Rangers vs Special Forces: Hostage Rescue

A prospective client asked me all about scenarios involving airfield takedowns - all the who-where-what-why-when's & how many's . . . I told her it all depends on so many factors & variables, to include what kind of troops available . . . this led to a conversation regarding the difference between Rangers and Special Forces, and so I shared with her the following parable from the ancient sagas of US Army Special Operations . . . S.L.

The Chief of Staff of the Army asked his Sergeant Major - who was both Ranger and Special Forces qualified - which organization he would recommend to form a new anti-terrorist unit. The Sergeant Major responded to the General's question with this parable: If there were a hijacked Boeing 747 being held by terrorists along with its passengers and crew and an anti-terrorist unit formed either by the Rangers or the Special Forces was given a Rescue/Recovery Mission; what would you expect to happen?

Ranger Option

Forces/Equipment Committed: If the Rangers went in, they would send a Ranger company of 120 men with standard army issue equipment.

Mission Preparation: The Ranger Company First Sergeant would conduct a Hair Cut and Boots Inspection, while the officers consulted SOPs and held sand table exercises.

Infiltration Technique: They would insist on double timing, in company formation, wearing their combat equipment, and singing cadence all the way to the site of the hijacked aircraft.

Actions in the Objective Area: Once they arrived, the Ranger company would establish their ORP, put out security elements, conduct a leaders recon, reapply their camouflage, and conduct final preparations for Actions on the OBJ.

Results of Operation: The Rescue/Recovery Operation would be completed within one hour; all of the terrorists and most of the passengers would have been killed, the Rangers would have sustained light casualties and the 747 would be worthless to anyone except a scrap dealer.

Special Forces Option

Forces/Equipment Committed: If Special Forces went in, they would send only a 12 man team (all SF units are divisible by 12 for some arcane historical reason) however, due to the exotic nature of their equipment the SF Team would cost the same amount to deploy as the Ranger Company.

Mission Preparation: The SF Team Sergeant would request relaxed grooming standards for the team. All members of the team would spend a grueling afternoon at a quality spa ensuring physical abilities would be honed.

Infiltration Technique: The team would insist on separate travel orders with Max Per Diem, and each would get to the site of the hijacking by his own means. At least one third of the team would insist on jumping in HALO.

Actions in the Objective Area: Once they arrived , the SF Team would cache their military uniforms, establish a Team Room at the best hotel in the area, use their illegal Team Fund to stock the unauthorized Team Room Bar, check out the situation by talking to the locals, and have a Team Meeting to discuss the merits of the terrorists' cause.

Results of Operation: The Rescue/Recovery Operation would take two weeks to complete and by that time all of the terrorists would have been killed, (and would have left signed confessions); the passengers would be ruined psychologically for the remainder of their lives; and all of the women passengers would be pregnant. The 747 would be essentially unharmed, the team would have taken no casualties but would have used up, lost, or stolen all the "high speed" equipment issued to them.

STORMBRINGER SENDS

FIVE ROCK SOLID REASONS SPECIAL OPERATIONS VETERANS ARE AN ASSET TO YOUR BUSINESS

Actually I can think of hundreds of reasons veterans - not just Special Operations veterans - are a good way to go . . . S.L.

Given the nature of Special Operations units and the selection process required to gain entry, a Special Operations veteran is already a qualified individual, a seasoned professional. The qualities found in Special Operations veterans are the product of their training and experience - including the character traits that get them through that selection process - and are directly applicable to productivity and excellence in a corporate or industrial environment.

1. LOYALTY

In the military this is a two-way street: "Loyalty Up & Loyalty Down". It was explained to me by my first Team Sergeant, "Don't you worry about the Sergeant Major - you let me worry about him. You worry about ME." The message was the essence of Loyalty - as team members, our immediate loyalty was to our Team Sergeant, and he had just described his obligation to us. There is nothing more destructive to a team than a disloyal member.

2. CHAIN OF COMMAND

Veterans learn to identify their chain of command, know how important it is to keep the chain informed and understand the correct etiquette for communication up and down the chain. Commanders in the US military have an "Open Door Policy", but you'd better keep your immediate link in the chain informed before you go anywhere near that door. I once used the Open Door policy and the results were positive, but my Team Sergeant was sitting right beside me in the room as I spoke with the Commander.

3. WORK ETHIC

A theme in elite military units is "If you see something wrong or that needs fixing, do something about it. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Veterans expect to be challenged and not afraid of hard work. When you hire a veteran you're getting an individual who's accustomed to a regular work day that started at 6:00 am (zero-six-hundred) and is accustomed to working up to 24 hours if that is what's required to get the job done.

4. COMMUNICATION

Effective communications is the sender, the message, the medium of transmission, and the receiver. There is a jargon, a idiosyncratic dialect unique to each organization and veterans are aware enough to learn and use it. We are taught if you have nothing to say then say nothing, if you have something to say keep it brief, include the 5-W's and How Many, and if pointing out a problem to always suggest a solution.

5. SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

This cannot be stressed enough. In the corporate environment, the office and the boardroom are the battlespace environment, and the rules, regulations, policies and ethos of modern society - written and unwritten - represent the constraints and limitations guiding our conduct. There is a distinct corporate culture, and separate organizations have their own sub-cultures to be aware of. Special Operations soldiers know when to pause and accustom ourselves to the "sights, sounds and smells of the battlefield", and that often the "sit back, wait and see" approach is the way to avoid crippling cultural faux pas. During interview situations, we have been taught to read body language, to look about the room and determine who is actually the chief, and when asked a question to stop and think before replying.

This is by no means a complete list and the values listed here are not in any particular order, in fact they intersect with each other. I considered "Code of Ethics" as a character trait, but of course the subset of that value is far greater than the fingers of one hand. A mentor of mine described the corporate environment as "playing five games of 3-dimensional chess all at once, in your head." Given that, I say without hesitation that Special Operations veterans are suitable candidates for excellence, to any organization or operation.

This is what I bring to the table . . .

"STRENGTH & HONOR"

DUAL SURVIVOR's JOE TETI - THE TRUTH EMERGES

Joe Teti's lies and disgraceful conduct has been the subject of much discussion within the Special Forces community. His response to being called out on his outrageous claims is the defamation suit described below . . . NOT a smart move . . . S.L.

Lawsuit: SF Members Describe TV Star as Problem Soldier

The bizarre saga of Discovery Channel reality star Joe Teti took another twist as court documents emerged, from his former National Guard Special Forces teammates, that paint a dark portrait of a man known more for lying, stealing — and worse — than for the combat prowess he professes on his show, "Dual Survival."

"I believe Joe is a sociopath [who] could be dangerous to those he believes have injured him," writes Sgt. 1st Class Daniel McClain, Teti's former team sergeant, in a letter to the Special Forces Association that is part of a formal response in an ongoing lawsuit.

"I knew he would always be a problem," writes Teti's former executive officer, Lt. Col. William Sharp, in another letter, part of the SFA's 50-page rebuttal to the lawsuit filed by Teti late last year.

Sharp, now with U.S. Special Operations Command, writes that he was preparing paperwork to bar Teti from reenlisting, revoke his security clearance and strip him of his Special Forces tab, before Teti left the unit on his own.

"Teti is far below Special Forces standards, he is an embarrassment to Special Forces and Special Operations," writes Sharp, listing a litany of allegations.

Read the rest of it HERE

This Is What I Know:

Teti claims that he is a Special Forces combat veteran. He is not. Teti never deployed. Teti left the Army soon after 9/11, one step ahead of disciplinary action and knowing that the Army was about to freeze all ETS and retirements due to the war. Teti worked overseas as a contractor (the article describes his work ethic, or lack thereof) and uses this activity as basis for his claimed status of combat veteran.

Teti served in the Marine Corps prior to joining the Army National Guard. During his time in the Corps, Teti attended a Navy dive school, upon which he claims to be a Combat Diver. This is not the same thing and in fact he was kicked out of the Dive Supervisor course at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Florida for either cheating on a test or his false claims of Combat Diver status - not sure which.

Teti claims to have attended SERE (Survival-Evasion-Resistance-Escape) training, that he was a SERE instructor. Both these claims are false. To anyone who has any kind of proper survival training or outdoors experience, his ignorance is quite visible on the Dual Survivor show. Of all the worthy Special Forces soldiers out there who actually know this kind of subject matter, Discover Channel somehow got snowed by this charlatan.

Teti has had his membership in the Special Forces Association revoked - an uncommon event - and there is discussion of revoking his Special Forces tab due to his dishonorable conduct and outright lies.

There are other Teti activities I am aware of but cannot comment on at this time due to other lawsuits that are pending - he has done more than just steal and lie, Teti is a dangerous fool with a violent streak and has permanently hurt some families. Teti is a fool to challenge those who challenged the legend he attempted to build around himself.

The Truth has come out.

STORMBRINGER SENDS

STOLEN VALOR: JOE RIOS

The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 (Pub.L. 113–12; H.R. 258) is a United States federal law that was passed by the 113th United States Congress. The law amends the Federal Criminal Code making it a crime for a person to fraudulently claim having received any of a series of particular military decorations with the intention of obtaining money, property, or other tangible benefit from convincing someone that he or she rightfully did receive that award. This law is a revised version of Stolen Valor Act of 2005 that was struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States for violating freedom of speech in the case United States v. Alvarez.

MEET JOSEPH LEWIS "Wolverine" RIOS - PHONY WANNABE SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER

Joe Rios has made the following claims regarding his military service:

1) Served in US Army Special Forces from 1975-1988
2) 18B Weapons Sergeant
3) Special Forces Instructor
4) SERE Instructor
5) Instructor - Fort Sherman Panama
6) Pathfinder Instructor - Panama
7) Combat duty in Nicaragua and El Salvador
8) French Commando Training

Joe Rios claims to have spent 18 months in the hospital recovering from crushed vertebrae after a parachute accident. However, it seems that Joe wasn't even Airborne qualified:

Joe Rios' records indicate:

1) US Army - 15 July 1976 through 14 February 1980 Active Duty
2) MOS 71B and 71L (Clerk Typist)
3) After Basic and AIT Joe was assigned to HHB 2nd BN, 1st ADA in Germany for the entirety of his military service.
4) Awards and Decorations include: Expert Rifle and Pistol Badge

SP/4 JOSEPH LEWIS RIOS, US ARMY JUL 76-FEB 80, MOS: 71L, CLERK TYPIST

Joe Rios has spent many years scamming people into believing he was a former Special Forces soldier. His claims have been publicized and even used to convince a school that he was qualified to build a "Green Beret" confidence/ leadership course, for which he was paid.

Joe Rios is a loser, poser, fraud and liar . . . nothing more.

Perhaps he should follow his own advice . . .

Last known location: Anderson County, SC. Previous address listed is in Tucson, Arizona.

Special Forces soldiers have been discretely engaging Rios via social media. He is not forthcoming and "cannot remember" his team number. None of his answers to our questions make sense. He apparently was paid to work with the Walton Academy in DeFuniak Springs, Florida based on his military claims: this is the basis of our Stolen Valor allegations.

Spending 18 months in the hospital after a parachute malfunction is hard to do when you aren't even Airborne qualified.

International "Silent" Military Missions?

"Divine Intervention"


Joe Rios is a professional scam artist and it is believed that the old lady is well aware of his lies, she is following him around the country. He needs a co-actor to pull off the scam. Con artists often operate in pairs, male & female.

Identity of Joe Rios' girlfriend is withheld although she is clearly identified on Joe Rios' FB page.

Keep in mind this guy is a con-artist; some of the first people these types go after are family. They have in all likelihood conned someone into signing for the house for them, with the agreement they're making the payments, etc. The house in Tucson is under his old lady's name (withheld). Evidently the GF gets a monthly hand out from her elderly parents; they bought the house in Tucson for them.

Special Forces plate on his red Toyota Tacoma truck.

Phony Wannabe Joe Rios Gets Away with Another One:

Joe Rios was paid $1500 to build a "Special Forces Obstacle Course" for Walton Academy by Steve Ruder; former student and former friend of Joe Rios, and principal of the Academy.

On 25 August 2014 the FBI notified Ruder and told him the agency would NOT be pursuing the Rios case due to the monetary amount not being high enough to go further. The agency did confirm he was a Clerk Typist on active duty for a couple years. The Brotherhood spoke with Steve on the phone and he said Rios continues to build his web of lies to everyone he comes in contact with.

Unfortunately the FBI won't investigate Joe Rios for Stolen Valor because the $$$ amount was too low, but they investigate crap like THIS

"Stand By to Stand By"

Information is forthcoming on the Walton Academy fraud to include the tax form from $1500 payment to Joe Rios (which used federal education funding). Please check here for update.

Possible VA Fraud?

Apparently $1500 isn't enough to generate a Stolen Valor investigation, but I wonder if he's getting VA benefits from his "parachute accident"?

I guess we'll have to find out . . .

STORMBRINGER SENDS

PHOENIX

Meet Demon, the Phoenix Bird of Pineland:

Demon is the mascot of my buddy JD's guerrilla unit. As a part of Exercise Robin Sage, JD provides training to Special Forces candidates by a combination of of challenging dilemmas and psychological cruelty.


Pineland:

The Special Forces Qualification Course ("Q-Course") is culminated by Operation ROBIN SAGE, a 4 week long large-scale unconventional warfare exercise conducted by the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and over 50,000 square miles of North Carolina. For more than half a century, around a third of North Carolina has served as the fictional "People's Republic of Pineland" for the 28-day exercise which culminates in the 19-day Robin Sage. During this unconventional warfare training exercise, the Special Forces students are required to apply and exercise the skills taught in the Special Forces Qualification Course.

The 15 counties of North Carolina that make up the People's Republic of Pineland include: Alamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Guilford, Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly and Union.


The students are put into 12-man Operational Detachments 'Alpha', (ODA's). Students are isolated for 5 days and issued an operations order. They begin their planning process and study material required to execute their detachment's mission during the exercise.

On the last day of isolation the detachment presents its plan to the battalion command and staff. This plan will explain how the commander intends to execute the mission. The next day, the students make an airborne infiltration into the country of Pineland. They then make contact with the guerrilla forces and begin Robin Sage. Students will then begin their task of training, advising, and assisting the guerrillas. The training will educate the guerrillas in various specialties, including weapons, communications, medical, and demolitions. The training is designed to enable the guerrillas to begin liberating their country from oppression. It is the last portion of the Special Forces Qualification Course before they receive their "Green Berets".

ROBIN SAGE involves approximately 100 Special Forces students, 100 counter-insurgent personnel (OPFOR), 200 guerrilla personnel, 40 auxiliary personnel, and 50 cadre. The local communities of North Carolina also participate in the exercise by role playing as citizens of Pineland. Many of the OPFOR and guerrilla personnel are North Carolina residents who are financially compensated for their participation. The role of the guerrilla chief, or "G-Chief," is played by a retired Green Beret.

Bob Snyder, also known as Pineland Bob, right, maps out a transportation plan with a soldier during the Special Forces' Robin Sage exercise in Ramseur, N.C.

There is nothing like Exercise Robin Sage - on such a scale at least - in any other military organization in the world. Since my retirement from active duty I have been involved in two major corporate security organizations, working side-by-side with fellow Special Forces veterans, and the principles and truisms of guerrilla warfare learned in Robin Sage are constantly referenced. The corporate suits in the boardrooms are never able to outflank us with their office politics and agendas. We know the battle before it is fought; if we can prevail, we engage and overcome. If there is no tactical victory to be achieved; combat is declined.

The SEALs and the MARSOF are trying to replicate Robin Sage; my advice to them is why re-invent the wheel? Come over to the Dark Side - Pineland already exists - use the existing training lanes and G-networks that are already in place; there's plenty of contractors coming back from the Sandpile who are willing to plus-up the cadre.

The Anthem of Pineland is as follows:

This is the Land of the of the Tall Pine Tree

Where All of Us used to Live so Free

THIS IS PINELAND

A Place to Live and a Place to Play

But the UPA took it All away

THIS IS PINELAND

A Place where We are all Free to Work Together

Where our Crops can Grow and the Sun will Shine Forever

A Beautiful Land with Much to Give

This is where We'll Always Live

THIS IS PINELAND

ZIGGY ZOGGY ZIGGY ZOGGY OY! OY! OY!

ZIGGY ZOGGY ZIGGY ZOGGY OY! OY! OY!

ZIGGY ZOGGY ZIGGY ZOGGY OY! OY! OY!

PINELAND! PINELAND! PINELAND!

Speaking of Birds, today's Mystery Bird is HERE

THE RAID

Up until this point in time, if you said'The Raid' within the SF community, you were referring to the Son Tay Raid. As of last Sunday evening, that has been changed forever. And as secretive and shrouded in mystery as Son Tay was, this latest thing generates more questions and quizzical aspects with each and every pronouncement of Team Obama.

OK now that the dust has settled lets go over some of the details that the Left-Leaning Mainstream Media (LLMM) invariably get wrong due to their wholesale lack of military experience - while posturing themselves as Subject Matter Experts on everything Spec Ops - combined with their slobbering love affair with the current occupier of the Whitehouse.


o Did the Presidents' team actually watch the operation unfold in real-time on the screen in the situation room?

This photo suggests they did, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's comment that it was "the most intense 38 minutes of her life" contributes to this aspect of The Raid. But on Wednesday CIA Director Leon Panetta stated that the screen went black for 25 minutes right in the middle of the operation.

o Was Hillary reacting in shock and awe at the killing of Osama bin Laden, or is she covering a cough - as she claimed - or is she overwhelmed by the beauty of it all when they switched over to a Royal Wedding rerun during those 25 minutes of blackness? You decide.


o Is Osama bin Laden REALLY dead? Where's the photo? "No body, no crime." The death of Adolf Hitler was also announced on 1 May, and yet everyone knows Hitler is still alive in Argentina - for you non-Truthyers here's video proof:






Today's Bird HERE


.

WANNABE WARLORD

A popular feature here on STORMBRINGER is busting out the phony wannabes - this site even helped track this guy to ground - but this latest freak was so bold he takes phony-ism to a whole 'nother level . . . not good enough to be a phony wannabe poser - he stood up a whole PRIVATE ARMY:

CHINESE MAN ACCUSED OF CREATING FAKE ARMY SF UNIT

April 13, 2011 Associated Press

POMONA, Calif - A Chinese national who said he was the "Supreme Commander" of a made-up Army unit orchestrated an elaborate scheme that attracted recruits and their money with the promise that it was a path to U.S. citizenship, authorities allege.



I think I like this guy's style:

"Uh, excuse me there, Your Majesty, but exactly what rank are you?"

"Supleeme Commandah. I a Supleeme Commandah Special Foss. You can car me Supah."



Yupeng Deng, who is accused of raking in hundreds of dollars from his recruits, is set to be arraigned Wednesday on more than a dozen charges.

Los Angeles County prosecutors said Deng, also known as David Deng, recruited 100 other Chinese nationals, primarily in Asian enclaves in the San Gabriel Valley, to join the "U.S. Army / Military Special Forces Reserve unit," then gave them phony U.S. Army uniforms and military ID cards.

The 51-year-old El Monte man is accused of charging the recruits initiation fees ranging from $300 to $450, with renewal fees set at $120 a year.

The recruits were instructed to report to Deng's office in Temple City, which was decorated to look like an official military recruiting center, to undergo military training and indoctrination, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. They marched in a parade in Monterey Park and took a tour of the U.S. Midway Museum in San Diego, all in uniform.


San Diego's a HUGE military town - somebody HAD to have seen these clowns and wondered What the Hell is going on?"


Deng was charged with 13 counts of theft by false pretenses, manufacturing deceptive government documents and counterfeit of an official government seal. He faces more than eight years in state prison if convicted.

Deng was arrested by agents with the FBI and U.S. Department of Defense on a felony complaint filed Monday.

Federal investigators began looking into Deng more than two years ago when they received reports from police who recovered counterfeit military IDs from some of Deng's recruits during traffic stops, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

When Deng sent his recruits renewal forms for their bogus military IDs, some showed up at real Army facilities to pay them, she said.


Oh I would have LOVED to have been a fly on the wall when THAT madness went down!

"Whaddya mean -


WE DON'T GET NO SCUBA PAY ? ? ?"











Saturday's Bird HERE



.

ON WRITING

OK this is where my head is at right now:

I've been writing for years, but I really got serious about ten years ago; the year I lived alone, all by myself in a marble palace on the outskirts of a dusty, sand baked Nowheres-ville, on the edge of the great Sahara. I have the better part of two novels (based on my adventures, exploring the deepest recesses of the human psyche, all alone on the Road to Infinity, etcetera, etcetera . . .) already written down, and ten thousand times more than that bouncing around inside my skull.

What I want to do is save them as pdf's and post them online - a form of e-publishing - release them a chapter a week. For people to read them they click an icon, a dollar per chapter.

How to set this up? I know Pay pal is involved somehow; I put the question out there and true to form the Heroes of Team STORMBRINGER came back with all kinds of detailed instructions . . . give me a week or two to crack the code on this thing and we'll see how it goes from there.

All I know this thing is long overdue - the stories going around in my head have been screaming for an outlet for years now . . . decades even. I know my stuff is good - everybody I've shown it to cries out, "Sean! You've GOT to get your work out there! In the name of all that is Good and Holy, man, you've GOT TO GET PUBLISHED ! ! !" Now we're talking editors, writers - some pretty respectable figures in the literary world here - THE WOMEN even like what I write so I KNOW it's not just macho bravo sierra . . . and then sometime last week suddenly it dawned on me: This is what STORMBRINGER is FOR!

"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!"

BTW another journalist/writer has been querying me for technical advice for his sci-fi novels (involving a Special Forces desperado) and I have been feeding him institutional knowledge of the profession. I hardly told him anything about Special Forces . . . little drips and drabs . . . and what little I told him seemed mind-expanding:


Journalist/Writer Guy: I did read that there is some specialization among the SF companies, so that many specialize in some aspect. In addition to specializing in language, maybe one company is more highly-trained in underwater infiltration methods, another in mountain warfare, another in who knows what, and the one best suited (if available) is used in any given mission. So it's not as if all companies and A detachments need to know everything to the same degree. Just as there are focus roles in an A detachment with some cross-training (weapons, engineer, medical, communications, operations, commanders), so individual A detachments have areas of specialty.

Is this correct, or are they all basically interchangeable except with regards to language? I did read that all the 5 active groups are spending significant time in Afghanistan and Iraq despite their geographic responsibility. Maybe the two reserve groups are there as well.

As far as SF compared to Rangers, it appears that the Rangers, while I assume they could be used for any of the 9 SOF missions or 7 collateral activities, engage in more DA, CT, and SR than anything else. Well, I guess some FID. They're light infantry that goes in usually with bigger numbers than SF would. As far as the culture goes, and I know all individuals are different, but from what I understand, Ranger culture is more hooah gung-ho warrior macho than SF. Kind of "give me the target and I'll eliminate it." In, bam-bam, out.

"THIS . . . IS . . . STORMBRINGER ! ! !"

SF is more relationship focused with its UW and FID missions. They still perform DA, SR, and CT missions. They’re deadly snipers (isn't it SF and Marines that have the top sniper training?) But there's also a lot of training friendlies—insurgents, military, and law enforcement. And they're not mainstream soldiers, but more independent-minded. I think someone will shoot me if I say they're the hippies of the military, but that's what I'm getting. They're wearing beards and riding horseback into battle. You probably want to shoot me yourself (grin). Maybe "unconventional" is a better term.

So what of the above is not right? Also, I guess it depends on the current needs, but is my assessment that Ranger’s = DA while SF = UW, FID, SR accurate?


StormBringer: This is going to take me WEEKS to answer - especially since it's tax time of the year and I'm a freelancer, a privateer; my accountant has a love/hate relationship with me.

“Great Patriotic War on Towelhead-ism” - yes, cynicism; sarcasm, black humor - we're allowed to engage in it; we pay the price.

Special Reconnaissance (SR) - it used to be called "Strategic Reconnaissance" to differentiate from "Tactical Reconnaissance" which occurs within a mile or two of the front - "STRATRECON" became "Special Reconnaissance" when it enveloped the various disciplines of reconnaissance - think living in a sniper hide for a week, keeping a recon log, shitting in plastic bags then humping them out - electronic surveillance, photo reconnaissance, clandestine urban operations - teams patrolling the cities of Western Europe for Red Brigades, Red Army Faction cells; later doing the same thing tracking al Qaeda cells - this genre crosses over into "Special Activities" when you involve running cell organizations, collecting HUMINT from assets, etc.


Journalist-Writer Guy: This stuff is gold. Plastic bags of crap? Never in a million years would I think of that. As well as the “spy” crossover. A book I have on my list is Hunting the Jackal and I thought it interesting that it was CIA and SF. But now I see why. And I really like that business about spy versus scout. Take the time you need. I can’t wait to get the rest.


StormBringer: Of course this is the most important mission - "Time spent in Reconnaissance is never wasted." - George Washington said that.

This is the discipline where I made my most money. I was in the Atlanta airport, in the international transit lounge and some old guy was telling me, "I was a spy, I was in Austria after the war," and his wife was nodding her head up and down. I was just nodding and smiling and not saying a word. It was 1995, I was enroute to Sarajevo, and I was in civvies.

For what it's worth, very few intelligence professionals actually meet the dictionary definition of a "spy"; to be a spy, one must betray. I was a scout, a reconnaissance soldier.


Journalist-Writer Guy: “This is the discipline where I made my most money.” Is that a turn of phrase, or do SF actually get paid by the job?


StormBringer: That was turn of phrase but military pay works three ways: you get your base pay, then you get your special pay & allowances (jump pay, special duty pay, language pay, scuba pay, demo pay, housing allowance, cost-of-living-allowance, etc) then there's mission-related pay (TDY pay, per diem, hazardous duty pay, imminent danger pay, combat zone tax-free exclusion, etc).

You end up trying to connect the dots. Twenty-plus years ago I saw a brass plaque hanging over a team sergeant's desk, in one of the team rooms over in Torii Station, Okinawa. It said it all:


"WE'RE LOOKING FOR A LOW-INTENSITY WAR IN A HIGH PER DIEM AREA."

"The man's enlarged my mind. He's a poet-warrior . . . I'm a little man, he's a great man."



STORMRINGER SENDS



Today's Bird HERE.



.

PHONY SF COLONEL PLEADS GUILTY

Another one bites the dust . . .

Bill Hillar: "Money talks, bullshit walks."

William G. Hillar, 66, passed himself off to university employers as a former Green Beret and expert in international sex-trafficking and counterterrorism pleaded guilty March 30 to wire fraud.

Hillar was arrested at his Maryland home on Jan. 25. The Justice Department says that the former Coast Guard enlisted man pretended for about 12 years to be a retired Army colonel with a Special Forces background. Part of his faux biography included a claim that his daughter was kidnapped by human traffickers in Asia and that he spent six months in a futile effort to rescue her.

Hillar's story reportedly was the basis of a 2008 movie, "Taken," starring Liam Neeson.

Hillar could get up to 20 years in prison when he's sentenced on July 20, the FBI said in a statement. Under the terms of the plea agreement he will pay restitution of $171,415 and perform at least 500 hours of community service at the Maryland State Veterans Cemeteries.

The amount of restitution equals the money that he earned from the teaching jobs and speaking engagements he made based on his fraudulent bio.


This story is fascinating on many different levels; a fraud is busted, there is no daughter sold into sex slavery, honor is restored, and best of all it was Green Berets who busted out this phony wannabe. Details here.


Monday Mystery Bird HERE



.

ORIGINS OF THE GREEN BERET

I was recently asked:  

Which is "proper" or preferred by these men when referring to them, "Green Beret" or "Special Forces"?

It is a very insightful question, and the answer is long & complex. Each one of the following paragraphs is the subject of at least a chapter-long essay; but it is my tribe, and I am the teller of the tale, so here goes:

As I recall, the "Green Berets" label became popular during the sixties, with the song, the book and the movie:

The green beret itself, as a piece of headgear for elite forces, dates to WWII and the French Underground. The Royal Marine Commandos were already wearing it, and it was picked up by the OSS Jedburghs (direct predecessors of modern day US Army Special Forces).

45 Royal Marine Commando, WWII

I don’t know exactly when French Foreign Legion paratroopers started wearing green berets - sometime after WWII when they acquired Airborne capability within the French forces, and before Dien Bien Phu - where they wore the green beret in combat.

Foreign Legion Soldiers in Algiers, 1957

Beret of the 2° Regt Etrangere Parachutiste (French Foreign Legion)

Early U.S. Army Special Forces in Europe adopted the beret as an unofficial headgear, worn only in the field. By the time of General William Yarborough’s famous First Formation in front of John F. Kennedy the beret was being worn openly (and unofficially) on post at Fort Bragg by Special Forces personnel.

President Kennedy granted official recognition & Presidential award of the headgear.

Then came the song, the book, and the movie, and from that point we were designated “Green Berets” in the popular lexicon.





Then something happened in the late 70s / early 80s. Everyone knows the Army can ruin a wet dream. The beret was officially sanctioned by no less than Presidential Executive Order, and so the Army, in it’s wisdom, determined that EVERYONE assigned to a Special Forces unit should wear the uniform (to include distinctive headgear) of that unit. Hence the phenomenon of pregnant female office clerks seen walking around Fort Bragg wearing green berets.

This sacrilege was finally put to rest when Special Forces became it’s own branch, MOS; 18-series Career Management Field. Nowadays only Special Forces qualified personnel wear the green beret; non-SF qual’d personnel assigned to Special Forces wear maroon berets (indicating airborne unit status).

For the longest time during the 70s and 80s it was almost taboo amongst Special Forces soldiers to refer to ourselves as “Green Berets”. This was how Hollywood described us, and of course there was that whole thing about the pregnant personnel clerk walking around the PX at Bragg wearing a green beret. We were and ARE Special Forces soldiers. Likewise, there is no such thing as “Navy Special Forces” or “Air Force Special Forces”. These units are designated “Special Operations Forces” (SEALs are Navy SOF, Para-Rescue are AF SOF, etc) to differentiate from the “Special Forces” designation, which has belonged to the Army since World War II.

World War II-era jump wings of the OSS (Office of Special Services)
"Special Forces"

Nowadays however a certain pride and ownership has come of the label “Green Beret” and we once again refer to ourselves as “The Green Berets”. You will see it on web sites, chatrooms, certain YouTube clips, etc. We are still not quite yet comfortable with the monicker, given the Hollywood over-usage in the past, but I have heard the term used even in Tactical Operations Centers (TOCs) and Joint Operations Centers (JOCs) by Special Forces soldiers, when discussing order of battle, to differentiate between Special Forces soldiers out there on the battlefield and other Special Operations Soldiers (Rangers are Army SOF, Marine Force Recon are MARSOF, etc).

Of course, I am (semi) retired now – I refer to myself as EX-Special Forces (“ex;” being Latin for “out of”) but NEVER “former” Special Forces; on the grounds that there is no such thing as a “former” Special Forces soldier (with the possible exception of the guys drummed out in disgrace – I’ve seen a few of those). I work and hang out with a number of colleagues from my former life, and recently a retired Sergeant Major said to me (in front of everyone), “You’re a Green Beret, Linnane – get yerself out there and KICK SOME ASS ! ! !”


Hope this answers your question for now . . . SEAN LINNANE SENDS



Today's Bird HERE


.

TANGO MIKE MIKE

I once had the honor of meeting Roy Benavidez. What they don't tell you on this montage is that this was Roy's second tour in Vietnam when he earned the Medal of Honor. He stepped on a landmine during his first tour and was medically released from the Army. Roy built his body back up, proved to the docs he was fit for service and then went on to try out and complete Green Beret training.

The scuttlebutt amongst the old Sergeant Majors I used to work with at the Special Warfare Center was that when Roy was put in for the MOH it was turned down by the powers that be in the conventional Army, on the grounds that a disproportionate number of Medals had already gone to Special Forces. It wasn't until after the war wound down and we'd endured the shame and discontent of the Carter years that the case for Roy's Medal could be pushed up to the highest level.

President Ronald Reagan awarded the Medal of Honor to Roy P. Benavidez on February 24, 1981.

Reagan reportedly turned to the press and said: "If the story of his heroism were a movie script, you would not believe it". He then read the official award citation:

Medal of Honor

BENAVIDEZ, ROY P.

Master Sergeant. Detachment B-56, 5th Special Forces Group, Republic of Vietnam

West of Loc Ninh on May 2, 1968

Master Sergeant (then Staff Sergeant) Roy P. Benavidez United States Army, who distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely valorous actions on 2 May 1968 while assigned to Detachment B56, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam. On the morning of 2 May 1968, a 12-man Special Forces Reconnaissance Team was inserted by helicopters in a dense jungle area west of Loc Ninh, Vietnam to gather intelligence information about confirmed large-scale enemy activity. This area was controlled and routinely patrolled by the North Vietnamese Army. After a short period of time on the ground, the team met heavy enemy resistance, and requested emergency extraction. Three helicopters attempted extraction, but were unable to land due to intense enemy small arms and anti-aircraft fire. Sergeant Benavidez was at the Forward Operating Base in Loc Ninh monitoring the operation by radio when these helicopters returned to off-load wounded crewmembers and to assess aircraft damage. Sergeant Benavidez voluntarily boarded a returning aircraft to assist in another extraction attempt. Realizing that all the team members were either dead or wounded and unable to move to the pickup zone, he directed the aircraft to a nearby clearing where he jumped from the hovering helicopter, and ran approximately 75 meters under withering small arms fire to the crippled team. Prior to reaching the team's position he was wounded in his right leg, face, and head. Despite these painful injuries, he took charge, repositioning the team members and directing their fire to facilitate the landing of an extraction aircraft, and the loading of wounded and dead team members. He then threw smoke canisters to direct the aircraft to the team's position. Despite his severe wounds and under intense enemy fire, he carried and dragged half of the wounded team members to the awaiting aircraft. He then provided protective fire by running alongside the aircraft as it moved to pick up the remaining team members. As the enemy's fire intensified, he hurried to recover the body and classified documents on the dead team leader. When he reached the leader's body, Sergeant Benavidez was severely wounded by small arms fire in the abdomen and grenade fragments in his back. At nearly the same moment, the aircraft pilot was mortally wounded, and his helicopter crashed. Although in extremely critical condition due to his multiple wounds, Sergeant Benavidez secured the classified documents and made his way back to the wreckage, where he aided the wounded out of the overturned aircraft, and gathered the stunned survivors into a defensive perimeter. Under increasing enemy automatic weapons and grenade fire, he moved around the perimeter distributing water and ammunition to his weary men, reinstilling in them a will to live and fight. Facing a buildup of enemy opposition with a beleaguered team, Sergeant Benavidez mustered his strength, began calling in tactical air strikes and directed the fire from supporting gunships to suppress the enemy's fire and so permit another extraction attempt. He was wounded again in his thigh by small arms fire while administering first aid to a wounded team member just before another extraction helicopter was able to land. His indomitable spirit kept him going as he began to ferry his comrades to the craft. On his second trip with the wounded, he was clubbed with additional wounds to his head and arms before killing his adversary. He then continued under devastating fire to carry the wounded to the helicopter. Upon reaching the aircraft, he spotted and killed two enemy soldiers who were rushing the craft from an angle that prevented the aircraft door gunner from firing upon them. With little strength remaining, he made one last trip to the perimeter to ensure that all classified material had been collected or destroyed, and to bring in the remaining wounded. Only then, in extremely serious condition from numerous wounds and loss of blood, did he allow himself to be pulled into the extraction aircraft. Sergeant Benavidez' gallant choice to join voluntarily his comrades who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire, and his refusal to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, saved the lives of at least eight men. His fearless personal leadership, tenacious devotion to duty, and extremely valorous actions in the face of overwhelming odds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him and the United States Army.

Today's Bird HERE


.

SPECIAL FORCES SWOOP ON LIBYA . . .

A daring rescue operation by Special Forces flew scores of British citizens out of Libya last night as the net closed in on Col Muammar Gaddafi.


A more descriptive headline might read:


"Special Operations Forces Swoop on Libya . . ."

This was a daring operation that no doubt involved a LOT of risk taking on behalf of British Special Air Service soldiers, but a thing like this is actually a combined arms operations involving all services, most especially logistical personnel.

Phases of an operation like this include issuing warning orders to the ground operators (SAS) as well as the air arm involved (RAF and RN); planning; reconnaissance; infiltration of the main body; actions on the objective; consolidation and preparation for exfil; exfiltration. Intelligence gathering and operational security (OPSEC) would be involved throughout each phase of the operation.

An advanced recon element would be launched - given present circumstances they may have inserted by air - either civilian air transport, helicopter or High-Altitude-Low-Opening parachute (HALO); personally I would prefer MH-47 Chinook because I can get a fully-loaded vehicle on board - you can't get very far in the desert without a truck. Presumably they had some stay-behind personnel from the embassy who could coordinate a lot of the above.

Of course all of the above is contingent upon a forward staging area and launch site - this has to be selected and coordinated with host country - in this case (presumably) the former British colony of Malta. At the same time the forward element is being launched, the main body is being assembled; equipment, aircraft and vehicles prepared; medical and life support supplies collected, and phases of movement coordinated - home station to forward operating base (Malta) to Libya and return. Fuel has to be coordinated and paid for to cover each leg of the operation.

Preparations have to be made for reception of the British refugees once they arrive in Malta; temporary accommodations (aircraft hangers, large tents, cots, toilets, showers, medical facilities, etc.). Feeding will probably be accomplished via takeout from local restaurants or airport caterers.

Meanwhile tasks for the advance (recon) party would include locating all potential evacuees and informing them where and when to assemble; locating and surveying suitable landing zone for the C-130 Hercules aircraft (primary, alternate & contingent); possibly acquiring ground transport for the evacuees; reconnaissance and security tasks while awaiting the arrival of the main body to include a steady stream of situation reports (SITREPS) from the ground, via encrypted satcom.

Last but not least all of the above involves an incredible amount of headquarters staff personnel to plan and coordinate, cut movement orders, and communicate, communicate, communicate . . .

There are very few militaries in the world capable of pulling off such a contingency operation - this time the UK shows us how it's done.


"Amateurs study strategy, professionals study logistics" - General of the Army Omar Bradley



SEAN LINNANE SENDS


.

R.I.P. LOWELL WESLEY STEVENS

I got the word over the weekend . . .

Lowell W. Stevens Sr.

FAYETTEVILLE - Retired Master Sgt. Lowell Wesley Stevens Sr., 69, of Fayetteville, died Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011. Services: Memorial, 12:30 p.m. Monday in Rogers and Breece Funeral Home chapel in Fayetteville. Burial in Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake. Survived by: Wife, Emiko; son, Lowell Jr.; daughters, Natalie and Cheryl; sister, Frances James; and four grandchildren.
- Published in Fayetteville Observer on January 29, 2011

Sgt. Lowell Stevens, top right, poses with other 1st Special Forces Group Soldiers and the indigeneous Montagnard soldiers in Vietnam before a mission into Laos in 1967. - photo courtesy of Lowell Stevens


Lowell Stevens served with SOG - the secretive "Studies and Observations Group" in Vietnam; he completed six tours in Vietnam and went on to become Sergeant Major of Blue Light, the classified counter-terrorist unit that preceded Delta.

After retiring from active duty, Lowell ran Range Control for Camp MacKall, where Special Forces conducts a major portion of their training.

I knew Lowell from the years I spent at SERE; he always got a lot of respect from everyone - the old war dogs and the younger generations alike. He is in that Big Drop Zone in the Sky now.

Monday Mystery Bird HERE