3rd Special Forces Group

Changes Are Coming For the Special Forces Qualification Course

Course Is to Be Shortened to 24 Weeks

We’ve been expecting change to the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) for some time now. The course is and pretty much has always been a constantly evolving training vehicle to get the best trained Special Forces troops on the ground and to the operational groups. The missions evolve as the world around us and the threats our nation faces change. The outstanding SF troops from Vietnam were training for and fighting a much different war than the men are today in Syria or Afghanistan.

But with the breaking story from a year ago with several SF instructors being concerned with the standards of the course being compromised, we knew changes were bound to happen. Which is nothing new. Cadre at the SFQC in every generation are always worried about the standards and keeping them at a high level. In this case, those concerns from the cadre made into the social media platforms. And many civilians who don’t understand how things work in the military got the wrong impressions

Well, the changes weren’t long in coming. MG Sonntag had been meeting with the people at the JFKSWCS (Special Warfare Center School) and there are big changes coming down the pipeline for the SFQC, Civil Affairs, and PSYOPs Courses. They are attempting to streamline all of the courses to better improve their product.

NEWSREP’s Jack Murphy was given a copy of the email sent out by MG Sonntag to the command that stated the SFQC was going to be streamlined to a total of 24 weeks from the beginning of SFOC to RFF (Regimental First Formation). Below is a copy of that message:

From: Sonntag Kurt L MG (USAJFKSWCS) [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2018 6:02 PM
To:
Subject: SFQC Optimization Update

SWCS Team,

In August, I met with all of you to discuss our way ahead. The question I asked was: How do we transform the enterprise and organization structure to ensure doctrine and training prepares Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations and Special Forces personnel through their careers to effectively operate in the current and future environments given operational requirements and institutional constraints?

The answer to that question resulted in five new lines of effort for the command. Today, I was briefed by the 1st Special Warfare Training Group (A) Command on their way forward on one part of LOE 2, the optimization of the Special Forces Qualification Course. The Training Group staff, in coordination with the SF Commandant efforts, took a hard look at the course from start to finish and has recommended a course of action that will:

– Leverage the best of the SFQC training modules to enhance the overall training environment.

– Reduce the total training time from the start of the SFQC to RFF to 24 weeks, thereby enhancing 1st SFC(A)’s readiness.

– Introduces students to resistance and ODA operations and reinforces their importance throughout the entirety of the SFQC.

– Sets the conditions for touch points throughout the course for interaction between SF, CA and PSYOP.

– Transitions the SFQC to a four-start production model that will maximize resources while still providing sufficient training capacity.

– Focuses on individual MOS skill development and collective training, while moving to a coach, teach, mentor environment where training the individual is a priority.

– Collective training is executed in an ODA construct within the Pineland Training Scenario. This construct enhances the learning environment while increasing the understanding and comprehension of SF missions.

This is the first step in our optimization. Over the next several months many of you will be involved in this process, with a projected transition starting in June 2019. This is a big step forward, but it cannot stop here. As the SFQC cadre and staff work through this process, leaders throughout the command will look at all SWCS training in an effort to make comprehensive changes that will better prepare our Army Special Operations Forces’ ability to operate successfully in complex, dynamic environments throughout the world – now and into the future.

v/r,

KLS

MG Kurt L. Sonntag

Commanding General

USJFKSWCS/US Army SOCoE

NIPR: [email protected]

SIPR: [email protected]

Office: 910-432-4404

BB: 910-568-9273

SFQC Optimization approved concept 18OCT18 (2)

Obviously, (above), we also had been given copies of the slides that the General had briefed off of and we had some questions about how the training would be conducted, what was being cut or shortened.

We reached out to the USASOC, SOCOM PAO Office for some clarification and they asked for the questions in writing so that they could answer them in a timely, complete manner which is completely understandable.

So in regard to the portions of the course that were being either shortened or cut entirely, the command answered that. Their response:

“1st Special Forces Command outlined the individual tasks required for each MOS to meet their operational needs. Instead of adding collective tasks into MOS, this concept focuses solely on individual tasks and incorporates application through historical vignettes (lessons-learned). The practical application at a team level will come in tactical skills. Currently, the course orientation and history phase is six weeks. This concept incorporates the introductory individual tasks into MOS training and the collective tasks into tactical skills. History modules and other tasks now taught in course orientation will be taught throughout all phases of the course. This concept found efficiencies in training by reorganizing where we teach certain tasks, which provides opportunities to combine complimentary tasks in a logical manner.”

We asked about changes to cut out MFF and if any of these changes that were taking place in the SFQC would affect the SFAS course.

Military Free Fall is not being cut out. It is actually included on the far right of the first slide. There has been no proposal to alter Special Forces Assessment and Selection at this time, but Cadre are constantly looking for efficiencies and best-practices to enhance training. The optimization of the Special Forces pipeline is only the first step in enhancing MOS qualification training across all three Regiments trained at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

The final questions we had were about what one of the SF Groups were conducting for newly graduated Green Berets entering into the 3rd Special Forces Group SFG(A). We had heard thru our sources there that 3rd SFG was running a Green Platoon training for new SFers called “Entry Level Operator Training Course.”

Given the flap that hit the schoolhouse last year around this time, our questions were blunt. Is the 3rd SFG conducting this training in response to what we heard about a year ago? And more importantly, is this action by the Group a sign that they aren’t happy with the level of training that the troops are receiving in the SFQC? USASOC responded to that as well.

Each installation has unique requirements for planning and executing training events. The Entry Level Operator’s Course is provided to new members of 3rd SFG(A) to equip them with the required certifications they will need to conduct training on Fort Bragg. During the course, an operator can expect to receive their military driver’s license, their ammunition handler’s card, and their range safety certifications, as well as information to make them successful as they facilitate training on the installation.

This makes total sense and is quite practical. Fort Bragg, like any big Army training base has a ton of rules that have to be followed and to conduct any training it is always advisable to have every SF troop as qualified as possible to conduct training on post.

However, we did hear back from our source(s) in 3rd SFG, and while those admin tasks that USASOC mentioned were indeed part of the initial training as part of the Entry Level Operator’s Course, but they also said there was a tactical portion of the course that covered basic “includes how to shoot, move, communicate, and medicate. Other parts deal with combatives and mobility.”

This again doesn’t necessarily mean that the Group is unhappy with the training conducted by the “Q” Course. It could mean that the 3rd SFG(A) is simply wanting all of their personnel to conduct a standard of SOPs that will be uniform throughout the Group. That way, everyone regardless of A-Team, Company or Battalion will be operating virtually the same. With the Operational Tempo the Groups are currently dealing with, it would make sense to do this collectively before the new guys make their way down to the teams. We haven’t been able to confirm that yet.

If we learn anything new, we’ll be happy to update and share. Until then, the course is changing again. For the cadre. For the prospective SF candidate, he’ll be seeing it for the first time (hopefully) anyway and won’t notice the difference. The tempo may be increased a bit.

DOL, “Don’t be late, don’t be light, don’t be out of uniform.”

Photo: US Army

Green Beret Medic Ronald Shurer II Receives Medal Of Honor

On Monday, President Trump decorated former Green Beret medic and SSG Ronald Shurer II with the Medal of Honor for outstanding heroism and bravery during a combat mission in Afghanistan in 2008. Amazingly enough, Shurer was once rejected by the military for a medical condition before he joined and was accepted shortly after 9/11.

Shurer saved multiple lives both American and Afghan, during a battle where the Special Forces troops were engaged with a numerically vastly superior insurgent force and were in danger of being overrun. But through his actions, not one of the critically wounded American men would die that day.

Shurer was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group and ODA 3336 when they were tasked with capturing a high-value target who was a part of the Hezebela Islami Gulbadin insurgent group. The mission took place in the remote Shok Valley in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan.

As the team of Green Berets and Afghan commandos were being whisked to the snow-covered ground along a frozen river and with a nearly vertical 60-foot cliff that the men would have to climb, through their imagery, the amount of enemy troops in the area suddenly became much clearer.

In an interview with the media last weekend, LTC Kyle Walton, who was a Captain and in command of the ODA, said the troops saw that “There were hundreds and hundreds of more compounds than we were able to see from our imagery.”

The men had to leap 10 feet from the CH-47 Chinook helicopter to the river due to the steepness of the terrain. They then had to assault straight up the near vertical cliff to where the high-value target (HVT) was supposed to be residing in this village.

Shurer recalled an eerie stillness as soon as the helicopter whooshed away. The men, all on foot with no vehicles or heavy weapons had just a shoulder carried a recoilless rifle as their biggest weapon.

Soon after the stillness was interrupted by 200-300 Afghan insurgents who rained down automatic weapons fire and rocket-propelled grenades on the vastly outnumbered team of Special Forces men and Afghan commandos.

Walton quickly broke his force into three assault elements but was immediately pinned down by the superior enemy fire that had wounded nearly all of the men. Shurer was initially at the base of the cliff, tending to several wounded Afghan commandos.

As President Trump would remind onlookers at the White House on Monday, “Blood was all over the place, it was a tough, tough situation to be in.” It was soon about to get worse.

SFC Dillon Behr, the A-Team’s Senior Radio Operator, was shot thru the hip and was bleeding out. Walton called for Shurer to come up to his untenable position on top of the cliff as there were too many wounded. They were pinned against the cliff and things were looking bad.

A-10 attack aircraft and F-16s screamed overhead, making close air support runs close to the Green Berets. They were trying to keep the insurgents pinned down but many of the Americans were peppered with shrapnel as well.

“When I called for Ron, there was a silence over the radio for a few seconds, because everyone realized what that meant — that it was bad,” Walton recalled. “He had to climb a mountain under fire with a couple other guys on the team. When he showed up, nearly everybody was wounded. We were under direct fire. We were pinned down with nearly nowhere to go except down that 100-foot cliff.”

Shurer raced to Behr’s side and was attempting to stop the bleeding of his badly damaged hip. He even went to the extent of jamming his fingers in the wound to stop the bleeding. Then a bullet ripped thru another Green Beret’s arm and hit Shurer in the head and arm. He recalled it being like getting hit with a baseball bat.

Behr, thinking he was about to die, began to pray. Shurer slapped him across the face and startled the wounded man back to his senses. “Wake up! You’re not going to die today.”

Walton knew his situation was critical and his small team was in danger of being overrun. He called for an airstrike danger close, nearly on top of his own position. The team was in danger of being wiped out as much as the insurgents from the bomb.

As he called for the bomb drop, Walton says the last image he has is that of Shurer, draped over the wounded men, protecting them with his own body.

The bomb blasted the insurgents long enough to allow the Green Berets to make their escape down the cliff. As the dust settled, Walton recalls that the first image he saw was Shurer tending to the wounded.

Shurer had brought plenty of tubular nylon webbing that the team used to sling and lower Behr and the other wounded down the cliff to waiting helicopters to evacuate the team away from the firefight and live to fight again.

Another one of Shurer’s teammates, SFC Matthew Williams recalls that Shurer’s coolness under fire and the disregard for his own safety was the reason, so many of the men survived that day.

“His ability to manage an unmanageable situation and remain calm, collected and cool — always was that guy, hanging out or training or whatever,” he said.

“We’d been in engagements before, even on that deployment,” Williams added. “Nothing like that before. Luckily, we’re all incredibly well trained, we trusted each other, and it all just kind of worked for us that day. On our worst day.”

Shurer, when hearing the comments of his fellow A-Team members was humbled by the praise.“That means so much more,” he said. “I know these guys’ wives, their kids. Just knowing that … it’s very humbling for them to say that. Luckily, it all kind of worked for me to help those guys.”

Shurer and the nine other Green Berets were all awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third highest award for bravery after the battle. But several team members felt that Shurer’s actions deserved more recognition.

Shurer left the military a year later and joined the Secret Service. He then later joined the Special Operations Division where he’s served since 2011. He was asked to go to the White House where the decision to upgrade his award to the Medal of Honor was kept from him. He was told it was a work-related visit. But then the President broke the news to him.

During the ceremony, President Trump tapped him on the shoulder and his comments echoed the impressiveness of Shurer’s exploits.

He’s a warrior,” Trump said. “For more than six hours, Ron bravely faced down the enemy,” Trump added during the ceremony. “Not a single American died in that brutal battle thanks in great measure to Ron’s heroic actions.”

A year ago, Shurer was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer but he has continued to fight that disease with the same bravery he faced the enemy Trump said.

“He’s braved, battled, worked, he’s done everything he can, that cancer he’s been fighting it every single day with courage and with strength, and he’s a warrior,” Trump said.

The president added, “He’s the best dad and role model two boys could ever ask for.”

Shurer was accompanied by his wife and two sons, several of his 3rd SFG teammates and Afghan interpreters at the ceremony.

Photos: US Army

Al-Shabab Getting “Lucky” Not Stronger in Somalia, Says US

Al-Shabab, Somalia’s most dangerous terror group is likely not getting any stronger according to U.S. officials. The U.S. contends that despite a series of deadly attacks, including one that claimed the life of a U.S. special operations soldier earlier this month, it was more lucky than good during that attack.
The assessment, by U.S. military and counterintelligence officials, runs contrary to the conclusions of some analysts and comes as al-Shabab has been flexing its military might in recent weeks, highlighting attacks on both Somali and African Union forces.
One of the most publicized of these was a brazen June 8 attack on an outpost under construction two kilometers north of the town of Sanguni, in the Lower Jubba region of Somalia.
The al-Qaida-linked militants skirmished with a force of 800 Somali and Kenyan forces accompanied by U.S. special operations soldiers, one of whom was killed by mortar fire.
U.S. officials are still trying to determine the size of the al-Shabab force at the time of the attack but say there is no indication of any increased capability.
“It was a lucky shot,” a U.S. military official told VOA on condition of anonymity. “I wouldn’t consider this a well-executed attack.”
Another military official said, in many ways, the deadly attack was typical of al-Shabab operations.
“Historically, al-Shabab has been willing to engage large forces, often using surprise and asymmetric tactics to improve their chances for success,” said Lt. Cmdr. Desiree Frame, a spokesperson for U.S. Africa Command. “We expect to see more conflict in southern Somalia as Somali Government Forces, AMISOM, and their partners make in-roads into al-Shabab-held territory.”
Still, some analysts warn it is wrong to downplay the strides al-Shabab has made since being kicked out of its last urban stronghold, the port city of Kismayo, in 2012.
“It’s clear that we’re not just seeing a spike in attacks related to the Ramadan campaign,” said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior analyst at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “It’s clear that the organization has gotten stronger.”

Regardless of the differing opinions on their capability, al-Shabab will probably be seeing plenty of focus from the US-led coalition in Somalia in the coming days.

To read the entire article from Voice of America News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Pentagon Looking to Cut SOF in Africa to Focus on China, Russia

Special Operations Forces in Africa could be slashed heavily under sweeping Pentagon proposals to retask and reorganize SOF towards more pressing needs facing the rising threats of Russia and China.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had ordered a review of all Special Operations Forces missions as Mattis, along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Joseph Dunford are worried about SOF capabilities being spread too thin. That has been an ongoing issue for several years.

The review was also part of the ongoing assessment of Special Operations Forces after the ambush and death of four American servicemen in Niger last year.

Mattis and Dunford have given the Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and the Africa Command (AFRICOM) until mid-June on how they plan to meet the existing challenges as well as the new directives concerning China, Russia as well as Iran and North Korea, despite the planned summit meeting.

Mattis has ordered the new priorities and told the commands to focus on the transition period of growing threats from both China and the Russians, as part of the Pentagon’s new strategic defense plan.

“We face growing threats from revisionist powers as different as China and Russia, nations that seek to create a world consistent with their authoritarian models,” Mattis said earlier this year.

“Our military is still strong, yet our competitive edge has eroded in every domain of warfare — air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace — and is continually eroding,” he added.

The Pentagon’s report on the Niger operation was sharply critical of “risk-taking culture” of Special Operations which is exactly what the nature of the operations are. Were mistakes made in Niger? Of course, but to place the blame only on the soldiers involved in the operation was short-sighted and self-serving.

Lately, in an effort to ease the burden on SOF troops operating in Syria, and Afghanistan, the U.S. has been increasingly utilizing conventional force soldiers and/or Marines to bolster the capability and security of the Special Operations troops. They’ve called this the “Uplift” program.

The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) currently has close to 7300 troops deployed in about 92 countries. That is significantly down from a decade ago when there were almost 13,000 troops deployed. Despite this the command is still dealing with an operational slate (OpTempo) that is unsustainable in the long run and the cracks are already showing themselves in the force. By adding additional requirements on them for the new strategy against China and Russia where some troops will see an added emphasis in countries such as the Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to counter the Russian threat will place a heavier burden on an already stretched razor thin force.

The Army tried to ease the burden on Special Forces troops by creating Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFAB) to take over the conventional training requirements of host nation forces. The first 1000 troops which comprise the brigade are right now in Afghanistan. The Army plans to field six of these SFABs in the coming years.

They are taking NCOs and Officers from conventional units that will quickly be short enough leaders to fill their own ranks. It won’t be long until the “Big Army” raises questions about these SFABs bleeding their conventional units dry.

The SFAB is running into the same issues in Afghanistan the conventional military has always had when trying to train foreign soldiers. They’re re-inventing the wheel that Special Forces has mastered since the days of the OSS in World War II. They don’t have the experience of training foreign troops and their cross-cultural communications and rapport building skills are in the neophyte stage.

AFRICOM was asked how they would conduct their operations with a 25 percent reduction in SOF troops in 18 months and by a whopping 50 percent in the next three years. Advertising this fact wasn’t perhaps the best move on the Pentagon’s part.

Of the troops currently deployed, about 1200-1300 are currently doing operations in Africa. That number, already not enough to handle the workload there, will be slashed down to the 600 range by 2021.

There are other hot spots in the globe with shadow wars being fought in Yemen, Libya, Somalia as well as others that will require attention as well. Of course, unless there is an uptick in conventional deployments to Africa, one can probably expect the insurgents in the continent, the al-Qaeda offshoots, and the Islamic State to increase their efforts to gain traction with the population and carve out a bigger foothold.

Since the ambush in Niger, missions considered “risky” with host-nation troops have been curtailed. Those that are approved must first be approved by senior officers up the chain of command who are required to take a tougher, more cautious approach when weighing the risks involved. Yes, the dreaded “risk assessment” has made its way into SOF planning requirements.

American SOF in Africa are now sent only on missions with local forces that are determined to have a significant strategic effect, much like the operation that the Special Forces troops were on in Niger. However, now, armed drones or other armed aircraft must accompany such missions, which should have been made available to the troops back then, which would have possibly prevented the loss of life then.

The Green Berets who are responsible for conducting the missions told former SOFREP journalist Derek Gannon in the Fusion Cell blog that, “We are put there [in Africa] to ensure the success of our Host Nation counterparts. When we are not able to operate with the local forces we cannot teach and coach them for future contact with the enemy. Can a football coach effectively coach his players without watching them perform under pressure in a real game? Plus how are we supposed to accurately assess how the threat forces operate without seeing them in action? That’s like preparing for a game without ever seeing game film.”

And that is not the “culture of risk-taking”, but the beat goes on.

Photo: DOD

Two Marines May Have Been Present at the Murder of Green Beret in Mali

The murder investigation of Green Beret SSG Logan Melgar has taken another twist. Military investigators are now stating that two Marine Raiders from the Special Operations Command may have been present. Two Navy SEALs are already under investigation for the strangling death of Melgar last June.

Melgar died from asphyxiation after the SEALs claimed that they engaged in “horseplay” at 4 a.m. that the apartment that the men shared in Bamako while assigned to the embassy in Mali.

The military is investigating whether two special forces Marines played a role in the choking death of a Green Beret in Mali last year and the possible cover-up of how it occurred, according to five U.S. defense officials.
September 2017 Army Criminal Investigative Division report about the incident quotes Navy SEAL Tony DeDolph saying he and Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar were wrestling at 4 a.m. when a fellow SEAL Adamcranston Matthew came in and joined in the horseplay. According to the SEALS, the men fell down together and when they stood up Melgar wasn’t breathing.
The SEALs say they attempted CPR and tried to open an airway, but Melgar died of asphyxiation.
The same report, however, says a witness told investigators that DeDolph and Matthews were among a group of people angry at Melgar, and had made comments about getting back at him.
According to that witness, “DeDolph admitted … that he ‘choked [Melgar] out.’ ” and had used duct tape on him.
Now forensic evidence uncovered during a Navy investigation indicates two Marines may have been present at some point during the night, say five U.S. defense officials.

While military investigators refuse to comment on an ongoing investigation, the more information that is learned about this incident, the more it is clear that there was no horseplay involved. The military is dragging its feet on this, it has been nearly a year since Melgar’s death and questions are now growing about how this happened and why there is no moving forward with it.

To read the entire article from NBC News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

The Special Forces Branch is Created April 9, 1987

Today’s USSOCOM (United States Special Operations Command) operates in nearly 100 countries a day as Special Operations troops from all of the combined services do their part in defending U.S. interests abroad.

Special Operations troops are taking on the lion’s share of the fighting in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan as they are an integral part of the United States strategy for defeating our enemies there. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, the command (SOCOM) is a relative newcomer to the U.S. military. The creation of the Special Forces branch for Army officers on April 9, 1987, was a big moment for SF and changed everything.

Special Forces was created in 1952 as former members of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) were assigned with paratroopers and Rangers from the Army to fill out the ranks of the 10th Special Forces Group headed by Colonel Aaron Bank.

OSS and SF were tasked with training, equipping and leading indigenous forces in the art of guerrilla warfare. The mission of the 10th according to Bank was to “to infiltrate by land, sea or air, deep into enemy-occupied territory and organize the resistance/guerrilla potential to conduct Special Forces operations, with emphasis on guerrilla warfare.”

Special Forces grew steadily and the new unit was heavily involved in Vietnam with Special Forces A-Teams spread all over the country and found themselves a tremendously loyal ally in the Montagnard people of the mountains in Southeast Asia. By the time the war was over, SF soldiers had earned (from SF Assn) 20 Medals of Honor, one Distinguished Service Medal, 90 Distinguished Service Crosses, 814 Silver Star Medals, 13,234 Bronze Star Medals, 235 Legions of Merit, 46 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 232 Soldier’s Medals, 4,891 Air Medals, 6,908 Army Commendation Medals and 2,658 Purple Hearts.

After the Vietnam war wound down, the military cut back on special operations forces and tried to build a large conventional force for a large European land battle with the Soviet Union. As a result, the Army lost numerous Special Forces groups, the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 8th Special Forces groups were deactivated. The 7th SFG narrowly escaped the ax as the Pentagon, never a fan of “specialized” or “elite” units tried to wipe the slate clean of them.

The Special Forces side of the house in the military was left with just three active duty groups. The 5th, 7th and the 10th. Ronald Reagan’s election and the debacle at Desert One in Iran would change all of that. During the attempted rescue of American hostages in Iran, an ad-hoc force of Delta Force commandos, Army Rangers and Air Force and Marine pilots failed because the pilots weren’t specifically trained for that type of mission.

The planning, training, and execution were set back because the services weren’t accustomed to working together and no unified command existed. The government finally learned that the U.S. military needed a dedicated Special Operations force that was capable of handling any issues that arose, complete with air assets dedicated to Special Operations missions.

The Pentagon and Congress learned what Special Operations troops had long known and later became one of the Command’s “truths” that they live by.

Competent Special Operations Forces cannot be created after emergencies occur.

The Army created a Career Management Branch for their enlisted soldiers (CMF 18) in 1984. Now Green Berets in Special Forces groups would no longer have to serve “command time” as senior NCOs in conventional assignments. The Special Forces tab, recognizing being a graduate of SF training was adopted in 1983.

But the officers who served in Special Forces were still in No-Man’s Land. Serving more than one tour in Special Forces for officers was considered career suicide. Staying in SF would result in achieving no more than a Colonel’s rank. And those were few and far between. Something had to be done.

One of the weak parts of a Special Forces A-Team was the XO or 2LT position. Too many of the LTs didn’t have enough of a conventional background or experience to be effective enough. Many of the LTs were former NCOs who had gone thru OCS but there weren’t enough.

So the Army created the Warrant Officer Program for Special Forces troops not long after the CMF 18 was created. The LT’s slot was cut from the A-Teams and the slots would be filled by senior Special Forces NCOs who went thru the Warrant Officer course, held at Ft. Rucker and Ft. Bragg.

Finally, on April 9, 1987, the Army created the Special Forces Branch for Commissioned Officers (18A). Once a Captain or 1LT promotable applied he could attend the Special Forces Qualification Course and upon successful completion would become part of the SF Branch.

The results were a much better, more capable and more experienced core of officers and enlisted men. Troops dedicated solely to Special Forces operations. No longer would officers stick around only long enough to “get their ticket punched” and be forced to move on to other assignments and career fields. During this time frame, both the 1st and the 3rd Special Forces Groups were reactivated and have served with distinction. The Special Forces Command has a group area oriented to every specific part of the world complete with language capability and culturally experienced troops that know their area of operations, the people, and many of the personalities involved.

The wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria have put such a burden on the operational tempo (optempo) of the units that the Army authorized the 4th battalion for each of the Special Forces groups.

Today is a far cry from the lean years of the early-to-mid-1970s where Special Forces were on the brink of being eliminated by backward thinking officers. The troops today are overtasked as they’ve become a panacea by Washington to fix every problem that the country faces as they try to limit the amount of “boots on the ground” in the world’s hotspots.

But all of the SF troops come from the humble and austere beginnings of Aaron Bank and the original Special Forces troops formed on Smoke Bomb Hill in 1952.

Photo: US Army

SF Soldier Honored For Saving Lives in Car Wreck

A staff sergeant in Ft. Bragg’s 3^rd Special Forces Group was awarded the Soldier’s Medal for saving the lives of two people, pulling them from a burning vehicle in Asheboro, NC.

Staff Sgt. Adams didn’t hesitate.
As he watched a truck veer off the road ahead of him and tumble down a steep, tree-covered embankment, the Fort Bragg soldier knew what he had to do.
When he lost his shoes running to the vehicle, he didn’t stop — even as glass became embedded in the soles of his feet.
And when he reached the truck, the billowing smoke gave him no pause.
“The only thing I could really think about was the people in the vehicle,” Adams said, two years after he leapt into action to save two people following a deadly crash on U.S. 64 near Asheboro.
Adams, a soldier with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, repeatedly returned to the scene of the crash, carried four victims up the steep embankment and rendered emergency aid until rescue personnel arrived.
On Monday, Adams — who is not being identified by his first name because of the nature of his job as a Special Forces soldier — received the Army’s highest award for heroism outside of combat.
During a ceremony on Fort Bragg, officials praised Adams for risking his life to save others and presented him with the Soldier’s Medal.
Adams said he and his wife were returning from a weekend trip at a family lake house on Oct. 10, 2016, when they witnessed the crash.
According to the Asheboro Courier-Tribune, the single-vehicle wreck occurred about 4 p.m. The newspaper said a N.C. Highway Patrol trooper reported that Lillie Mingin, 33, of Lexington, was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado when the vehicle ran off the road, went into a ditch and then down the embankment.
One passenger, 26-year-old Brittany Goodman of Salisbury, was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
A child, 12-year-old Colby Springle of Angier, was trapped in the vehicle and died shortly after being extracted.
Springle was the son of Mingin, who survived the wreck alongside another of her sons, 7-year-old Eric Mason Mingin of Fuquay-Varina.
Army officials said the pair likely would not have lived were it not for Adams, who pulled them from the vehicle before a fire could start and provided lifesaving medical care.

Adams’ family was in attendance as he was being lauded for his bravery and the 1^st Special Forces Command’s deputy head, BG Richard Angle encouraged all soldiers to emulate the example put forth by Adams.

To read the entire article from the Fayetteville Observer, click here:

Photo courtesy US Army

3rd SFG Opens Doors to Attract New Special Forces Candidates

The 3rd Special Forces Group used the entire family approach in trying to attract new recruits to the Special Forces Regiment. They opened their doors to soldiers and their families from Ft. Bragg looking for soldiers to be the next generation of Green Berets.

Dozens of Fort Bragg soldiers and their families converged at the headquarters of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group on Thursday for an open house meant to introduce those troops to the unit, showcasing the capabilities and opportunities in the Green Beret community.
Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division, 20th Engineer Brigade, 18th Field Artillery Brigade, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 16th Military Police Brigade and other Fort Bragg units attended the event, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between 3rd Special Forces Group and the Special Operations Recruiting Battalion.
Command Sgt. Maj. Bruce W. Holmes, the senior enlisted leader of 3rd Group, said the Special Forces community wants to attract the best soldiers, regardless of shape, size, color, gender, experience or job specialty.
“We don’t discriminate,” he said. “We’re taking men and women. Any rank. Any (military occupational specialty).”
Sgt. 1st Class Alex Martinez, commander of the Fort Bragg Special Operations Recruiting Center, said the open house was a “sneak peek of what life is like as a Green Beret.”
Vehicles and equipment, including weapons, were on display. And Special Forces soldiers and their spouses were on hand to answer questions and address concerns.
“It’s a perfect collaboration,” Martinez said. “It’s units partnering with SORB to recruit their own force.”

One of the selling points was geared towards the families. Special Forces soldiers, while deployed a lot, do enjoy a much more stable existence for the families because they generally remain in the unit for a long period of time. That cuts down on the constant moving that many families in the military have to endure. And because of that, the units, and the families tend to be closer.

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Photo courtesy: US Army

3rd SFG Honors Fallen Medal of Honor Win With Memorial Run

The 3^rd SFG at Ft. Bragg was honoring the memory of Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller with a memorial 5K run this weekend, and as they said, it wasn’t a race but a time to reflect and remember a man who gave it all for his comrades.

On Jan. 25, 2008, Miller sacrificed his own life so that his Special Forces team and Afghan allies would survive. It’s an act that would be honored with the U.S. military’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.
A little more than a decade after his death, Miller was honored at Fort Bragg on Saturday.
There, hundreds of soldiers and family members with the 3rd Special Forces Group paid tribute to the fallen hero by emulating his actions near Gowardesh, Afghanistan years ago.
Like Miller, those who chose to honor him ran forward on Saturday as part of the first Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller Memorial Run – a four-mile course centered on the 3rd Special Forces Group’s headquarters.
The course began at Miller Hall, the headquarters building named for the Medal of Honor recipient. It ended on the 3rd Special Forces Group’s Memorial Walk, next to a stone laid in tribute to Miller.
In Afghanistan in January 2008, Miller’s mission was to conduct a reconnaissance patrol in a valley that was a known enemy safe haven, according to an official narrative that accompanied his Medal of Honor citation.
He led the way for Operational Detachment Alpha 3312 and its team of Afghan allies. When the troops were ambushed by a large enemy force armed with AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades and PKM machine guns, Miller called for them to seek safety while he charged ahead up snow-covered mountain rock.
Miller drew the brunt of the enemy attack.
His team lost him in a wash of dust and rock, kicked up by the hailstorm of enemy fire. But even unseen, those soldiers could hear Miller on his radio, calling out enemy positions.
Sometime during the seven-hour battle, Miller died.

Many of his former teammates were there to reflect on Miller, the consummate teammate who always looked to better himself and who was always there for his other teammates and allies.

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Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Military Option Not the Only Solution Available in Combating Terrorism in Africa

The US-led effort in combating terrorism Africa is not just a military option but an entire government solution, calling in the full range of government entities, the acting undersecretary of defense for policy said on Thursday on Capitol Hill.

While the US troops will continue to work by, with and through their African allies, other government agencies such as the State Department and USAID will work with local organizations such as the African Union to build up the necessary infrastructure for local governments to make the necessary improvements in nation-building.

“These groups exploit instability, weak governance, vulnerable populations, social media and vast spaces to establish safe havens, spread their toxic ideology and attack all who do not subscribe to it,” David J. Trachtenberg said during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on counterterrorism efforts in Africa.
“While DoD maintains expert counterterrorism forces — the best in the world, bar none — capable of conducting precision air strikes and complex raids to protect our interests, we are focused principally on helping our partners build their own capabilities and expand their capacity to fight these terrorist organizations and stem further violence and instability,” he said.
Defense Secretary James N. Mattis has put significant emphasis on building and strengthening partnerships, Trachtenberg added, to both lessen the demand for U.S. forces and to ensure sustainable indigenous solutions to these problems.
“In the simplest terms, DoD seeks to work by, with and through our partners in Africa to find African solutions to African problems,” the undersecretary said. That means military operations against terrorist organizations are conducted by host nation force, and U.S. forces work with partner nations to train, equip, advise and enable and accompany them on operations and improve their effectiveness and professionalism, he noted. “And through this cooperative relationship, the United States and our partners in Africa achieve our shared strategic objectives.”

Trachtenberg praised our allies, particularly France as they have along with the US committed thousands of troops and government resources in the continent of Africa.

To read the entire article from The Department of Defense, click here:

Photo courtesy US Army