SOF

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. 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. On a side note, check for ticks out there. They are extremely heavy around here right now and one can scarcely walk on the trail without picking off multiple little critters.

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. Pull-ups if you have no access to ropes, but use 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 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

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 6

It is Leg Day at the gym. Starting with Squats – (front, dumbbell goblet, and barbell), then some lunges and the weighted sled push.

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 Weighted Sled Push or Fireman’s Carry

3 x 10 V-Ups (Lying on the floor)

5-mile run (40-minute maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Army Green Beret Awarded Second Distinguished Service Cross

Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3) Jason Myers was already walking in rarified air being one of the few recipients of a Distinguished Service Cross. Now, the Green Beret is the only active duty soldier to have been awarded the DSC twice.

The Distinguished Service Cross is the nation’s second highest award for Valor ranking just under the Medal of Honor.

Originally awarded a Silver Star for his actions, the Army went thru the records of several awards and recently upgraded them. Myers’ award has been one of those upgraded to his second DSC.

On March 27, 2010, then CW2 Jason Myers of ODA-3321 of the 3rd SFG(A) was awarded the first of his DSCs when rushed into enemy fire to rescue two Afghanistan police officers. Attacked by 75-100 insurgents, he took command of a bad situation and exposed himself to RPG and PKM machine gun fire to move forward to rescue the men.

Later in November of 2011, Myers once again exposed himself repeatedly to enemy fire by entering into a building to help rescue 15 hostages, also in Afghanistan.

About 3:15 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2011, Myers saw the insurgents attacking the district center. He notified the Afghan uniformed police, a special tactics team, and the Afghan National Army Commandos.

Moving toward the west gate of the compound, Myers’ team was attacked by insurgents with small arms fire and grenades. Myers, by this time already wounded by grenade fragments, was consulting with the wounded Afghan district police chief and learned about the hostages. He was also told the insurgents were wearing suicide vests.

Only after rescuing the first nine hostages did Myers allow himself to receive medical aid for his wounds. He then returned to the district center compound with a ladder to help rescue the remaining hostages. During this time the insurgents triggered a booby trap which injured six of the Afghan forces.

Myers helped evacuate the six wounded Afghan allies and helped with the clearing the remaining part of the building. During the pitched battle, five Americans were wounded, while three Afghan soldiers were killed while 11 more were wounded.

“He entered the main building three total times in order to clear it of all enemy fires,” said LTG Francis Beaudette, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, “All of this was done while sustaining shrapnel injuries and constantly under active enemy fire.”

“Jason has demonstrated on not just these two (Distinguished Service Cross Award) occasions but each and each every day he rolls out of the team room that he has the same fearless courage and unbending character of these men,” Beaudette added. “He’s going to continue to inspire others to protect the nation without fail, without fear and without equal, and we are incredibly proud of him today.”

Myers was surrounded by his family, friends, and fellow Special Forces soldiers for the second time being awarded the nation’s second highest award for valor.

Myers conducted an interview with the Fayetteville Observer after the ceremony and commented on the attack during November 2011.

“I’ve always been fortunate,” Myers said when asked about receiving the Distinguished Service Cross Award twice. “I’ve always been surrounded by the best officers and the best (noncommissioned officers) in the Army. And with multiple deployments to the same area, we knew the locals. We had a lot of rapport and these longstanding relationships with some of these people, so there was a lot of trust and history between us, the locals and the partner forces.”

Beaudette in his comments said that nearly 50 years ago, Green Berets sat in the same auditorium at the JFKSWC and were briefed on a dangerous plan to rescue American POWs in Vietnam. The mission he was referring to was “Operation Ivory Coast” where Green Berets under the command of Colonel Arthur “Bull” Simons flew deep into North Vietnam, just 23 miles west of Hanoi to get American POWs out of Son Tay Prison.

LTG Beaudette compared Myers’ actions to those who stood up and volunteered.

At Myers’ first award of the DSC, Admiral William McRaven, the then commander of USSOCOM summed it up arguably the best when taking into account the actions of Myers on these actions.

“The Green Beret isn’t just a piece of headgear; it is a symbol of all that is good and right about America. It represents the finest Soldiers ever to take the battlefield, he said.

“I want to thank you again for your incredible service to the Regiment, the Army and this great Nation. To the men of 3rd SFG, your reputation continues to grow. Your legacy will be found not in the wars that you fought, but in the men that fought them,” said McRaven. “You and the families that give you strength have earned the respect and admiration of an entire nation.”

Screenshot Photo and Video: DVIDSHub.net

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

Will the Surfaced Video Evidence Clear Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher?

Opinion: In a stunning turn of events, the defense in the upcoming court-martial case of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher is preparing to release helmet cam footage they say will exonerate their client.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) who has been a very vocal supporter of Gallagher is planning to show members of Congress a video later this week from a Navy SEAL’s helmet camera. Hunter believes the footage will clear Gallagher on war crime charges he faces when his trial begins later this month.

Once again, Kristina Wong, from Breitbart News was the first on the story. On Sunday she spoke with Michael Harrison a spokesman for Hunter and he said, “When other members of Congress see the video as he has seen it, that it’s going to shed light on the situation as a whole and the case that the Navy is presenting against Chief Gallagher.”

The video has been placed under a protective order by the judge as to guarantee Gallagher the right to a fair trial. No one is allowed to see the footage until it is released during the court-martial.

However, Gallagher’s attorney Tim Parlatore was granted an exception to this rule for the purpose of showing the contents to Hunter and any other member of Congress who are taking an interest in this case. Parlatore successfully argued that both the prosecution and NCIS have been suspected of leaking damaging material to Gallagher’s case to the media.

“So many other members of Congress have expressed an interest in this case that they needed to see the full evidence at hand, and Congressman Hunter strongly believes that the video evidence is to Gallagher’s benefit, and not to his detriment,” Harrison added.

Parlatore in describing the video contents to the court says the two-minute clip from the helmet cam shows the wounded ISIS fighter being dragged off the hood of a military vehicle by Iraqi soldiers. Gallagher asks the Iraqis if the fighter is ISIS. When told that the wounded man in indeed ISIS, Gallagher then says, “OK, I got him.” He then cleared away the crowd, gots out his medical kit, and began to treat the wounded man’s leg.

After watching the video, Rep. Hunter was convinced of Gallagher’s innocence.

“Gallagher provided medical attention to an ISIS terrorist,” Hunter said in his Instagram post. “He tried to save his life — that’s what it shows. Eddie Gallagher’s going to be exonerated.”

This is where the story gets interesting. Does the two-minute video go all the way thru the act of Gallagher treating the wounded ISIS fighter until he dies from his wounds?

Because the fact that Gallagher initially began treating the wounded fighter has never been in doubt. Navy Times detailed the events according to eyewitnesses:

Later, another SO1 who was trained in battlefield medicine told NCIS that he remembered watching the other SEAL corpsman treating the detainee, who appeared to have suffered a leg injury and struggled to breathe, possibly from “blast lung,” a condition that often affects those who survive explosions.
He watched as the SO1 inserted a chest tube while Gallagher, using a special kit, performed a cricothyroidotomy — or “cric” — a simple and rapid surgical method for opening up a blocked airway by inserting a tube through an incision in the cricothyroid ligament, according to records provided to Navy Times.
Gallagher also was present when the prisoner received a trachea tube, two chest tubes and a Sternal Intraosseous Infusion, which bores through bone to reach veins when other IVs won’t work, records indicate.
That SO1 told NCIS he left as the other two SEALs continued working on the prisoner, although other interviews and the prosecution’s own legal filings in the case portray a chaotic scene, with memories about the incident often jumbled by all the witnesses.
In his statements to NCIS, the LPO said he later returned to the area, rounded a parked Humvee and spotted Gallagher kneeling on the right side of the wounded teen.
He insisted that he then saw the chief “stab the ISIS fighter multiple times in the right side of the neck” in a manner that “was in no way a medical procedure,” according to an NCIS report.
He described Gallagher’s knife as the same weapon the chief always carried in a leather sheath. He told NCIS it had a blade a few inches long, although photographs of the weapon make it look stubbier.
The LPO told the agent that an SO1 who remained to assist Gallagher with the medical care was “freaking out a little bit over what Eddie just did” but there was nothing anyone could do “because the subject was dead.”

Was the act of what one witness saw the act of inserting a trach or chest tube? Or did Gallagher suddenly go from potential lifesaver to murderer in a split second? His supporters point out that it is inconceivable that Gallagher would go from trying to save the man’s life to kill him with his knife just seconds later. And that much is true. But sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.

The message that Gallagher sent to another SEAL where he allegedly said that he killed the ISIS fighter with his knife was either just braggadocio on his behalf or an admission of guilt. But another SEAL testified that Gallagher did stab the ISIS fighter, but after he was already dead.

A Marine who was there but declined to assist in the NCIS investigation stated that he saw no stabbings in the neck and chest area and that the ISIS fighter died from his wounds and not anything that Gallagher did.

However, another SEAL said that he was only about a foot away from the prisoner when Gallagher pulled out his knife and stabbed the boy two or three times in the neck.

The truth lies in between there somewhere. Gallagher, his defense team as well as his family believe that these allegations are nothing more than the results of “bad blood” between the senior chief and the younger SEALs who chafed under his leadership style.

Which is why this two-minute video is extremely important to both sides in this case. If it shows everything up to and including the ISIS fighter’s death, then the manner in which he dies will determine Gallagher’s guilt or innocence. And without this conviction, the charges that he shot unarmed civilians will quickly seem like a witchhunt. If it only shows the initial treatment of the wounded fighter, then both sides are back to square one.

“The truth will set you free” or maybe not.

Photo: US Navy

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, 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, it would also be a good day to wear those second pair of boots.

UBRR Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

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

3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, front

3 x 12 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-minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Ceasefire Reached After Rockets, Airstrikes Produce Bloody Weekend in Gaza

Op-Ed: Hamas wanted to send a message to Israel and in two days, they launched nearly 700 rockets into Israeli territory. Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and moved armor up to the border area in the latest outbreak of violence. When the smoke cleared, 24 Palestinians were dead with hundreds wounded and 4 Israelis were killed, with another 234 wounded.

The Egyptians brokered another ceasefire which began at 0130 hours local on Monday. They are trying to hammer out a long-term deal but the chances of that happening or ever coming to fruition are slim.

Hamas is trying to force the Israelis to ease blockade restrictions into Gaza and that it wanted to disrupt the upcoming music competition “Eurovision” which was slated to begin on Monday. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad vowed to “prevent the festival” in statements released by each.

“We will prevent the enemy from succeeding in establishing any festival aimed at harming the Palestinian narrative,” Palestinian Islamic Jihad released in a statement. Then Hamas began the weekend by launching 150 rockets into Israel.

The Israelis then began a series of airstrikes in Gaza City at the site of the rocket launches as well as targeting Hamas military targets. And as is the norm for Hamas, they launched their rockets from the middle of crowded neighborhoods, knowing full well that the Israelis would immediately launch counter-strikes before the first rockets hit the ground. Many of the Hamas commanders and their fighters’ homes were targeted as well.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘s office told David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, and ambassadors from Europe that Hamas was “committing a double war crime by indiscriminately shooting at civilians from civilian centers.”

The resultant civilian casualties are always what Hamas counts on, including two pregnant women, two infants and a child — were killed, along with two unborn children. However, the Israelis were quick to point out one Palestinian woman and child were not hit by Israeli strikes but from a malfunctioning Hamas rocket. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the IDF, said in a statement that, “It was from internal fire,” he said.

The IDF said it struck rocket launchers, tunnel shafts, “terror squads and operatives,” and weapons-making factories belonging to Hamas, who controls Gaza, and the Iranian-funded group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Of the 690 rockets fired from Gaza at Israel, the IDF announced that their “Iron Dome” missile defense system, successfully shot down 240 of the rockets. In response, Israel targeted over 350 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza. The Israelis killed a senior Hamas commander allegedly involved in transferring Iranian funds to the group was killed during an airstrike.

On Monday, Netanyahu said that “the campaign is not over and requires patience and judgment. We are preparing to continue. The goal was and remains to ensure the peace and security of the residents of the south.”

This latest spate of violence began on Friday when Islamic Jihad fired across the border and hit two Israeli soldiers. The airstrikes in retaliation killed two Hamas militants. Then on Saturday, Hamas began launching missiles at Israel which further escalated events. The two sides had attacked each other in March before the Egyptians stepped in again to broker yet another ceasefire.

Among the dead on the Israeli side was a 68-year old man whose minivan was hit with a Russian made Kornet wire-guided, anti-tank missile. Hamas took credit for that and proclaimed “victory” in that Israel has promised to expand the fishing limits for Gaza fishermen, Israel will stop shooting at Palestinians during the weekly protests near the border, also known as the Great March of Return; easing the blockade on the Gaza Strip; allowing international relief organizations to assist families whose houses were destroyed in the last round of fighting; an end to Israeli targeted assassinations.

With the influx of tourists this week for Eurovision. Netanyahu was forced between a rock and a hard place. But for Israeli citizens who live close to the Gaza border and who provided the Prime Minister the edge in the latest election, they’re wanting a much harder line between the government and Hamas.

But this isn’t the end of this latest back and forth affair. Israel this week celebrates their Memorial Day followed by Independence Day. For the Palestinians in Gaza, this week begins the Holy month of Ramadan. Tensions always get high during this time frame.

Of course, as soon as the violence erupted, American Congresswoman and noted anti-semite Ilhan Omar jumped into the fray with this latest bit on social media.

@IlhanMN – How many more protesters must be shot, rockets must be fired, and little kids must be killed until the endless cycle of violence ends?

The status quo of occupation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unsustainable. Only real justice can bring about security and lasting peace.

She must have forgotten or doesn’t know (nor care) that Israel doesn’t occupy Gaza. The Israelis withdrew years ago leaving behind warehouses full of food and synagogues. Which the Palestinians burned… but the truth never got in the way of a good social media rant to incite the sheeple….right?

Photos of Offices of Hamas chairman Ismail Haniyeh – Rimal: IDF

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 3

So, a good way to begin Tuesday is head to the gym for Leg Day. This is a very important day in our preparation training as it builds up that lower body and core strength that will be so important in the Selection course and beyond. Begin with pull-ups and a rope climb if you have access to climbing ropes. Then squats, lunges, deadlifts and the sled followed by a three-mile run.

Building up the legs will definitely help to tote that rucksack.

UBRR Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR

3 x Pullups 10 reps or muscle failure

2 x Rope climb (if available)

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

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

3 x 10 Deadlifts

4 x Sled push with a heavier weight or substitute a Fireman’s Carry

3 x 10 reps Kip Ups

3 x 20 Side Planks

3-Mile run (24 minutes or less)

Stretch well after completion

What Happens Next at the Special Warfare Center at Ft. Bragg?

Opinion: The Special Warfare Center, specifically the JFKSWC at Ft. Bragg, NC, which trains the Green Berets, Psyops and Civil Affairs soldiers has been in a state of flux for the past two years. And the news that broke late last week won’t lessen it at all in the coming months.

Breitbart News’ Kristina Wong broke the story that the JFKSWC’s commander Major General Kurt Sonntag is being forced to retire after reports of his conduct being investigated by the Pentagon for ruining the careers of several Special Forces officers and NCOs for speaking out against the softening and lowering of standards. Wong wrote last week:

They alleged Sonntag wrongfully retaliated against instructors who expressed concern over his lowering of standards for the Special Forces Qualification Course, punished instructors seen as too tough on students, and is a toxic leader who created a climate of fear at SWCS.

Where the story, the center, and schoolhouse for Green Berets go from here is unclear. But there will be no easy answers and/or solutions for the school, the training cadre or the incoming commander.

Wong was originally the one who broke the story that Sonntag was being investigated after several current and former Green Beret instructors voiced their concerns over Sonntag’s policies were levied.

Sonntag completed a two-year tour at SWC and asked for a one-year extension. That was denied and he was given no further General Officer assignment, which ostensibly means that the general is being forced to retire.

When Sonntag took over the SWC in 2017, he faced many problems, not the least of which the school wasn’t graduating enough Green Berets to fully field the force. The toll of unending wars and an unsustainable OPTEMPO has left Special Forces without enough soldiers across the board.

Sonntag immediately began to formulate plans to streamline and shorten the pipeline for Special Forces Green Berets to be trained. He finished it up in the fall of 2018. Copies of the slides he used were leaked to us and we contacted the School and although we didn’t speak with the General himself, the PAO Officer answered our questions.

We wrote about the changes that Sonntag had spelled out here: They answered our questions to the shortening of the course as follows.

“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.”

Sonntag’s policies were met by charges by the training cadre of the school that the standards were being lowered. Now, it should be mentioned, that those charges are nothing new to the SF school. Every generation has heard that and we have to deal with it. I heard it when I went thru the SFQC, and I heard it several years later when assigned to SWC at SFAS.

However, what transpired next was anything but usual with the resultant “night letter” and the search for the authors of such. Which brings us to where we are today. Sonntag is being forced to retire and a new commander is coming in. Maj. Gen. Patrick B. Roberson is slated to be the next SWC commander. Roberson is coming from Special Operations Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and is slated to change command this summer.

In Wong’s report, she credited a source who told her that Roberson was the second choice for the new SWC commander. Her source told her that MG Miguel A. Correa was first chosen to take over for Sonntag, but Correa supposedly turned down the SWC assignment because he “didn’t want to take on the s**t show that Sonntag created.”

Roberson has to still face the same daunting tasks that Sonntag did but now has to do so with a training cadre that will view him (whether the allegations of Sonntag are all true or not), with a level of distrust. And hanging over Roberson’s head, unfairly or not is the fate of the two SF NCOs who were singled out for punishment by Sonntag and are scheduled for termination of service. Green Berets Sergeant First Class Micah Robertson, 33, and Sergeant First Class Michael Squires, 31, are both looking at the end of their careers by the end of the month. Their fates will be decided long before Roberson takes command.

However, the Army could do the school and Roberson a tremendous service by keeping both of those NCOs on active duty until the investigation they’re conducting is complete. There are also several other cases of careers being ruined that should be looked at before those NCOs and Officers are lost to the service. It would go a long way in re-establishing trust between the command and the incoming commander. Then let the chips fall where they may. Will this happen? It is doubtful at this point.

Which takes us back to square one, what happens with the courses, SFAS (Special Forces Assessment and Selection), and the SFQC (Special Forces Qualification Course)? One of Special Operations core “Truths” from 1988 is #3 “Special Operations Forces can’t be mass produced.”

The incoming commander MG Roberson certainly understands it. The training cadre in charge of producing the next group of Green Berets for the Regiment certainly understands it better than most. They know when their tour at SWC is up, they’ll return to the Regiment. And the troops that they assess, train, and graduate this year will be the teammates of the same cadre when they return to the Regiment.

That responsibility isn’t lost on them and they take it seriously. One hopes that the next commander MG Roberson and his entire school staff find a way to work together to produce the best Special Forces operators that have ever come thru the pipeline.

All eyes will be watching what transpires the schoolhouse for the foreseeable future. No one wants that. But it is what it is…

“May you live in interesting times.”

Photo of then BG Kurt Sonntag: USASOC