Charles Alvin Beckwith

Early life and education

Beckwith was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on 22 January 1929, to Baptist parents Elza Dozier Beckwith (1894–1940) and Clara Eugenia Beckwith (née Rey; 1895–1973). He was an all-state football player for his high school team. He later enrolled at the University of Georgia, where he was a member of the Delta chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity and ROTC.

Beckwith lettered in football for the Bulldogs, and was approached by the Green Bay Packers for the 1950–51 NFL draft, but turned it down in favor of a military career. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army in 1952.

Career

After the Korean War (1950–1953) was over, then-Second Lieutenant Beckwith served as a platoon leader with Charlie Company, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division in South Korea. In 1955, Beckwith was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division as the commander of the combat support company of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

In 1958, after completing Ranger School, Beckwith joined the Special Forces and was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group. In 1960, then-Captain Beckwith deployed to Laos for two years on Operation Hotfoot.

In 1962, Beckwith was sent as an exchange officer to the British 22 Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) where he commanded 3 Troop, A Squadron. He conducted war-time guerilla operations with the SAS during the Indonesian Confrontation. In the jungle, he contracted a case of leptospirosis so severe that doctors did not expect him to survive, but he made a full recovery within months.

Upon his return from England, Beckwith presented a detailed report outlining the Army's vulnerability in not having an SAS-type unit. For several years, Beckwith (who was still a Captain) submitted and re-submitted the report to Army brass, only to be repeatedly thwarted in his efforts. Special Forces leadership at the time thought that they had enough on their hands and did not need the trouble of creating a new unit.

Meanwhile, as the 7th SFG(A) operations officer, Beckwith went to work revolutionizing Green Beret training. Special Forces at the time focused on unconventional warfare, and especially foreign internal defense: i.e. training indigenous personnel in resistance activities. Beckwith recognized that, "Before a Special Forces Green Beret soldier could become a good unconventional soldier, he'd first have to be a good conventional one... Because I had commanded rifle and weapons companies, I was appalled on arriving in Special Forces to find officers who had never commanded conventional units."

Beckwith restructured the 7th's training, basically rewriting the book on Army special operations training from the real-world lessons he had learned with the SAS. Beckwith learned that a symbol of excellence like a beret had to be earned. Officers were being assigned to Special Forces straight out of the war college with no prior special operations experience and were given their green beret on arrival. Beckwith instituted the hard-nosed and practical training standards that would lend themselves to the birth of the modern Q-Course.

Delta Force

Although Beckwith had presented proposals throughout the 1960s for an elite, highly autonomous direct-action unit, the idea had sat on the shelf for a decade. Finally, in the mid-1970s, as the threat of international terrorism became apparent, Beckwith was appointed to form his unit. During the time Beckwith was forming his unit, counter-terrorism duties fell to the special forces community. The 5th Special Forces Group quickly formed the counter-terrorism unit Blue Light to fill in until Delta was fully operational.

1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta was then established on 17 November 1977, by Beckwith and Colonel Thomas M. Henry, as a counterterrorism unit based on the model of the British Special Air Service, but with a greater focus on hostage rescue in addition to covert operations and specialized reconnaissance.

Beckwith led Delta Force's first mission, Operation Eagle Claw, the assault on the captured American embassy in Tehran, Iran early in 1980. The mission was aborted due to helicopter failures during a sandstorm and a subsequent crash which led to several deaths. After the 'debacle in the desert,' the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment was formed to provide aviation support to Delta Force and other special operations units. JSOC was also formed, directly based on Beckwith's recommendations during Senate investigations into the mission's failure.

Personal life

Beckwith was married to Katherine Beckwith, and they had three daughters. One of his daughters, Constance "Connie" Howe, is a former United States Army Reserve major.

His granddaughter, United States Air Force Technical Sergeant Mary Howe (now Daniell), is an aerial gunner of 4th Special Operations Squadron and the daughter of Paul R. Howe.

A second daughter, Margaret, married Mike Kazmierski, a West Point graduate. She served as an army captain in the Judge Advocate Generals Corps (JAG). Her son Zackery Aaron Kazmierski graduated from West Point in 2017.

He was a technical advisor on the Discovery Channel's series World of Valor (1992-1993).

Later life and death

Following his disappointment at the failure of the Iranian operation, Beckwith retired from the Army. He started a consulting firm and wrote a book about Delta Force. In 1994, he died at his home of natural causes.

Beckwith's remains are interred in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas.

Awards and decorations

Beckwith's awards include:

Other decorations

Beckwith also earned 8 Overseas Service Bars, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Special Forces Distinctive unit insignia, Combat Service Identification Badges from the 101st Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division, Army Special Forces, and Delta Force.