drop of paratroops.

History

During World War II, the pathfinders were a group of volunteers selected within the Airborne units who were specially trained to operate navigation aids to guide the main airborne body to the drop zones. The pathfinder teams (sticks) were made up of a group of eight to twelve pathfinders and a group of six bodyguards whose job was to defend the pathfinders while they set up their equipment. The pathfinder teams dropped approximately thirty minutes before the main body in order to locate designated drop zones and provide radio and visual guides for the main force in order to improve the accuracy of the jump. Once the main body jumped, the pathfinders then joined their original units and fought as standard airborne infantry.

After the serious problems uncovered during the parachute drop in the Allied invasion of Sicily, Allied high command questioned the utility of parachute infantry primarily because of the difficulty of dropping the infantry as cohesive units rather than as scattered groups. A review of procedures and methods resulted in the establishment of the pathfinder teams to aid navigation to drop zones. Because aircraft navigation, especially at night, was so difficult, the concept was to create specially trained teams of aircraft crews and parachute infantry that would be able to locate the drop zone, parachute into the drop zone accurately, and then set up special radio beacon sets (the Rebecca/Eureka transponding radar beacon) and marking lamps to help guide the main airborne force to the drop zones. Brightly colored panels and smoke grenades were also used for daytime drops.

Pathfinders were first used in a jump to reinforce units involved in combat in Italy in September 1943. Pathfinders were involved in the D-Day drop of the Battle of Normandy in June 1944, the Operation Market Garden drops to secure the bridges required for the ground units advancing into the Netherlands in September 1944, a resupply by air operation of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, and a resupply by air operation of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division near Bleialf, Germany in February 1945.

Though a number of paratroopers were trained as pathfinders, they did not always jump as pathfinders for all operations. The number of pathfinders for a jump varied depending on the conditions of the destination at the time of the jump. For instance, the D-Day jump for the Battle of Normandy, a night time jump, had more pathfinder teams than the jump for Operation Market Garden, a day time jump. For the Battle of Bastogne, the 101st Airborne Division was trucked to the town for its defense against the attacking German forces. Two sticks of Pathfinders were used when the 101st Airborne was resupplied from the air in order to guide the aircraft dropping the much needed supplies accurately and within the Allied lines.

Pathfinders taking part in the Allied parachute assault on Normandy on 6 June 1944, were trained by the Pathfinder School at RAF North Witham of which the USAAF designation was Army Air Force Station 479.

At 21.30 hours on 5 June, about 200 pathfinders began to take off from North Witham, for the Cotentin Peninsula, in 20 C-47 aircraft of 9th Troop Carrier Command Pathfinder Group. They began to drop at 00.15 on June 6, to prepare the drop zones for the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. They were the first US troops on the ground on D-Day. However, their aircraft were scattered by low clouds and anti-aircraft fire. Many never found their assigned landing zones. Some of the landing zones were too heavily defended, some were flooded.

The British 6th Airborne Division, which participated in the D-Day drop for the Battle of Normandy used pathfinder teams as did the British 1st Airborne Division during Operation "Market" (the parachute infantry portion of Operation Market-Garden).

The origin of US Army pathfinders has been the subject of debate. According to the late Charlie Doyle, veteran of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, " [General 'Slim Jim'] Gavin likes to claim credit for 'inventing' Pathfinders, pointing to bad drops in Sicily as the cause. Let us set the record straight: The 509th, the world's most experienced bad drop specialists, first saw the need for them."

Doyle states the Scout Company of the 509th was the first specialized pathfinder group and it began the training at Oujda, assisted by knowledge gained from the experience of the British Airborne. Company commander Captain Howland and his XO 1st Lt. Fred E. Perry developed usable techniques. The Scout Company was later reorganized as a Scout Platoon with ten enlisted men under Perry's command. Perry states, "We were equipped with a British homing radio and U.S. Navy Aldis lamps, which radiated a beam to guide planes. We trained on this procedure until the invasion at Salerno."

Doyle relates that the 82nd Airborne Division arrived from the USA and camped near the 509th PIB at Oujda. The 509th was attached to the 82nd, but the division did not initially accept the pathfinder concept until after its experience in Sicily.

Doyle adds, "At the time, Major General Matthew Ridgway and his 'All-American' staff thought they knew it all. Impressed with themselves, although they were not jumpers or experienced glider troopers, they airily dismissed the 509th and its fresh combat experiences, as well as any nonstandard/Limey concept. They would learn the hard way."

Source: "Stand in the Door! The wartime history of the 509th Parachute Infantry" by Charles H. Doyle and Terrell Stewart. Published by Phillips Publications, P.O. Box 168, Williamstown, NJ 08094

Further information on the origin of the pathfinders during World War II can be found in the book "American Airborne Pathfinders in World War II" by Jeff Moran, published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310

Modern pathfinders

Pathfinders still exist in a number of armed forces around the world. Most of them are senior members of parachute units and have earned the right to wear the Maroon beret.

Pathfinders in the US Army and Canadian Forces wear the Pathfinder Badge.

Canada

In the Canadian Forces Land Force Command, airborne pathfinders are an élite of "quiet professionals" who — besides securing drop zones, gathering intelligence, and briefing follow-on forces — also conduct ambushes, reconnaissance behind enemy lines, hostage rescue, etc. Pathfinders are Tier 2 Special Operations forces.

To qualify as a pathfinder in the Canadian Army the soldier must pass the Patrol Pathfinder course, which is designed as the most difficult course in the Canadian Army, passed only by the most physically and mentally fit soldiers. Historically, the pass rates are less than 25 per cent. The course is conducted by the Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre since it absorbed the Canadian Parachute Centre that used to conduct it.

The Canadian special forces unit JTF2 employs pathfinders in several roles. The Canadian Special Operations Regiment also uses pathfinders. The pathfinders of the Canadian Airborne Regiment were some of Canada's best soldiers; several served with 1 Commando, since disbanded. The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, a reserve unit based in Toronto, has sent candidates to the Patrol Pathfinder course.

United Kingdom

Pathfinders in the British Army form the Pathfinder Platoon of 16 Air Assault Brigade. The Pathfinder Cadre is open to any male member of the UK Armed Forces. However, many of the applicants originate from within Airborne Forces. Potential Pathfinders are required to go through a rigorous selection course with many months of exhausting physical and mental tests, before even being accepted for further training. It is designed to be one of the hardest courses in Airborne Forces, with the exception of Special Forces. Only the most physically and mentally fit pass. Historically, pass rates are less than 25%.

United States of America

The U.S. Army operates three Pathfinder schools. These are at the Sabalauski Air Assault School of Fort Campbell, KY [http://www.campbell.army.mil/newinternet/unitpages/LzHeli/Links.asp?uid=102] , and another at Fort Benning, GA [http://www.benning.army.mil/airborne/pathfinder/index.htm] . The third is part of Fort Benning's Army National Guard Warrior Training Center, which also conducts Pre-Ranger and Air Assault classes. The courses taught by the 101st and the WTC do not include parachute jumps. [https://www.benning.army.mil/wtc/wtc/b/pf/index.htm]

The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell has a pathfinder unit in each of its two aviation brigades. The second was created when the division's long range surveillance detachment (LRSD) was reassigned from the division's military intelligence battalion to one of the aviation battalions and converted to a pathfinder unit. In 2006 the Long Range Surveillance Detachment in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg was likewise transferred to 2nd Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment to create a pathfinder unit. [http://www.bragg.army.mil/2-82AVN/LRSD.htm]

In June 2005 the 17th Aviation Brigade in Korea was inactivated, along with its pathfinder detachment. At the time, it was the only pathfinder unit on the rolls outside of the 101st. Since then, the 82nd Airborne Division added a pathfinder unit as noted above. [Charles H. Doyle and Terrell Stewart. "Stand in the Door!: The wartime history of the 509th Parachute Infantry." Phillips Publications, P.O. Box 168, Williamstown, NJ 08094] [Jeff Moran. "American Airborne Pathfinders in World War II." Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310]

There are three standing Pathfinder Companies in the Army today. The first and oldest of the three is the 101st Pathfinder Company (Airborne), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It was this company and it's men who took the first steps on occupied French soil in 1944, helping to clear the way for the coming liberation of Europe. Now, nearly sixty-five years later, it's guidon still carries with it the Torch that lit a darkened continent.

The second Pathfinder Company, also of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) is the ). Activated in 2005 from the now disbanded 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Long-Range Surveillance Detachment, the 159th Pathfinder Company (Airborne), traces its lineage from the hardened jungle warriors of the Division's Ranger Company. With it's rich, colorful history, the 159th Pathfinders were a welcome addition to the Pathfinder community.

The third and most recently activated Pathfinder Company is on Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As with the 159th Pathfinders, the 82nd Pathfinder Company was constituted from the now disbanded 82nd Airborne Division Long-Range Surveillance Detachment. Much like it's counterpart in the 159th, the men of the 82nd Pathfinder Company bring to the stage a unique skill and experience set that only decades in the LRS community could provide.

As the face of modern warfare constantly evolves, with it must evolve the way in which conventional forces are trained and employed. These three Pathfinder Companies stand as sterling examples of this metamorphosis. Today's Pathfinders provide a myriad of services to their respective parent units to include direct action, quick-reaction force, reconnaissance/surveillance, air traffic control, and sniper/counter-sniper operations. Their use of both dedicated air assets; rotary wing aircraft; and ability to conduct airborne operations leaves them postured to meet head on the challenges of combat in the 21st century.