As the war progressed, the Christian military leadership began to impose a higher degree of discipline on their militiamen and as a result, some of the early fighters found themselves being expelled from both the KRF and LF for insubordination, looting, and other crimes.

In 1978-79, Hobeika began to recruit these same militiamen and formed them into a new unit, known officially as the 'Special Force' – SF (Arabic: القوة الخاصة | Quwwat Al-Khasa), intended to be used on clandestine "special operations" under his own command.

In addition, they also fielded a small number of technicals (Willys M38A1 MD jeeps, Land-Rover series II-III and Toyota Land Cruiser (J40) pickups) armed mostly with heavy machine guns (HMGs) and a few recoilless rifles and anti-aircraft autocannons.

Although they had combat experience, the Young men/SF were held in contempt by most Lebanese Forces' personnel, who disparagingly called them "the Apaches" or "the Indians" on account of their wild violent behaviour, exacerbated by the consumption of cocaine and other drugs.

The group was also implicated in a wide range of violent crimes in the early 1980s, including the killing of many abductees and the September 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre alongside LF and South Lebanon Army (SLA) units backed by the Israeli Defense Forces.