First Special Service Force
THE BEGINNING
On 9 July 1942, a combined U.S.-Canadian FSSF loosely modeled on the Project PLOUGH concept, was activated at Fort William Henry Harrison, Montana. A formal, binational agreement specified its structure. The U.S. Army provided soldiers, equipment and logistics, while Canada provided soldiers, administratively called the 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion. Command positions were divided evenly by country from regiment to platoons. The units were a mixture of U.S. and Canadian soldiers. The FSSF was commanded by Coast Artillery Corps Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Frederick, a 1928 U.S. Military Academy graduate. Frederick’s executive officer was Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John G. McQueen. An eclectic mixture of volunteers arrived at the Montana post in the summer of 1942, and began a grueling program of physical fitness, close combat fighting, airborne, demolition, mountaineering, amphibious, and winter warfare training. With one-third of the force being Canadian, the FSSF was organized into three 600-man regiments, a service battalion, and a headquarters. Threatened with being disbanded when Project PLOUGH was cancelled, LTC Frederick convinced the War Department to use the FSSF in the recapture of the Aleutian Islands. On 15 August 1943, the Force spearheaded the Kiska Island assault. Though the Japanese had withdrawn, Kiska was an invaluable rehearsal for future operations.
