SOF

Remembering SFC Eugene Ashley, MOH, SF A-Camp at Lang Vei

During the battle on February 6-7, 1968 at the Special Forces A-Camp at Lang Vei, NVA troops used armor for the first time against American and South Vietnamese positions. Lang Vei had to be taken before the NVA unleashed 40,000 troops against the Marine base at Khe Sanh.

During the battle, as the SF camp was being overrun, SFC Eugene Ashley of Company C, of the 5th Special Forces Group, led five different counterattacks trying to rescue his fellow American SF comrades. On the fifth and final assault, he was killed by artillery fire. His family was presented with his posthumous Medal of Honor by Vice President Spiro Agnew.

Early Life and Military Career:

Ashley was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on October 12, 1931. Shortly after he was born, his family moved to New York City where he attended Alexander Hamilton High School. Ashley joined the U.S. Army in 1950 and served in the Korean War with the 187th Regimental Combat Team.

He held a variety of different jobs in the Army including infantryman, ambulance driver, anti-aircraft ammunition handler, and specialist in heavy weapons and parachute repair. He served as in the cavalry and armored battle group as a squad leader and company sergeant with an airborne battalion.

He joined Special Forces and at the time of the battle in Lang Vei was an Intelligence Sergeant in Company C, the 5th Special Forces Group. He was remembered by his comrades at that time as a “professional NCO who took care of his troops” and as a “fatherly figure” for his many years of service and experience.

Background to the Battle:

The Special Forces camp at Lang Vei was occupied by an A-Team, Detachment A-101 commanded by Captain Frank Willoughby was a 12-man detachment with 14 South Vietnamese SF, and had about 280 Montagnard CIDG strikers. They were augmented by another Special Forces A-Team with 161 Hre tribesman of the Mobile Strike Force, commanded by LT Paul Longgrear.

But the NVA was throwing a regiment from the 304th Division and a battalion from the 325th Division. Reinforcing the NVA was a company of PT-76 light amphibious tanks part of the 198th Tank Battalion, 203rd Armored Regiment.

Prior to the battle, the NVA had made its intentions well-known by taking the nearby Khe Sanh village and Ban Houei Sane on January 23, which housed a Laotian unit that had been monitoring the Ho Chi Minh trail. Thousands of civilian refugees streamed into Lang Vei, where the Special Forces team placed them in their older A-Camp which they’d abandoned for a better built one, 1000 meters to the east.

No Quarter Battle:

On the night of February 6-7, 1968 the SF team could hear engine noises emanating from the jungle approaching the camp. Then about 2330 hours, the NVA began pounding the camp with concentrated artillery fire.

From the camp’s observation point above their tactical operations HQs. SFC Nicholas Fragos gave the report, “Tanks in the wire!” Willoughby called for artillery support and reinforcement from the Marine base. The request was denied as the Marines refused to believe that the NVA had tanks. However, artillery and air strikes from Air Force C-119 gunships took a toll on the NVA massing in the area right outside the camp perimeter.

SFC James Holt, manning a 106mm recoilless rifle, one of only two in the camp, knocked out three of the PT-76 tanks, but several others easily rolled over the wire and penetrated the camp’s perimeter. The SF troops had a very early version of the M-72 LAW rocket but these proved to be mainly worthless. Many of them jammed or didn’t fire.

The NVA by 0230 had pushed the Americans back thru most of the camp. Willoughby, seven other American SF, 3 South Vietnamese SF, and 26 CIDG strikers were trapped underground in the tactical operations HQs.

The NVA threw grenades, explosives and tear gas grenades down into the bunker. A voice in English immediately ordered the Americans to surrender. The three South Vietnamese ran out to surrender and were immediately gunned down. After another verbal exchange where the Americans refused to surrender, the NVA attempted to blast them out with explosives.

Meanwhile, SFC Ashley at dawn rallied a force of Laotian troops who were not in any mood to take on the NVA. But Ashley was intent on rescuing the Americans trapped in the camp. His first assault with the timid Laotians was driven back by heavy, concentrated machine gun fire.

Accompanied by two SF Medics, Ashley reformed his Laotian troops and then was joined by SFC William T. Craig and SSG Tiroch who had escaped from the Lang Vei. They illuminated the camp with mortar rounds and pounded the NVA while calling in artillery and air strikes. During his fourth assault, Ashley called in air strikes on the NVA that was nearly on top of his own position.

He was severely wounded in the chest during the fifth assault but refused to be evacuated and continued to lead his combined US/Laotian assault team but he finally lost consciousness only 30 yards from the command bunker. While being taken to the rear, an NVA artillery shell landed nearby and killed Ashley. His surviving SF comrades said, without his counterattacks, none of the men inside the bunker would have survived.

With the situation desperate, Willoughby and the surviving SF men broke out of the bunker and made it to the old SF camp 1000 meters away. There they were rescued by a combined SF/Marine force that had been ordered by General Westmoreland, commander of US troops in Vietnam after he’d been briefed on the attack at Lang Vei.

The combined Montagnard and South Vietnamese CIDG took heavy casualties: 309 killed, 64 wounded, and 122 captured. Of the original 24 Americans at Lang Vei, seven were killed in action, 11 were wounded, and three were captured.

Ashley’s family was presented with his posthumous Medal of Honor by VP Spiro Agnew in November of 1969. He is buried in Rockfish Memorial Park, Fayetteville, NC. In 2001, the Eugene Ashley Jr. High School, located south of Wilmington near Carolina Beach was dedicated in his honor.

Medal of Honor Citation:

SFC Ashley, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with Detachment A-101, Company C. SFC Ashley was the senior special forces Advisor of a hastily organized assault force whose mission was to rescue entrapped U.S. special forces advisors at Camp Lang Vei.

During the initial attack on the special forces camp by North Vietnamese army forces, SFC Ashley supported the camp with high explosive and illumination mortar rounds. When communications were lost with the main camp, he assumed the additional responsibility of directing air strikes and artillery support.

SFC Ashley organized and equipped a small assault force composed of local friendly personnel. During the ensuing battle, SFC Ashley led a total of 5 vigorous assaults against the enemy, continuously exposing himself to a voluminous hail of enemy grenades, machine gun, and automatic weapons fire. Throughout these assaults, he was plagued by numerous booby-trapped satchel charges in all bunkers on his avenue of approach.

During his fifth and final assault, he adjusted air strikes nearly on top of his assault element, forcing the enemy to withdraw and resulting in friendly control of the summit of the hill. While exposing himself to intense enemy fire, he was seriously wounded by machine gun fire but continued his mission without regard for his personal safety. After the fifth assault, he lost consciousness and was carried from the summit by his comrades only to suffer a fatal wound when an enemy artillery round landed in the area.

SFC Ashley displayed extraordinary heroism in risking his life in an attempt to save the lives of his entrapped comrades and commanding officer. His total disregard for his personal safety while exposed to enemy observation and automatic weapons fire was an inspiration to all men committed to the assault. The resolute valor with which he led 5 gallant charges placed critical diversionary pressure on the attacking enemy and his valiant efforts carved a channel in the overpowering enemy forces and weapons positions through which the survivors of Camp Lang Vei eventually escaped to freedom.

SFC Ashley’s bravery at the cost of his life was in the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Photos: Hall of Heroes, JFK SWC, Guardians of the Green Beret

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 5

Back to the gym this Thursday morning for a Chest (Flat, incline bench, Flies, pushups) and Triceps (Cable pushdowns, dips) workout today at the gym before heading out for a 4-mile run.

Remember to stretch well before and after and to stay hydrated. Mark your progress down in your workout log book.

UBRR Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 12 Bench Press

3 x 10 Dumbbell Flies

3 x 10 Dumbbell Incline press

3 x 20 Pushups (alternate sets with wide, narrow and shoulder width)

3 x 10 ‘V’ Ups

3 x 20 Sit-ups

3 x 20 Cable Push Downs (rope)

3 x 20 Dips or until muscle failure

4-mile run (32 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Learn How To Prepare For Cold Weather Prior to Selection

Because most of our military bases are in the southern United States, one area that can be neglected, especially when preparing for Special Operations training is cold weather training. It is surprising how many young people who enter the military don’t know or understand the basics of cold weather preparation.

First some of the basics; despite most of the selection courses being conducted in the southern United States, it can still get cold and wet down there and everyone should always be prepared for the odd snowstorm, even down south. We had one SFAS class out at Camp Mackall that began with a storm that dropped about 5 inches of snow out there. And it wasn’t much fun for the candidates or the cadre until it melted away.

And in today’s never-ending war in Afghanistan, you will have to deal with very cold weather and snow in the mountains, as well as numerous other areas of the world that you’ll be working in.

Your body’s tolerance to the cold is much more difficult compared to the hot weather. Body heat is lost much faster from heat transfer from the skin, your body, especially your head. The human body has more difficulty maintaining its internal temperature in these conditions.

Generally, the more fit a person is, the easier it is to maintain body heat production in colder weather than unfit couch potatoes. But even in fit troops once heat loss from your body exceeds heat production, your core body temperature will begin to decline.

Once someone’s internal body temperature drops below 95°F, hypothermia can develop, which can result in shivering, confusion, fatigue, and slurred speech. Reductions in internal body temperature can result in abnormal cardiac rhythms and eventually death.

Some of the more common winter or cold-weather injuries such as frostnip, frostbite, and immersion foot are an issue for troops. Frostnip and frostbite occur when skin temperatures fall below 32°F and are most common in exposed skin, but can also occur in clothed hands and feet. Immersion foot occurs when the feet are cold and wet and the troops can’t or haven’t changed into dry socks/boots.

So, what are some of the tricks of the trade for candidates to follow?

Rest and Eat Well Before Working Out:

One of the most basic of needs for the body is enough sleep. It is even more important when working in a cold weather environment because your body has to work extra hard just to maintain your core body temperature.

If you’re going to begin a long workout outside, eat a light meal with easily digestible protein and carbs before beginning. Also, keep some light snacks in your pockets to keep your energy and body’s fuel up during the day.

Dress in Layers:

Knowing how to dress for the cold and having the proper gear is of paramount importance. Next to your skin wear some tight-fitting compression material that will wick moisture away from your body. After that, your next layer of clothing should be looser fitting. Don’t forget your head and neck area where a lot of body heat is lost. One great piece of equipment is the neck gaiter that the military issues. Keep your head covered with a watch cap or similar type winter hat.

It is imperative that your socks, boots, and gloves always stay as dry as possible. Layer another set of clothing if the weather is severe and warranted. And wear a shell type windbreaker over your clothing to keep your body heat inside and dry.

Once you begin working out and body heats up, some of the layers can be removed to keep from over-heating which can lead to hypothermia if you get and stay wet. We always carried a parka on top of our rucksacks in case we stopped for an extended period of time. It can be put on and taken off quickly and really comes in handy.

Warm Up Well Before Starting:

One of the issues we all have to deal with in the cold is that your joints are cold and stiff. And a proper warm-up before beginning not only should involve getting all of your joints moving around but does what it is intended to do…warm up your body and getting your internal heat built up.

Getting the blood flowing to all your extremities is very important and static stretching in the cold isn’t recommended at all. Save that for after you get the blood flowing. Get all your muscle groups going with some full range of motion exercises.

Drink Plenty of Water:

This is one area that we harp on all the time in our daily PT Prep workouts and we’ll continue doing that here. Why? Because we’ve all been guilty of neglecting the one area that has to be maintained and that is proper hydration.

When working in the cold, you’ll notice that you won’t be as thirsty as in the hotter environments. But that’s just Mother Nature playing a trick on you. The need for water is just as great in the cold weather as it is in the heat.

Try to keep the water as lukewarm as possible during heavy work in the cold weather environments and continuously drink during the entire day.

And whenever working in the cold, or even in the hotter climates, don’t leave home without your Woobie, the venerable poncho-liner, arguably the greatest invention ever made for the U.S. military. That came in handy and has traveled with me, even today to over 40 countries around the world.

This is just a few basic tips and as you get more experience in the cold, you’ll learn more and more like anything else, it involves trial and error. You’ll learn what works and doesn’t for your own body.

Last week we posted about snowshoeing to keep up your workouts in the snow. Yesterday we had a huge melt as temps went to around 60 degrees. Tonight we’re expecting ice storms, so tomorrow’s workout will be fun…and interesting. So stay prepared for anything and nothing will stop you from attaining your goal.

Photo: DOD

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 4

Shoulders and back day in the gym before heading off to do the SOF (Special Operations Forces) Triathlon. A run, a rucksack march, and a swim with fatigues and boots. If you can do all three of these things well, you will have the inside track for most of the selection courses.

UBRR Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, behind the neck (go as heavy as possible)

3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, front

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Front Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Arnold Press

3 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs

3-mile Run (24 minutes maximum)

3-mile Rucksack march (45lb minimum, 45 minutes maximum)

300-meter swim in fatigues and boots (no time limit)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 3

Tuesdays are always our Leg Day at the gym followed by a 5-mile run. Begin with pull-ups, then squats, lunges, and the sled or Fireman’s carry followed by a 5-mile run.

You must build up your legs to carry you thru the course and beyond. Those are the muscles that tote the rucksack to the nth degree both in the course and in the Regiment. Stay hydrated and log your time in your workout notebook.

UBRR Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR

3 x Pullups 10 reps

3 x Towel pull-ups 10 reps if no climbing ropes are available

3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x Goblet Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x 10 Deadlifts

4 x Sled push heavier weight (or Fireman’s Carry)

3 x 10 reps Dumbbell Lunges

3 x 20 Side Planks

5-Mile run (40-minute maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Military, LEO Family Life Shape New England Patriots Success

Military Service, Law Enforcement A Common Thread to Success

The New England Patriots have enjoyed unparalleled success during the past two decades and have reached the last three Super Bowls under coach Bill Belichick. And four of the past five, winning six in the past 18 years. And a common thread that links part of what makes the team’s success so consistent in the past 18 years is that so many players grew up in a military or law enforcement household.

Kevin Duffy who writes for the Boston Herald wrote an intriguing piece on Friday that touched on how growing up in a military or law enforcement family has shaped many of the player’s lives and the traits that they’ve been ingrained with which are in demand with not just the Patriots but the entire NFL and the corporate world.

About 20 percent of the Patriots players grew up in either a military or law enforcement background. In Duffy’s piece, he lists some of them:

Both of James White’s parents work in law enforcement in South Florida. Trent Brown’s father, Reginald, is a 25-year veteran of the police force in Albany, Ga. Rex Burkhead’s dad, Rick, is an FBI agent in Dallas. Adam Butler’s father retired a Master Sergeant in the Air Force. Elandon Roberts’ father, Eli, served in Iraq and retired as a Master Sergeant. The McCourty twins’ father, Calvin, who died when the boys were young, served in the Army. So did their older brother, Larry White.

Then there’s Keion Crossen’s mother, Winnie, and Deatrich Wise’s mom, Sheila. Both were in the Army.

And Joe Cardona, who himself serves in the Navy. His father, Patrick, spent 24 years in the Navy.

Of course, those of us who served or still do in either the military or law enforcement understand that the traits and characteristics that make for successful military careers carry over into any civilian occupation. Belichick grew up at the Naval Academy where his father Steve coached for 33 years. The formative years growing up at a military academy had a profound effect on the younger Belichick who instills the almost military-like discipline on his team.

He’s in charge and it is his way or the highway, there will be no beating of one’s chest with loud “look at me” moments or press conferences with talking smack to another team. Everything is clipped, understated and follows the company line. This team embodies the term “Quiet Professionals.”

New England isn’t for everyone, just like, not so coincidentally, the military. During the NFL Draft, 31 other teams have draft boards with hundreds of players listed. Not Belichick’s. They have only about 50-75 players who are listed as “draftable” that would fit their needs and they follow strict parameters. They list 15-20 character traits that they feel fit their program.

They then dig into the players’ backgrounds to see what makes them tick and how they are motivated and handle stress-related events. Obviously, attention to detail, self-discipline, and self-motivation are at the top of the list. And above all else, a team-first mentality has to burn within those players or they’ll never work out. They have to embrace that they are part of something bigger than themselves.

They swing and miss on players, some slip thru the cracks, not unlike the world of Special Operations. Those are eventually revealed and culled out of the group.

“For a team to accomplish their goal, everybody’s got to give up a little bit of their individuality,” he says. “We’re looking for people … [who] have gotten over themselves, and you can tell that pretty quickly,” Belichick said.

“You can talk to somebody for four or five minutes, and you can tell if it’s about them, or if they understand that they’re just a piece of the puzzle. So we look for that.”

If this sounds like what then-Major Brian Decker did with the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course (SFAS) at the Special Warfare Center and Ft. Bragg, you’d be spot on. Last year, we here at SpecialOperations.com sat down with Decker in an interview about the changes he made at SFAS. That interview can be read in its entirety here:

However, Decker at that time had been just hired by the Indianapolis Colts as their Director of Player Development where they were looking for him to use similar parameters for Indianapolis to do a better job of selecting players who will fit the Colts system.

During our off-line conversation, Decker did say he met Belichick at the NFL Combine prior to him landing a job with the Colts. Belichick had heard what he’d done with Special Forces and was interested in his program. He related that Belichick asked excellent questions and intimated to Decker that New England had “a similar type of program” that they use to draft players that fit.

Players are still allowed to and encouraged to be themselves, there are always a ton of different personality types on every team and in every unit. But the principles and character traits have to fall in line with what is best for the overall unit.

Some look at the success of the New England franchise for the past two decades and will point to a variety of things. But in the end, what makes them able to sustain their excellence are the same traits and characteristics that make for successful Special Operations troops. But hell, …we knew that all along.

Photo: DOD/Author

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 2

Are we all tired from staying up to all hours of the night watching the Super Bowl and all the related aftermath hoopla? Well, we have the perfect cure for that.

A quick workout to start the day and week off right. Start off with the basics of pushups, sit-ups, and crunches, then to the bar for V-ups, pull-ups, and dips before a 5-mile run (40 minutes or less) in a UBRR prep workout.

Remember to stay hydrated and mark your progress in your workout log book.

UBRR Training:

More preparation for the UBRR

2 x 20 Pushups

3 x 20 Sit-ups

3 x 20, Crunches

1 x 1-minute, V-ups

3 x 10 Dips (or to muscle failure)

3 x 10 Pullups as many as possible or to muscle failure (No time limit)

5-mile run (40 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion, mark your progress in your workout log book.

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 1

Sunday morning Rucksack march. Do a quick warmup of pushups and sit-ups before heading out. Head out over varied terrain and try to go as fast as you can without running. Going to try to make it a little different by heading out in one direction for an hour by going as fast as you can. And then turning around and heading back the same way. How long did it take to get back?

Stretch well both before and after the event. Remember to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated out there.

UBRR Training:

Warm up

2 x 20 Pushups

2 x 20 Sit-ups

2-hour Rucksack march over varied terrain with a 45-pound minimum. Go as hard and fast as you can in one direction for an hour. Then turn around and go back to the start point. And mark your distance in your workout log book. Should have been a minimum of 8 miles if you are sticking to the standard.

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 12, Day 7

Saturday morning and heading back to the gym for a shoulder and back workout. Use climbing ropes if they are available. Followed by a four-mile run in less than 32 minutes. Log your numbers down in the workout notebook

UBRR Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 10 Lat Pulldowns, rear

3 x 10 Barbell Dead Lift

3 x 10 Wide Grip Pull-ups

3 x 10 Deadlifts

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Seated Bent-Over Delt Raise

3 x 10 Dumbbell Shoulder Press

3 x 10 Arnold Dumbbell Press

4-mile run (32 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

5000 Troops to Colombia? It’s Probably Not What You Think

Opinion: Like everyone else, we all saw the yellow notepad that John Bolton may or may not have inadvertently showed to the press during a Monday briefing. On it was two hastily scrawled notes about supporting the Afghanistan peace talks and the other was the “5000 troops to Colombia” alleged bombshell.

Immediately alarms began going off everywhere, was this a sign of the return to gunboat diplomacy, yanqui imperialism, and gringo soldiers invading peaceful Latin American neighbors? If so, Bolton committed a huge gaffe of operational security (OPSEC) and it would go completely against what this administration claimed its stated goals were.

When running for office in 2016, President Trump stated he had an anti-interventionist policy in regards to the region. However, many of the members of his administration have quite a different take on things and several, including Bolton, are very-hawkish. Bolton himself labeled Venezuela as part of a “troika of tyranny” (Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua) speech he gave recently in Miami.

Venezuela was once one of the most prosperous nations in Latin America due to its huge oil reserves. All of that changed with the coup of Hugo Chavez. Chavez was an Army officer who founded a secret leftist organization within the military and tried to lead a coup in 1992. It failed and he was jailed for two years.

He was elected President and then abolished Congress and the judiciary and immediately created a parallel government staffed by military supporters picked by him. He embraced Russia and Cuba where bought weapons from both. He began funding left-wing movements across Latin America including a $300 million dollar investment in the FARC in Colombia.

Then he turned his sights on the life-blood of Venezuela, the oil industry. He turned over the very profitable Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., to his leftist buffoon buds, who promptly ran the business into the ground, all while lining their own pockets in the process. He kept enormous popularity with the poor by making them dependent on the government with endless handouts and government subsidies. When he died, his successor Nicholas Maduro further ran the economy of the country into the dirt.

Inflation was off the charts, people were starving and they were flocking to the nearly 1400-mile border with Colombia to escape this latest socialist “Eden”. The latest election was a total sham, which was denounced, not only by the United States but by most of the other countries in Latin America as well.

The United States quickly supported the presidency claim by the leader of the elected assembly, Juan Guaidó. The only countries that are approving of this sham election and speaking out against the U.S. support for Guaidó are those normal bastions of democracy and human rights, Russia, China, Iran, Nicaragua, and Cuba.

However, back to the notepad of Bolton, is this a sign of impending Yanqui invasion? Hardly. An armed incursion by the United States military would be disastrous for the U.S. politically in the region. So, one has to read the tea leaves in a very fluid situation, which can change on a moment’s notice and come up with a viable scenario. Which is why the official U.S. response to events in Venezuela is to say that, “all options remain on the table.”

So, what is most likely happening? Guaidó has reportedly met with the military leadership in the country. They have remained loyal to Maduro as the senior leaders are the most likely to have benefitted from his perks.

If some, but not all of the military decides to back Guaidó, the real prospect of civil war could occur. Then there would be the resultant need for humanitarian assistance and the 5000 troops could be part of a peace-keeping, humanitarian assistance force that would be required to help the already starving people of Venezuela. The 5000 troops would most likely include them from nations in the region with American logistical support.

The contingency planning for these type of operations is always on-going and it is certain that political overtures are being made to other countries in the region that share the US view. As in our own SOF “Truths”, the time for planning is now not later.

Competent Special Operations Forces cannot be created after emergencies occur.

It is clear Maduro must go, perhaps Bolton was just sending a subliminal message to the leadership of that fact. With the illicit gold trade and the amounts supposedly leaving the country, that should pay his socialist buds enough to buy him a nice beach retirement resort in Varadero.

5000 troops? Most likely a coalition of Latin American forces. Obviously, it isn’t as earth-shaking as a Yanqui invasion… but that is most probably what will transpire. Is it out of the realm for the gringos to invade? No, but very unlikely. But whether by accident or on purpose, John Bolton just gave Maduro something else to consider.

Photo: screenshot of Bolton news video