JANUARY 2013 VOL 43

Chapter 16 Newsleer Organizaon and Responsibilies: President’s Message Editor: Glen Craig Somemes less is more: Secons:

Message from the President: Dave Shell Treasurers Report: Kevin Paon Sec. Rpt (Staff Meeng Minutes): John Paerson Sick Call/Obituary: Chaplain Butch Hall Blast from the Past: Glen Craig Special Recognion: John Paerson Upcoming Events: John Paerson Calendar: John Paerson Human Interest Story: Chapter at large SFA Naonal HQ Update: Dave Shell Aer Acon Report: Jim Lessler Membership Info: Roy Sayer Adversements: Glen Craig

Suspense: Newsleer published (Web): 1 st of each odd numbered month Input due to editor: 20th of each even numbered month Dra due to President: 27th of each even numbered month Final Dra due 29th of each even numbered month

Please join with me in remembering those Chapter Members and friends who were lost to us this past year: “Red” Davis, - M 7059 Fred Fiedler Hoa Chinh Dieu,- A 2368 Hoan Cong Pham,- A 2376 Tom Regan, - D 3236 Tom Weeks, - M 2927

Page 1 Christmas Message From the Special Forces Associaon

Merry Christmas, a greeng much heard this me of year, evenome though s groups want to outlaw this so innocent a greeng, to them it implies exclusivity and insults….. insults who? Yes, it is the celebraon of a Chrisan holiday, but Christmas has trans-­‐ cended that parameter,. Christmas has become the season of hope, there is no insult to other creeds or faiths it is a welcome, to all, to celebrate with us the our hope for the future. The future, with “wars, and rumor of wars”, dire prediconsman of destroying the earth, the earth destroying man, the world’s economy going off the cliff, and of course, predicons of the end of the Earth, by a civilizaon long gone. Things have become so dire, so divisive, we are so helpless to stop the world events, one might think it is 1931, the start of the Great Depression, or 1933 with the rise of Fascism, Buchido, and Communism that would see millions of people slaughtered. One might think it think it was 1917 when most of the world was slaughtering each other in the “War to End All Wars”. For Americans one might think it was 1776 when most of our Army died of cold and starvaon at Valley Forge, or 1777, when it was all repeated at Morristown, it might 1862 when sixty thousand Americansied d at Anetam, or maybe 1941 when America watched as the Japanese ran rampant through the Pacific, thousands of our men killed and captured. But each of those Christmases, no maer how bleak, we had hope for the future, “Merry Christmas” those years was almost a prayer rather than a greeng. And the hopes were realized, four years aer Morristown the Brish surrendered, four years aer Pearl Harbor, the war had ended. Each me the world looked bleakest, hope was on the horizon, just out of sight, that is why “Merry Christmas” will survive, it gives us that hope, no maer your faith or tenet, Protestant, Catholic, Jew, even atheist, those two words provide hope for us all. I have read that my Irish Ancestor’s wish at Christmas was that the Vikings would come no more, one year they got their wish. So to all of you, even the Vikings, I wish you a “Merry Christmas.” For the Regiment Anything, Anyme, Anywhere VR Jack Tobin President Special Forces Associaon

J. K. Wright Memorial Breakfast,- 11 3-12

The following members were present: Ted Wicorek, Dave Shell, Jim Lessler (IMO Red Davis), Jay Lathrop, Carey Pennington, Tom Morgan, Ron & Marion Hale (IMO Bart Heimsness), and Nick MarvaisMO (I Eulis Presley).

Dinosaur Luncheon 11/30/2012

Members Present: Ed & Erma Booth, Steve Kubiszewski, Glen ll Craig, Bi Frye, Butch Hall, Cpt. Ron, Harlow Stevens, Roland Nuqui, John Gebbie, Dave Shell, Mike and Joy Cassidy, Kevin Paen, Garyueva. Villan

J. K. Wright Memorial Breakfast 12/1/2012

Members Present: James- Yu B, Glen Craig, Ted Wicorek, John Gebbie, Nick Marvais, From Chapter 43 Jerry Hampton (IMO Gary Wright), Gary Hampton.

Dinosaurs Luncheon 12-28-12 December's Dinosaurs luncheon was held at the Super Buffet in Dupont. The following members were present: Jim & Elaine Less-­‐ ler, Mike & Joy Cassidy, Bud Lawson, Wayne & Yoko Karvonen, JohnButch Gebbie, & Regina Hall, Glen Craig, Kevin Paon, Harlow Stevens, Eugene & Kiyono Williams, Bill Frye, Reiko Butler, n, Capt. Ro Ed & Erma Booth, Walt Hetzler, Nick Marvais, Bill & Steph Gates, and Dave Shell. Represenng Chapter 43: Jerry, Mi Hui, and Stacie Hampton, Skip Enger, and Ok Presley (Eulis Presley's widow).

Page 2 Pastor Butch’s Corner Rising Above Our Limitaons Lizzie Johnson made thousands of bookmarks. At thirteen Lizzie injured her back in an accident, and she was to spend the rest of her life, twenty-seven more years, flat on her back. Her only view of the worldm was fro a mirror mounted above her head.

But she sll wanted to do a great thing with her life, so when she heard in those days that you could free an African slave for $40, she made a quilt and tried to sell it for $40. Nobody would buy it. So she turned to making bookmarks, and she raised $1,000 a year for each of the twenty-seven years remaining in her life. She gave every penny of that to projects in this world that go to building up rather than tearing down.

What about the quilt? One day a bishop from India was traveling through Illinois and she gave it to him. He took that quilt with him on his speaking tour around the country, and he told the story of Lizzie Johnson. Then he asked people if they would place an offering for missions in the quilt. He raised $100,000 for missions. You talk about how God creates miracles through modest efforts! One day aer Lizzie Johnson had died, her sister,ohnson, Alice J heard that a man named Takuo Matsumoto was coming to Champaign, Illinois, to speak. He was one of the most prominent Japanese Chrisans aer the Second World War. He had been principal of the Methodist Girls’ School in Hiroshima during the bombing. In John Hersey’s book about tragedy, he is menoned prominently as one of the heroes of those days.

Alice Johnson remembered that her sister had given money to supportducaon thee of a young boy in Japan named Takuo Matsumoto, and she wondered if this was the same person. She resolved to go Champaign to hear him speak, but she got sick that day and had to stay home. That night someone told Mr. Matsumoto about her, and he said, “You mean that she is Lizzie Johnson’s sister? All that I am I owe to Lizzie Johnson.” That night he went to see Alice Johnson, and he went from there to the cemetery to put flowers on the grave of a woman who could not leave her bed, who was weak and helpless, but who stched up her love in bookmarks and quilts and said, “Thank you, God,” by loving others. Limitaons do not have to limit; if we don’t let them.

Maurice Trow (Red) Davis Jr

Maurice Trow Davis Jr. passed away in Portland, Oregon on Thursdayctober O 11, 2012 at the age of 81. Because of his red hair, he was known to his friends as “Red”. Red was born in Redrnia Bluff, Califo on September 20, 1931 and was the oldest of four brothers and one sister. He grew up in Northern Californiaved and mo to Oregon in 1977. Red received an Associate’s Degree from Shasta College in Redding, California. Red entered into the California Army Naonal Guard in 1950 and spent ten years in the Guard and Army Reserve before entering the Acve Army in 1960. Red served ten years in the Acve Army including three tours in Vietnam. He rered from the Army aer 20 years of combinedice serv at the rank of Major with the U S Army Special Forces (Green Berets). Red worked as a tractor foreman and later a tour bus driver. Red learned several languages including Spanish, Thai, Laoan, Korean and Vietnamese. Red had a strong personalitycould and be very charming when he wanted to be. Red would want to be remembered as a hardworking man, who loved his familyved and ser his country honorably. Red is survived by his wife Nancy, aer 59 years of marriage and six sons’, Trow, Pete, Chris, Jack, Shawn and Jeff. Red also had thirteen grandchil-­‐ dren and two great grandchildren. Red touched many people in hisd life an he will be missed.

Page 3

Thomas Ira Weeks

Tom Weeks 23 July 1938- 19 Dec 2012. He was born in Portland, Maine. He joined the Army Oct 1961 and took Special Forces Weapons Training in 1966 serving 2 tours in RVN from Septept 67 to S 68 and Oct 69 to Sept 70. Tom rered from the Army as a CSM and also held a Reserve Commission as Major with Military Intelligence. On Saturday 22 Dec 2012, Tom Week's celebraon of life services was conducted in Olympia, WA and was aended by well over 100 people. 1st Gp Abn was there in force headed up by CSM Harveston and a dozen other senior NCO's handling all the details. Chaplin Jake Robinson said his chosen words that related Tomife. Week's l A special thanks to Chaplin Jake Robinson, CSM Har-­‐ veston and all the other members of 1st Gp who took the me to aend Tom Week's service on their Christmas vacaon.

Viewing There will be a viewing for Mrs Tsuruko Larson at

WEEKS DRYER MORTUARY 220 South 134th Street

Tacoma, WA 98444

on January 03, 2013 from 4 - 8 PM

BURIAL Funeral will be January 4, 2013 @ 10:15 am

SGM John Larson and Wife Tsuruko Tahoma Naonal Cemetery 18600 SE 240th St., SGM John A. Larsen's wife TSURUKO passed away Kent, WA, 98042. 12/26/2012 at 20:00 hours from an aneurysm. CELEBRATION OF LIFE A celebraon of her life will be held January 4th 2013 Leers, cards to: John A. Larsen From 1:30 - 3:30 PM 818 GLEN OAKS DR E KABUKI Japanese Restaurant 2919 S. 38TH St, Suite 'B' SPANAWAY WA 98387-7905 Tacoma, WA [email protected] ( Located in Michael's Plaza)

th 47 Auburn Veterans Day Parade

A sunny, crisp fall Saturday morning on 10 November 2012, the City of Auburn honored soldiers, servicemen and women with its 47th Veterans Day Parade and Observance. The parade opened with the tradional Air Force military fly-over by a- C 17 Globe-­‐ troer III from McChord AFB. The- two hour parade – one of the largest of its type west of the Mississippi – stretched about a mile long as an esmated 20,000 spectators lined both sides of Main Street and cheered the parcipants on. According to City reports, there was close to 200 parade entries, and over nearly 6,000 parade parcipants including 16 members and family from

Page 4 Chapter XIV SFA. Chapter XIV members formed up behind Steve White leading on his vintage WWII 1941 Harley Davidson. Ron Rismon followed the troops with his Suburban carrying those thatt couldn’ walk the distance. Aer the parade some of the mem-­‐ bers circled up for lunch at the Longhorn Barbecue.

Chapter XIV Parcipants included: Rob Wekell, Bo McFadden, Ted Wicorek,arlow H Stevens, Jim & Elaine Lessler, Glen Craig, Steve White, Ron Rismon , Jake Robinson, Carey Pennington, Ramiro Alonso, Mike Cassidy, Bill Gates and James – Yu-B and his wife.

Menton Days Menton Days was a great success with many acvies enjoyed by g all. Amon the Highlights were the VIP Shoot on 5 December and the Menton Ball on 7 December.

Mary Carpenter, Col Max Carpenter’s Mom VIP Shoot

Menton Ball

A Note From Chaplain Butch: When Kelli, said her bedme prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past). For several weeks, aer we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, "And all girls." This soon became part of her nightly roune, to includesing. this clo Her father’s curiosity got the best of him and I asked her, "Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?" Her Response: “Because everybody always finish their prayers by saying ‘All Men’!”

Page 5 Chapter XVI Christmas Party This year’s Christmas Party sponsored by the Special Forces Associaon, Chapter XVI was held at 1st Gp Regimental Mess on Friday December 21, 2012. Pot Luck dishes were broughthapter by the C members. The Party was well aended by a very appreciave lively group of over 100 people. Special thanks to Kevin Paon for seng up the Party, a job well done.

Military.com: Are Troops Paid Too Much?

Week of December 03, 2012 According to the Congressional Budget Office, growth in militarypensaon com has exceeded private-sector wages by more than 25 percent over the last ten years. With the threat $500 billion infense mandated de cuts required by the so-called fiscal cliff, some "budget hawks" are asking if we are paying our servicemembers too much. The CBO suggests that the DoD could save mon-­‐ ey by reducing the rate of basic pay raises along with asking servicemembersd an rerees to pay more for their Tricare benefits and to contribute to their rerement, which currently does not require troop contribuons beyond serving 20 or more years. Coburn, McCain Sway Senate to Bigger Military Rx Fees Tom Philpo | December 06, 2012 Late-hour speeches by Republican Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.) and John McCain (Ariz.) on runaway military health costs led the Sen-­‐ ate Tuesday to shelve a defense bill amendment that would have sparedmbers family me and rerees more burdensome co-pays on drug prescripons filled off base. The ming of their opposion, in the last hours of consideraon013 of the 2 defense authorizaon bill when amendments were only being approved by unanimous consent, allowed Coburn and McCain to block the Senate from supporng the soer House- passed plan for raising prescripon fees. There will be a second chance next week when- House Senate conferees iron out differences in separate versions of the defense

Page 6 bill. But Coburn and McCain, using fresh scoring of costs from the Congressional Budget Office, were able to raise new doubts among some senators over the - long term cost implicaons of adopng the House plan. "This is paid for, but it is smoke and mirrors," Coburn told colleagues on the Senate floor. "We have used a trick…that will require [more funding for] the health account…which means we will not have $1.7 billion for naval exercises, for flight training, for tank training, for range training." That challenge got a strong endorsement from McCain, ranking Republican on the armed services commiee, who repeated Rob-­‐ ert Gate’s words as defense secretary in 2010 that health costs "are eang us alive." "We are going to have to find ways to bring these costs undernd control a sll, at the same me, provide our veterans with the benefits they have earned," McCain said, in arguing against the House planpresented which was as an amendment from Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Marco Rubio - (R Fla.) and Claire McCaskill- (D Mo.). McCain aacked the noon that raising fees would harm readiness. "I know of no one who joined the military because of TRICARE, [though] I hear [it] from all the rerees…I have not yet met a single 18-year-old, including my own son who joined the Marine Corps, who said:I 'Gee, want to join the Marine Corps because of TRI-­‐ CARE.’ "No," McCain connued, "they joined…to serve their country. They understand our obligaon to them is not to hand them a bankrupt Defense Department [where] all the costs are in things suchRE as TRICA and rerement benefits…so we can't provide them with what they need to fight." The reality is that pharmacy- co pays will rise this spring for family members and rerees. By how much will be determined by a House-Senate conference commiee that will be meeng next week behind closedrs. doo The Senate defense bill, passed 98 to 0, now has no language to block or alter the Obama administraon’s drug co-pay plan. Un-­‐ der it, drugs dispensed on base would stay free,- and co pays for generics in retail outlets would remain $5. But co-pays for brand names at retail on the military formulary would jump to $262. from $1 Non-formulary drugs, which cost TRICARE more, would no longer be dispensed at retail, only through mail order. Co-pays for brand names at mail order would pop to $26 from $9, but mail order prescripons usually are for 90 days versus 30 at retail. The administraon also wants- co pays adjusted by $2 annually unl they reach $34 in 2016. Aer that,rmacy the pha fees off base would be adjusted annually to keep pace with medical inflaon. The House plan, which military associaons helped to design, allows more modest inial increases in drug fees and would e an-­‐ nual increases thereaer to the percentage rise in military rered pay. This plan would at least match health cost savings of the administraon’s plan by requiring elderly beneficiaries to use mail order to refill maintenance drugs, at least for a year. The expec-­‐ taon is that seniors will like the convenience and stay with mail order, saving TRICARE billions of dollars yearly in retail drug costs. But a Senate source said Coburn and McCain were able to derail theo amendment s easily because the Congressional Budget Office had found it would cost a lot more money than expected aer 10 years if adjustments stayed ed to reree COLAs rather than medical inflaon. To address this, advocates agreed to have the COLAet link suns aer 10 years. But Senate leaders chose instead to avoid further acon on the amendment. Steve Strobridge, director of government relaons for Military Officersssociaon A of America, said the Senate seemed primed to adopt the House-passed plan unl, suddenly, it fell vicm to "misplaced concerns"er ov its impact on health costs. Its opponents painted the amendment as maintaining the status quo, he said, when in fact it represents "significant concessions" with co-pay hikes and the mail order requirement for elderly. "These concerns about drug costs taking money away from other defense programs are completely, 100 percent bogus," Stro-­‐ bridge said. "The fact is the Pentagon has been using health care money to fund other things for the past several years. And the whole point of this amendment is that health care money should be used to fund health care." Defense officials earlier this year sought to reprogram $700 million from health care into other accounts. Strobridge said that would have brought total reprogramming of health dollars to $3 billion over the last three years, a period when defense officials insisted health costs are out of control. Coburn predicted the House-backed plan would become law because the "service organizaons want us to do it. But it is not the right thing to do. We have to begin, as we negoate to increase revenues from the very wealthy in this country, declining expens-­‐ es at the Defense Department. Everybody has to share [in controlling]. costs If they don't share now, they will share much more painfully in the future."

Page 7 'Heroes of Telemark'

Birger Stromsheim, Was born Oct 11, 1911 and died Nov 10, 2012 aged 101, was considered the greatest of the “Heroes of Telemark” who in 1943 launched a daring raid to a destroy crucial part of the Nazi atomic weapons programme.

A scene from 'Heroes of Telemark' Photo: ITV/ REX FEATURES Stromsheim, then 31, was the oldest of a team of six Norwegians trained by the Special Operaons Execuve (SOE) and parachuted into the Telemark region, in southern , to blow up theydro Norsk H plant. Set atop an icy ravine at nearby , the plant produced , or deuterium oxide, that was central to German hopes of mastering the atomic chain reacon which would lead to a Nazi bomb. An aempt had already been made to blow up the plant the previous October, when a separate four-man team of Norwegian com-­‐ mandos had been dropped in to Telemark as an advance party for 30 Royal Engineers. But foul weather had led to a series of crash-­‐ es as the Brish soldiers were towed into the area in gliders, with the result that some died instantly, and those who escaped were captured by the Gestapo, tortured, and eventually executed. The failure had alerted the Nazis to potenal sabotage plots, and asecurity a result s was increased at Vemork: mines were laid and floodlights illuminated the only approach – a bridge across a 660 ravine. Such was Allied concern about the plant, however, that despite these measures, a second bid to destroy the plant was quickly pre-­‐ pared. Operaon Gunnerside, as it became known, was led by Joachim Ronneberg. Then aged just 23, he looked up for reassurance to Stromsheim, one of four explosives experts in the team and an expert skier who spoke good English and German. “Birger was the oldest man in the group and was almost like a father to us,”erg. said Ronneb “He was a very calm and balanced person, who was extremely valuable.” Just aer midnight on February 17 1943 the Gunnerside team were dropped by parachute into Telemark, where they were to meet the surviving four-man Norwegian team from the previous autumn’s failed mission. Once again, however, appalling weather intervened, and they landed 18 y miles awa from the drop zone. Stromsheim and his col-­‐ leagues were forced to spend five days struggling through snowstormsfreezing and temperatures on langlauf skis before finally meeng up with their compatriots. Together they set off for Vemork at 8pm on February 27. Therched plant, pe at the top of a thickly-forested ravine, appeared im-­‐ pregnable, with Germans guarding the bridge that led to its entrance. The commandos, however, decided to climb down one side of the ravine, cross the icy River Maan at its base, and climbther up the o side, following a railway track that led intopl the ant. Arriving at the top of the ravine, a radio operator (,er who lat took part in Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki expedion) was le behind to report if anything went wrong, while the other nine abandonedeir th skis and began the perilous descent, frequently sinking up to their waists in the snow. It was close to midnight before they managed to get to the other side, red and soaked to the skin. Leaving another Gunnerside member, , with his Tommy-gun trained on the Germans guarding the bridge, the other eight began their assault on the plant. At exactly 30 minutes past midnight, one member of the party ran forward with bolt-cuers to force open the gate while Stromsheim and the six remainingteurs sabo held back and provided cover. Once the gate was opened, a covering party took up firing posions inside the plant while Stromsheim and the three other explo-­‐ sives experts headed through another gate to the basement door, behind which lay the electrolysis chambers that produced the

Page 8 crucial heavy water. This door was supposed to have been le openwegian by a Nor mole who worked in the plant – but he had been too ill to go to work that day. Confronted by this unexpected barrier,explosives the team split into two pairs to look for oth-­‐ er ways in. Ronneberg and found an entrance through a cable duct,ling craw in to surprise a Norwegian caretaker, whom they held at gunpoint while they began to lay their charges. Meanwhile, Stromsheim and Kasper Idland had found a window at the back of the basement. Unaware that Ronneberg and Kayser were already heim in, Stroms decided they had no choice but to risk alerng the Germans by smashing their way through. Ronneberg hadlf laid ha the necessary charges when he heard the sound of breaking glass. Kayser swung round with his- Tommy gun ready to fire before realising the noise came from theiraboteurs. fellow s Stromsheim helped place the remaining charges while Ronneberg laid the fuses. Though they had inially planned to give them-­‐ selves two minutes to get away, the risk of the German guards arrivinguch was s that they instead placed 30-second Bickford fus-­‐ es, despite knowing that this would not give them enough me to get clear of the plant before the explosion. The tension was heightened further when, just as the fuses were being set, the caretakerunced anno that he had misplaced his glasses and refused to leave without them. Though desperate to make theire, escap the commandos proceeded to spend pre-­‐ cious moments in the search for the spectacles – which were soonhe located. T foolhardiness of this benevolence was demon-­‐ strated when they heard footsteps approaching – but fortunately it was anotherwegian Nor civilian, who was ordered to put his hands above his head while the fuses were lit. Kayser counted to 10 and then told the two civilians to run for, their lives while the raiders rushed out into the night. In the event they need not have worried. There was only a dull thud as the charges went off, too muffled to alert the guards, but it sent around 1000lbs of heavy water across the floor and down the drains,he . “T explosion itself was not very loud,” recalled one of Stromsheim’s colleagues. “It sounded like two or three carsg crashin in Piccadilly Circus.” By the me the guards discovered what had happened, the Gunnerside team were already back across the gorge. Stromsheim, Ronneberg, Idland, Storhaug and Kayser then headed back into the snowstorms on a 250-mile cross-country ski to the safety of neutral Sweden. Back in Britain, SOE chiefs would later deem Operaon Gunnerside the most successful act of sabotage of the Second World War. For his part, Stromsheim was described in his military fileberg by Ronne as “beyond doubt the best member of the party”. Birger Edvin Marn Stromsheim was born in the central Norwegian port of Aalesund on October 11 1911 and worked as a build-­‐ ing contractor before the war. He spent the early months of the German occupaon building quarters for German soldiers but was determined to get to Britain to join the Special Operaon Execuve’s team of Norwegian commandos. He and his wife Aase travelled by boat to the Shetlands in September 1941 and Birger Stromsheim was soon being trained at a succession of SOE bases in weapons’ handling and- street fighng. The most important preparaon he received was at Staon XVII, the - explosives training base at Brickendonbury in Herordshire, where a full-scale model of the basement of the Norsk Hydro plant was built. For his part in the raid, Stromsheim was awarded the Brish Military Medal; the Norwegian St Olav Medal; the US Medal of Free-­‐ dom; and the French Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre. The success of Operaon Gunnerside convinced the Nazis to relocate their heavy water project and move their remaining stores of potassiumide, hydrox from which heavy water was dislled, away from Vemork. The chemical was loaded on a ferry, Hydro, but this was sunk by another Norwegian resistance operaon, finally sealing the fate of Germany’s atomic weapons programme. The events of the two operaons were so daring that they was made into the film, The Heroes of Telemark (1965), starring Kirk Douglas and – though the parcipants were farcomplimentary from about Hollywood’s aenon to detail. Stromsheim subsequently took part in Operaon Fieldfare, which in late 1943 and early 1944 sent him and other Norwegian com-­‐ mandos, including Ronneberg, back into Norway to disrupt German supply lines in the event of an Allied invasion. Aer the war, Stromsheim returned to building and was involved in preparaons for Norwegian “stay-behind” units in the event of a Soviet invasion of his country. Birger Stromsheim’s wife predeceased him. He is survived by a son and a daughter.

Capve U.S. soldier safe despite terror label, Haqqani commander claims (AP/CBS) ISLAMABAD- A U.S. soldier held by Afghan militants will not be harmed despite the Obama administraon's decision to declare his alleged captors a terrorist group, a senior f member o the Pakistan-based Haqqani network told The Associated Press on Saturday. However, the United States and NATO can expect stepped up aacks, he said.

Page 9 The commander, who spoke by telephone from an undisclosed locaon, denied that the Haqqanis held the only American prisoner of war of the Afghan conflict, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, as the U.S. believes. He did however say that Bergdahl was a capve of another branch of the Taliban, and denied earlier reports that the 26-year-old soldier from Hailey, Idaho, was in danger. "I deny the remarks . . . that this will endanger the life of the American soldier," the commander said, speaking on condion he not be idenfied because field commanders fear being targeted if their idenes are known. "We are not cowards and we consider it as coward to harm" prisoners, he said. The U.S. says that Bergdahl has been held by the- Pakistan based Haqqanis since 2009. However, the commander suggested he was with militants on the other side of the- Afghan Pakistan border. "The American soldier is with the Emirate center (a reference to sed Taliban ba inside Afghanistan) ... The Americans also know it." He said the Taliban leadership council previously issued instrucons to its commanders, including those belonging to thei Haqqan network, not to harm prisoners. From his home in Idaho, the soldier's father Bob Bergdahl welcomed the assurances but was cauous. "That's great news, but we're very careful about the informaon we digest," he told the AP. "I'll have to validate that and check that." The elder Bergdahl said the commander's promise not to mistreat prisoners "was the posion of the Emirate even before my son was taken prisoner." The senior Haqqani member's comments contradict a Reuters report published Friday, which quoted a Haqqani commander saying that the new terror label would bring "hardships" on the prisoner of war. "Unl now we treated him very well but this move by the United States will of course created (sic) hardships for him," the com-­‐ mander reportedly told Reuters. The new terror classificaon will likely have at least some consequences.he T same source who told The Associated Press they would not mistreat Bergdahl said the network is planning a series of retaliatory aacks against U.S. and NATO soldiers in Afghani-­‐ stan. Sirajuddin Haqqani, the organizaon's military commander, is seeking permission from Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar to stage a blitzkrieg of aacks against U.S. forces in Afghanistan,aid. he s "He (Sirajuddin Haqqani) wants to carry out 80 to 100 aacks. on U.S forces in Afghanistan and 20 aacks on other NATO mem-­‐ bers," said the commander in retaliaon for the designaon. Hed repeate earlier statements that the Haqqani network answered to Mullah Omar and was not separate from the Taliban organizaon. But once Mullah Omar signs off on the acons, the commander said,our "we have consultave and military council which plans aacks." The commander claimed that the Obama administraon had been in touch with the Haqqani network last year as part of its efforts to broker a peace deal ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. military troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. "(U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham) Clinton should haverage the cou to tell the Americans about their contacts and even talks with us," he said. Congress insisted Clinton deliver a report on whether the Haqqanis shouldesignated be d a terrorist organizaon by Sunday aer a string of high profile aacks on U.S. and NATO troops. The U.S. had resisted the terrorist designaon because of fearsuld it co jeopardize reconciliaon efforts between the U.S. govern-­‐ ment and insurgents in Afghanistan

This image from a video released by a Taliban affiliated group , on Nov. 24 2010 shows capve U.S. Army Spc. Bowe Bergdahl along-­‐ side his suspected captor, Mullah Sangeen Zadran. / CBS

Page 10 SANGER: Honor maers in the military Petraeus scandal impacts troop culture By Maj. Kurt Sanger Monday, November 26, 2012 Top of Form

In recent weeks, errant judgments and acons of current and former general officers of the U.S. military such as Gen. David H. Petraeus have raised quesons about the nature of military leadership. Media, government officials and the American public have quesoned the cost the naon incurs when we dispense with gied leaders duepersonal to their transgressions. Many believe it is bad for the United States when we lose an accomplished generalr officer ove a private indiscreon. Others believe that the armed forces should not be led by generals who commit acts for which captains and sergeants would be separated from the ser-­‐ vice, administravely disciplined or even criminally prosecuted. There are consequences for operang under either paradigm, and we can expect consequences from how much weight we give character or performance. This will impact the conduct not onlyur of o generals, but of all service members. It is important to re-­‐ member why the military is different from other American instuons,d an why a premium is placed on honor. Most U.S. instuons value the boom line: sales, profits, wins andhips. champions Normally, we do not balance the morali-­‐ qual es of CEOs, athletes and entertainers against their performances.ng As lo as performance is maintained, most outstanding per-­‐ formers can get away with - less than-honorable acons. Those who argue that a competent general should be protected despite personal failures believe the boom line is what maers most in America. Tradionally, a different metric has been used to judge military ce. performan Appraisals of troops are not limited to the results of their efforts. For example, along with overall performance, Marine Corps fitness reports measure courage, iniave and ability to set the example for fellow Marines. Service members are taught toight do the r thing and to do it in the right way for the right reasons. The boom line is more than results. It is a f reflecon o the honor of those who create that line and the manner in which they create it. Since 2001, in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, supportw for ne governments and establishing legimacy has been vital to long -term U.S. strategic interests. Eliminang corrupon and demonstrangpect res for the rule of law have been top priories. Amer-­‐ ican conduct in military operaons has set the example and created precedents by which these nascent governments may meas-­‐ ure their conduct and evaluate the way they will be rewarded or punishedrnaonal by the inte community. Any incidents of im-­‐ propriety — or the appearance of it — among U.S. troops reduces our ability to use moral persuasion as a tool to influence foreign leaders. President Hamid Karzai’s statements aer Afghan civilianse hav been killed, somemes mistakenly, somemes intenon-­‐ ally, have reflected the diminished moral influence of the United States in his country. There is a ripple effect of command conduct on subordinate he troops. T words, acons and atudes of military leaders, especially commanders and senior enlisted leaders, trickle down and are repeated throughout a unit. In a 2008 arcle in The New Yorker, “The Kill Company,” writer Raffi Khatchadourian drew a direct, plausible connecon between the aggressive statements of an ar-­‐ my brigade commander and illegal killings commied by his most junior troops. Every unit has a climate, some aspects of which are unique to that r unit, whethe an enre army, a baalion, a platoon or a 10- member squad. Every member of the unit contributes to the climate,e but non more than its leader. When the leader deviates from the established standard, some subordinates will see this as permission to deviate as well. This sets a new standard for oth-­‐ ers. A leader without a substanated moral character cannot begin to correct a subordinate who has seen the leader break rules. Stanford Law School fellow Andrew K. Woods idenfied the importancecorrecng of even minor flaws at the Camp Bucca prison in Iraq in 2008, which held more than 20,00 detainees at that me. Its commander, U.S. Army Col. James B. Brown, went out of his way to retrieve a piece of used chewing gum off the ground to dispose of it properly. “If I let one of my soldier’s hairs get out of place,” the colonel said, “I know abuse [of detainees] is not far behind.” Before we re-evaluate the importance of honor against capability, we should keep int mind tha the personal character and acons of our leaders have enduring impacts on troops, coalion partners and the public. One reason troops are trusted with deadly weapons is that the American people know they are trained, expected to be honorable and held accountable when they are not. If excepons are made for officers because of past achievements, there’sng no telli whether that trust will remain. If the armed forc-­‐ es ever lose that trust, we can count on the honor of the military and its boom line to be affected, regardless of the proficiency of its leaders.

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Stolen Valor Law 2.0 Passes in Senate Dec 04, 2012 Military.com| by Bryant Jordan A law designed to punish those who boast balefield medals for heroics they never performed passed the Senate on Monday, marking the second bid by Congress to outlaw lying about war records. The first so-called Stolen Valor Law was declared unconstuonal in June by. the U.S Supreme Court, which ruled that lying about military service was protected speech. This me around lawmakers have anchored the law on lying about awards and decoraons for "tangible benefit or personal gain," not strictly lying for the sake of lying. The bill was filed by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a Vietnam combat veteran, shortly aer the high court knocked down the original 2006 law. "For someone who has not served to come in and get material benefit from something they did not do is just not right," Webb said in an interview with Norfolk TV staon WTKR in July, when he filed the legislaon that is now set to become part of the 2013 Naonal Defense Authorizaon Act. The House of Representaves already passed its own version of the law,l so fina language has to be worked out before it can be signed. Under the Senate version anyone found guilty of violang the Stolen Valor law would be fined and possibly jailed for not more than 6 months, or both. The House version would put violatorsn i jail for up to a year. The new law states that benefits include any provided by the local, state or federal government for military service, earn a job, run for elecve office, or aain an appointment to a board or posion on a non-profit. Webb's bill was cosponsored by Sen. Sco Brown, R-Mass., and Joe Lieberman,- I Conn. The 2006 version of the Stolen Valor Act made it a crime to make any false statements claiming military awards and decoraons. A California man, Xavier Alvarez, was convicted of violang ther law fo claiming to have earned the Medal of Honor. He was or-­‐ dered to pay a $5,000 fine but appealed the case up to the Supreme Court, which struck it down. Webb and others argued the law is necessary to protect the integrityitary of mil decoraons, since those who earn them are held in high regard by the public. False claims of receiving such medals or serving in the military, the bill language states, "are especially likely to be harmful and material to employers, voters in decidingm to who paid elecve posions should be entrusted, and in the award of contracts." "Military service and military awards are held in such great hat respect t public and private decisions are correctly influenced by claims of heroism," the bill states, arguing that making falsems clai about military service and heroism are "an especially noxious means of obtaining something of value."

The Shariah Threat to America Wednesday, 26 Dec 2012 01:32 PM By Fred Grandy There is a great deal of misinformaon circulang with regardiah to shar and the threat it poses to America and western civilizaon. Some misinformed observers and members of the Muslim Brotherhoodconcerns liken over shariah to prejudice and bigotry, but the facts say otherwise. Terrorism experts in the law enforcement, military and intelligencenies commu have cited shariah as the jihadists’ enemy threat doctrine in an intensive study called “Shariah: The Threat to America,”larly, a scho 352-page book based on authoritave sources of shariah, or Islamic law. While shariah does include “prayerd an fasng” and “worship” as Thomas cites, it is also an all- encompassing legal and polical code that covers aspects of life that have nothing to do with religion. Perhaps most importantly, unlike other forms of religious law, such as canon law and Jewish law, shariah is the only formi-­‐ of rel gious law extant that is also meant to apply to people of other. faiths, i.e non-Muslims. The threat from shariah has nothing to do with prejudice or bigotry. The threat from shariah is real and mulfaceted. Some claim that shariah is no threat to the American legal system, but research shows such a threat does exist. Just as shariah has gradually become embedded in the legal systems of many European er naons ov the past generaon, it is beginning to be found in U.S. court cases. An inial study by the Center for Security Policy entled “Shariah Law and American State Courts: An Assess-­‐ ment of State Appellate Court Cases,” examined 50 cases from 23 states that involved conflicts between shariah and American state law. The study’s findings suggest that shariah has entered state court decisions, in conflict with the Constuon and state

Page 12 public policy. This incursion of shariah into U.S. court systems usually manifeststself i in the form of foreign law from naons such as Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Syria and other predominantly Islamic naons. As a result, four states, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arizona and Kansas, have passed into law “American Laws for American Courts,” legislaon. Several more states are considering American Laws for American Courts. Unlike Oklahoma’s infamous constuonal amendment, American Laws for American Courts does not ban shariah. American Laws for Americanourts C protects individual, fundamental constuonal rights by prevenng courts from applying foreign law when the applicaon of that foreign law in the case at hand would result in the violaon of a fundamental constuonal right, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, due process and equal protecon Among the organizaons clouding the issue on shariah is the Saudi-backed Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). ISNA was named as an unindicted- co conspirator and revealed to be a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate in the U.S. vs. Holy Land Foundaon, the largest terrorism financing prosecuon in American history. ISNA was co-founded in 1981 by Sami- Al Arian, a man who is now in federal prison aer having been convictedrorism on ter charges as a member of Palesnian Islamic Jihad. According to two reports in the San Francisco Chronicle, the other co-founder of ISNA, Mahboob Khan, twice hosted Ayman al-Zawahiri on fundraising trips here in the USA. In addion, a regional representave for ISNA, Abdurahman Alamoudi, was found to be a chief fundraiser for al-Qaida here in the USA and was convicted on terrorism charges. Alamoudi founded the Islamic Society of Boston using ISNA’s tax-exempt, non-profit status. ISNA board member Muzammil Siddiqi told the San Francisco e Chronicl in June 2001 that he “supported laws in countries where homosexuality is punishable by death." Siraj Wahhaj, who served as vice president of ISNA, is on recordupporng as s all aspects of shariah, including its callbr for utal punishments like the removal of one's hands as the penalty for the, andtoning death by s as the penalty for adultery. According to Wahhaj, such harsh measures are wholly jusfied by Islamic scripture as he preached in a May 1992 sermon: “I would cut off the hands of my own daughter [if she stole] because Allah stands for Jusce.” On another occasion, Wahhaj stated: “If Allahs say 100 strikes, 100 strikes it is. If Allah says cut offd, their han you cut off their hand. If Allah says stone them to death, through the Prophet Muhammad, then you stone them to death, because it’s the obedience of Allah and his messenger — nothing personal.” Islamic scholar Stephen Schwartz has described ISNA as "one ofief the ch conduits through which the radical Saudi form of Islam passes into the United States." These hardly seem like the kind of people who should be leading interfaithutreach o in the USA.

Republic of Vietnam Special ForcesAssociaon

Of WashingtonState INVITATION You are cordially Invitedto

Lunar New Year (year of Snake) CelebraonDinner

(The GreenBerets ) On Saturday January12th 2013

6:30 p.m. to midnight

At Venus ChineseRestaurant

7101 M.L.King Jr.ay W S. 98118

Tel: 206 -453-3498 Your presentis a great honor to our RVN Vietnam Special ForcesAssociaon.

Chuyen Nguyen VN/SF/Assn. President

RSVP: Befo re January5th 2013, call Thai Phan206 -235-1364 or - E mail [email protected] Suggest donate $30.00 per person, please make check payable to: Thai Phan 3252 NE104th St. Seale, WA 98125-7825

Page 13 Direcons to Venus Resturant

Coming from the North h Coming From the Sout

Take I-5 South to exit 161 Alboro Place Take I-5 North to exit 157

At the intersecon turn Le to Swi Ave. S. Merge to the Le onto Marn Luther King Jr Way S.

Take a Right on Swi Ave S. to Graham St. Proceed to King Plaza on the Le (2.5 miles)

Take a Le on Graham St to M. L. K. Jr. Way S.

Take a Le on MLK Jr. Way S. (0.5 miles)

To King Plaza

While You Are Here! Cold water currents coming down the Canadian coast and warm water coming up from California mix together off Washington, and the nutrient rich water pours into the Strait of Juan De Fuca and Puget Sound with dal change. The result of this is spectacular and unique marine life. The world’s largest octopuses liveolor here! C and variety surpass most other areas of the world. Sure, warm water is great and most of the world’s g scuba divin is arguably the same fish, coral, nudibranchs etc. Here we have to hassle with dry suits or worse, wet suits, but the reward is worth the effort. Winter can be spectacular because of beer visibility, less algae, kelp and lile runoff from the rivers.d Fish an shellfish are also more visible. I've dived prey much all over the world, from the Caribbean to the China Sea, Java, The Indian Ocean, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico, and my favorite is the Pacific Northwest by far! If you are either military or civilian scuba qualified for open water and are interested in diving while you are here in the northwest, give me a call. Mike Cassidy- 360 825 - 0356.

Donaons to Special Forces Associaon, Chapter XVI Dec 2012: Bob Dimond made a $100 donaon to the Chapter In Memory Of Fred "Snow White" Fiedler.

Blast From the Past Soviets take over in Afghanistan Dec 27, 1979: In an aempt to stabilize the turbulent polical situaon in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union sends 75,000 troops to enforce the in-­‐ stallaon of Babrak Karmal as the new leader of the naon. The new government and the imposing Soviet presence, however, had lile success in pung down angovernment rebels. Thus began nearly 10 years of an agonizing, destrucve, and ulmately fruitless Soviet military intervenon in Afghanistan. Ironically, Karmal overthrew and murdered another Afghan communist,afizullah H Amin, to take power. Amin's government be-­‐ came unpopular and unstable aer it aempted to install a harshist commun regime, declared one-party rule and abolished the Afghan constuon. Muslims in the naon rejected his rule and formed a rebel force, the Mujahideen. When it became apparent that Amin could not control the rebellion, Soviet troops intervened and put a puppet ruler, Karmal, into power. For the Soviets, polical turbulence in this bordering naon, which was viewed by some officials as a potenally useful ally pursuing its interests in the Middle East, was unacceptable. The Soviet intervenon cost Russiahe dearly. T seemingly endless civil war in Afghanistan resulted in thousands of Soviet dead and untold monetary costs. Itght also brou an abrupt end to the era of détente between the United States and the Soviet Union that began during the Nixon years. In response to the Soviet intervenon, President Jimmy Carter withdrew the SALT II agreement from consideraon by Congress.he T treaty, which had been signed in June 1979, was de-­‐ signed to establish parity in nuclear delivery vehicles between the United States and the Soviet Union. Carter also halted grain shipments to the Soviet Union and ordered a U.S. boyco of the 1980 Olympics that were to be held in Moscow.

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Amid lawsuits, Pentagon already has program to prep women for combat

Published December 01, 2012 SAN DIEGO – As another lawsuit was filed this week challengingefense the D Department’s ban on women serving in combat, the agency was already into a year-long experiment in which thousands of combat posions are being made open to female service members. The goal of the project is to slowly integrate women to combatuge and ga the impact such a social change would have on the military's ability to fight wars. No branch is likely to feel that change more than the ps. Marine Cor The small, ght-knit force is the most male of the armed services and elf prides its on having the toughest and most aggressive warriors. The Corps historically has higher casualty rates because it is considered to be the "p of the spear," or the first to respond to conflicts. It also was among the last military branches to open its doors to women, forming the first female Corps in 1943, according to the Women's Memorial in Washington D.C. But changing mes are challenging the tradions of the force, longed liken to a brotherhood. Modern warfare has put women in combat like never before over the past decade, even though a 1994 policy bars them from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level, which were considered tooous danger since they are oen smaller and closer to combat for long-­‐ er periods. The suit filed Tuesday is the second this year by female services member and included to Marine. The plainffs argue gender barriersly unfair block them from promoons open to men in combat. The lawsuits are intended to accelerate the military's slow march toward liing the ban that plainffs allege has barred women from 238,000 posions. Defense officials say they recently opened 14,500 jobs to nd women, a they need to move cauously to ensure the change will notr-­‐ disrupt wa me operaons. Marine 1st Lt. Brandy Soublet was one of 45 female Marines assigned this summer to 19 all-male combat baalions. She said some Marines inially eyed her pioneering presence in the all-male baalion with skepcism. "The way that I would describe it to friends and family was it was kind of like I showed up to work in a costume,"- said the 25 year-old logiscs from Twenty-Nine Palms, a remote desert base east of San Diego, where she has a desk job. "They stared a lile bit but aer a whilet it wasn' like that anymore." That experience may play out on bases and boats worldwide ntagon as the Pe levels the balefield. The Corps earlier this year opened its grueling infantry officerining tra school to female Marines and surveyed 53,000 tr of its oops with an anonymous online quesonnaire about the impact of erasing gender barriers. Survey results are expected to be released soon aer review by the defense secretary. Only two female Marines volunteered for the- 13 week infantry training course at Quanco, Va., and both failedplete to com it this fall. No women have volunteered so far for the next course offered in, January officials said. Soublet said she was nervous she would feel unwelcome in the combat engineer baalion. Six months into her historic assignment, she said she haseated been tr equally. "I have heard, you know, whisperings, like `Hey, before you gote here w decided to maybe take down some pictures and clean up our language a lile bit,' but other than that, they haven't really expressed anything to me," said Soublet, who will remain two years in he r baalion and is expected to deploy with them to Afghanistan this spring. The Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos said he met with the top leaders of the 19 baalions and told them to establish the proper command climate. The early steps of assigning females to arllery, tank, combat engineer and other all-male baalions have been successful, but there may be some anxiety if women join infantry, Amos said. Camp Pendleton combat Marine Carlos Laguna, who le the Corps11, in 20 agreed. "The screams of women, they have a big psychological effect on men.n A woma just has a different pitch," said Laguna, who suffers from post- traumac stress disorder aer two tours in Iraq. "If we're in a firefight and a woman is shot or lost her arm, male Marines like me would want to stop and help. It's our nature to help women." The survey addressed those concerns, asking males if they would be distracted or "feel obligated to protect female Marines." It also asked whether women would be limited because of pregnancy or personal issues. Female Marines were asked if they would feel pressured to suppress their femininity. Former Marine Capt. Kristen Kavanaugh, who runs The Militaryeptance Acc Project, a San Diego-based organizaon promong equality in the services, found those quesons offensive.

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HURT FEELINGS REPORT For use of this form, see FM 22-102; the proponent agency is TRADOC DATA REQUIRED BY THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 AUTHORITY: 5 USC 301, Departmental Regulations; 10 USC 3013, Secretary of the Army and E.O. 9397 (SSN) PRINCIPAL PURPOSE: To assist whiners in documenting hurt feelings, and to provide leaders with a list of soldiers who require additional counseling, NCO leadership, and extra duty.. ROUTINE USES: For subordinate leader development IAW FM 22-102. Leaders & whiners should use this form as necessary. DISCLOSURE: Disclosure is voluntary, but repeated disclosure may result in a DA Form 779-1A, Report of Wall To Wall Counseling PART I – ADMINISTRATIVE DATA A. WHINER’S NAME (Last, First, MI) B. RANK/GRADE C. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER D. DATE OF REPORT

E. ORGANIZATION F. NAME & TITLE OF THE PERSON FILLING OUT THIS FORM

PART II – INCIDENT REPORT A. DATE FEELINGS WERE HURT B. TIME OF HURTFULNESS C. LOCATION OF HURTFUL INCIDENT D. NCO OR OFFICER SYMPATHETIC TO WHINER

E. NAME OF REAL MAN/WOMAN WHO HURT YOUR SENSITIVE F. RANK/GRADE G. ORGANIZATION (if different from 1e above) FEELINGS

E. INJURY (Mark all that apply) 1. WHICH EAR WERE THE WORDS OF HURTFULNESS SPOKEN INTO? 2. IS THERE PERMANENT FEELING DAMAGE?  LEFT  RIGHT  BOTH  YES  NO  MAYBE

3. DID YOU REQUIRE A “TISSUE” FOR TEARS? 4. HAS THIS RESULTED IN A TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY?  YES  NO  MULTIPLE  YES  NO  MAYBE

F. REASON FOR FILING THIS REPORT (Mark all that apply) I am thin skinned The Army needs to fix my problems Two beers is not enough I am a wimp My feelings are easily hurt My hands should be in my pockets I have woman/man-­‐like hormones I didn't sign up for this I was not offered a post brief I am a crybaby I was told that I am not a hero Someone requested a post brief I want my mommy The weather is to cold All of the above and more

G. NARRATIVE (Tell us in your own sissy words how your feelings were hurt.)

PART III -­‐ AUTHENTICATION a. PRINTED NAME OF REAL MAN/WOMAN b. SIGNATURE c. PRINTED NAME OF WHINER d. SIGNATURE

We, as the Army, take hurt feelings seriously. If you don't have someone who can give you a hug and make things all better, please let us know and we will promptly dispatch a "hugger" to you ASAP. In the event we are unable to find a "hugger" we will notify the fire department and request that they send fire personnel to your location. If you are in need of supplemental support, upon written request, we will make every reasonable effort to provide you with a "blankey", a "binky" and/or a bottle if you so desire. DA FORM IMT WF1, APRIL 2009 EDITION OF APRIL 1989 IS OBSELETE