SOF

Kursk, the Largest Tank Battle in History Ends in a Crushing German Defeat

Operation Citadel, which resulted in the Battle of Kursk took place in July 1943 around the Soviet city of Kursk in western Russia, as Germany launched their last great offensive of the war. After the devastating defeat at the hands of the Soviet Red Army at the Battle of Stalingrad, it was the last chance to get the initiative back on the Eastern Front.

Despite horrendous casualties, the Soviets not only held the Germans from advancing but pushed them back and by battle’s end had taken the German positions from which they launched their attacks. The Germans would never again seize the initiative. And their Panzer Armies were smashed with losses they could ill afford to replace.

Prelude to the Battle: After the brutal winter of 1942-43 and the Battle of Stalingrad where the German Sixth Army was annihilated, the spring of 1943 turned the melting snow in a sea of mud and the rivers, frozen over during the winter, were now virtually impassable. The exhausted German and Soviet armies took the respite to rest and refit. The German officers knew that the summer of 1943 would hold the key to the war in the east. They were beginning to believe that a long war against the Soviet war machine with endless supplies of men and equipment was a losing proposition.

The planning staff of the OKH was hoping for an outcome in 1943 that would force the Soviets to a draw and where a political solution to the war. The Germans turned their attention to the area around Kursk. There was a bulge in the German lines of about 250 miles across but only about 70 miles at its base. The land area of the Kursk salient was approximately half the size of England.

Both the Germans and Soviets saw Kursk as the key figure in the summer of 1943. The Germans had a great opportunity during the winter when, after the debacle at Stalingrad, Field Marshal Erich von Manstein won big victories by crushing the Russians at Belgorod and Kharkov, he was in the position to move against the salient. But Hitler ordered him to stop. They lost their advantage of speed while both sides prepared for the huge battle that was to follow.

Plans of Both Sides: The Germans spent the spring beefing up their Panzer forces for the upcoming assault. General Heinz Guderian, brought back to be the Inspector General of the Panzer Forces was adamantly against the move at Kursk as he knew the Soviets were preparing for the assault. He was also against the rushing into action of the new “Panther” tank. It was perhaps the best tank of the war, but its’ teething troubles in the early transmissions would prove to be problematic at Kursk.

The Germans planned a double envelopment of the Soviet salient. Walter Model’s 9th Army would drive from the north and take the rail lines in Kursk. The 4th Panzer Army in the south under General Hermann Hoth was to drive north and link up with Model’s forces in Kursk. Meanwhile, the main attack from von Manstein would drive into the center of the Soviet line from Hoth’s forces in the south.

Model went to Hitler in April and asked to cancel Citadel, citing massive Soviet buildup in the area with defenses up to 110 miles in depth. By May, von Manstein also agreed. He told Hitler that the Germans should go on the defensive, let the Soviets come to them and then use the mobile battle operations that the German Army excelled in.

Hitler waffled and the operation kept getting pushed back first from May until early June then 23 June. Hitler postponed it again stating that the offensive would begin on 5 July.

The Soviets, meanwhile, thru their “Lucy” spy ring in Switzerland with agents at Bletchley Park in England, reported that the Germans were planning a major offensive aimed at Kursk in early March.

The Soviet commander Marshal Georgi Zhukov had the same basic plan that von Manstein had. The Soviets would build up their defenses, allow the Germans to attack, then bleed their armor forces dry while bringing fresh armies from the east to initiate a massive counterattack

The Soviet defenses, which was aided by the labor of over 300,000 civilians constructed massive fortification belts with each having several different zones. There were three main fortification belts, each heavily fortified with minefields, barbed-wire fences, anti-tank ditches, entrenchments for infantry, anti-tank obstacles, dug-in armored vehicles, and machine-gun bunkers. Behind those lay three more belts, the first two unmanned to give the Soviet defenders a fall-back position.

With thousands of miles of trenches and obstacles already dug by June, the Red Army combat engineers laid 503,663 anti-tank mines and 439,348 anti-personnel mines with the majority in the first defensive belt to slow the German advance.

On the eve of battle, the Germans were able to mass 500,000 men, 10,000 guns and mortars, 2,700 tanks and assault guns and 2,500 aircraft. The Soviets dug into excellent defensive positions had 1,300,000 men, over 20,000 guns and mortars, 3,600 tanks, 2,650 aircraft and five reserve field armies of another 500,000 men and 1,500 additional tanks. The die was cast and the Germans were locked into a battle they could not win.

Opening Moves: The Germans sent sappers out on the evening of July 4 to begin clearing Soviet minefields. Several were captured, one POW revealed that the offensive was to begin the next morning at 0330. The Soviets didn’t wait. All of the artillery in the Soviet 13th Army opened fire on the German positions at 0220 hrs.

This unexpected barrage raised havoc with the German units still assembling assault units. The German artillery opened up at 0430 with the main attack with tanks and assault guns began at 0500. The Germans soon learned, however, that their artillery barrage did little to the Soviet defenses, so painstakingly constructed.

German infantry, with tank support, had good initial success and cracked a portion of the Soviet positions three miles deep. The Germans tried to exploit the advance by pushing a force of two companies of Tiger tanks which the Soviets threw 90 of the T-34s into the breach. A slugfest ensued. Two Tigers were destroyed, five others disabled with track damage but they left 42 of the T-34s smoking on the rye and wheat fields. But their delaying action gave Zhukov time to throw two Guards divisions into the hole and the German advance was stopped.

After the first day, the Germans advanced only about six miles. The Soviets counterattacked the next morning. However, due to poor coordination, the attack consisted of only the 16th Tank Corps, with about 200 tanks, they attacked the XLVII Panzer Corps in the 9th Army area. The Germans were able to field the Tiger tanks at much longer ranges than the T-34 and they decimated the Russian armor. The battalion of Tigers destroyed 69 tanks, forcing the rest to withdraw. A German attack followed with the Tigers then taking a beating with heavy casualties from the built-up Soviet defenses around Olkhovatka.

Battle of Prokhorovka: By July 11th, the Germans had continued to advance, the German II SS Panzer Corps was going against the 5th Guards Tank Army. The Germans were preparing to attack the Russian positions but Soviets weren’t waiting. At 0800, they attacked the Germans with the 18th and 29th Tank Corps. Riding on the tanks were the 9th Guards Airborne Infantry Division.

The Germans held, but it wasn’t until late afternoon that they could begin their attack. Dug-in and well concealed, the Russian anti-tank defenses knocked out half of the German armor. Both sides returned their starting positions by the end of the day, but the Soviets had stopped cold the German advance. Nearly 700 tanks from both sides littered the battlefield at the end of the day. The 5th Guards Tank Army lost 50 percent of their troops and equipment. The Germans lost 300 tanks, 88 guns and hundreds of trucks. It was a free-for-all slaughter on both sides. It would be the end of the German offensive.

Hitler Calls it Off: Back at the Wolf’s Lair in Rastenburg, Prussia, Hitler was very concerned by the Allied invasion of Sicily. He was worried that following that, an invasion of Italy or Southern France was next. He ordered that the offensive cease and moved that some units be transferred to Italy.

Von Manstein was livid. After his troops had suffered horrible casualties fighting thru the deep Soviet defenses, he felt his troops were close to a breakthrough to open terrain where the German penchant for mobile warfare was well known.

The Soviets then took the respite to launch a huge counter-offensive of their own. Operation Kutuzov, north of Kursk began on July 12. The Soviets broke through German lines at the Orel salient and by July 24 had the Germans retreating. Through heavy fighting, they pushed them back beyond Operation Citadel’s original launching point.

At the end of the bloody fighting, the Soviet Army won a resounding victory, they seized the initiative from the German Army in the East, one they would never relinquish. The Germans never would be on the offensive again on the Eastern Front. Despite horrendous casualties, rumored to be in excess of 700,000, the Soviets could easily replace those men.

In contrast, the Germans loss of 200,000 casualties were men that they could not spare as they were forced to move men and material to Italy. Despite knocking out Soviet tanks at a rate of nearly 5:1, the Panzers were irreplaceable. Soviet tank losses were difficult to ascertain, (as with both sides), but it is thought their losses were nearly 6000, however many knocked out tanks were repaired and lived to fight again. They lost nearly 50 percent of their tank forces on the Eastern Front.

German tank losses were estimated to be 1331, of which, again, many were repaired and went back into action.

In the air, once again, despite heavy losses, the Soviets were able to wrest away air superiority over the Germans. As more and more German aircraft were being pulled from the front to counter the heavy British and American bombing of German cities, they could not keep up with the Soviet numbers in the east.

Russian aircraft losses were between 1600- 1961, while the Germans 681. But the Russian losses were quickly replaced as their factories in the East poured material back into the fray, including much equipment from the Allies in the Lend-Lease deal.

Photos: Wikipedia

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 1 Day 3

We’re going to do a smoker this morning of pushups, sit-ups, and crunches that you can either do at the gym or on the ground and then head back out on the rucking trails. Let’s pump these out as quickly as possible, understanding that there isn’t a time limit but to build up your endurance.

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

100 pushups (no time limit)

100 sit-ups (no time limit)

100 crunches

Rucksack march: Go as hard and as fast as you can for 1 hour. Do this without running. See what your distance is and make a notation. This will give you a goal to achieve in later training sessions.

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 1, Day 2

Back to the gym today, with our Monday work out and then practice our shuttle run to build up some explosion and lateral quickness in your legs. Try to limit the time between sets to 30 seconds or less

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 12 Flat Bench Presses

3 x 12 Incline Dumbbell Presses

3 x 10 Dumbbell Fly (Flat Bench)

3 x 10 Dumbbell Pullover

3 x 10 Dips (or to muscle failure)

3 x 10 Triceps Rope Pushdown

3 x 10 Overhead Triceps Press

4 x 25-meter Shuttle Run (x3)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operation Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 1, Day 1

How did everyone do on their UBRR Test from yesterday? If you passed but have some weak points, you now know what needs to be worked on. If you failed any portion of it, then you still have a lot of work to do. And know exactly what needs to get worked on.

What we’re going to do now is start back from the basics and get everyone back on the same sheet of music. Stick with us and we’ll get through this. We will go back to the basics and kick it off with our Sunday morning rucksack march. Do a quick warmup and head out with your rucksack.

Training:

Preparation for the UBRR:

Warm up 30 seconds Mountain Climbers

Warm up 30 seconds Spider-Man Planks

4-mile Ruck march over varied terrain with a minimum 45-pound ruck (60 minutes max)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 17, Day 7

Today we’re going to see where our fitness level is at by using a test using the new Special Operations Upper Body Round Robin (UBRR) Fitness Test. It measures functional fitness for the Special Operators much better than the traditional PT test.

This will mark the end of our 17-week Preparation PT Program. Judge where your fitness is at after the test and identify weaknesses that need to be addressed. Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin a new Preparation fitness program and start from Day 1.

Pushups: (1min) 40 minimum +2 points for each additional rep.

Sit-ups: (1min) 40 Minimum +3 points for each additional rep.

Pull-ups: (not timed) 6 minimum +3 points for each additional rep.

Dips: (not timed) 6 minimum +2 points for each additional rep.

Bench Press: (80% body weight) 6 minimum +3 points for each additional rep.

20ft. Rope Climb: with a weighted vest or body armor, Pass/Fail

Kick-ups: (1minute) 6 minimum, +2 points for each additional rep.

25 Meter Shuttle Run: x 4, 24 seconds maximum. +2 points for each 1/10 sec. under

5 Mile Run: 40 minutes maximum +2 points for every full 15 seconds under max.
or 5 Mile Ruck March: w/45 lbs +2 points for every full 15 seconds under max.

To pass the UBRR, participants must achieve a PASS in all events with at least the minimum score, and Receive at least 1100 total points from all the events combined.

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces: People Are the #1 Asset

After nearly two decades of war, our U.S. Special Operations Forces are still at the tip of the spear, leading the fight in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and countless other places every day.

And yet, despite this, young people still flock to each of the service’s Special Operations units to attempt a Selection course to get in one of them. Unlike their conventional brethren who after completing basic and advanced individual training are sent to become, albeit, junior members of functional units. And while their training within their units will continue, they’re considered fully functional members.

In the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM), the troops have to go thru grueling Selection courses, designed to separate the weak from the strong and puts an inordinate amount of physical and mental stress on the candidates. The worthy will have to not endure the hardships but thrive and operate while under the most adverse conditions the cadre can throw at them.

Each of the different services tailors their Selection and qualification courses around their own individual missions and what the unit has to accomplish. Special Forces Selection and Assessment is quite different than BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL). And the Ranger Assessment and Selection is different from either the Marine Corps Critical Skills Operator Selection or the Air Force’s Combat Control Operator Course.

But where they all seem to find common ground is the physical hardness and preparation that each must not only meet the standards but exceed them. The never say quit attitude and the ability to function on their own without supervision are the hallmarks of each SOF trooper.

When people picture a member of the military Special Operations community, they picture a burly, bearded badass with tats and every conceivable gadget included in their high-speed kit. But the gear and expensive toys doesn’t make SOF ‘special’. The people do.

There used to be a poster for Special Forces back in the day that stated, “People don’t Join Us Because We’re Special, but Because They Are.” That is the truest statement I can think of.

And the Selection courses are just the beginning. Many younger troops believe that once they’ve passed Selection, that they’ve arrived. Nothing could be further from the truth. Selection is the only the first gate in many more tests. In fact, among the common tenets among all of SOF are “Selection never stops and you’re always being evaluated.”

That’s why when the SOF units aren’t deployed on any given day in about 100 countries around the world they are constantly training, honing their craft. Their training and the intensity of it is what makes the units ‘special’ and not the kit they wear.

When the Special Operations Command was in its first early stages, the Commander of the JFK Special Warfare Center, Major General David Baratto coined what he called “SOF Imperatives” to serve as the basic tenets to which Special Operations Forces should operate. Then, a no-SOF officer, LTC Collins wrote these and they became part of who were are.

SOCOM adopted them and about 20 years later, they were rebranded as “SOF Truths”, but whatever they are called isn’t important. What is important is that they are the cornerstone for any operational unit and can be used in both the military and later into the civilian world. For aspiring SOF operators, these truths should become second nature.

And the very first of the “SOF Truths” gets right to the crux of the matter.

Humans are more important than hardware:

Special Operations troops make the equipment, not the other way around. The training and preparedness of the operator is the critical difference in mission success and failure.

During Operation Just Cause and the aftermath in Panama, the soldiers of the 7th Infantry Division frequently had better equipment than most of the troops of the 7th Special Forces Group who were either stationed there.

The best special operators, who are highly trained and working as a team, will always accomplish the mission with whatever equipment is available. However, the best equipment in the world cannot compensate for a lack of a trained force.

That is why SOF has such stringent Selection criteria and candidates will have to pass intense physical and psychological hurdles along the way. SOF units are looking for leadership potential and self-reliance

And the rest of the SOF Truths fall right in line with #1.

Quality is better than quantity:

This one is especially true in Special Operations. A small, well-trained team is much more effective than a large under-or-untrained one. Numbers aren’t important in filling troop billets. But filling those with the right people, trained for the right job is the key.

A quality force is a limited resource and is much more preferable, but on the flip side, they are very expensive to train and maintain. But the old adage, “you get what you pay for” rings very true when talking about quality SOF troops.

Special Operations Forces cannot be mass produced:

Cookie cutter training produces cookies, not special operators. Slapping a beret on everyone’s head and calling them elite is an exercise in futility, not training a force. As the military has found out with their shake and bake units.

Properly training Special Operations Forces troops and units take years to get them to the level of proficiency that will be needed to conduct the type of missions that these units will be tasked to perform.

Then the joint integrated training within the community amongst the units takes even more time. The military learned their lessons the hard way thru trial and error. The Army was always trying to tinker with the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC), in an attempt to try to standardize the number of troops coming thru the pipeline. What they didn’t understand is that the standards never change, the quality of some classes coming thru would change but the instructors would keep the standards the same regardless if 40 percent of a class passed or 10 percent.

When SFAS was first started, the classes were heavy with troops from the Ranger Regiment, the 82nd Airborne and some of the LRSU units. Those troops were very well prepared for the rigors of Selection. When the number of those candidates slowed after several classes, the troops attempting Selection weren’t as well prepped. The successful Selection rates plummeted. The standards didn’t change nor the way the cadre enforced them.

Any attempt to shorten the process or quicken it to meet operational needs only serves to weaken the entire force as a whole.

The remaining SOF Truths (Competent Special Operations Forces cannot be created after emergencies occur. Most Special Operations require non-SOF assistance) fall under the same basic premise that it is the people that are most important in SOF.

If any of our potential candidates are successful in their quest and find themselves in a Special Operations unit, they will no doubt find themselves one day working with a local, host nation unit or militia force that will be woefully equipped according to U.S. standards.

Their job will be to work with, the host nation forces to get the job done. Sometimes it will entail training the locals, other times, fighting alongside them. Often it will entail both. It takes a special type of warrior to accomplish those missions. The SOF of the US are a valuable resource that makes up less than 1 percent of the total force but are doing lion’s share of the fighting across the globe.

Photo Courtesy DOD

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 17, Day 5

Thursday is a Chest and Triceps workout in the gym and then hit the trail 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.

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 or less)

Stretch well after completion

Selection Prep: Boots and Foot Care 101

We always get some questions vis-à-vis about passing Selection and most of the questions center around rucking and the land navigation course. While each has their own challenges for the Selection candidate, you’ll have to utilize both together while passing land navigation as you’ll be conducting it with a rucksack on.

While we encourage our readers who are aspiring SOF candidates to read and follow our Physical Training prep posts in getting physically prepared for the rigors of Selection, it all begins with having proper fitting boots and taking care of your feet.

As I’ve repeated many, many times, your feet and your brain are the two most indispensable parts of your body in Special Operations Forces. They are your lifeline in Special Operations. You MUST take good care of them or you won’t last a fortnight. Foot care will become second nature to all of you (if it isn’t already) after you spend some time in SOF.

The very nature of the Selection courses is designed to stress the candidates to the max, wear them down, and put you under stress. They are hard enough as it is. Factor in any foot problems and it is a battle that is a losing proposition. That isn’t to say that if a candidate gets a few blisters that he’s guaranteed to fail. That isn’t the point nor is it true. However, if foot problems are constant there and are slowing down the candidate, the odds of being selected go down sharply.

We aren’t going to break any new ground here. This is basic 101 type of stuff. I’ve spoken with some younger guys who are just entering the military for the first time or are just finishing up their initial entry training and are still finding their way. So there are questions that they have that anyone who has been in a light infantry or an airborne unit will know already. If you don’t have that background but have NCOs or officers that served in these type of units, seek out their advice on the subject before beginning your prep for Selection.

Boots, Boots, Boots: You’ll wear what Uncle Sam issues, so you’ll have to ensure that your boots fit properly. Too big is just as much of an issue as too small. I know some guys who got boots a half-size larger to take into account their feet swelling on long-range rucksack marches. I’m not a believer in this, however, if you’re one of those guys whose feet swell that much, it may just be something for you to consider. But for the average Joe? No, I wouldn’t do it.

The key for proper fitting boots is ensuring that the boot heel sits snugly around the rear of the foot while still allowing the toes some wiggle room up front. If your foot is sliding around too much, either front to back or side to side, you’ll have friction, which leads to blisters. If your boots are too tight, your toes will either be curled up inside or squished together and neither is a good option and is just a blister waiting to happen.

Having at least two pairs of boots prepared for Selection is essential. Having three broken in pairs would be even better. Ensure the boots you wear have good ventilation and water drainage as they’ll allow your feet to breathe and dry out when wet which will cut down on blisters. You’re going to get wet in Selection, nearly every day especially if you attend a winter class, but rest assured, winter, spring, summer or fall the candidates will get wet. During the day’s events, it is what it is and they just drive on continue on with the scenario.

That’s why having two or three pairs of boots, broken in boots is key to a successful course. When you’re finished for the day’s events, let them dry out and if available, stuff them with whatever is available, (paper towels, newspapers) to let them dry out. Wear the well-broken-in backup boots the next day and switch accordingly from day to day. Having to use a new pair of non-broken in boots in Selection is not the way to get thru the course with your feet intact.

I recall one February class when I was a cadre member at SFAS. It was cold and damp and rained hard or snowed on the candidates nearly every day. The dirt back roads and trails of Camp Mackall, North Carolina were soupy and underwater in many places. The candidates’ feet were wet nearly all the time and compounded by the course’s criteria, their feet suffered. Training never stops. Our cadre had just got issued Wolverine and Matterhorn winter boots and it made a big difference. But the students suffered constantly slogging thru cold, muddy water.

Nearly all had multiple blister problems and our cadre’s medics were working overtime. Many of the candidates had feet that resembled raw hamburger by the end of team week. They were forced into switching out their boots daily and those who didn’t have a second broken in pair suffered the worst of all. Several were forced to wear what more resembled moleskin booties than patches. Several were medically dropped, of those a couple had secondary boots barely broken in, despite what they were told prior to coming.

Proper Care for the Feet: Having been a cadre member at SFAS, I witnessed first hand all different manners of foot preparation and care. When assigned the night duty, another cadre member Doug P. and I would walk around the candidate’s barracks incognito at night to see how they were caring for themselves and their teammates. Yes, take note, you may not notice and many did not, but you’re always being evaluated.

In an earlier piece, I wrote that a successful candidate has to know his own body and what works and what doesn’t for him, long BEFORE he gets to Selection. Everyone is different and what works for me, may not work for you and vice versa.

Each one should have a good set of nail clippers when attending Selection and ensure that they take good care of those as needed. Some candidates spray their feet or use a roll-on antiperspirant which is supposed to stop the sweating which is the cause of blisters. While I was never a big believer in this, if your feet sweat profusely as mine do, then by all means, try it during your prep phase to see if it works for you.

Other students, I’ve seen use Vaseline or some type of oil or cream to reduce friction. Again, it isn’t something I’d recommend but it does work for some people.

What I’ve found to work for me was to use just a small amount of Gold Bond powder on your feet and in your socks before going on a ruck march. Not too much, like anything else, if you put half a tin in your socks, it will clump up and create just as many problems. It cuts down on friction which creates blisters. I’d recommend putting some around your crotch as well. If you get rubbed raw in the nether regions it won’t be pleasant walking 12 miles plus every day feeling like that.

Socks, Feet’s Last Line of Defense: Socks and their fit are just as important as boots are Just as proper socks will protect them from blisters, poorly fitted ones will cause even more problems.

We know that heat, friction, and moisture are the cause of blisters. While the proper fitting boots are the start, they are only half of the equation.

Candidates should start with a good pair of tightly fit synthetic or polypro socks that will wick the moisture away from your feet. Rub your feet down with a light coat of powder or whatever you choose and then turn them inside out. Why? So that the stitching inside won’t rub your toes and create hot spots. That stitching can and will cause blisters.

The thick military issued wool socks go over the inner layer of socks and once again inside out to prevent the stitching from rubbing and creating hot spots. The second sock reduces the friction and will absorb the moisture from the inner sock while cushioning your foot inside the boot.

This two-sock system is designed so that the friction will occur between the layers of socks rather than between the socks and your feet. Have enough pairs to be able to change socks frequently and the packing lists for Selection will state to have that many on hand. You’ll need them.

Start Slowly and Work up in Preparatory Training: When you are beginning your preparatory training, the rucking you’ll be doing should increase in both distance and intensity as the weeks go by. But don’t overdo it at first. You don’t train for a marathon by running one on the first day of training, and Selection is no different.

This will play right into your boots and foot care. Start with shorter rucksack marches. If you notice hot spots or blisters forming during prep ruck work, stop immediately and deal with those. Waiting until you’re done at this point in time may result in a much more serious blister which will set your training prep work back. If you don’t have any issues with a hot spot or a blister then your prep work can increase.

Remember, it is a marathon, not a sprint. The key is to work up to being able to carry a ruck all day long with the prescribed weight and do it all over again, day after day. Once a candidate is successful and is a member of one of the Special Operations Forces units in the military, the question of boots becomes much easier as there are a lot of great boots out there that the services allow their troops to wear. But for now, you wear what is issued and those are better than the old combat boot of days of yore.

As always, I appreciate the many questions that you have and will always be here to help in any way I can. Any questions or comments can be emailed to me [email protected] or at my Twitter account @SteveB7SFG

No Days Off, Keep on Rucking. DOL

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 17, Day 4

Wednesday is a back and shoulder day at the gym followed by a 6-mile rucksack march. Look to better the time that is the standard (90 minutes), and remember to hydrate throughout the march. Don’t forget to mark your progress in the workout log book and break in your second pair of boots.

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 Seated Rows

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Front Raises

3 x 10 Dumbbell Arnold Press

3 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs

6-mile Rucksack march (45-pound minimum, 90-minute maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Jeffrey MacDonald Stands Trial For His Wife and Daughters Murders in 1979

Former Special Forces doctor Jeffrey MacDonald stood before a judge and jury on July 16, 1979, more than nine years after he was accused of murdering his wife and two small children on February 17, 1970, at their small housing unit at Ft. Bragg, NC.

After a month of testimony and nine years of delays, MacDonald was found guilty of the three murders and given three consecutive life sentences. He was freed on appeal in August of 1980 as a court found his right to a speedy trial had been violated. The prosecution then appealed up to the Supreme Court where they ruled 6-3 on March 12, 1982 that his rights to a speedy trial were not violated and he was returned to prison with credit given for time served.

He has steadfastly for the past nearly 40 years proclaimed his innocence but remains in federal custody.

Rainy night phone call in Ft. Bragg: Initially military police and CID (Criminal Investigative Division) were called to the MacDonald home in the early hours of February 17, after MacDonald who was assigned to the Group Surgeon’s office of the 6th Special Forces Group reported a home invasion and a stabbing. MPs believing it was a domestic disturbance tried the front door at 544 Castle Drive at Ft. Bragg but found it locked, moving around the back of the house, the back door was wide open on that rainy night.

Upon entering the home, the MPs found MacDonald’s wife Collette, who was pregnant with the couple’s third child, a boy, and their two daughters, Kristen and Kimberly dead in their respective bedrooms. MacDonald was found by his wife’s side. His injuries were far less serious, he was suffering from a concussion and a collapsed lung. He was taken to Womack Army Medical Center.

Colette was severely beaten with a heavy object and both of her arms were broken in trying to defend herself. She was stabbed 21 times with an ice pick and 16 times with a knife. The word “PIG” was scrawled in her blood on the couple’s headboard of their bed.

Kimberly who was just five years old had been clubbed in the head and stabbed in the neck eight times and with a knife ten times. Two-year-old Kristen in a massive case of overkill had been stabbed 33 times with a knife and 15 times with an ice pick. The crime scene and autopsy photos were grisly and showed the extreme level of violence that entailed on that awful night.

MacDonald claimed that a group of four (3 men and a woman) drug-addled hippies who stated, “Acid is groovy, kill the pigs”, were responsible for his family’s murders. The MPs and CID descended upon the MacDonald house and generally destroyed the crime scene. The Army didn’t really buy MacDonald’s story and went ahead with an Article 32 hearing after charging him with the murders in May of 1970. The CID theorized that a fight ensued between MacDonald and his wife after his daughter wet their bed on his side and their argument got physical. Events quickly got out of control. After beating his wife with his fists and a piece of lumber, he believed her to be dead. His daughter walked in and he hit her, carried her back to her room and then beat and stabbed her to death. His wife, then regained consciousness and entered the daughter’s bedroom and threw herself on the girl to protect her.

He then killed her and dragged her back to the master bedroom where he stabbed her dead body repeatedly. He then went into his two-year old’s room and stabbed her to death to cover the last possible witness. Their case was corroborated by forensic evidence. However, the sloppy job CID did, losing important pieces of evidence would taint the case.

MacDonald reported the woman in his house, later identified as Helena Stoeckley was part of the group of four. Witnesses that night reported seeing Stoeckley, dressed as MacDonald testified in the area. Stoeckley was a well-known drug user and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Greg Mitchell from Ft. Bragg was also a drug user in the Fayetteville drug scene at the time. Stoeckley at various times admitted she was there in the house during the murders and others saying she was never there. Her story changed as frequently as the weather. She died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1983.

Six weeks of testimony followed with over 70 witnesses testifying. Colonel Warren Rock as the presiding judge, listened to evidence that CID lost important pieces of evidence, including skin that was under his wife Collette’s fingernails and decided that the charges were untrue. He was cleared under the Article 32 hearing with Rock saying the charges were untrue and that the civilian police should investigate Stoeckley.

MacDonald was given a Good Conduct Discharge two months later in December 1970.

Kassab Keeps Case Alive: MacDonald’s stepfather-in-law, Freddie Kassab who had testified on his behalf during the Article 32 hearings turned against him after getting a copy of the Article 32 transcript and seeing him on the Dick Cavett Show.

He pressured the North Carolina authorities thru the U.S. District Court to offer charges against MacDonald. A grand jury convened finally on August 12, 1974. It wasn’t until January 24, 1975, that the grand jury indicted MacDonald for the murders. While on $100,000 bail awaiting the trial, his lawyers appealed to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the charges on the grounds that his right to a speedy trial was violated.

The government appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and they ruled 8-0 that MacDonald’s right to a speedy trial was not violated on May 1, 1978. MacDonald then appealed to both the 4th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear his arguments but both denied his appeals.

Trial and Conviction: MacDonald’s trial finally began on July 16, 1979 in Federal Court in Raleigh, North Carolina with Judge Franklin Dupree presiding. He had also heard the Grand Jury arguments five years before.

MacDonald’s defense team immediately began suffering blows as the prosecution was allowed to use a 1970 Esquire magazine that was found at the crime scene as evidence. In that issue, there was a feature on the Manson crime family murders in California which they said gave MacDonald the idea for the hippie killings.

The prosecution also called FBI lab technician Paul Stombaugh who testified that MacDonald’s pajama top had 48 small, smooth, and cylindrical ice pick holes through it. In this scenario to have happened, the pajama top would have to remain stationary, strongly contradicting MacDonald’s assertion that he had wrapped it around his hands to defend himself from an ice pick attack.

Worse for the defense Stombaugh showed that by folding it one particular way, all 48 holes could have been made by 21 stabs of the ice pick, the same number of times that Colette had been stabbed with it and in an identical pattern, implying that she had been repeatedly stabbed through the pajama top while it was lying on her.

Stombaugh’s testimony showed that had MacDonald had the pajama top wrapped around his wrists as he testified, the holes would have been jagged and not smooth like they were.

Helena Stoeckley testified and claimed to have never been in MacDonald’s home or had ever been in his presence. Defense lawyers tried to call rebuttal witnesses where she admitted to being present but they were denied by Judge Dupree.

MacDonald took the stand in his own defense but he couldn’t dispute the government’s theory of how the murders took place despite the lack of a motive. On August 26, 1979, he was convicted of 2nd-degree murder for the deaths of Collette and Kimberly and first-degree murder of Kristen. But the story didn’t end there.

Appeals: On July 29, 1980, a panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his conviction as a violation of his 6th Amendment right to a speedy trial. He was granted $100,000 bail on August 22 and returned to his job as the Head of Emergency Medicine at the Long Beach Medical Center. In late December the 4th Circuit ruled 5-5 to hear the case en banc which would consist of all of the judges rather than a panel. Their earlier decision stood. The government appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and in late May 1981, they agreed to hear oral arguments. That took place in December 1981. On March 31, 1982, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that his right to a speedy trial had not been violated. He was re-arrested and sent back to prison.

Subsequent appeals to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court were denied, the latest on January 9, 1983. Five days later Helena Stoeckley was found dead in her apartment in Fayetteville.

He’s appealed numerous times since the Supreme Court upheld his conviction, the last in 2014 had to do with DNA testing of hairs found at the crime scene on Collette’s leg and her hands which didn’t match any member of the MacDonald family. But his appeal was denied.

MacDonald has been transferred to the Federal Prison in Cumberland, Maryland. He continues to maintain his innocence. He’s next eligible for parole in May of 2020.

MacDonald’s story was made into a best-selling book, “Fatal Vision” by Joe McGinness.

Photos: Wikipedia