Military History

Legendary Cold Warrior And Green Beret John Singlaub passes away at 100

Retired Major General John Singlaub, a decorated military legend well-known not just for his service but also for publicly criticizing Former President Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy in Korea, has passed away at 100.

John Singlaub reportedly died peacefully last Saturday, survived by his children and loving wife, Joan. The Special Operations legend fought and survived in World War II. the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 George A. Valdez, a team sergeant with 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), receives the first General John Singlaub Award from Gen. Singlaub himself in Feb. 2016.

Special Operations Legend

John Singlaub first entered the US Army as 2nd Lieutenant for the US Army Infantry during World War II, January 14, 1943. He was immediately deployed to France, where he was part of Operation Jedburgh. It was a three to four-man special operations team composed of soldiers from the British Special Operations Executive, the US Office of Strategic Service (OSS), and the Free French Bureau Central de Renseignements et d’Action. Note that the OSS would go on to become the CIA – staffed by many former members of the OSS.

This operation, composed of multiple, small units, were involved in covert missions behind Axis lines, providing intelligence and helping resistance fighters. Singlaub was one of the 83 Americans selected to participate in the program, along with French, Belgian, and Dutch soldiers. Singlaub was assigned to Jedburgh team “JAMES” and worked with French Maquis to pave the way for the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

Singlaub In Asia

After Germany surrendered, Singlaub would then be sent to the Pacific. He would parachute onto Hainan Island, in Nationalist China, leading an 8-man team to rescue American, Australian, and Dutch prisoners of war (POWs) from the Japanese. He didn’t stop there. He also arranged food and medical care for all POWs while still fighting the Japanese.

He would then be recruited in the CIA after the OSS had disbanded. He stayed in Manchuria to monitor the political situation of the Chinese Communists and the Nationalist Chinese in their Civil War. He would come home to the States for only a brief period and come back to Asia for the Korean War. In the 1950s, tensions within North and South Korea would come to an all-time high. He gathered intelligence as part of the Joint Advisory Commission in Korea (JACK) as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander in 1951. He also led an infantry battalion in the Korean War while doing intelligence work. Because of his accomplishments, he was awarded the Silver Star.

In 1966, Singlaub led the Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG) during the Vietnam War. This mission involved him leading special operators from the US military to fight North Vietnamese communists. Particularly, he had a direct hand in the mission to interdict the Ho Chi Minh trail, a vital supply line for communists. In later interviews, his team and colleagues would emphasize that Singlaub was one of the most dedicated and passionate officers they ever knew.

Not just a warrior but also an academic, Singlaub would return to the States to attend the Army Command and General Staff College and the Air War College. He also completed flight school at Fort Rucker as a 50-year-old in 1971.

Going back to Korea as Chief of Staff of the US Forces in 1977, he feuded publicly with former President Jimmy Carter as he proposed to withdraw US troops from war-torn Korea. This would get him fired and relieved of duty. He would also be forced to retire in 1978 when he continued to criticize Carter during a Georgia Institute of Technology lecture.

Together with former Congressman Larry McDonald and British Journalist John Rees, he would start the Western Goals Foundation. This private intelligence agency was directly involved with the Iran-Contra network.

Retired Major General John K. Singlaub attending a US Army Special Operations Command Red and Black Ball in 2016 (USASOC Public Affairs)

Active for over 40 years with the military, Singlaub was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal with the oak leaf cluster, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with not one but two oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the French Croix de Guerre with Palm and Bronze Star, the Order of the Cloud and Banner, the United Nations Korea Medal, and the Air Medal with lead cluster to name a few.

In honor of him, the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) created the Major General John K. Singlaub Award in 2016 to honor US military personnel who served courageously off the battlefield. He was also inducted into the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame in 2006 and a Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment in 2007.

DELTA Force Doc – Can You Save The Hand?

He ought to be screaming in pain

After two years of working at Fort Bragg, NC, as a Clinic Director, I was approached by the secret DELTA Force organization. They asked me to apply for the job of the unit’s Command Surgeon. “Surgeon” is a military title given to physicians of any specialty when assigned to a medical command and staff position in the military. As a family physician, I was invited to become the senior medical advisor to the commander.

I was recruited in part because of my past special operations experience as a Navy SEAL. I accepted the position and reported to the Deputy Commander’s office for my initial brief.
“Doc,” pronounced the intent colonel. “I’ve done the job of every officer on my staff, except yours. I can never do your job, but I consider it essential to our command’s success. I want you to provide the best medical care in the military to my staff and their families. I’ll expect you to ask for what you need to accomplish this, and when you ask me, I will approve it every time. I’m not qualified to argue with you, so if you say we need it, you’ll get it.”

That promise was never broken. Our clinic building was expanded and renamed in honor of unit medics killed in combat. Then we opened the doors to family members. We added a dental clinic, provided obstetrics care, and began delivering the children of unit moms. I delivered forty-four babies for these families. When I return now for reunion gatherings, there is always a mom or dad that regales me with stories of their children that I delivered. Good times.

Challenging patients frequently presented themselves because of the constant training with live weapons, explosive ordinance, parachuting, and aviation operations.
“Eagle down,” came the message to my secure phone. “There has been an accident in the field with an explosive injury to a hand. He’s en route to the hospital now,” finished the voice on my secure phone.
“Roger that. I’m on my way. Give me his name, please.” The name was passed, and as many times before, I drove above the speed limit to the emergency room. I arrived soon after the casualty did and was met by the nurse, who expected me.
“Hello, Doctor Adams,” she breathed. “Your patient is in room three. He may have lost his hand.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “How is he doing?”

“Sir, I have to be honest with you. He ought to be screaming in pain. His hand is almost completely gone! But he is just looking at it, while we clean it, and asking if we can save it. Who is this man?” She finished in awe.
He’s the definition of someone special. “He’s made of different stuff,” I replied.

When I got to the room, he was looking at his hand. Most of the soft tissue was gone. The bones of his fingers were mostly there, but he could not move them. There were burned edges of flesh visible down to the wrist area. I had been briefed en route, by the medic on the scene, that the squad was conducting simulated combat building clearance operations. He had pulled the pin on a flash-bang grenade to throw forward. Instead of the standard three-second delay, it had detonated instantly in his hand. A flashbang grenade produces a brilliant, eye-blinding flash of light and heat, with a loud explosive noise, but does not produce shrapnel. It is used to disorient attackers before entering a room.
The orthopedic hand surgeon arrived almost immediately after we called him. He took a careful look and directed us to move to the operating room. He would be better able to determine the extent of the injury with the patient under anesthesia. Our patient insisted on a local nerve block so he could listen and watch. Who were these men, and where do we get them?
A few months later, after they had fitted him with a new functional artificial hand, he came to me and requested to be medically cleared to freefall parachute again.

Where do these men come from?

The next week the same orthopedic medical team was back in the operating room. During building assault training, a rope rappelling rig had failed, and my new patient had slid down a four-story building. He had landed feet first onto the ground and performed the best parachute landing fall he could. His feet took the brunt of the fall, absorbing the impact of full body weight, weapon, and backpack. He had broken almost every bone in his two feet. We were passing stainless steel wires from the tip of each toe back towards the heel as we manually pushed bone fragments back in line.

“Bob, I hate to hang black crepe here,” stated the concerned surgeon. “These wires pass through the smooth cartilage of every joint in his toes and feet, and this creates a type of joint arthritis that will probably make it impossible to run again. Walking will be painful for a long time.”

“Thanks, Kurt,” I replied, concerned. “I’ll let the boss know.”
That afternoon, after seeing our patient tucked in and stable, I went back to the unit and passed the same prognostic information to the commander.
“Really, Doc?” he responded. “I know you’re telling me what the book says, but I’ll suggest something different. He’ll be running in six months,” he predicted, smiling.

“You just don’t know yet what these men are made of,” he concluded.
Six months later, I watched him run by the clinic and wave.

Dr. Bob Adams is a graduate of the Naval Academy and then BUDs and becoming a Navy SEAL. Then, off to medical school to become a physician as a civilian again. Bob joined the Army as a doctor and became the Delta Force Command Surgeon. He retired as a Colonel in the Army. Doctor Bob has written several books, including, Sword and Saints and an autobiography of his time in both the Navy and the Army.

Gary Beikirch, Green Beret, Medal of Honor, Dies of Cancer at 74

Green Beret and Medal of Honor recipient Gary Beikirch has died. He was 74 years old.

His daughter Stephanie announced Beikirch died shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday following a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

The Special Operations community has lost two of its heroes over the Christmas weekend. SEAL Team Six’s first commander Richard ‘Dick’ Marcinko, passed away on Christmas evening at 81.

The National Medal of Honor Museum released a statement on Beikirch’s passing.

“Gary was a true American hero. He displayed extraordinary courage on the battlefields of Vietnam and dedicated his life to encouraging and inspiring generations of Americans. As a counselor and man of deep faith, Gary touched and changed thousands of lives. The impact of his uplifting influence will be felt for years to come as his goodness lives on in those who know him. We offer our deepest sympathies to his family as they, together with America and the Medal of Honor community, grieve an amazing man.”

Beikirch with President Nixon and his mom at the MOH ceremony. US Army photo

On April 1, 1970, Beikirch showed incredible bravery during an attack on his Dak Seang A-Camp. He was exposing himself repeatedly to enemy fire to treat wounded comrades, despite his own serious wounds that President Nixon eventually awarded him the Medal of Honor. But his wartime service would haunt him upon returning home to the United States.

Beikirch was born on August 29, 1947, in Rochester, New York. After successfully completing two years of college, he withdrew from school to enlist in the Army to become a Special Forces trooper and go to Vietnam.

In August of 1967, he attended and successfully completed Basic and Advanced Infantry Training at Ft. Dix, NJ. That was followed by the Airborne Course at Ft. Benning, Ga. Beikirch then attended the Special Forces Qualification Course at Ft. Bragg, NC. After that, he completed the Special Forces Medical Sergeant Course and was shipped to Vietnam.

Beikirch deployed to Kontum Province, Vietnam, in July 1969. During his deployment, he was the medic for Detachment B-24 of the 5th Special Forces Group, assigned to the remote Montagnard village of Dak Seang in the central highlands of Vietnam. The camp was very remote, about 3 miles from the Laos border.

Beikirch, in an interview later, said that due to his affinity to the Montagnard people, he “went native,” living with the mountain people, and went days at a time without speaking any English. The SF A-Team with 12 men had about 500 Montagnard “strikers” who the Green Berets trained. The remainder of about 2300 personnel in the camp were civilians, mostly families of the men who were being trained and led by the Americans.

It was a strategy that worked well for the Americans Special Forces A-Teams. The Montagnard strikers fought much harder when their families were inside the isolated A-camps.

Beikirch in an official Army portrait. US Army photo

On April 1, 1970, three regiments of North Vietnamese troops numbering 10,000 began shelling Camp Dak Seang, intent on taking the camp. The North Vietnamese artillery pounded the camp, and Beikirch was wounded when shrapnel from a 122 mm rocket bruised his spinal column, he could not stand or walk.

The NVA artillery rounds hitting the camp had caused several casualties among the camp’s defenders. Unable to move on his own, Beikirch had his two Montagnard medical assistants carry him around the camp under heavy, intense fire to treat the wounded American and Vietnamese defenders.

Beikirch, with complete disregard for his own safety, moved out into the open while everyone else around him was ducking and hiding from the artillery. The “Bac-Si,” or doc as the tribesman called him, went down to the aid station where he assisted the other American medic until he collapsed.

Coming to, he urged the medic to help him up, where his Montagnard medics carried him from place to place in the compound. He then would help them get to the aid station. His love for and loyalty to his Montagnard partners was reciprocated. One of his tribesmen medics, Dao, covered Beikirch with his own body at one point during the shelling getting killed in the process. He was just 15 years old.

Beikirch again refused treatment and continued searching for other casualties until he collapsed again. He said the last thing he remembered was the sight of a helicopter coming in. “And then I remember these hands, picking me up and throwing me into the chopper,” he said. The medics onboard the helicopter immediately stuck IVs in Beikirch, telling him he would be okay.

He was taken to Pleiku, then to Japan, and then finally to the Valley Forge Medical Center, where he remained for six months, recovering from his injuries. He exited the army and went back to college, majoring in pre-med after his experience, but the country wasn’t a great place for Vietnam veterans, especially the college campuses.

Spat on and called a baby killer, Beikirch had enough. He took off for the White Mountains in New Hampshire. His hair grew long, halfway down his back. He was living in a cave on Mount Washington as a hermit when he came down into town for supplies. He was told to wait for a call that evening.

“Is this Gary Beikirch who served with the 5th Special Forces in Vietnam?” the person asked. When Beikirch said that it was, he was told that he was being awarded the Medal of Honor. “It was things I was trying to forget,” he said. “It all came back.”

For his gallantry during the battle of Dak Seang, President Nixon awarded Sgt. Beikirch the Medal of Honor in 1973. He didn’t go out to celebrate that night. He stayed in his hotel room. The feelings of unworthiness and the horror of war flooded back to him. For many years, Beikirch didn’t participate in many of the other events that veterans and other Medal of Honor recipients participated in.

Beikirch in later years conducting an interview with the American Legion. YouTube photo

But as time passed, he became more at peace with it and frequently said that the Medal isn’t about him or anything that he did but represents men and women who value something so strongly that they are willing to die for it and be willing to defend our country for it. He became a counselor and helped thousands of others in his later life.

It is, he said, a valuing of something greater than self.

Beikirch’s other awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star Medal; Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart Medal with one oak leaf cluster; Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Vietnam Service Medal; Vietnam Campaign Medal; Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with silver star; Combat Medic Badge; Parachutist Badge; and Vietnamese jump wings.

Medal of Honor Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, Sgt. Beikirch, medical aidman, Detachment B-24, Company B, distinguished himself during the defense of Camp Dak Seang.

The allied defenders suffered a number of casualties as a result of an intense, devastating attack launched by the enemy from well-concealed positions surrounding the camp. Sgt. Beikirch, with complete disregard for his personal safety, moved unhesitatingly through the withering enemy fire to his fallen comrades, applied first aid to their wounds, and assisted them to the medical aid station.

When informed that a seriously injured American officer was lying in an exposed position, Sgt. Beikirch ran immediately through the hail of fire. Although he was wounded seriously by fragments from an exploding enemy mortar shell, Sgt. Beikirch carried the officer to a medical aid station. Ignoring his own serious injuries, Sgt. Beikirch left the relative safety of the medical bunker to search for and evacuate other men who had been injured. He was again wounded as he dragged a critically injured Vietnamese soldier to the medical bunker while simultaneously applying mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to sustain his life.

Sgt. Beikirch again refused treatment and continued his search for other casualties until he collapsed. Only then did he permit himself to be treated. Sgt. Beikirch’s complete devotion to the welfare of his comrades, at the risk of his life, is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit on him, his unit, and the US Army.

Beikirch’s interview with the Medal of Honor Society can be seen here:

“Operation Greif” German Special Operation During the Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge began on December 16, 1944, when two Panzer armies, comprising most of the German armored reserve, crashed into a lightly defended sector of the American lines in the Ardennes Forest.

The overly ambitious plan by Adolf Hitler was to split the American and British armies in two and race to the port of Antwerp. Hitler’s generals knew the plan had zero chance of ever succeeding. While the Germans made big gains in the opening days, punching a “bulge” deep into the American lines, tremendous resistance at the Elsenborn Ridge in the north and Bastogne in the south slowed the advance to a crawl.

One of the other ambitious parts of the German plan was “Operation Greif.” It is a German special operation designed to seize bridges over the Meuse River, destroy American ammunition and fuel dumps, and reroute Allied units by having German soldiers posing as American troops while wearing American uniforms.

Operation Greif was commanded by SS Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Otto Skorzeny, who was already known as “the most dangerous man in Europe.” The actual accomplishments of Operation Greif were few. However, the panic that Skorzeny caused among the Allies on the Western Front was vast and continued for several months afterward.

Skorzeny – The Ultimate Nazi Special Operator:

Otto Skorzeny was born in Vienna in 1908. He lived in a lower-middle-class family in Austria, although his forebears originally came from Poland. While pursuing an engineering degree, Skorzeny developed a fearsome reputation in the dueling societies that gave him the characteristic scar on his cheek. He fought in at least 15 duels.

In 1938, during the German unification with Austria, Skorzeny came across Nazi roughnecks trying to kill Austrian President Miklas. He stopped them, and soon word spread in Germany about the 6’4 Austrian who possessed the makings of a fighter that they could rely on.

When war broke out in 1939, Skorzeny joined the Waffen SS and fought with distinction on the Eastern Front after the invasion of the Soviet Union. He was wounded in the head by shrapnel and sent to Berlin to recuperate and became a staff officer.

While there, he worked on concepts to create a German unconventional commando unit. He led the training and was named the commander of the unit. In 1943, he led the daring commando raid in Italy at the Campo Imperatore Hotel, a ski resort at Campo Imperatore in Italy’s Gran Sasso massif, high in the Apennine Mountains. His mission was to rescue Benito Mussolini, who had been deposed and held prisoner.

Skorzeny’s men landed by glider in a dangerous move on top of the mountain and captured all 200 guards without firing a shot. In just 10 minutes, Mussolini was freed, and Skorzeny accompanied Mussolini to Germany for an audience with Hitler.

Hitler personally selected Skorzeny to lead Operation Greif (which means Griffin in German). The word went out to all German units calling for volunteers that could speak English and knew American slang. At this point in the war the German Army may have been running short of English speaking troops or those that did speak English weren’t all that keen to “volunteer” for a risky operation, the result was that Skorzeny’s unit did not draw nearly enough English speaking troops as he had hoped. Skorzeny would end up with only ten men who spoke English like native speakers. In desperation, Skorzeny would send some of his men to POW camps holding American prisoners to brush up on the English.

This later proved to be a fatal flaw in Operation Greif,

The Plan:

Skorzeny’s men (the 150th Panzer-Brigade) were split into teams with a demolition group responsible for blowing bridges, ammo, and fuel dumps, a reconnaissance element reporting enemy troop movements, and a lead commando group who would be in charge of cutting telephone wires, disrupting enemy communications, and reversing road signs. The concept of the plan was for Skorzeny’s men to wear American Army uniforms employ captured U.S. jeeps to go behind U.S. lines and sow chaos and confusion. Skorzeny’s men knew that under the rules of war if they were captured by the Americans in these uniforms they would be summarily executed. There was also the very real risk that they would be shot at by their own side as well if they came back into contact with SS troops who mistook them for actual American soldiers in the fog of battle.

Getting the necessary uniforms, weapons, and equipment was a huge issue. So was the procurement of American tanks and other vehicles. The Germans disguised Panther tanks to resemble American M-10 tank destroyers since only one Sherman tank was available.

His men were assigned to the 1st SS Panzer Corps under the command of Joachim Peiper. His men were to follow the Panzers into battle and then break off and surge ahead to their different targets. Peiper would later face war crimes charges for the massacre of eighty-four American prisoners at Malmedy.

German Panther tank camouflaged to appear to be an American M-10 tank destroyer. Photo; US Archives

The Operation:

The Battle of the Bulge began in the early morning hours of December 16. Following a massive artillery bombardment, the heavy German units easily cut through the thinly defended American lines. Confusion on the American side lay supreme as they were caught completely unprepared. The road net soon became a tangle of combat units rushing to meet the Germans being met by rear-echelon support units caught in the offensive trying to get back to the rear of the fighting where they could support the counterattack. These units were generally artillery, quartermasters, field hospitals, and the like. The narrow, two-lane roads were jammed.

Skorzeny’s men were easily able to infiltrate the American lines in the confusion of the early hours of the battle. One of his units was able to drive right into an American-held town and scout out all defenses. On the way out of town, he redirected an American convoy of armor and supplies to a different road. Two of his other units misdirected Allied convoys of supplies and reinforcements. They added to the general chaos among the Americans in the early hours of the battle.

But the Allies soon learned that German soldiers were operating in American uniforms and sent out a warning to check out the identification and behavior of any suspicious troops. It was here that Skorzeny’s men accomplished far more than they did on the ground. Near panic ensued as GI checkpoints were posted everywhere.

Troops initiated questions about American sports, celebrities, and slang as a means to ferret out Nazi infiltrators. General Bruce Clarke of the 7th Armored Division was held after telling MPs that the Chicago Cubs were in the American League. British Field Marshall Montgomery was briefly held when he said he “had no idea” who won the World Series.

Rather than impede Skorzeny’s actions, this overreaction only caused to slow down the Allied response behind their lines and caused far more confusion than the threat itself. One of his men was captured by the Americans and under interrogation made up a story that Skorzeny was en route to Paris to kidnap General Eisenhower. Thus the Allied HQs became a fortress with tanks, machine guns, and troops posted everywhere. According to Eisenhower’s naval aide, Captain Harry Butcher, “He is a prisoner of our security police and is thoroughly but helplessly irritated by the restriction of his moves.” Several actual U.S. soldiers were killed at check points by jittery guards who suspected they were Skorzeny’s men. One sharp-eyed sentry figured out that the forged identity cards the Germans were using had corrected the misspelled word “Indentification” used on the actual U.S.-issued ID cards. Anyone caught with an ID with the corrected spelling of “Identification” was arrested.

With the stiffening American resistance, soon the Germans knew that the offensive would fail in its ultimate goals, and the 150th Panzer-Brigade was withdrawn by the end of December. Out of the forty-four men Skorzeny sent behind U.S. lines in disguise, just eight were lost. As the initiative in the battle shifted back over to the Americans, the Germans still behind U.S. lines changed back into their German uniforms and slipped across American lines again. The Allies were particularly fierce in the treatment of German soldiers caught in American uniforms. Many were caught, imprisoned, and then executed.

German troops caught wearing American uniforms during Operation Greif are executed by firing squad. Photo; US Archives

But the search for Skorzeny in Paris continued until February.

As the war ended, Skorzeny was tried for war crimes but was exonerated on all charges. One charge that nearly stuck was one of improperly wearing US uniforms. But a witness for the defense, F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas, a former British Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent, testified that the Allies had done the exact same thing. He was acquitted. Although he was still held in a POW camp awaiting a de-Nazification hearing, Skorzeny escaped. He later worked as an adviser to Egyptian President Nasser and even the Mossad, helping track down German rocket scientists working for the Egyptians. Skorzeny died of cancer in 1975.

Although Operation Greif never accomplished its stated goals at the outset of the operation, the confusion and panic it caused among the Allies was a success. It ultimately proved to be a successful special operation by the Germans in their failed offensive.

First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA to Avenge 9/11- Review

Looking for the Perfect Christmas Gift or Reading Material? Look No Further

Award-winning author Toby Harnden has crafted an incredible story of the first Americans to enter Afghanistan immediately after 9/11. His book, “First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA to Avenge 9/11,” was initially slated to be released on the 20th anniversary of the U.S. involvement. Still, during his detailed 17-month research into putting this book together, the Afghan government collapsed, and the Taliban returned to power once again.

Harnden was granted some incredible access to the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) employees, some of whom are still in government service. All of their stories and remembrances make for compelling reading. But as Harnden said, sometimes the best stories are the true ones. And this one is fantastic.

The Plan

The story begins on 9/11 when the members of al-Qaeda hijacked the planes and flew them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the one aircraft that was crashed into rural Pennsylvania. America is shocked and on its heels, reeling after ignoring some intelligence reports that the terrorists intended to bring death to America. Signals and intelligence were missed or not shared.

President Bush convened his National Security Council on September 13, and the Pentagon revealed that they had no war plan for Afghanistan. CENTCOM commander General Tommy Franks told the president it would take months to build up enough conventional troops for an invasion. CIA Director George Tenet turned the meeting over Cofer Black, an experienced Agency hand who had spent many years in Africa. The CIA’s plan was to infiltrate small numbers of Agency linguists and paramilitary officers along with some Green Beret A-Teams (ODAs) into Afghanistan to link up with the Afghan resistance, warlords from the Northern Alliance. Black sensed that President Bush wanted his pound of flesh.

“When we’re through with them, they will have flies walking across their eyeballs,” he said.

The President pondered for several seconds before asking, “Cofer, can we really do this?” Black stared back at the President for several seconds for theatric effect and said there wasn’t a doubt in his mind at all. Bush responded with, “That’s what I’m talking about. Go get ’em.”

And in the early days of the war, the successful ones, the CIA, would run the war effort. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld seethed over this. He later dragged his feet over any assistance until the military took over the war, pushed thousands of troops into the country in a mission completely opposite of what had worked, and ultimately turned the effort into a “goat rope.”

For an avid reader of all things OSS/SOE from World War II, the mission was a throwback and a fantastic legacy of those who paved the way for the organizations that became the CIA and Special Forces.

The Team

Team Alpha, David Tyson, and Mike Spann (top row far right). Photo courtesy of Toby Harnden

The book centers around “Team Alpha,” an eclectic group of Agency employees who entered Afghanistan on October 17, just a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks. Much of the book centers around CIA agents David Tyson and Mike Spann. They joined Northern Alliance warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum, who in a SOFREP podcast said the warlord was “straight out of central casting.”

Dostum was known as a thug. A brutal, bloodthirsty type whose own men were terrified of him. But, he was also quite shrewd. He could adapt to situations at the drop of a hat, like anyone who had survived the bloody politics of Afghanistan for so long could.

Tyson was an Uzbek linguist, which was invaluable as he had the ability to communicate easily with the Northern Alliance. The key to taking the country was taking the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. A precursor to the fall of Kandahar, Kabul, and the collapse of the Taliban government that occurred on Nov. 17, 2001.

The CIA/Green Beret team had built a great rapport with Dostum in a very condensed period of time. Much faster than is preached at “Robin Sage,” the SF UW exercise that every SF NCO and Officer must pass. The commander of the A-Team, Captain Mark Nutsch of the 5th Special Forces Group (5th SFG), and Tyson built a great relationship of trust with Dostum.

Dostum (white horse) with Northern Alliance fighters and U.S. troops. Photo courtesy of Toby Harnden

The Fortress

Rumsfeld was still trying to convince President Bush that all of the CIA’s efforts were stalled. But once Mazar-I-Sharif fell, he insisted that the war couldn’t be won with just Captains and Sergeants and started sending Colonels and Generals, who Harnden says were not needed nor appreciated. Dostum was told in short order that instead of Nutsch, he’d now deal with Nutsch’s battalion commander LTC Bowers. He, in turn, would be replaced with a two-star, Rear Admiral Bert Calland, the SOCCENT commander.

The Green Berets were pulled out from Team Alpha, and the military was pushing in green troops with no clue as to what was still going on. Before the country was even taken from the Taliban, the Pentagon was focused on stability operations.

Mike Spann and David Tyson find “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh in the throng of al-Qaeda prisoners at Qala-i-Jangi. Photo courtesy of Toby Harnden

During this time, Tyson and Mike Spann headed to the Qala-i-Jangi fortress outside Mazar-i-Sharif to interrogate hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters, who had supposedly surrendered, including U.S. citizen John Walker Lindh. But the al-Qaeda fighters had smuggled weapons, grenades, and suicide vests into the fortress.

They then started a violent uprising while Spann was interviewing a prisoner with dozens around him. As they rushed him, Spann killed numerous al-Qaeda fighters before being hit from behind. The prisoners then overwhelmed Spann before killing him with a pistol. Tyson attempted to get to his friend, but the sheer numbers of prisoners rushing him prevented that, despite the fact that he killed perhaps dozens.

Tyson made it a temporary safe spot in the compound with German journalists. Other American CIA, Green Berets, conventional troops, and a small contingent of British SBS (Special Boat Service, Britain’s equivalent to Navy SEALs) began an effort to rescue Tyson and Spann (who was considered missing) from the fort. The amount of detail and the personal accounts of the men who fought at Qala-i-Jangi is some riveting reading.

The Break Down

Harnden’s book is a fantastic read as he interviewed nearly all of the major players in the early, heady days of the Afghanistan invasion before the Pentagon and State Department turned it into a nation-building sh** show and tried to build a country based on our own model that would never work in Afghanistan.

Dostum, the pivotal warlord who was instrumental in the success, was pushed to the side and quickly ostracized by the government, especially the State Department. Harnden traveled to Afghanistan a year ago to interview the former warlord who was blocked from visiting the U.S.

“I was the one who fought against and defeated the Taliban in 2001,” Dostum said. “My soldiers were killed and wounded, but I was left behind and received nothing. If the Americans had listened to me, they would now have the upper hand on the battlefield and at the negotiation table.”

“I have no issue with CIA,” he says. “They never let me down. But US diplomats have not allowed me to act against the Taliban.”

The Page-Turner

If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the reader in the household or want to spend hours on end curled up in a chair with a great book, then pick up “First Casualty.” It is extremely well-written, meticulously researched, and an absolute page-turner.

It was a story that needed to be told, which is why the CIA was so helpful with Harnden in arranging for nearly all of the involved people to be interviewed. It is a story about personal sacrifice and incredible bravery and resourcefulness. But most of all, it is a story about “what could have been,” but like what occurred in Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal, to quote Charlie Wilson, “we f***ed up the end game.”

Army-Navy Game 2021, Keys to the Game And Key Matchups

The college football season can’t begin the bowl season and playoff without first the traditional Army-Navy game. This year is set for December 11 and will be held at MetLife Stadium with a CBS broadcast starting at 3 p.m. eastern time.

One of the oldest rivalries in college football, the two service academies will meet for the 122nd time, with the Naval Academy holding the edge 61-53-7. It is a streaky rivalry; the Navy won 14 in a row, many by a wide margin from 2002-2015. However, Army has won 4 of the last 5 contests, including a 15-0 shutout last year at West Point.

Army (8-3) – has already clinched its second straight Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, a three-way competition between Army, Navy, and Air Force. Navy lost to Air Force 23-3 in September. The Black Knights then beat Air Force in O.T. in November.

This Black Knights team is one of the best that Jeff Monken has fielded at West Point. They are a Top 20 scoring team and a Top 20 defense. Army averages 301.2 yards per game and over 5 yards per rush with their ground game.

Navy (3-8) – will miss a bowl game for the second year in a row under head coach Ken Niumatalolo and their third losing season in four years. The offense, specifically their scoring offense, has been an issue, especially earlier in the season.

While the Midshipmen have a potent running offense of their own averaging 228.7 yards per game, their passing attack has been woeful, totaling only 599 yards on the season. The Navy QBs have attempted 91 passes and completed 44 but have been sacked 29 times.

Every year, the two teams wear customized uniforms just for the game. This year, the Army is honoring Special Forces. They will be wearing the SF crossed arrows around their neck and have a patch of Task Force Dagger and where an Army name tape would go on a camouflage uniform. They’ll have the SF motto “De Oppresso Liber,” as well as the Special Forces crest on the crown of their helmets.

Army’s Special Forces themed football uniforms. US Army Photo

The Navy’s uniform this year will be honoring the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jet. The Navy’s website says about the uniforms, “Using one of the most famous naval career paths as an inspiration, the 2021 ‘Fly Navy’ uniform highlights classic American symbolism and the most utilized multirole fighter jet in aircraft carrier aviation, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet… the Super Hornet will remain the backbone of the carrier air wing well into the future.”

Navy’s F-18 themed uniforms. US Navy photo

So, let’s look at some of the key matchups:

When Army Has The Ball – Advantage Army:

The Black Knights running game is their bread and butter, and it all funnels through QB Christian Anderson, a dual-threat QB who is the team’s leading passer and the second leading rusher with 519 yards, an average of 5.9 yards per rush, and six touchdowns. Army’s leading rusher is running back Tyrell Robinson, who has carried the ball 89 times for 582 yards (9.9-yard average), with a long of 87 and three touchdowns. Army has four players with over 400 yards rushing.

The Black Knights throw the ball even less than the Midshipmen do, having only passed 85 times but have nearly double the yardage (1030 yards) with 10 TDs and 3 INTs. Army QBs have only been sacked six times. Their biggest threat in the passing game is Isaiah Dalton, who has caught 18 passes for 384 yards (21.3-yard average) with 3 TDs.

But it comes down to the running game. Neither of these teams is going to air it out; they live or die by the running game. Army’s rushing attack was superb in 2021, rushing for 3313 yards, a 4.9 yard average with 43 rushing touchdowns. If the Navy is going to keep this a game, they have to slow down the Army’s rushing attack.

Army’s rushing attack was #2 in the FBS. US Army photo

That will require a total team effort, but their big guy at stuffing the run is #54, linebacker Diego Fagot. In the past three years, he has 11 tackles for a loss in 2021 and has 34 TFL. The Middies need a huge game from him on Saturday. However, their rush defense has been good, allowing just 131.6 yards per game.

Army has averaged scoring 35.5 points per game, while Navy is allowing 29.6 points per game. If the Knights get anywhere close to that, it may be another long after for Navy.

When Navy Has The Ball – Advantage Army:

The Midshipmen have a good running game of their own, pounding the rock for 229 yards per game. Navy has two good fullbacks who can carry the pile, the chew, and the clock. Isaac Ruoss has carried 157 times for 608 yards (3.9-yard average) with 5 TDs. Carlinos Acie has carried 57 times for 546 yards (9.6-yard average), with two TDs.

Navy’s QB is Tai Lavatai, who has completed 54.5 percent of his passes with 5 TDs and 2 INTs. But he has a penchant for being sacked a lot, as have all of Navy’s QBs. Lavatai has also rushed for 309 yards on 150 rushes (just a 2.1-yard average), with 5 TDs. Navy’s most productive receiver is Chance Warren, with 10 receptions for 157 yards and 3 TDs. He has also been productive in the running game with 242 yards and a score.

The Midshipmen need their big FBs to keep Army’s defense on the field. Army has allowed only 103.7 yards per game on the ground. And like Navy, they have a big run stuffer, junior linebacker Andre Carter II. Carter is a big, athletic 6’7, 250-pound outside linebacker who has played outstanding for the Knights. A year ago, he was playing around 260, but this year, he lost some weight to improve his speed and conditioning. This year, he doesn’t have to come out as much. Carter has logged 15 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and an interception.

This one, like every year, comes down to who can be more physical, control the tempo and the line of scrimmage, and most importantly, finish drives by running the football. The Army is favored by 7.5 points. The over/under for this one is just 33, and it tends to go with the under every year.

The Navy will be looking to pull a big upset on Army this year. US Navy photo

But this one has a little different vibe to it. Although, as the old saying goes, “you can throw out their records” for this huge rivalry game, Army has a superior unit this year. Look for it to be close for a half and then the Black Knights ground game to eat the Navy up. Army 24-10

This rivalry is unique in that upon graduation, all of the players then join the same team. Some of the Army troops may find themselves in a tough spot somewhere in the world, and a Navy pilot will fly ground support missions for them. That’s where the rivalry may be bitter on the field but is full of respect off of it.

Go Army, Beat Navy.

US Green Berets Raid Son Tay Prison and Make History

By mid-November 1970, there were 450 known American POWs in Vietnam, and more than double that amount reported as missing in action. Reports were surfacing of brutal conditions, torture, and starvation of American POWs. Operation Ivory Coast was a daring rescue mission conducted by U.S. Army Green Berets, flown in by Air Force Commandos, to rescue the POWs at a small prisoner of war camp at Son Tay, 23 miles west of Hanoi. The raid was commanded by Colonel Arthur “Bull” Simons and 56 specially selected Green Berets who had trained for the mission.

The mission was deemed a failure. Unknown to the raiders, rains had flooded the Son Tay prison just prior to the raid, forcing the Vietnamese guards to move the POWs to another location. The prisoners who had been moved just a few miles down the road, watched the raid unfold.

However, the raid was viewed as a success by many in the U.S. military, as the Special Forces troops killed over 50 guards and took the compound while suffering two very minor casualties. And the Air Force was able to fly them in and out through one of the most heavily defended air spaces on earth at that time.

The POW Camp Is Identified

In May of 1970, the Pentagon learned of the camp when an SR-71 flying at 80,000 feet, streaked over it and took aerial photographs that showed at least 55 American POWs. However, 12,000 North Vietnamese troops were stationed just five miles away from the compound.

Planning began in earnest in early August. Simons, who was a legend and one of the most well-respected Special Forces officers, was named the commander of the raid force. Simons had taken part in the outstanding prisoner rescue during World War II with the 6th Ranger Bn. The Rangers rescued 500 POWs, who had survived the Bataan Death March, by raiding the Japanese POW camp at Cabanatuan in the Philippines. The Japanese were planning on killing every one of the POWs when the Americans arrived at the camp and foiled their plans.

He would have to select the raiders from among the 6th and 7th Special Forces Groups at Ft. Bragg, NC. Word spread through the Green Berets at Ft. Bragg that something big was brewing and it was to be commanded by Simons. Over 500 packed the post theater to hear Simons make a pitch for volunteers for a very dangerous mission.

The training facility chosen for the raiders was Duke Field at Eglin AFB, Florida. USAF planners selected key Air Force commanders, who then picked personnel for their crews. Helicopter and A-1 Skyraider crews were put together from instructors at Eglin and personnel returned from combat tours in Southeast Asia. Two crews for C-130E(I) Combat Talons were assembled from squadrons in Germany and North Carolina.

The men were not briefed on their mission but were only told that it was hazardous.

A total of 219 men were selected: 103 Army and 116 Air Force personnel would serve as raiders, flight crew, support personnel, and planning. The Task Force was known as the “Joint Contingency Task Group” (JCTG).

The staff set up a plan to conduct a nighttime raid, the key point of which was clear weather and a quarter moon at 35 degrees above the horizon for optimum visibility during low-level flight. From these mission planning parameters, two mission “windows” were identified, 18–25 October and 18–25 November.

Training under Simons proceeded on Range C-2 at Eglin. Simons’s Son Tay raiders used an exact but crudely made replica of the prison compound for rehearsals that could be quickly assembled and taken down before any Russian satellite would fly over. The raiders also had a superbly detailed five-by-five-foot scale table model — codenamed “Barbara” after a USAF secretary, Barbara L. Strosnider, who worked very long days supporting planning for the raid — which was built by the CIA for familiarization.

The Air Force pilots flew over 1,050 hours in C-130 Combat Talon and HH-3 aircraft to practice their formations while using the Forward-Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR), to fully acquaint themselves with the mission.

The Special Forces side of the training began on September 9, before moving into night training on September 17, and joint training with aircrews on September 28, which included six rehearsals a day, three of them under night conditions. By October 6, 170 practice sessions of all or some phases of the mission had been performed on the mockup by the Special Forces operators, using live fire.

Son Tay prison mockup — “Barbara,” the mockup of the Son Tay prison built by the CIA. (U.S. Army)

The Ground Force Commander would be LTC Bud Syndor. The assault element leader, which would purposely crashland a helicopter in the prison compound, would be led by another SF legend CPT Richard “Dick” Meadows.

Meadows, who would be integral for the raid, was one of the best Special Operators that this country has ever produced. He enlisted in the Army when he was just 15 and fought as a paratrooper in Korea. By the age of 20, he was the youngest Master Sergeant in the Army. He joined Special Forces in 1953 and for the remainder of his career until 1977 would serve in either Special Forces or Ranger units.

During the Vietnam War, Meadows impressed General William Westmoreland so much during a briefing after an operation with MACSOGV that he was given a battlefield commission. He also helped Colonel Charles Beckwith form Delta Force. He was even recalled from retirement to assist in the Iran Hostage Rescue by posing as a European auto dealer on the ground in Tehran.

On November 6, the first full-scale dress rehearsal, using a UH-1H as the assault helicopter, was conducted at night. It included a 5.5-hour, 687 miles (1,106 km) flight of all aircraft, replicating the timing, speeds, altitudes, and turns in the mission plan. The rehearsal indicated that the UH-1 helicopter was unsuitable for this mission. The smaller passenger compartment resulted in leg cramps to the SF raiders that completely disrupted the timing of their assault. Simons and his raiders opted for the HH-3E. Two further full-night rehearsals and a total of 31 practice landings by the HH-3E in the courtyard of the mockup followed.

The primary October window was chosen, but President Nixon was out of Washington and couldn’t be briefed properly in time, so Henry Kissinger moved back the raid to the November time window. Unbeknownst to anyone, this one-month’s delay would doom the mission to failure.

The Air Force moved all of the pieces for the raid force to Thailand, the jump-off location for the raid, between November 10 and 18. Piecemeal deployment was chosen to not attract attention. There the force was whittled down from the 100 men who trained for the mission to the 56 that would be going — a heartbreaking affair for the 44 men who had to stay behind in Thailand.

The Raiding Force

The Special Forces were organized into three platoons: A 14-man assault group codenamed “Blueboy Element” led by Meadows, which would crashland within the prison compound. “Greenleaf” a 22-man support group, would provide immediate support for the assault team. And “Redwine” a 20-man security group to protect the prison area from any NVA reaction forces and provide backup support for either of the other two groups if needed. Simons (using the call sign “Axle”) accompanied the Greenleaf group, while the ground force commander, LTC Elliott P. “Bud” Sydnor, Jr. (“Wildroot”) was with the Redwine group.

The 56 raiders were heavily armed, carrying 48 CAR-15 carbines, two M16 rifles, four M79 grenade launchers, two shotguns, and four M60 machine guns. They carried 15 Claymore mines, 11 demolition charges, and 213 hand grenades. They also had a mix of wire and bolt cutters, axes, chainsaws, crowbars, ropes, bullhorns, lights, and other equipment. The ground force was also equipped for voice communications with 58 UHF-AM and 34 VHF-FM radios, including a survival radio for each individual soldier.

Five hours before takeoff, Simons finally addressed the men to what their actual mission was. “We are going to rescue 70 POWs from a camp called Son Tay. This is something American prisoners have a right to expect from their fellow soldiers. The camp is located 23 miles west of Hanoi.”

It was said that the troops stood and cheered. Simons put his own indelible mark on the operation with his final instructions.

“You are to let nothing, nothing interfere with the operation. We’re here to rescue prisoners not take prisoners. And if we walk into a trap, don’t dream about walking out of Vietnam unless you’ve got wings on your feet. It is 100 miles to Laos… I want to keep this force together. We will back up to the Song Con River and by Christ let them come across the goddamn open ground. We’ll make them pay for every foot across the sonuvabitch.”

Infiltration Into North Vietnam and Arrival at Son Tay

The raid force began taking off at 2200 hours from airfields in Thailand and South Vietnam. The formation flew across the Plain of Jars in Laos before turning northeast. The Air Force meticulously planned 12 separate legs of the flight plan in order to keep the vulnerable helicopters undetected by North Vietnamese radar. The force was aided by diversionary bombing missions going on in the area.

Banana 1, the helicopter purposely crashlanded at the Son Tay prison camp. (U.S. Army)

The assault force arrived at Son Tay at 0219 hours. The helicopter that was to crashland in the compound was to encounter trees thought to be 40-feet tall. In actuality, they were close to 150-feet. However, the pilot chopped through them like a huge lawnmower and the aircraft thudded into the ground. One man, an Air Force crew chief, suffered a broken ankle when a fire extinguisher broke free and smashed into his leg.

Meadows used a bullhorn and announced, “We’re American. Keep your heads down. We’re Americans. We’ll be in your cells in a minute.” Meadows’s group cut down many of the compound’s guards, including several trying to escape through the east wall. But as his men methodically advanced through the compound, they found no prisoners in the cells.

The Support Element landed in the wrong compound, which was known as the Secondary School. It found that it contained 100-200 Chinese soldiers who were there as advisors for some new missile defense weapons that were being emplaced. After a brief but intense firefight, the Special Forces troops using a mixture of automatic fire and grenades, the Chinese were eliminated.

The Security Element (“Redwine”) approached the south wall and Syndor, using the helicopter’s miniguns, wiped out the guard towers, while landing inside the compound. There they blew a utility pole and set up a roadblock, 100 meters from the LZ. They then encountered guards who were quickly trying to react to the raid. The raiders cut down several of them.

Simons leaped into a trench as the fighting raged on around him. A second later, an enemy soldier, roused from his sleep and wearing only his underwear, jumped in beside Simons not realizing what was happening. Simons emptied his .357 revolver into the soldier’s chest killing him.

Meadows radioed to Syndor, “Negative items.” No POWs were present. The assault force was preparing to leave when one of the members decided to leave the Vietnamese a message on who was responsible for the raid. MSG Joe Lupyak took a Green Beret with a 5th SFG flash and nailed it to the compound’s flagpole. The message was, “we can come within 20 miles of Hanoi and we’ll be back.”

The extraction helicopters began arriving at 0239 hrs. The last aircraft departed at 0245. The entire raid had taken just 27 minutes. The formation had cleared North Vietnamese airspace by 0315 and had arrived back in Thailand by 0438 hrs.

Intelligence Failure/Mission Failure

The lack of good intelligence hampered the operation from the start. It was later learned that due to the flooding of the river, the prisoners had been moved to a place they named “Camp Faith” that was about 15 miles closer to Hanoi. The area’s heavy rains had obscured the U.S. satellites from picking that up.

However, as the raiders flew back to Thailand crushed by the fact that they didn’t rescue any of the POWs, they didn’t realize that the impact of the raid would be a tremendous morale boost for the prisoners. The prisoners had watched the raid unfold from their new camp at Dong Hoi and knew right away that they had not been forgotten.

The North Vietnamese realized that had the operation been successful, the sight of the prisoners in their current emaciated state would have been disastrous. Resultantly, food and medical care improved for the prisoners and the Vietnamese consolidated the POWs and for the first time. Many of them were surprised to learn that instead of solitary confinement, they were housed together.

The Son Tay Raid Personnel

Support Element

COL Arthur D Simons, CPT Eric J Nelson, CPT Glenn R Rouse, CPT Udo H Walther, SFC Earl Bleacher, SFC Leroy N Carlson, SFC John Jakovenko, SFC Jack G Joplin, SFC Daniel Jurich, SFC David A Lawhon Jr, SFC Salvador M Suarez, SFC Donald Taapken, SFC Richard W Valentine, SSG Walter L Miller, SSG Robert L Nelson, SSG David S Nickerson, SSG Thomas E Powell, SSG John E Rodriquez, SGT Gary D Keel, SGT Keith R Medenski, SGT Franklin D Roe, SGT Marshall A Thomas.

Assault Element

CPT Richard J Meadows, CPT Thomas W Jaeger, CPT Dan H McKinney, 1LT George W Petrie, MSG Thomas J Kemmer, MSG Billy K Moore, MSG Galen C Kittleson, SFC Anthony Dodge, SFC Lorenzo O Robbins, SFC William L Tapley, SFC Donald R Wingrove, SSG Charles G Erickson, SSG Kenneth E McMullin, SGT Patrick St Clair.

Command Element – Security

LTC Elliot P Sydnor, LTC Joseph R Cataldo, CPT James W McClam, CPT Daniel D Turner, MSG Joseph J Lupyak, MSG Herman Spencer, SFC Tyrone J Adderly, SFC Donald D Blackard, SFC Freddie Doss, SFC Jerry W Hill, SFC Marion S Howell, SFC Billy R Martin, SFC Gregory T McGuire, SFC Charles A Masten Jr, SFC Joseph M Murray, SFC Noe Quezada, SFC Ronnie Strahan, SSG Paul S Poole, SSG Lawrence Young, SGT Terry L Buckler.

Support Personnel

LTC Bill L Robinson, LTC Gerald Kilburn, CPT Randel L Smith, SGM Minor B Pylant, MSG Jesse A Black, MSG Edgar C Britt, MSG Bernard L Rauscher, SFC Franklin Abramski, SFC James A Bass, SFC Archie Batrez Jr, SFC Robert L Dodd, SFC Charles M Erwin, SFC James A Green, SFC Bobby R Hansley, SFC Roswell D Henderson, SFC Frederick L Hubel, SFC Bruce M Hughes, SFC John R Jourdan, SFC Ernest R Pounder, SFC Aaron L Tolson Jr, SFC Burley W Turner, SFC Grady C Vines, SSG Elmer D Adams, SSG Rodger D Gross, SSG Larry G Stroklund, SSG David L Wilson, SGT Brian J Budy, SGT Michael G Green, SGT Robert R Hobdy, SGT John J Lippert, SGT Arlin L Olson, SP5 William F Dezurik, SP5 Lawrence C Elliot, SP5 Gary R Griffin, SP4 Christopher Casey, SP4 Frank J Closen.

UH-1 Crew Members

1LT George W Williams, CW2 Ronald J Exely, CW2 Jackie H Keely, CW2 John J Ward, SP6 Larry C Boots, SP4 Alan H Wood.

This Is How 4 OSS Operators Captured Sardinia From 270,000 Italians in WWII

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) grew out of humble beginnings and Washington’s political infighting to be a huge part of the American effort in World War II. OSS agents provided important intelligence, furnished operatives who worked behind the lines, and helped resistance and guerrilla movements against occupying German, Japanese, and Italian forces. One of the most successful operations of OSS was the capture of Sardinia, where four American operators convinced more than 270,000 Italian troops to surrender.

The Glorious Bastards

General William Donovan and his band of “PhDs who can win a bar fight” had developed a stellar reputation among the senior Allied leaders. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, credited the American OSS and the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) with the exemplary manner in which the resistance forces were organized, supplied, and directed. After the war, Eisenhower said,

“In no previous war and in no other theater during this war, have Resistance forces been so closely harnessed to the main military effort…I consider that the disruption of enemy rail communications, the harassing of German road moves, and the continual and increasing strain placed on the German war economy and internal security services throughout occupied Europe by the organized forces of Resistance, played a very considerable part in our complete and final victory.”

General George Marshall, after WWII, wrote how the OSS had far surpassed expectations. “The Resistance surpassed all of our expectations, and it was they who, in delaying the arrival of German reinforcements and in preventing the regrouping of enemy divisions in the interior assured the success of our landings.”

OSS Jedburgh team William Colby — OSS Jedburgh team gather around Lt. William Colby, future Director of the CIA, prior to a mission. (U.S. Army)

A Russian Aristocrat in Sardinia

Sardinia had a garrison of 20,000 Germans and over 270,000 Italians. With the invasion of Italy underway, the Allies wanted to capture Sardinia without having to resort to another full-scale invasion by ground troops.

It was a tailor-made mission for the OSS. The mission was tasked to a four-man special operations team. General Marshall later wrote that he wanted to “give [General] Donovan a chance to do his stuff without fear of compromising some operation in prospect. If he succeeds, fine, if not, nothing will be lost.”

Chosen to lead the OSS team was the larger-than-life character Lieutenant Colonel Serge Obolensky.

Born a Russian aristocrat, Prince Sergei (Serge) Obolensky had a life full of vicissitudes and varied experiences in both the Russian military under the Czar and the American military. During World War I, he was awarded the highest medals for personal courage as an officer in the Russian cavalry. After the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks hunted him. He escaped to America, where he remade himself as a financial advisor to President Roosevelt. He became one of the founders of the U.S. Special Forces, a lieutenant colonel of the Office of Strategic Services, and the oldest combat U.S. Army paratrooper at the age of 53.

Because of his experiences, propensity for languages, and natural ability to influence people, he was a natural for OSS. General Donovan quickly recruited Obolensky into the fledgling agency.

In early September 1943, the U.S. Army landed at Salerno. Eisenhower wanted the Italian soldiers on Sardinia to surrender and harass the Germans on the island. Obolensky was to carry a letter from Eisenhower, the Italian King Emmanuel, and Prime Minister General Pietro Badoglio to the garrison commander, General Basso, ordering him to surrender. Donovan personally selected Obolensky because he believed the former Russian aristocrat had both the social standing and the gift of gab to persuade the Italian general in charge to surrender to him.

The second member of Obolensky’s four-man team was 1LT Michael Formichelli from New York City. An original member of the Italian-American Operational Group, whom Obolensky had trained with in the U.S., Formichelli was to be the interpreter. The team was rounded out with two radio operators: 2LT James Russell, a special operations instructor at the OSS training school in Algeria; and Sergeant William Sherwood from the British SOE, who would relay information to the OSS base station in Algiers.

Although neither Formichelli nor Russell had ever jumped from an aircraft, they both volunteered for the mission. Since the OSS had no contacts on Sardinia, this operation would be a “blind jump” into enemy-held territory.

The Coup de Maître

On the night of September 13, 1943, the team parachuted into the island via a blacked-out bomber. They landed safely and buried their parachutes. Russell and Sherwood remained with the communications gear, while Obolensky and Formichelli took off on a 15-mile reconnaissance of the town of Cagliari.

Warned that the Germans were close, the sight of the two Americans in uniform with submachine guns shocked the Italian townspeople at the nearby railroad station. Yet, thinking that the Americans had arrived to free them from the hated Germans, the Italians began to cheer.

Approaching the local police station, Obolensky acted as if he had battalions of paratroopers under his command nearby. He told the police chief, “I have a very important message from the King of Italy and General Badoglio to General Basso. Take me to him!”

Obolensky and Formichelli were escorted to General Basso’s headquarters. General Basso was concerned. Although he agreed to “follow the orders of my king,” and surrender his troops, he did not agree to attack the Germans who were leaving for Corsica and then northern Italy.

The attitude among the Italian officers was split. Many of them wanted to fight the Germans. However, one unit of paratroopers commanded by a hardcore fascist disobeyed General Basso’s surrender order and shot his representative. The OSS men, including the two radio operators, were kept in a safe house until General Basso and his men could bring the paratroopers back in line. The audacious plan had worked.

Obolensky radioed back to OSS HQs that “except for the Germans retreating in the far north, Sardinia was ours.”

The mission was a complete success, and it was astonishingly completed in 36 hours without the loss of a single American life.

Serge Obolensky Marilyn Monroe OSS — Serge Obolensky dances with Marilyn Monroe in the years after the war. (Obolensky family)

Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. arrived a few days later with a small occupation force and formally accepted the surrender of the 270,000 Italian troops on Sardinia. But it was Obolensky and the OSS men who had made it all happen.

After the war, Obolensky worked for the Hilton Hotel chain and later started his own public relations firm in New York City, Serge Obolensky Associates, Inc. He hobnobbed with celebrities and high-ranking politicians and was photographed dancing with Marilyn Monroe at one of his parties. He died in 1978 at the age of 88.

The modern-day CIA and U.S. Army Special Forces are the direct descendants of the OSS.

The Intriguing History of the Term Special Operator

Operator – someone who operates.

In the civilian world, that could be someone operating an excavator, a wheeled tractor, and other similar heavy equipment. Historically, the term applied to people who worked in the old-school telephone centers and operated the manual telephone switchboards that were necessary in order for someone to call another number.

In the military, conversely, the term operator has come to be associated with troops serving in Special Operations Forces (SOF). A Navy SEAL operator, a Special Forces operator, a Marine Raider operator has become standard nomenclature, even in official communique and statements.

But what’s the actual origin of the term? For many in the spec ops community, an operator is someone who is serving or has served in one of the Joint Special Operations Command’s (JSOC) Special Mission Units (SMU). This would apply to members of the Delta Force, SEAL Team Six, also known as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), 24^th Special Tactics Squadron (24^th STS), Intelligence Support Activity (ISA), or one of the other smaller, blacker SMUs.

The office of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) historian, however, posits that the term originated from within the Green Beret community. In support of this claim, there is a document from the late 1950s. Dated April 2, 1959, the document’s headline reads: “The Code For the Special Forces Operator.” It includes 10 provisions by which a Green Beret must abide. They range from the volunteer and highly dangerous nature of Special Forces – during the Cold War, Special Forces Operational Detachment Alphas (SFODAs) were designed to remain behind enemy lines once the Soviet mechanized onslaught had been unleashed on Western Europe; their role, as it is today, was to organize, train, and lead indigenous forces in waging an Unconventional Warfare (UW) campaign against the Communists – to superb physical fitness, soldiership, and professionalism, among other things.

“I realize,” the document’s sixth provision states, “it is my responsibility as a Special Forces Operator to undergo more intense and more rugged training than is required of the average soldier of the United States Army.”

The document was signed by Captain Albert Clement, 1^st Company, 77^th Special Forces Group (SFG), and witnessed by John Hanretty. The 77^this one of the original Special Forces Groups and the predecessor of the modern-day 7^thSFG.

So, there it is. According to the existing historical evidence, it is the Green Berets who have the claim over the term “Operator.” Does a title matter, though? Not to those who operate.

People and Events That Shaped D-Day: The Special Operations Executive (SOE)

In a war of secrecy, spies, and destruction, Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) was on the leading edge. Formed in July of 1940, under Minister of Economic Warfare, Hugh Dalton, the SOE’s mission was to conduct espionage, sabotage, intelligence gathering, and support resistance organizations in an effort to defeat the Axis powers.

The SOE operated across occupied Europe and into Southeast Asia. The Executive employed over 13,000 people, 3,200 of them being women. Winston Churchill had been the catalyst for the inception of the SOE. After the organization was created, Churchill told Hugh Dalton, “And now go and set Europe ablaze.” Dalton used the Irish Republican Army that fought in the Irish War of Independence, as the framework for setting up the SOE.

All parties were not in support of the SOE, MI6, in particular, had an issue with it, claiming it was “amateur, dangerous, and bogus.” MI6 feared the SOE would interfere with its intelligence gathering missions due to the SOE’s inherent destructive nature. RAF Bomber Command didn’t appreciate the SOE either, due to the fact that they had to dedicate their aircraft to SOE missions. But, the SOE had the only supporter that mattered — Winston Churchill. The SOE wasn’t going anywhere.

A Spiderweb of Activity

In order to train this network of fighters, training centers, marked by Arabic numerals, were set up in country houses all over England. Commandos that would be going into the field, operating behind enemy lines, received specialized weapons and hand-to-hand combat training in Arisaig, Scotland. If candidates passed the “Commando” course, they would receive parachute training with STS 51 and STS 51A in conjunction with the No.1 Parachute Training School RAF. Following parachute training, agents attended schools, learning about security and tradecraft. Finally, depending on the specific missions that the agents would participate in, they would receive further training in demolition and morse code communication.

The radio played a key role in every aspect of SOE operations. Airborne drops were guided in by radios, except for certain missions where they flew in blind, behind enemy lines. Regular communication and mission updates were dispatched by the BBC through radio transmissions from Britain. Specific coded instructions were sent out to each individual Resistance unit. Needless to say, it was a requirement for each resistance unit to have a radio operator.

Within France, there were many different Resistance groups. The beliefs, political views, and agendas of these groups did not always align. Britain knew that in order to make the Resistance a formidable and successful fighting force, they needed organization, materials, and tactical assistance. This is where the SOE came in.

French resistance fighters American paratroopers — French resistance fighters and American paratroopers during the Battle of Normandy. (U.S. Army Signal Corps)

From 1941 to 1944 the SOE assisted in sabotage, warfare instruction, coordination of attacks against the enemy, and the collection of intelligence. This dangerous job description didn’t come without serious risk with many agents losing their lives during the war.

On May 5, 1941, the first Special Operations Executive agent parachuted into Nazi-occupied France. Over the next three years, until August 1944, over 400 SOE agents would be dropped into France. Female agents were very much in the fray as well, with the first female agent, Andree Borrel, jumping into France in 1942. She was later captured and executed in 1944.

In 1942, the SOE created the Prosper network. Directed by SOE officials in London, its purpose was to convince the German high command that an invasion was forthcoming in 1943. The Prosper network was a complex system, encompassing the majority of the Resistance groups in France. The network specialized in coordinating train derailments and the assassination of high-ranking Nazi officers.

German intelligence eventually infiltrated the Prosper network resulting in the death of many SOE agents and Resistance volunteers. Making the situation worse, many SOE agents continued to be sent to the Prosper network after it had fallen into the Nazi’s hands thus causing more loss of life. Hitler had issued the Commando Order, which stated that any non-uniformed soldier would be considered a spy, resulting in the torture and subsequent execution of any SOE agents captured.

The Defining Moment for the Special Operations Executive

Leading up to D-Day, the SOE and the Resistance continued to gather intelligence and sabotage rail lines and trains. Railway workers also went on strike and worked at a deliberately slow pace to slow down the spread of the Germans’ railroad system.

About a month before D-Day, BBC dispatched a radio communication to the SOE agents and the Resistance, telling them that an invasion was coming. Another message followed on June 1, confirming an invasion was imminent. The night before D-Day, a final message was dispatched, telling the SOE agents and French Resistance to take “maximum effort” in carrying out sabotage and interrupting German forces.

In support of Operation Overlord and the D-Day invasion, Special Operations Executive implemented Operation Jedburgh. The operation consisted of three-man teams dropping into occupied France on the night of D-Day and the days following. They linked up with the French Resistance and disseminated plans for coordinated sabotage against the Nazi army. These “Jedburgh Teams,” as they came to be known, were comprised of two officers and one radio operator. Members of these teams were American, British, and French. They wore their military uniforms, in the hope of being treated as prisoners of war, instead of spies, in the event of capture. And unlike the covert SOE missions which had been the standard for years prior, this operation was to consist of overt attacks against the enemy.

D-Day: The Special Operations Executive (SOE) — SOE’s Jedburgh Team Aubrey seen just before boarding the plane that would fly them to Normandy. (ww2images.blogspot.com via National Archives and Records Administration)

There was grave risk and uncertainty in this operation. Earlier in 1944, 33 SAS soldiers from the SAS Brigade had jumped into France, to destroy the railway connecting Paris to the southwestern portion of France. The mission was a disaster; the 33 SAS operatives were captured and executed by the SS.

Among all of the success stories of the Jedburgh Operation, one Jedburgh Team’s contributions went above and beyond. Tommy Macpherson, a Scottish British Army officer, and his two other team members successfully halted the movements of the 2nd SS Panzer Division. Tommy and his team managed to siphon the axle oil out of railway cars, on which the 2nd Panzer Division was to be transported. They replaced the oil with abrasive grease, causing the axles to lock up. The team’s contributions were specifically recognized by General Eisenhower’s staff.

The Jedburgh Operation would result in 100 SOE operatives jumping into France, complimented with 6,000 tons of military supplies. General Eisenhower’s staff at the Supreme Headquarters credited the Jedburgh Teams, saying they had “succeeded in imposing more or less serious delays on all the divisions moved to Normandy.”

Back Into the Shadows

Success and victory came with a heavy price. Approximately one out of three of the 42 SOE females and one out of four of the male agents would lose their lives, totaling over 400 dead. Thousands of French Resistance fighters and supporters were killed by the Nazis for assisting the SOE.

The SOE officially shut down in January of 1946. Some members of the Executive entered into a civilian career and others entered into conventional military service. But 280 of the agents would transfer into MI6’s Special Operations Branch. MI6 believed they could learn a lot from the SOE’s training curriculum and research.

In 2014, France requested for the United Kindom’s D-Day veterans to come forward in order to be awarded the Légion d’Honneur. They specifically requested members of the Special Operations Executive and other secret organizations to make themselves known. Many did not come forward. These operatives have kept their secrets since the war ended and it appears that many will continue to stay tight-lipped for the rest of their lives.