Ghost Recon, also known as The Ghosts, formerly known as Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, is a Tier 1 Joint Special Operations Force of the United States Army.
Like the units under their parent organization; Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), the operations conducted by the Ghost Recon are kept highly classified. It is shown that the Ghost teams have multiple designations and the Ghost Recon is commanded and administrated by JSOC, participating in highly classified covert operations.
They are similar to the Army's Intelligence Support Activity and Delta Force, the Navy's DEVGRU, and the Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron.
The modern Department of Defense title for the Ghosts is the Group for Specialized Tactics (GST - where the term “Ghost” derives from) unit.
Ghost teams are often supported by the Special Activities Division's Special Operations Group (SAD/SOG) of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and also sometimes with the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). All Ghost members operate as Advanced Force Operations (AFO) teams.
Overview
Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, also known as the Ghosts, is an elite Special Mission Unit within the U.S. Army and JSOC and is located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They were formed in 1994 and are a classified special operations unit.
The men and women of the 'Ghosts'. Alpha Team (2008-2011)
Armed with the state-of-the-art weapon systems and trained in the best field and combat tactics, they are the most specialized and qualified special operations unit that JSOC has to offer. First in and last out because of their experience with striking enemies swiftly, silently and invisibly, hence this unit is known as Ghosts. The Ghost teams specialize in both covert and clandestine operations within denied or politically-sensitive territory with little to no support. Most of their operations before 2011 were classified and were only known by the Chief of Staff, the President and most of all; the CIA, NSA and DIA. Until an American television series Modern Heroes that aired after 2011 reviewed those details to the public.
The primary role of the Ghosts appears to be conducting deniable Advance Force Operations which often involve:
Secondary roles historically have included:
- Counter-intelligence
- Counter-narcotics
- Counter-proliferation
- Counter-terrorism
- Executive Protection
- Foreign Internal Defense
- Guerrilla Warfare
- Personnel Recovery
As Special Operations members, they are trained to execute Direct Action raids (focused short-duration attacks). Typical tasks include assassinate or kidnap High-Value Targets (HVTs), secure or destroy sensitive documents and classified hardware, sabotage or harassment of the enemy.
Structure
Some members of Alpha Team (2011-2013)
When deployed into combat, the Ghosts are usually organized into fire teams of four members led by a Ghost Lead. The GST is organized into a company-sized force consisting of approximately 200-250 operators. Major Scott Mitchell is the commander of the Ghosts. Captain Nick Salvatore, Captain Jennifer Burke, and Captain David Foster command their teams after many years as NCOs with then-Captain Mitchell.
Classes
Around the 2008 Russian war, the Ghosts were divided into the following classes:
- Assault
- Demolition
- Sniper
- Specialists
- Support Gunner
Near future classes:
- Assault Class
- Auto Rifleman
- CQC Specialist
- Engineer
- Grenadier
- Marksmen
- Medic
- Panther
- Recon
- Rifleman
- Scout
- Sharpshooter
- Specialist
- Support
Teams
Ghost Special Forces teams are organized into Advanced Force Operations units in the 2020s time frame:
Classes available in 2024.
- AFO Team Alpha
- AFO Team Bravo
- AFO Team Charlie
- AFO Team Hunter
- AFO Team Kingslayer
- AFO Team Predator
- AFO Team Yankee
Post-Russian Insurgency, the team was reorganized into the Group for Specialized Tactics and given dedicated logistics support and air support. Also, around that time, the team was reorganized into three classes: Specialist, Assault, and Recon.
Selection
Phase- I involves selection of potential Ghosts. The candidates are selected from various branches of the U.S Military. They go through a selection phases which involves a physical and mentality test. Candidates who pass this test are then qualified for Phase- II.
Training
Ongoing training in weapons, tactics, and commands are held at their headquarters in Fort Bragg.
- Around 2013, they also had access to combat simulators (shown in the Battle Simulator in 2014).
Selected Ghost's go through Phase- II
Phase- II involves advanced combat training, language learning and gadget training. Candidates who successfully pass Phase- II are commissioned as full fledged Ghost's and are then assigned to either a team on training, a team on standby or a team that is ready for deployment.
Moreover Ghost Recon training emphasises on team coordination, technology use, survival, stealth and direct combat with which involves 4 Ghosts against a huge group of hostiles.
Known Operations
The missions the Ghosts take can range from anything, from Hostage Rescue to Convoy Escort. They also conducted Lone Wolf sabotage operations.
2002-2010
The Ghosts were in active service as of August 2002. Several were present at then-Master Sergeant Scott Mitchell's Silver Star medal ceremony. In 2007, Mitchell joined the Ghosts and led a team during the First Korean war.
Ghosts in Cuban Conflict 2010
In 2008, the Ghosts were deployed to Georgia as part of peacekeeping operations in the Caucasus. They spearheaded the fight against the ultra nationalists in the 2008 Russian war. In November 2009, Mitchell led a rescue mission in Waziristan. That year the Ghosts also led peacekeeping forces in the Eritrean war.
The following year, they went to Cuba and Colombia to safeguard elections and root out terrorism.
2011-2020
Ghosts during Kazakhstan conflict.
Their next major operation was the Second Korean War. Mitchell again led Alpha Team and hampered the North Korean war efforts. Their fight was documented on the Military Channel's show Modern Heroes after 2011. The episode included interviews with members of Alpha Team.
In 2012, the Ghosts conducted Operation War Wraith in China, along with eliminating Asad Rahil, the coup master in Kazakhstan.
Mitchell also led Alpha Team during the Mexican upheavals, first stopping Ontiveros' coup and then stopping a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) attack during Juan de la Barrera's rebellion.
During this time, they were deployed to Afghanistan solely to eliminate the Taliban leader, Zahed. They encountered extreme difficulties and resistance from inside the US intelligence community.
In 2014, the Ghosts were the subject of a briefing for General Keyes about the future of warfare.
A Ghost Team in Bolivia
Sometime in 2019, the U.S. government sends in a Ghost team consisting of Nomad (Ghost Lead), Weaver (Sniper), Holt (Recon) and Midas (Specialist) to Bolivia in response to the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in La Paz and the death of undercover DEA Agent Ricky Sandoval. It is in this country that the Mexican Santa Blanca drug cartel has taken control over the local government, turning the country into a lawless narcotic state. The main profits and income of the cartel are by illegal exporting of cocaine, whose production is high in Bolivia. The Ghosts' mission is to down the cartel at all costs before they become too powerful and to break the connection between the cartel and the government in order to remove the cause of destabilization to the country.
Sri Lankan Crisis
The Ghost's Alpha Team meet with their government contact Ranjit Hisan, who leads Bravo Team. The Ghosts, acting on intelligence from a CIA contact, strike at the Activists, removing their leader Kumara Fazal. They soon find out that the contact was a double-agent for the Loyalists, and the Ghosts go behind enemy lines to make it seem like the other faction had betrayed the other. The rebels seize President Darsha, so the Ghosts rescue him. Eventually they hunt down the mastermind Sunil Ranga at his home and capture or kill him. They tell Hisan that they were never there and go on to their next assignment.
2021-Present
The future of the Ghosts
In 2021, Mitchell and the Ghosts, along with the U.S. Air Force H.A.W.X. Squadron, fought against the Artemis Global Security invasion.
A Ghost team also conducted an amphibious operation in Norway in the near future after the Russians invaded the country. Bravo Team helped the Allies in Moscow and neutralized General Maxim Cherskiy.
The Ghosts during the hunt for a nuclear weapon
At the same time, a Ghost Lead worked with the H.A.W.X. Squadron during the rescue of David Crenshaw. Then, he worked with the Royal Navy when reclaiming Norway from the Russian nationalist military as part of a NATO operation, code-named Triton. He continued to work with the squadron during the subsequent retaking of Moscow and the manhunt for Aleksandr Treskayev in the Kremlin.
A Ghost Team also intercepted a nuclear warhead while under the protection of the pilot HAWX2.
In 2022, the Ghosts are deployed in the Middle East running Counter Terrorist Operations. Sometime after the Operation was finished, Cole D. Walker along with several Ghosts went rogue and they executed several Ghosts and a Senior Ghost. The remaining Ghosts under Mitchell took down the Wolves, but they couldn't stop Walker and the remaining Wolves from escaping.
In 2023, the Ghosts conducted Operation Greenstone, as they are deployed for a reconnaissance mission at Skell Tech's new headquarters in Auroa after the U.S. government loses contact with the island and the company's CEO Jace Skell. Four teams of 32 Ghosts were taken out by drone swarms even before they could be deployed for the operation. Most of the Ghosts, other than Nomad, Holt, Midas, Fury, Vasily and Fixit, were killed in action in an attack by the Wolves, a group of rogue military specialists and former Ghosts, led by former Ghost and Nomad's ex-brother-in-arms Lt. Colonel Cole D. Walker. After surviving the attack, the Ghosts find out that the Wolves have not only taken over the island's security and hired a private military contractor, Sentinel, to guard it, but they have also taken over the automated drone production facilities.
The Ghosts now not only have to complete the operation without support, but also at the same time, they have to survive and take down the Wolves. Concurrently, the unit was deactivated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff following Walker and other Ghosts going rogue. Later on, by the request of Mitchell, the unit was reintroduced as Group for Specialized Tactics.
In 2024, the Ghosts also conducted Operation Take Down Overlord in Russia, and a Ghost Lead led a team to Sokolov's base.
In the same year, Predator Team led by Master Sergeant Jose Ramirez was killed by the remote detonation of a nuclear warhead after they stopped a convoy transporting it in Nicaragua. Then, Mitchell decided to launch an investigation into their deaths by having Hunter Team led by Captain Cedric Ferguson to follow possible leads. The team was deployed to Nicaragua, Zambia, Pakistan, Georgia, and again, Russia during the time of the Raven's Rock coup and discovered that Raven's Rock was responsible for killing Predator Team, Hunter then tracked down their leaders and eliminated all of them in Russia.
Later on, members of Hunter Team also helped track down a rogue CIA agent. At one point, the Ghosts assisted a rebellion in Nicaragua against President Raphael Rivera.
Ghosts fighting the Phantoms
20 years into the future, the Ghosts were caught in a conflict with ex-Ghosts and other military operatives known as the Phantoms. Their first encounter was during a theft of ATHENA Corp. Information in Taiwan. After capturing an operative, they are led into a trap in Pakistan, but win the skirmish. When following up on the intelligence, Yankee team was captured by Omega Company.
Alternate Future (World War III)
In an alternate future of 2020, The Ghosts continued their operations during World War III.
The Ghosts also fought in England and Dubai during the hunt for the “Snow Maiden.” Three teams were on the ground during the Russian invasion of Poland and they were saved by a Joint Strike Force gunship pilot. After the brainwashed Major Alice Dennison disappeared, General Mitchell deployed Ghost teams to look for her. Mitchell himself oversaw the assault on the Spetsnaz headquarters at Fort Levski.
Equipment
The Ghosts use a variety of weapons and equipment at this chart:
The classes in Ghost Recon Online: Recon, Assault, Support
Recently, the Ghosts have started to make use of the Integrated Warfighter System, which includes the Cross Com, under version of 1.0 & 2.0 systems in 2010s and 3.0 versions in 2020s. They also use high-tech gadgets like the UAV Drone from Skell Technology and the Warhound. The Ghosts also have a set of uniforms, which changed over the years.
Notable Members
2008-2011
2007-2014
Operation Kingslayer (2019)
Operation Silent Spade (2019)
Operation Oracle (2019)
Operation Greenstone (2023)
Sri Lanka
ALPHA (2023)
Raven's Rock coup (2024)
20 years into the future
Near future
Alternate Future (World War III)
Trivia
- The Ghosts are being considered not just the best Green Berets, but also the best U.S. Special Operations Forces operators.
- “Ghost: In traditional belief, a ghost is a manifestation of the dead. They remain in the physical realm to avenge, help, or punish the living.” — Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Prologue
- The GST (2024s) has an extremely effective cyber operations team as proven by their ability to hack almost any electronic lock on the planet remotely.
- From what Scott Mitchell said about the deaths of Joe Ramirez and his team, the Ghosts have never lost four people simultaneously, which speaks a lot about the survival rate of each operator. However, with the events of Operation Greenstone, the survival rate might have changed.
- The multiplayer classes in Future Soldier are Rifleman, Engineer, and Scout.
- Andrew Ross, Nick Salvatore, Weaver and Fury are the only 4 personnel within Ghost Recon that were in another branch of the U.S. Armed Forces prior to the Army transition, with Ross, Weaver and Fury being part of the Navy SEALs (Weaver and Fury specifically hailing from DEVGRU) and Salvatore being part of the Marine Corps Force Recon prior to the Ghosts.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (media franchise)
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon novel
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (First appearance)
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Desert Siege
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 (Both versions)
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (brief crossover)
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2
- "The End Begins: Ghost Recon" (Mentioned only)
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Combat Ops
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Predator
- Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.
- Tom Clancy's EndWar: The Hunted
- Tom Clancy's EndWar: The Missing (Mentioned only)
- Ghost Recon: ALPHA
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
- Ghost Recon Commander
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Choke Point
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars
- Ghost Recon Future Soldier: Future War
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wii
- Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 (Console version, 8-bit game)
- Ghost Recon Phantoms Webcomic
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Phantoms
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint