Special Operations Forces

Masons Program Honors Veterans and Widows in CMass

With Memorial Day right around the corner and many veterans organizations and schools holding programs celebrating our veterans service to the United States, the next small event is one we hadn’t heard of before but was well worthwhile.

The Freemasons of Massachusetts and the 24th Masonic District for the past four years have put together a program to honor our local veterans and the widows of veterans of the area. They have been putting together a program and luncheon for our vets that is a first-class event which is especially relevant at this time of the year so close to Memorial Day.

The Chairman of this annual event Dean D. Moss from the Olive Branch Lodge of the Masons invited SpecialOperations.com to the event this year honoring the vets and widows which we were happy to oblige.

The Freemasons are one of the oldest fraternal organizations in the world, with their first historical reference occurring around 1390. From their website, the unofficial motto of the order is “to make good men better;” therefore, any candidate must be basically a good man. Secondly, members must be able to state a belief in a Supreme Being. Without a strong belief in God, moral lessons would be valueless. Finally, candidates must come to the order of “their own free will and accord,” unfettered by undue solicitation or expectations of financial reward.

Some background on the Olive Branch Lodge, one of the oldest lodges in the country, it was given its charter in 1797 by Paul Revere, (yes, the same one of Revolutionary fame) in September of that year. It is rumored that the Lodge still holds a lock of Revere’s hair. They have been active in the communities of Millbury and Sutton ever since.

President William Howard Taft spent summers as a boy in the small bucolic town of Millbury at the home of his aunt. After he was elected President, he visited his aunt and the town on the day of his 55th birthday. He was made an honorary Lodge member and spent a night with the members where it was said he received a “tumultuous welcome.”

The 2018 program was hosted at the Masonic Overlook, a beautiful retirement community that sits up high on a hill overlooking a good chunk of Central Massachusetts.

Upon entering, we were escorted by the “Rainbow Girls”, young ladies from the community volunteering their time for the event. All of the women in attendance were handed a single red rose, including my better half. We were then shown into a huge lounge area where there was wine, crackers, cheese, and fruit for everyone to sample and converse among themselves.

There looked to be about 125 people in attendance and moving about the room, we were interested in hearing everyone’s stories. From several of the older veterans and widows in attendance, they were surprised and pleased that a national military news service was interested in hearing their stories, which were interesting and informative. Many in their late 80s to early 90s can still rattle off dates, and locations like it were the day before. The funny thing was, most wanted to hear our stories rather than rehash their own.

After about 90 minutes or so, we were all once again escorted into a nicely decorated and well set up dining room where there was a tasty luncheon served. But before that, the colors were posted and it was nice to see the older generation didn’t need prompting to stand for the colors as even some in wheelchairs or walkers stood, perhaps not as erect as they once did, but one would hope the younger generation would take note.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and then a bugler played taps before the lunch was served. Nothing irks me more than going to a sporting event and seeing people not removing their hats for the National anthem or talking thru the entire thing. It is irritating that people can’t be still for less than two minutes today, but I digress…

As dessert was being served, Moss and the District Deputy Christopher StCyr spoke on the behalf of the Freemasons to the assembled crowd. They then personally spoke with everyone as they left the luncheon.

After the luncheon, we were once again escorted up two floors to the Overlook’s Performing Art Center for a band playing the hits from the World War II era. The music was well done and seemed to go over quite well. Just outside the concert hall were several display cases and members of the community who are either collectors or donated their personal collections.

There were authentic Revolutionary War uniforms thru the War of 1812, Civil War, Buffalo soldiers Old West as well as Spanish American war uniforms as well. A piece of the USS Constitution and for you modern military fans, there was an outstanding flash collection of the different Special Forces and Ranger units in Vietnam including many of the Studies and Observation Group (SOG) commands.

As the concert was winding down, we spoke with Moss who has chaired this small, low-key but very nice veterans program for the past three years. “We try to put on a nice program for our veterans and the widows for the past four years and feel it is a worthwhile endeavor for us. We try to make our communities stronger and honoring the widows and veterans is just a way of us thanking them for that service.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Photos: author, SpecialOperations.com

Orange, MA Hosts Armed Forces Weekend Military Expo

The small town of Orange, Massachusetts was the scene of a large Armed Forces Expo over the weekend complete with battle reenactments from the Civil War, World War I and World War II. They even had a flyby with a C-47 Skytrain, complete with markings from the D-Day invasion. A few lucky visitors got to take a ride in the vintage warbird as it skirted above the battlefield.

As the air raid siren sounded, soldiers scrambled on the battlefield and gunshots echoed. Smoke from artillery blasts clouded the air and a warplane droned overhead.

This World War II battle marked the first of three battles reenacted on the last day of Orange’s Military History Expo this year, which took place over Armed Forces weekend.

Reenactment soldiers depicted what a typical battle scene would look, feel and smell like during WWII, complete with accurate vehicles, artillery, and uniforms. At the end of the battle, spectators clapped and cheered.
As she left, a bystander commented to another about the realness of the scene, especially the smell of smoke lingering in the air.
Two more reenactments would be performed in the coming hours: Civil War and World War I. In the meantime, guests could meander through almost 20 acres of military history including WWI trenches, military vehicles from each era — including some horses — camps, first aid tents and more.
The event ran Friday through Sunday, each day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
One of the main attractions was a true WWII veteran: a rare C-47 warplane known as Whiskey 7, which some lucky event-goers got to take for a ride. This same plane deployed paratroopers over Normandy during the D-Day invasion.
The warbird flew over the battlefield during the WWII reenactment as spectators craned their necks to catch it in action.
The expo featured tangible military history from the Civil War, WWI, WWII and Vietnam. To add authenticity to the event, signs mimicked the WWII-era Burma Shave signs along the road leading to the battlefields. An announcer in an Armed Forces Radio Service tower occasionally interrupted his announcements with Burma Shave advertisements. In between, WWII-era music played over loudspeakers.
Re-enactors in a variety of uniforms strolled the grounds alongside visitors, many of whom were veterans themselves. Some drove historical military Jeeps around the grounds.
Military vehicles, including tanks and ambulances, were parked throughout the venue so people could tour them. Some younger event-goers got to climb inside.

The interactive, expo is striving to grow each year and the event is designed to show what life in the military was like in each of the eras right up through Vietnam

To read the entire article from Greenfield Recorder, click here:

Photo courtesy Christine Wisniewski, Greenfield Recorder of a WWII reenactment group battle scene

Veterans Ruck March 370 Miles to Honor Fallen Troops

A group of Nevada veterans are rucksack marching 370 miles from Las Vegas to the northern area of the state to honor those troops who have given their lives in combat since 9/11.

The march will cover about eight days and is expected that 170 veterans will take part.

Leo Garcia is marching with the weight of 7,000 fallen veterans on his back.
“I’m walking in remembrance of our heroes who gave their lives for our country,” said Garcia, an Air Force veteran. “When we raised our hands to serve this country, we did it because we love our country.”
The Ruck March, led by the UNLV Rebel Veterans Organization and the Reno-based Truckee Meadows Community College Veterans Club, began at 6 a.m. Sunday at Sky Pointe Drive in northwest Las Vegas. Marchers headed north along U.S. Highway 95, carrying 7,000 dog tags in honor of fallen military members since 9/11.
The Southern Nevada marchers, who on Sunday dubbed themselves the Rebel Ruckers, expect to have made it to Goldfield on Thursday. There, they will hand off the rucksacks to their northern allies, who will continue marching to Fernley.
“I do this for those who gave their life for me, because even though they don’t know me, they gave their life so that I could be here today,” said LC Garcia, whose son served in the Army.
As the Garcias and other marchers readied themselves for their 10-mile stretch, Alexandria Sawin whizzed around the group, snapping photos.
Sawin, a UNLV student, Air Force veteran and president of the Rebel Veterans, plans to walk the last 12-mile leg of the march Thursday before the northern marchers take over.
“Imagine carrying 40 pounds through a desert with highs in the 90s,” she said Sunday. “Still, it’s nothing compared to the sacrifice that all these service members who were killed in action have endured. It’s the least we could do to honor them.”
Sawin said the march also recognizes the lives that were irrevocably changed during deployment.
“This is a really special event that’s close to my heart,” she said. Today, we honor what they may have lost from serving.”

One of the other issues that the group is trying to publicize is the rate of veterans suicide which remains at nearly 22 per day.

To read the entire article from Las Vegas Review-Journal, click here:

Photo courtesy Las Vegas Review-Journal

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 9, Day 2

We’ll kick off our Monday and work week with a mini-UBRR test. Start off with the basics of pushups, sit-ups, and crunches, then to the bar for V-ups, pull-ups and dips before a 5-mile run. The standard says 40-minutes but shoot for something below that.

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)

5-mile run (40-minutes maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 9, Day 1

It is time for our Sunday morning Rucksack march. Do a quick warmup of pushups and sit-ups before heading out for an 8-mile rucksack march. Head out over varied terrain and try to go as fast as you can without running. The standard is 120 minutes. Aim to lower that

Stretch well both before and after the event. Remember to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated out there. Especially now with the summer weather now enveloping most of the country.

Training:

Warm up

2 x 20 Pushups

2 x 20 Sit-ups

8-mile Rucksack march over varied terrain with a 45-pound minimum in 120 minutes (2 hours) or less. And mark your times in your workout log book.

Stretch well after completion

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 8, Day 7

Saturday morning in the gym for shoulders and back work. Towel pull-ups are for those with no access to ropes. The only way to get better at pull-ups and climbing ropes….is to practice doing them until they are a strength. Followed by a four-mile run in 32 minutes or less.

Log your numbers down in the workout notebook and remember to stretch well both before and after the workout.

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 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

Pakistan Building Fence Along Border with Afghanistan

In order to slow the flow of terrorists from Afghanistan, Pakistan has begun a project to construct border fences along their porous 1500-mile border with Afghanistan.

The project is slated to cost $483 million and the military is hoping it will help in dismantling militant networks in the largely lawless North and South Waziristan regions.

“For the better security of our country and nation, we had to do this work,” a Pakistani army official, Brig. Nisar, who uses only one name, told journalists during a government-organized visit to the border this month.
The barrier has angered the Afghan government, which disputes the location of the boundary and says the fence will tear communities apart.
Construction began last year on two fences that parallel each other as they snake through the remote, mountainous landscape. Standing 13 feet high on the Afghan side and 11 feet on the Pakistani side, sharp spirals of silver barbed wire are cradled at the top of each.
Additional coils of barbed wire have been placed on the ground in the gap between the fences, which are dotted with Pakistani military towers.
The military says it will have 92 percent of the national border fenced before the end of 2019.
However, only three miles of the 789-mile stretch of the border along the remote southwestern province of Balochistan has been fenced so far, according to a military official who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity.
Beyond Balochistan, Pakistani authorities said the other part of the fence, including the portion visited by NBC News, would eventually total 516 miles in length. Around 146 miles of that stretch has been completed, according to officials.
Some parts of the border will not be fenced as they are too mountainous.

The Pakistanis have accused the Afghans of not doing enough to secure the border area and claim terrorists from ISIS use Afghanistan to plan operations. The Afghan government also disputes where the actual border is, put in place by the British during the 19^th century.

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

File Photo courtesy Wikipedia of construction along Pakistan-Afghan border

UK Considering Sending More British Troops to Afghanistan

After calls by President Trump to NATO allies to join the U.S. and send more troops into Afghanistan, the UK defense secretary has written to Theresa May recommending the UK boosts its military presence in the country.

Currently, there are more than 600 troops in the capital of Kabul, there helping train local Afghan Security Forces.

BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said he understood that Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson recommended sending up to 400 more army personnel into Afghanistan, joining the 600 already there training Afghan soldiers.
The UK troops would help train Afghan forces and not be in combat.

In 2017, the US announced a plan to send in thousands more troops, which would bring the US total to about 15,000.
It is part of a strategy to help fight the Taliban and deal with the rising threat from the Islamic State group.
The last UK combat troops left Afghanistan in 2014 after being involved in the conflict since 2001.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a former commander of joint forces command who led campaigns in Afghanistan, said the UK “has to recognise that the decision to leave in 2014… hasn’t worked”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the national army and air force in Afghanistan were “not strong enough” to defeat the Taliban alone.
The decision to increase troops would “send an important message to our allies, and the Taliban,” he added.
“The only way this war is going to end is when the Taliban realise they can’t fight their way back to government. They have to resort to dialogue.”

This comes at a time when the size of the British Army is the smallest in more than 200 years. Currently, the army has just over 77,000 troops, well short of its goal of 82,000.

The UK defense ministry cites several factors for the low numbers including the end of combat operations in the region, a pay freeze and the Army’s recruitment process which has been beset by glitches in their computer system which has slowed the process.

To read the entire article from the BBC, click here:

Photo courtesy AP

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 8, Day 6

Friday means another Leg Day at the gym. Begin with some Squats – front, dumbbell goblet, and barbell to build up strength for carrying a rucksack. We’re going with a lighter weight and more reps here.

Then some lunges and after the weighted sled push/Fireman’s Carry, finish the workout off by breaking things up a bit with some sprints for cardio.

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 (heavier weight) or Fireman’s Carry

10 x 50-meter sprints

Stretch well after completion

With the Islamic State on the Run, Al-Qaida Calls For Jihad

Al-Qaida’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri has urged followers to wage war against the US for opening an embassy in Jerusalem. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. While many Middle East experts claim the move is an attempt to capitalize on the fall of its main rival, the ISIS, it is the normal operating procedure to call for jihad against the United States.

President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem “was clear and explicit, and he revealed the true face of the modern Crusade,” al-Qaida leader Zawahiri said in a recording circulated on social media this week. “Standing down and appeasement does not work with them, but only resistance through the call and jihad.”
But, despite al-Zawahiri’s new appeal, “reactions thus far don’t show any sort of organized online campaign from either side,” Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group, said in a tweet, referring to the social media channels of al-Qaida and the “Islamic State” (often abbreviated as IS or ISIS).
That silence may be indicative of a shift, according to Ian Oxnevad, a Middle East scholar at the University of California, Riverside. He told DW that while there wasn’t much of a backlash, “that does not mean that it is not present.”
“This is a chance for al-Qaida to reinvent itself,” Oxnevad said. “Al-Qaida can co-opt old IS networks and strategies while setting up new cells in Europe,” which provides a “base of potential recruits along with a social infrastructure removed from new realities in the Middle East.”

After the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011, Al-Qaida took a blow that it has been slow to recover from. But as the US has shifted its focus in counter-terrorism from them to ISIS, they’ve recovered and have looked to expand. And they have, in Asia and other places such as Algeria and Pakistan.

To read the entire article from Deutsche Welle, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia