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The 100th Anniversary of the End of the First World War

Sunday, November 11th, 2018

The Armistice ending the First World War came into effect at 11 AM Paris time on 11 November 1918 (the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month) after the allies and German powers came to an agreement at 5 AM.

While perhaps not to the same level as it was in 1918, this date is celebrated in numerous countries as Armistice or Remembrance Day. Here in the US, we observe Veteran’s Day, honoring our those who have served this great nation and the cause of liberty.

You will often notice the wearing of rememberance poppies which were inspired by the World War One-era poem, “In Flanders Field.” Although the practice was first seen in America, it is quite prevalent in the Commonwealth of Nations.

Today, I’d like to remember those young Americans who made their way in troop ships to stop aggression across the globe in the dawn of the 20th century. I’d also like to salute my fellow Veterans, they make for a very large family. May they stay safe, serve the cause of righteousness, and be ever victorious.

Posted in History, Memorial | 4 Comments »

Forces TV – The Cold War Legend That Delivered Sausages To British Tank Crews

Friday, November 2nd, 2018

Having served in Germany at the end of the Cold War, it’s always interesting to me, to hear these kinds of stories, even if they are from a different army.

The British Army of the Rhine consisting primarily of British I Corps and began duties as an occupation force but that quickly changed to a posture of defense in order to counter the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact forces. In this role, BAOR was lead force for NATO’s Northern Army Group and was equipped with nuclear weapons. The organization was changed slightly in 1993 and deactivated altogether in 1994.

Posted in Cold War, History | 4 Comments »

The Big Picture – Combat Pack

Tuesday, October 30th, 2018

In case you were wondering how good you’ve got it compared to the Soldiers of World War Two and Korea, check out this excerpt of “The Big Picture” discussing individual load carrying equipment.

“The Big Picture” was a television series produced by the US Army during the 1950s and early 60s to educate the public on its capabilities. In total there were 828 episodes.

Posted in History, Packs | 9 Comments »

What a Long Way They’ve Come

Sunday, October 28th, 2018

An Air Force Combat Controller circa 1991.

Posted in Air Force, History, SOF | 21 Comments »

Operation Urgent Fury 35th Anniversary

Thursday, October 25th, 2018

On the morning of October 25th, 1983, America awoke to reports that US forced had invaded the small Caribbean nation of Grenada, in order to liberate American medical students from danger posed by political instability. Joined by Regional Security System troops from a variety of Caribbean partner nations, they swiftly overwhelmed the Grenadian and Cuban troops. While Operation Urgent Fury was in name, a joint force operation, and included the use of Special Operations Forces, it highlighted many interoperability challenges, such as use of joint operational overlays and communications issues.

Several stove pipe problems suffered by the pre-Goldwater-Nichols military were identified during this operation. Additionally, Urgent Fury was conducted with many systems dating from the Vietnam war.

Just six years later, during the invasion of Panama, saw the first employment of several new weapons developed during the Reagan buildup such as the F-117 stealth fighter and the Marine Corps LAV-25. Grenada was a great learning experience for the US military as it highlighted issues with joint service operations, particularly in the communications arena as well as interoperability between Special Operations and General Purpose forces. For example, SOF also took a much more prominent role in operation Blue Spoon during the Panama invasion. We’ve come even further in the past three decades.

Finally, as with any conflict, lives were lost. Let us not forget the 19 Americans killed in action and the 116 who were wounded. Unfortunately, there were also 24 Grenadian civilians killed in the conflict.

Posted in History | 9 Comments »

Korean War Veteran Receives Eagle Scout Rank

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2018

After nearly 70 years of waiting, Ed Soria finally received his Eagle Scout Award.

According to the Boy Scouts of America, Ed served in the US Army during the Korean War. Shortly before leaving for duty, Ed submitted his paperwork to earn the rank of Eagle Scout but never received his award, until last week.

During the war, Ed and 700 others were captured and taken as prisoners of war. Only 296 of those POWs survived (known as the Tiger Survivors for the Tiger Death March) and Ed was fortunate enough to be one of them. To this day, Ed feels strongly that his experience as a Boy Scout directly contributed to his survival.

“My Eagle Scout training helped me tremendously to survive in a very harsh environment,” Soria said.

While he believes that the award may have been given to his mother while he was gone, it never surfaced when he returned home from the war. He then went on to serve again in Vietnam years later.

68 years after submitting his final paperwork, Ed finally received his Eagle Scout award at his home in Lake Shastina, California. “Only in America, such a free country, a beautiful country that we have, can a man accomplish his dreams – as far as you can go – and it’s all up to you,” Soria says.

Soria says he still keeps in contact with the remaining Tiger Survivors. He plans to hang his Eagle Scout medals with his other military medal accomplishments in his home.

Posted in History, Scouting, Veterans | 7 Comments »

Vickers Guide – Kalashnikov Vol 1 Now Shipping

Monday, October 22nd, 2018

The Vickers Guides to firearms are high quality, coffee table-style books which give unprecedented access to some of the world’s ratest examples of iconic firearms. This time they take on AK and AKM variants.

Features:
-360 pages
-13″ wide by 11″ tall (approx.)
-Commercial quality, section sewn style binding which allows the book to lay flat
-Full color prints on premium quality photo paper stock
-Foil stamped, red linen hardcover
-Full color protective dust jacket
-Ribbon page marker

Larry Vickers tells me this fifth entry in the Vickers Guide series, “Kalashnikov Vol 1” is the best yet.

To order yours, visit www.vickersguide.com/kalashnikov.

Posted in History, weapons | 2 Comments »

On This Day In SF History

Thursday, October 18th, 2018

On this date in 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) history, our 2nd Battalion was activated October 16, 1991 at Fort Bragg, N.C. The 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) is comprised of a headquarters company, three Special Forces companies and a forward support company. The battalion was nicknamed Bush Hogs due to its original alignment with the Africa area of operations, but that came later. The 48th man assigned to the battalion, I was on SOT-A 305, MID/2/3 SFG(A).

Currently, 2nd Battalion is regionally aligned with the central Asian states with a focus on Afghanistan. For the past 13 years, 2nd Battalion has participated in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The Bush Hogs is the only Special Forces battalion in the Special Forces Regiment to have multiple rotations and engagements in combat while maintaining other operational requirements in their area of responsibility.

Posted in History, SOF | 3 Comments »