SOF

Navy SEALs Are Placing More Emphasis on Big Wars With China, Russia

“The Times they are a-changin” wrote Bob Dylan in 1964 but for the U.S. Navy SEAL teams, it may not mean that they are changing per se, but returning to their original roots. After two decades of war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, the Navy’s Special Warfare specialists are preparing more for a conflict with bigger countries and militaries like Russia and China.

It doesn’t mean an end to counter-insurgency operations and the Direct Action missions that the SEAL teams have been known for but they’re refocusing on some of their more traditional missions.

In a new story on NEWSREP, Stavros Atlamazoglou wrote about the SEALs and their refocusing on the Big Navy:

In a recent interview, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Bill Moran acknowledged and welcomed this development. “It’s to the point now where we include them in all of our exercises, our war games, our tabletops [training exercises] — because as much as it is their chance to ‘re-blue,’ it’s our chance to reconnect from the blue side,” he said. “We’ve grown used to not having them in a lot of those situations. Now as we’ve done the tabletops, the exercises and the war games, we see: ‘Wow, there is some great capability here that can set the conditions for the kind of operations in every single one of those campaigns.’ And that will continue to grow, I think,” added the Navy’s second-in-command.

The best way to display a unit’s relevancy, and thus accrue more funds, is to define a possible threat and show how the unit could address it. In the case of China, the threat would be the numerous man-made islands that the Chinese have been building in the South China Sea. Although nothing more than a few hundred meters of sand, these islands can carry anti-ship missile batteries that would serve as an outer ring of defense against the Navy’s aircraft carriers.

The NSWC appears to understand the problem and the opportunity it offers. What are SEALs good at doing? Other than being authorities in Direct Action (DA) missions, SEALs are capable of hydrographic and special reconnaissance (SR) and stealthy waterborne insertion. Moreover, SEAL Team 6 is renowned for its High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) and High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) parachute capabilities. Thus, in a potential conflict with China, they could be the eyes and ears of commanders in those man-made islands and either direct strikes against them or unilaterally eliminate them. And evidence suggests that this is what they are being training to do.

The SEALs, for example, have requested an exponential increase in training activities in Hawaii’s islands. As of now, around 100 training exercises take place in Hawaii per year, the majority of which are scuba diving training. However, NSWC has requested 330 exercises for 2019. The majority of the exercises would be parachute insertions followed by over-the-beach operations.

The Navy has yet to approve the increase. But, judging by the words of Admiral Moran, it will.

Photo: US Navy

For the entire article click on the link here:

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 11, Day 3

Tuesday is our Leg Day at the gym followed by a 4-mile run.

Begin with pull-ups and then hit the squats, lunges and the sled or the Fireman’s Carry followed by a four-mile run in under 32 minutes, which is the standard.

As always, make sure you stretch well before and after as well as hydrate.

Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR

3 x Pullups 10 reps

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

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

4 x Sled push heavier weight or Fireman’s Carry

3 x 10 reps Dumbbell Lunges

3 x 20 Side Planks

4-Mile run (32 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

7th SFG Stemmed the Tide, Guaranteed the Peace in El Salvador

The era of the 1980s thru the mid-1990s was a great time to be a member of the U.S Army’s 7th Special Forces Group, 7th SFG(A). The unit barely escaped the ax during the post-Vietnam drawdown and survived the malaise during the Carter years, where Special Operations and specifically Special Forces was a four-letter word. Being an SF officer in those days was the kiss of death for an officer’s career.

By the early, to mid-1990s the SF troops that advised the Salvadoran battalions had become so well known as professionals, their enemies in El Salvador asked that the Green Berets be kept on during the peace process, to ensure that everyone’s human rights were upheld. But before that, Latin America was close to being lost to Communism.

Background:

But all of that began to change in 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected President and Latin America was a hot spot in the globe. Marxists had taken over in Nicaragua and they were looking, like the Cubans, to export their vision of Communism to the rest of the hemisphere. Reagan was not going to stand for that and there were plenty of places for the Green Berets of 7th SFG to practice their training. Or as my first team sergeant said, “Do Green Beret shit.” El Salvador and Guatemala were embroiled in bloody civil wars, Honduras had a Phase 1, which was a “latent and incipient” insurgency, which no one but the Group believed existed.

Active civil wars were ongoing with insurgents in Colombia (FARC), Peru (Shining Path/Sendero Luminoso) and to a lesser extent in Bolivia, however, all three had further issues with narco-terrorists that further destabilized the host nation governments. Other countries such as Argentina and Paraguay it seemed had military coups far too frequently.

El Salvador, in particular, was the first area where the President drew a line in the sand. The government was weak and ineffective, the military was backward and committed numerous human-rights abuses and little professionalism. In 1980, the country was on the brink of falling. The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), an umbrella organization formed in 1980 of five separate Marxist-Leninist groups had the government on the precipice.

In 1981, the Salvadoran Army numbered around 11,000 and was a poorly led, poorly equipped and badly trained army. They were basically a static, defensive force. The FMLN was close to winning the war militarily and their forces operated freely in much of the country and owned the night.

Slow Beginnings and Limits on Troop Support:

The U.S.’ first priorities were getting them updated vehicles and equipment, and then improve the quality of the forces through training and better tactics. By 1990, the size of the Salvadoran military had quadrupled to more than 45,000. And by the mid-1980s, the training of the troops had progressed to where the army was capable of conducting offensive operations, they moved into previously held FMLN areas and maintained a firm hold on the population centers. While doing so, they whittled the FMLN down to size, from a high of about 13,000 in 1980 to about 7,000 in 1990.

The FMLN resorted to kidnapping and assassinating. Town mayors were a frequent target, in 1989 alone 214 of 262 were threatened with assassinations. A total of 12 were actually carried out. 90 mayors resigned.

The FMLN launched a desperate country-wide offensive in November 1989 in a final attempt to take over by encouraging the citizens to rise up. It failed and over 2000 guerrillas were killed.

Beginning in 1983, following the recommendations of Green Beret. trainers, the Salvadoran armed forces adopted better COIN strategies and tactics to better deny the FMLN to gain popular support. For example, the Salvadorans adopted tactics that attacked the insurgents’ sanctuary, movement, and supplies; deployed smaller, air-mobile units; and used small units to patrol more frequently at night, when most guerrilla activity occurs. But we have jumped ahead…

When it came to the trainers, the U.S. was in a vastly different place politically than it is today. We had just pulled out from Vietnam a few years prior, the country was not going to tolerate another long-drawn-out conflict with massive amounts of troops involved. Beginning in 1981, the first U.S. trainers were an A-Team of 12 Green Berets who were only “permitted” to carry sidearms for protection.

Congress decided to cap the number of trainers at just 55. There could be only 55 men dedicated to the training of the Salvadoran forces. They would assign two Americans to each Brigade.There were very strict rules for the training advisors. But the SF community found ways around that as well. A-Teams and other conventional troops would be brought in for just the ridiculously short time span of two weeks to conduct whatever training could be accomplished before the teams would be forced to leave.

The U.S. skirted around the Congress limit by bringing Salvadoran battalions to the United States for training by members of the 7th SFG. First the Atlacatl Battalion at Ft. Bragg, NC. That was kind of a quick reaction, counter-insurgency battalion during the dark days of 1981. They later brought more battalions to the U.S. but a better alternative awaited just over the border with their traditional enemy, Honduras.

The U.S. set up a Regional Training Center in Trujillo, Honduras, where Salvadoran units could rotate thru for training. Later the training was added for Honduran troops as well.

The cost was high for a “peacetime” effort. During the war there, 22 U.S. troops died in the country, defending El Salvador, one SF advisor, Greg Fronius was the subject of an earlier piece here:

Congress and the Pentagon, in an effort to snow the American public as to what exactly the advisors in El Salvador were dealing with, refused to admit that the troops were in a combat situation, even though, combat pay was authorized back in 1981. Fronius was denied a combat decoration and instead was awarded a Meritorius Service Medal (MSM) which is a peacetime award.

One excellent story about how an SF A-Team “not in combat” defended a Salvadoran cuartel centered around ODA-7 from 3/7th SFG in Panama who had their base attacked in San Miguel, which was the subject of an excellent piece from Dr. Charles H. Briscoe.

Human Rights Record:

The Salvadoran Army had a terrible human rights record dating back to 1980. One of the things that the trainers accomplished was to incorporate human rights training in all levels of the military.

And it also meant that at times, at peril to the advisors themselves, they’d report abuses by the military to the MILGP in San Salvador. Greg Walker, who was one of the 55 advisors on the ground there detailed one such incident.

I was the Special Forces advisor who reported being shown a guerrilla’s skull (at the unit’s base in El Salvador) that had been turned into a desk lamp. My report was delivered to the US Embassy in El Salvador at the time through the proper chain of command.
The vast majority of SF advisors serving in El Salvador did likewise as this was part of the mission statement. For example, there was a senior Special Forces advisor at El Mozote the day/night of the massacre (and only one). He attempted multiple times to dissuade Colonel Domingo Monterosa to spare the victims. When Monterosa ignored him, the advisor departed by foot and made his way, alone, back to San Salvador. There he made a full report to embassy officials of what the unit and Monterosa were doing in El Mozote.

The subject was a very touchy one, but the Green Berets made their reputation known. Even amongst the FMLN. In Walker’s book, called “At the Hurricane’s Eye” Walker tells the story about the FMLN asked for the U.S. SF to remain during the initial peace process to ensure everyone was protected.

At the conclusion of the war as brokered under a UN peace agreement, it was the guerrillas of the FMLN that requested US “Green Berets” remain with Salvadoran military units during the early stages of the accord. This because the guerrillas had learned of our commitment to human rights, and the sometimes dangerous reporting we made to the US embassy regarding thugs like Monterosa.

Walker was one of several SF soldiers who led the fight for the men who did their time in El Salvador to finally be recognized for what they were, combat tours. Everyone who rotated thru there is now eligible for an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal while many are authorized CIBs and combat awards. The men of ODA-7 were finally recognized 14 years later with CIBs awarded and four Bronze Stars with “V” device and an ARCOM with “V” device.

The 7th SFG record in El Salvador was one of great success. The country was on the brink of falling and thru the combined military and political efforts of many Americans, this one was an example of how a small group of dedicated SF soldiers can turn the tide in a brutal civil war.

Photo: ODA-7 in San Miguel from SpecialForces.com

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 11, Day 2

Monday morning, we kick our week off right. Head to the gym where we’ll do our workout with the basics of pushups, sit-ups, and crunches, then to the bar for V-ups, pull-ups, and dips before a 4-mile run. Remember to stay hydrated and mark your progress in your workout log book.

Training:

More preparation for the UBRR

1 x 1-minute Pushups

1 x 1-minute Sit-ups

1 x 1-minute, Crunches

1 x 1-minute, V-ups

1 x Dips as many as possible to muscle failure (no time limit)

1 x Pullups as many as possible or to muscle failure (no time limit)

4-mile run (32 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 11, Day 1

It is time for our Sunday morning ruck march. We’re going to do an eight-mile course today over varied terrain. Strive to better the standard time of 120 minutes. The weather is due to dump up to a foot or more of snow on us here in the Northeast. Of course, if you are one of those in this area, the weather may curtail this a bit today. Do a quick warmup of pushups and sit-ups before heading out.

Stretch well both before and after the ruck march. Remember to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated out there. And wear your second pair of boots today.

Training:

Warm up

2 x 20 Pushups

2 x 20 Sit-ups

8-mile Rucksack march over varied terrain. And mark your times in your workout log book. If your feet are hurting after completion, then that second pair of boots may need more break-in time. Don’t wait for Selection to get that done.

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 7

Back in the gym this Saturday morning for a shoulder and back workout. Towel pull-ups if you have no access to ropes or climbing ropes if they are available. Followed by a four-mile run in 32 minutes or less.

Log your numbers down in the workout notebook and prepare for a long ruck on Sunday morning. And as always, remember to stay hydrated.

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 Towel Pull-ups

3 x 10 Seated Rows

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

Remembering Gordon Yntema, 5th SFG(A), Medal of Honor, 18 Jan. 1968

Gordon Yntema was just 22 years old at the time of his death, but he was a Green Beret assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group Airborne, ODA-431 and was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery while fighting in Vietnam in 1968. The enlisted men’s club was named in his honor on Ft. Bragg.

Yntema was born on June 26, 1945, in Bethesda, MD. He graduated high school from Holland, MI and entered the United States Army on July 10, 1963, in Detroit, MI. He volunteered for and passed the Special Forces Qualification Course. In October of 1967, he was assigned to Vietnam as part of Company D, 5th Special Forces Group Airborne, 5th SFG(A) and stationed with ODA-431 at Camp Cai Cai, in the Plain of Reeds as an Operations and Intelligence Sergeant.

Camp Cai Cai was a frequent target of Vietcong mortars and artillery since it opened in April of 1965. The camp also flooded twice in 1965 and 1966 and was rebuilt as a floating camp. On January 16 and just prior to the Tet Offensive, Yntema was an American advisor accompanying to companies of CIDG (Civilian Irregular Defense Group) strikers as they became embroiled in a two-day firefight with Viet Cong troops.

The senior American and South Vietnamese commander were wounded in the fighting. Yntema took over as the CIDG strikers tried to conduct blocking positions east of Thong Binh. Under heavy fire from Viet Cong bunkers, Yntema advanced the strikers to within 50 meters of the bunkers before being forced to withdraw to a trench line.

The Viet Cong deployed a company to the flanks, taking the strikers on three sides with intense fire, which included accurate mortar fire which caused several casualties. The strikers began to pull back. Yntema, already seriously wounded himself, refused to abandon his wounded commanders. He carried them to a gully about 50 meters away to shield them from enemy fire.

With his ammunition gone, the Cong tried to take him as a prisoner. But Yntema was going to be captured. He turned his rifle around like a club and took on the 15 Viet Cong who were attempting to capture him. So intense was his fighting the Viet Cong were forced to shoot him.

His body was returned home to the U.S. and he was buried at Pilgrim Home Cemetery in Holland, MI. He left behind his young wife Peggy and two young daughters.

Gordon’s decorations include the Medal of Honor, the Silver Star, two (2) Purple Hearts, the Combat Infantry’s Badge, and the Parachutist’s Badge.

Gordon is honored on the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 34e, Line 73.

A 1966 Army video of the camp at Cai Cai and the camp’s defenses are shown here:

An interesting side note about Cai Cai, Sean Linnane wrote an interesting blog post about Martha Raye, the entertainer who would visit the SF troops in Vietnam in places most entertainers would never venture in.

Colonel Maggie was visiting the A and B camps of D Co in the Delta and the S-4 Air Ops was assigned to be her escort officer. She had visited Cai Cai A-431 and moved on to RON somewhere else. They were hit that night. When she heard the news the next day, she ORDERED her slick to go back to Cai Cai so she could see if they needed her. She was a qualified nurse. The escort radioed back for instructions and IIRC, the CO (Colonel Bob Hassinger) said HE wasn’t going to countermand Maggie and he didn’t think it would be a good idea for anyone else to try either. She ALWAYS put the men first.

Medal of Honor Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life and above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Yntema, U.S. Army, distinguished himself while assigned to Detachment A-431, Company D.

As part of a larger force of civilian irregulars from Camp Cai Cai, he accompanied 2 platoons to a blocking position east of the village of Thong Binh, where they became heavily engaged in a small-arms firefight with the Viet Cong.

Assuming control of the force when the Vietnamese commander was seriously wounded, he advanced his troops to within 50 meters of the enemy bunkers. After a fierce 30-minute firefight, the enemy forced Sgt. Yntema to withdraw his men to a trench in order to afford them protection and still perform their assigned blocking mission.

Under cover of machinegun fire, approximately 1 company of Viet Cong maneuvered into a position which pinned down the friendly platoons from 3 sides. A dwindling ammunition supply, coupled with a Viet Cong mortar barrage which inflicted heavy losses on the exposed friendly troops, caused many of the irregulars to withdraw.

Seriously wounded and ordered to withdraw himself, Sgt. Yntema refused to leave his fallen comrades. Under withering small arms and machinegun fire, he carried the wounded Vietnamese commander and a mortally wounded American Special Forces advisor to a small gully 50 meters away in order to shield them from the enemy fire. Sgt. Yntema then continued to repulse the attacking Viet Cong attempting to overrun his position until, out of ammunition and surrounded, he was offered the opportunity to surrender. Refusing, Sgt. Yntema stood his ground, using his rifle as a club to fight the approximately 15 Viet Cong attempting his capture. His resistance was so fierce that the Viet Cong were forced to shoot in order to overcome him.

Sgt. Yntema’s personal bravery in the face of insurmountable odds and supreme self-sacrifice were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect the utmost credit upon himself, the 1st Special Forces, and the U.S. Army.

Photos: Hall of Heroes, JFK SWC, Virtual Wall

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 6

It is Leg Day or actually Squat Friday at the gym. Starting with Squats – (front, dumbbell goblet, and barbell), then some lunges and the weighted sled push. If you can maintain this workout, you’ll notice your rucking greatly improve.

And then finish the workout with a five-mile run in 40 minutes or less. Mark your progress down in your workout log book and stretch well after the session.

Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR.

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

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

3 x 10 Barbell Squats

3 x 10 Deadlifts

3 x 10 Dumbbell Lunges

3 x 10 Romanian Lunges

3 x Weighted Sled Push or Fireman’s Carry

5-mile run (40-minute maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 5

Back to the gym this morning and start with a Chest and Triceps workout today before a 5-mile run (40 minutes maximum). You must build up that upper body strength and today’s workout will definitely help that.

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 Kip Ups

3 x 20 Sit-ups

3 x 20 Cable Push Downs (rope)

3 x 20 Dips or until muscle failure

5-mile run (40 minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

SF Instructors Slated For Discharge After Pushback on Standards Email

Opinion: The Special Forces community continues to be in the news and for the Green Berets, it isn’t very welcome. The SF community, long known as the “Quiet Professionals” are finding themselves increasingly in the spotlight and for the wrong reasons.

But if the news on that broke on Tuesday is anywhere close to the truth, then two senior NCOs who are instructors at the Special Forces Qualification Course [SFQC] are being singled out for no good reason as the command lashes out at what was a scathing email that decried the lowering of standards in the SFQC.

The two Green Beret instructors, Sergeant First Class Micah J. Robertson, 33, and Sergeant First Class Michael Squires, 31, are being discharged, they say, for no reason other than the association with and beliefs that the writer of the email was correct.

The story that was first reported by “a news service” reported that when an email that was written by a concerned SF NCO late in 2017, it sent shock waves thru the community. These type of complaints are nothing new, instructors were complaining about lack of standards before I went to the SFQC, while I was at the SFQC, and my fellow instructors and cadre members, including myself, complained about the standards when I worked in the schoolhouse at SFAS.

But those things were kept in-house because there were no social media sites around back in the day to blow things up and make them viral. This one instructor (or perhaps many) excoriated the chain of command citing “moral cowardice” among other things.

“[The SFQC] has devolved into a cesspool of toxic, exploitive, biased and self-serving senior officers who are bolstered by submissive, sycophantic, and just-as-culpable enlisted leaders,” the NCO said. “They have doggedly succeeded in two things; furthering their careers, and ensuring that Special Forces [are] more prolific but dangerously less capable than ever before.”

One of the biggest charges against the command was that once a prospective candidate passed Selection [SFAS], the command removed all physical barriers that could hold a candidate back from passing the SFQC.

As it was reported on Tuesday,” It was then published by a news site started by former special operations forces”, which was SOFREP/NEWSREP, as if Breitbart [oops] didn’t know who it was, when one SF instructor sent it over. MG Sontag felt strongly enough about the email and what was said that he actually answered the charges levied in the email.

“If SFAS is correct, and we believe it is, the SFQC is not a place where high attrition rates should occur. Instead, the mission of the SFQC cadre is to train to standards,” he said at the time. Sonntag also said no “fundamental SF standard” has been “removed.”

One CSM that answered the charges admitted in an astounding statement, that the school fostered substandard Green Berets onto the Regiment and it was up to them to fix it, which itself gave credence to the email in the first place.

“‘We push some of these issues forward [to the Regiment] because we believe that the Groups can succeed in fixing those problem graduates when they arrive. That is an amount of risk we willingly accept because after all, it’s much easier to get a tab removed at Group if he doesn’t pan out than to risk relieving what’s basically a fully qualified student who might have been able to fix himself and become a solid Green Beret.’”

But those issues notwithstanding, what does this have to do with SFCs Robertson and Squires? Nothing. Except that the command believed that they were involved with this email chain in the first place. And they were looking for blood.

The company commander of the soldiers thought to be the guilty parties was given the lowest grade possible on his annual Officer Evaluation Report [OER] basically ending any chance he has of a military career.

Both NCOs were given Article 15s as was the alleged author of the email. Article 15 is non-judicial punishment under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice [UCMJ], getting one of those as a low ranking member of the military is generally not a big deal. For a senior NCO that is the kiss of the death for one’s career.

Both SFers declined to accept it, which is their right and chose to proceed with a General Court Martial. The two were charged with the email as well as creating an App which the command stated violated the instructor ethical code by using their position for financial gain.

The instructors claimed BS and claim they were singled out with no evidence for the email because both had spoken during open “town halls” with the command over concerns of the standards dropping.

MG Sontag dropped the Article 15s and declined to press forward with a Court Martial he could not win. However, he issued both a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand [GOMOR].

A General Officer Memorandum (or letter) of Reprimand (GOMOR) is a memorandum written to a soldier by a General Officer reprimanding the soldier for bad behavior. It’s essentially an ass-chewing by a General.
However, The significance of a GOMOR is that it can become part of one of your military files. It can be filed “locally”, which means in your Military Personnel Record Jacket [MPRJ], or in your “permanent” file, which means in your Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). A GOMOR filed locally will be removed eventually
[usually when a soldier PCS]. A GOMOR filed in your permanent file will very likely stay there forever.

This too can be a kiss of death for any senior NCO. It is unknown if the NCOs sent in a letter of rebuttal for this letter which is their right to do so. It does seem that the soldiers are facing an uphill battle in this.

Now they are being told that both are being discharged from the Army. Both want to know…for what? And that is a very legitimate question. Why are these two NCOs being singled out for discharge? Do they have a series of unfavorable NCOERs in the files, stating they were doing a substandard job? Something tells me that isn’t the case or they wouldn’t be SFQC instructors.

Robertson has 13 and a half years of service, Squires with more than 12.

U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s Director of Public Affairs Lt. Col. Loren Bymer said in a statement:

Army Special Operations Command is predicated on high standards and character attributes that define a Soldier’s service. There was not an all-inclusive investigation launched, but all allegations of misconduct were handled by commanders at the appropriate levels and adjudicated accordingly. The Special Warfare Center and School has a responsibility to ensure each soldier attending training is prepared to meet the needs of the nation now and in the future. This includes ensuring professional instruction, consistently strenuous mental and physical standards, inclusive training, and upholding the expectation that cadre and candidates demonstrate the Army Special Operations attributes at all times.

When this story broke, many of us here who have been in the Regiment were talking about this very subject. And we all feared, and now it has been proved rightly so, that the command would be more interested in finding and punishing the parties who sent the message rather than fix the issues that the email addressed.

This is sadly exactly what is happening. There is no proof that these two did anything wrong whatsoever, besides trying to protect the force that they serve in by doing the best job that they can as instructors? Isn’t that what we expect, or actually DEMAND from our cadre?

This is a witch hunt plain and simple. Those of us saw this coming and unfortunately, especially for Robertson and Squires, it has become a reality.

Back in the day before social media blew up the way we converse, there were a couple of “underground” Special Forces newspapers that were immensely popular with the troops and very unpopular with the brass.

One at the JFK SWC was “The Resister” it was marvelously written and called out all of the BS that one would encounter at the schoolhouse. The Resister was an equal opportunity paper, they called out General Officers down to the lowest NCOs if need be. It was so well written that the wonderful ladies who ran the library at the SWC kept copies of the Resister on file.

The command eventually seized all of the copies from the library like some sort of housecleaning like ridding the community of blight or subversiveness when the works of Mao, Lenin, Stalin, and Marx were all there for all to read.

In Panama, the 3/7 SFG had their own paper, “The Bend-Over Daily”. The BOD was a much more irreverent, hysterically funny, but equally well-written piece. Again it would poke fun at the chickenshit antics of some NCOs or Officers and everyone looked forward to the next issue.

Like when SGM Ivanov insisted on planting banana trees on the island in front of 3/7 buildings, every night someone would go out and cut them down. It got so ridiculous, Ivanov put the staff duty runner and NCO outside on the porch. Eventually, the poor private had to piss, and watching from the barracks was the perp. Ivanov was livid.

Of course, the next BOD wanted to know “Who is the Night Whacker???” We all knew who it was, or at least we think we do….

Later the Bn Cdr would make the rounds with the SGM and inspect the buildings once in a blue moon. The BOD warned the troops, “Beware of the dirtbag and the douchebag.” That battalion commander didn’t freak, speaking to an assembled group on NCOs, he said, “I sure hope that I’m the dirtbag!”

Stop the nonsense, reinstate Robertson and Squires and fix the damn courses. DOL

Photo: DOD