JANUARY 2011 VOL 31

Chapter 16 Newsletter Organization and Responsibilities: President’s Message Editor: Glen Craig Message from the Presi- Printer: Minuteman Press dent Sections: I have chosen a subject for this issue’s that most of you are watching closely and that many have Message from the President: Dave Shell strong feelings about. Before deciding to go forward though, I Treasurers Report: Paul Waldburger thought it prudent to revisit our Articles of Incorporation to Sec. Rpt (Staff Meeting Minutes): John Patterson -ensure that I was not straying outside the limits of the guide- Sick Call/Obituary: Chaplain Jake lines that bind us by our stated purpose and our status as a non Birthdays/Anniversaries: Chuck Kraus profit organization. Upon review, I am satisfied that we are 1st SFG(A) Update: MAJ Gregory (1st Group PAO) well within our proper role when we provide a voice for the Oasis Update: Bob Ervin/John Armezanni Special Forces community on matters that involve changes in policy and regulations that are controversial and potentially Blast from the Past: Glen Craig disruptive to the force. It is for this reason that I have chosen Special Recognition: John Patterson the recent signing into law of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Upcoming Events: John Patterson (DADT) by the President of the United States as the subject of Calendar: John Patterson my message. Human Interest Story: Chapter at large To be clear, it is not my intent to challenge the repeal of DADT SFA National HQ Update: Dave Shell as there are bigger issues at stake here. DADT was a gateway law enacted as an expedient solution to former President Clin- After Action Report: Jim Lessler ton’s promise to homosexual voters that he would be an advo- Membership Info: Roy Sayer cate for ending discrimination against recruits and current Advertisements: Glen Craig members of the Armed Forces who were found out to be gay or Suspense: lesbian. It functioned as a vehicle for eliminating policies and Newsletter published (Web and Print): 1st of each odd numbered month regulations that prohibited homosexuals from serving in the

Input due to editor: 15th of each even numbered month military and set the stage for the day when homosexuals would

Draft due to President: 20th of each even numbered month be fully integrated into the same. That day is here and it is not likely to change. As we are constantly reminded by the media and by federally imposed “reeducation” (mandated for federal employees and the military), our history is a wile one with re- gard to minorities, political extremists, and those with alter- nate lifestyles. We have (all groups), through struggle and toil, arrived at a point where most agree in a common set of values that purports that all people should be treated with dignity and respect and that basic human rights for all are at the founda- tion of our system. With this in mind, I think it fair to consider the impact that social engineering has on our military and the likely road ahead for our soldiers. Before I do, I feel it im- portant to make note of certain realities regarding military ser- Page 1 vice and fitness to serve, to include lifestyle/life choices. Most noteworthy is the understanding that military service is a privilege and not a civil right. The military routinely refuses entry to individuals on the grounds of incompatibility due to beliefs, weight, physical limitations and peculiarities (e.g. dwarfism), mental health issues, intelligence quotients, prior misconduct issues, etc. Therefore, however high or low the bar may be, the military is exclusive. Secondly, we have homosexuals in the military and always have. Oftentimes military members know who is and who isn’t, but unless some homosexual act spotlights their orientation most have been satisfied to work together without it being an issue. This isn’t new. The old timers I’ve spoken with agree that the military has always been this way. Thirdly, we have seen the military evolve in relative concert with the country as a whole regarding legal issues that govern homosexuals and homosexual conduct. Na- tional social mores have been a driving force in this evolution. Fifty years ago homosexuality- - was categorized as a mental illness in medical journals and as a deviant and perverse abomination by religious leaders. Twen- ty five years ago it was considered an alternative lifestyle that was argued as a nature vs nurture issue. To- day, largely due to lobbying efforts by special interest groups, there is a push to categorize homosexuals as a minority group that is entitled to the same programs and opportunities as groups identified by race, color, creed, ethnicity, or religion. The military has been subjected to, and is still experiencing, a process of warm- ing up to changes in the way the country views homosexuals and homosexual conduct, largely due to a na- tional movement led by a media and entertainment industry in which gays and lesbians are well represent- ed. The overridingReport questionof the Comprehensive that must be Review asked with of the regard Issues to Associated the military with and a Repeal alternate of “Don’t lifestyles Ask, is Don’t where we drawTell” the line. DADTthe wasReview the bridge between prohibition of gays and their future integration, the same as are the DoD’s the Review’s (henceforth ) is the bridge between DADT and the full integration of homosexuals into the military as a community. This is evidenced by suggestion that gays gain entitlements and recog- Thenition Review’s over time based on the recommendations of future review boards. In the near term, any “significant others” will not be entitled to military dependent status and the accompanying benefits that go with them. recommendation that a relook at these issues during future reviews of the matter imply that it will happen when all have had time to warm up to the idea. Warming up to the idea will likely be a process of indoctrination that involves mandatory “sensitivity” training usually conducted annually. The jury is still out on the right way to proceed, but the obvious venues are briefings and computer based training modules sim- ilar to the ones required for Force Protection. In time, after we have warmed up a bit, I’m sure that someone will suggest that profiling homosexual superlatives would be a good way to recognize gay contributions to both society and the military. Interestingly, President Obama’s comments upon signing the repeal echoed The Review not exactly those spoken at the signing of civil rights legislation in the 1960s. There are serious implications at work here. was careful to say that “We do recommend that sexual orientation be placed- alongside race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, as a class eligible for various diversity programs, tracking initiatives, and complaint resolution processes under the Military Equal Opportunity Pro gram. We believe that doing so could produce a sense, rightly or wrongly, that gay men and lesbians are being elevated to a special status as a “protected class” and will receive special treatment. In a new environment in which gay and lesbian Service members can be open about their sexual orientation, we believe they will be accept- ed more readily if the military community understandsthe that Review they are simply being permitted equal footing with everyone else”. What are we to believe? The messages are mixed on this. It sounds like the President is categorizing homosexuals as a “protected class”, while suggests that in the interest of acceptance that they not be. - As I asked above,- when and where do we draw the line? Maybe we never draw the line. Maybe through a process of reeducation we become comfortable with the idea that trans sexualism is a normal state of being or that open cross dressing is just a normal person beingPage himself/herself. 2 Most folks are not aware that an - organization known as NAMBLA (North American Man Boy Love Association) long ago asserted its legal right to compete for military charitable dollars through the Combined Federal Campaign. They are listed right alongside the American Heart Association and the Warrior Foundation. Lest we forget, we are the most influential nation on the planet and our military is what allows us to be such. So it is, so it has always been that nations are defined by their military greatness. That said, our military is not immune to social and moral decay either Theperceived Review or real; no military is. The jury is still out on the impact that repeal might have on recruitment- and retention, which is the real litmus test of whether or not we can afford this social engineering initiative. estimates “a rough order of magnitude net annual cost estimate for repeal of DADT” to be $30 $40 million per year. That figure would, of course, increase with the revision of partnership policies on this matter. HistoryThe showsReview that great militaries are well paid and well compensated. We are a rich nation that provides unprecedented pay and benefits to our members, but as de- mands go up so does the cost of maintaining the force. definitively shows (though not the Work- The Review ing Group’s interpolation of the results) that military members will get the job done and that they will do it because of the quality life that the military provides. Of concern, , established by the SECDEF, can- not escape the perception that its conclusions were orchestrated to support the President’s agenda, as he has stated many times over. It is fair to suggest that their conclusion that military members are accepting of ho- mosexuals serving openly may be flawed and that a more accurate conclusion is that professionalism and economic necessity, not egalitarianism, is why respondents answered the way they did. When reality sets in, the wages of accommodation will be fully transparent. Understand that there are limits to what members are willing to endure and it is those limits that will drive up the cost of repeal. If the line has been crossed on this issue, or if it is crossed on some future miscalculation of how warmed up we are, it will simply cost the gov- ernment more money to maintain a quality force. More money for political correctness means less for critical resources and programs that make the all volunteer military a success. Money is a finite resource and this is where we start to lose the influence battle to other nations. There will be those who say we draw the line at fairness. Society has that privilege. The military has the burden of protecting our nation’s interests, which sometimes makes fairness secondary to readiness. I hope that our leaders have not let political whim affect their judgment or integrity on this matter and that they acted wisely in their actions, because there is no going back on the issue. ______Jake’s Corner WHO PACKS YOUR PARACHUTE?

Charles Plumb was a U S Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience. One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!” “How in the world did you know that?” ask Plumb. “I packed your parachute,” the man replied. Plum gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!” Plum assured him, “It sure did. If your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Page 3 Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said “Good morning, how are you?” or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.” Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know. Now, Plumb ask his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?” Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory. He needed his physical parachute, his mental para- chute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety. Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes. ______Chapter XVI William R Card Chapter Dec. 11, 2010

Call to Order: VP Ron Rismon brought the meeting to order by playing the Ballad of the Green Beret at 11:00.

Pledge of Allegiance: Led by SGM Jim Harris.

Opening Prayer: Captain Ron Rismon

Welcome & Presidents Report: President Dave Shell not present so meeting chaired by VP Ron Rismon. Welcomed new members (11 total, not all present) and representatives from the motorcycle club. Brief meeting to be followed by annual Christmas party in team house.

Members Present: Captain Ron, Karl Bundy, Miguel Rodriguez, David Paul, Jim Harris, Nick Marvais, John Berry, Ted Wicorek, Dan Pelay, Bill Gates, Mike Cassidy, Ken Garcy, John Patterson, Roy Sayer, Jim Lessler, Steve White, Tom Regan, Paul Wald- burger, Butch Hall, Bud Lawson, Eric Snodgrass.

Wives Present: Debbie Pelay, Steph Gates, Joy Cassidy, Elaine Lessler, Diane Regan, GG Waldburger. Grace Bundy.

Guests: Laura Sayer, Rod Snodgrass.

Page 4 Sick Call: bypassed

Secretary’s Report: chapter uniform may be difficult for new members since hunter green blazer not available in any of the Seattle area stores. 11 new members (still awaiting contact info). Reminder membership dues due. Chapter 94 dissolution for lack of com- pliance re: financial reports. Nat’l SFA president stepping down during investigation of complaints. An entity calling themselves Veteran Affairs Services is not connected to the VA or any other service related organization. Members are warned and encouraged to contact the proper authorities should you come in contact with them.

Treasurer’s Report: unavailable as Treasurer arrived late for meeting.

Old Business: Chapter 16 Fisher House outreach had a poor response from chapter members for Thanksgiving so it was decided we would not participate for Christmas. If you still want to participate individually contact the Fisher House at Fort Lewis.

New Business: a motion was made to discontinue our participation with the adopt a road program (police call) primarily due to the historically low turnout. A heated discussion followed. The motion was not seconded and therefore shelved without further action. Remembrances of Eulis Presley and Bart Heimsness around the table. Services for Eulis on 12/15/10 11:00 at The New Tacoma Cemetary. Celebration following at the Old country Buffet in Tacoma. Services for Bart will be at the Tahoma Nat’l Cemetary as soon as the plaque is ready for wall display. New business kept to a minimum d/t impending holiday party and brevity of meeting.

For the Good of the Order: Patty Heimsness donated Bart’s SFA blazer to the chapter 16 quartermaster. The blazer was purchased by a member with the proceeds sent to Patty Heimsness. Bud Lawson won the 50/50 drawing of $22.00 which he promptly donated back to the chapter.

Closing: Pastor Butch Hall gave the closing prayer.

Meeting adjourned @ 11:30 by VP Ron Rismon Respectfully submitted, John Patterson Secretary Chapter 16 SFA ______

Veteran’s Day Parade

Page 5 Retiree Checklist: This checklist is designed to provide retirees and their loved ones with some help in preparing for the future. The following information is not all-inclusive and should be used with other estate planning tools to lessen trauma to your loved ones. * Create a military file that includes a copy of retirement orders, separation papers, DD Form 214, medical records, and any other pertinent military paperwork. Make sure your spouse knows the location and telephone number of the nearest military installation. * Create a military retired pay file. It should include the following contact infor- mation for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) and Navy Person- nel Command:

1. Defense Finance and Accounting Service, U S Military Retirement Pay, Post Of- fice Box 7130, London, KY 40742-7130 (800) 321-1080 or (216) 522-5955/(800) 269- 5170 (for issues regarding deceased members). 2. Navy Personnel Command (N135C), Retired Activities Branch, 5720 Integrity Drive, Millington, TN 38055-6220 (This file should also include the number of any pending VA claim as well as the address of the local VA office; a list of deductions currently being made from retired pay or VA benefits. Also include the name, rela- tionship and address of the person you have designated to any unpaid retired pay at the time of death. This designation is located on the back of your Retiree Ac- count Statement) * Create an annuities file. This file should information about the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan (RCSBP) or the Retired Ser- viceman’s Family Protection Plan (RSFPP), or any applicable Civil Service annuity, etc. Additional information regarding SBP, RCSBP and RSFPP annuity claims can be obtained from DFAS office at (800) 321-1080. * Create a personal document file that has copies of marriage certificates, divorce decrees, adoptions and naturalization papers. * Create an income tax file. Include copies of both of your state and federal income tax returns. * Create a property tax file. Include copies of tax bills, deeds and any other related documents/information.

Page 6 * Create an insurance policy file. Include life, property, accident, liability and hos- pitalization policies. * Create a bank file. In a secure location, maintain a list of all bank accounts (joint or individual). Include the location of all deposit boxes, savings bonds, stocks, bonds and any securities owned. * Create a debt file. In a secure location, maintain a list of all charge accounts and credit cards, and outstanding loans. Include account numbers and mailing ad- dresses. * Create a membership file. Maintain a list of all associations and organizations of which you are a member. Some of them could be helpful to your spouse. * Create a personal contacts file. Maintain a list of all friends and business associ- ates who may be helpful. Include name, address and telephone number. * Disposition of remains. Discuss your plans/desires with respect to the type and location of your funeral service. You should decide about cremation, which ceme- tery, ground burial, etc. If your spouse knows your desires, it will resolve some of the questions that might arise at a later date. * Burial. Visit a local funeral home and pre-arrange your services. Many states will allow you to pre-pay for services. Investigate the decisions that you and your fami- ly have agreed upon. Many states have specific laws and guidelines regulating cre- mation and burials at sea. Some states require a letter of authority signed by the deceased in order to authorize a cremation. Know the laws in your specific area and how they may affect your decisions. Information regarding Burials at Sea can be obtained by phoning the Mortuary Affairs Division at (866) 787-0081. * Will. Once your decisions have been made and you’re comfortable with them, have a will drawn up outlining all your wishes and store it in a secure location with your other paperwork. * Notification. Attach the following list of who should be notified in the event of my death: 1. Defense Finance and Accounting Service (800) 321-1080 or (216) 522-5955. 2. Social Security Administration (for death benefits) - (800) 772-1213. 3. Department of Veterans Affairs (if applicable) – (800) 827-1000. 4. Office of Personnel and Management (if applicable) - (724) 794-8690. Page 7 5. Any fraternal group that you have membership with such as MOOA, FRA, NCOA, VFW, AL, TREA. 6. Any previous employer that provides pension or benefits. ______A Soldier Died Today He was getting old and paunchy When politicians leave this earth, And his hair was falling fast, Their bodies lie in state, It is not the politicians And he sat around the Legion, While thousands note their pass- With their compromise and ploys, Telling stories of the past. ing, Who won for us the freedom And proclaim that they were That our country now enjoys. Of a war that he once fought in great. And the deeds that he had done, Should you find yourself in dan- In his exploits with his buddies; Papers tell of their life stories ger, They were heroes, every one. From the time that they were With your enemies at hand, young Would you really want some cop- And 'tho sometimes to his neigh- But the passing of a Soldier out, bors Goes unnoticed, and unsung. With his ever waffling stand? His tales became a joke, All his buddies listened quietly Is the greatest contribution Or would you want a Soldier-- For they knew where of he spoke. To the welfare of our land, His home, his country, his kin, Some jerk who breaks his promise Just a common Soldier, But we'll hear his tales no longer, And cons his fellow man? Who would fight until the end. For ol' Bob has passed away, And the world's a little poorer Or the ordinary fellow He was just a common Soldier, For a Soldier died today. Who in times of war and strife, And his ranks are growing thin, Goes off to serve his country But his presence should remind us He won't be mourned by many, And offers up his life? We may need his like again. Just his children and his wife. For he lived an ordinary, The politician's stipend For when countries are in conflict, Very quiet sort of life. And the style in which he lives, We find the Soldier's part Are often disproportionate, Is to clean up all the troubles He held a job and raised a family, To the service that he gives. That the politicians start. Going quietly on his way; And the world won't note his While the ordinary Soldier, If we cannot do him honor passing, Who offered up his all, While he's here to hear the praise, 'Tho a Soldier died today. Is paid off with a medal Then at least let's give him hom- And perhaps a pension, small. age ______

In Memory of our Fallen Brothers

Page 8

Bart R. Heimsness, SFC (Ret.), D-7290L, and member of Chapter XVI SFA passed away October 29, 2010 at his home after a courageous fight with small cell cancer. He was 50 years old.

Bart enlisted in the U.S. Army on 11 September 1979 and retired on 30 September 1999 after 20 years of active military service to our nation. He spent his first nine years as an Infantryman prior to volunteering for Special Forces attending the SFQC in 1988 and graduating as an 18B, SF Weapons Specialist. He later reclass’ed to 18D, SF Medic.

Bart found in Special Forces his life’s calling and spent the rest of his life using his inexhaustible energy to sup- port the Regiment, the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), and his comrades. After retiring, Bart established a pro bono publico web based service that helped former members of the Regiment with job placement opportunities around the world. He also used his extraordinary talents to support the Special Forces Association and was an absolute Chapter XVI lynchpin serving as Chapter Webmaster, Newsletter Editor, and fund raiser. In addition, he founded non-profit organiza- tions to help those less fortunate.

Bart’s Awards and Decorations include: the MSM; ACM (2nd); AAM; AGCM (6th); NDSM; OSR; Parachutist Badge; Special Forces Tab; Drill Sergeant ID Badge; Royal Thai Army Airborne Wings; and Driver and Mechanic Badge with Me- chanic Bar.

Bart’s passions were his grandchildren; his dogs Buddy and Bella; photography; and riding his motorcycle. He is survived by his loving wife of 18 years, Patty; four children: Trisha (Chris) Reed of Spanaway,WA; Ray R. Heimsness II of Taylorville, IL; Cody McPike of Graham, WA; Audreya (Frank) Stetar of Daisy Town, PA; his dad and mom, Ray and Cecelia (Sis) Heimsness of Taylorville, IL; his brothers Brad (Pam) Heimsness, Bret (Tammy) Heimsness, his sisters Marcy Stout, Mitzi (John) Costello; and 12 grandchildren.

True to his phenomenal character and selfless spirit to the very end, Bart has donated his body to medical re- search in his quest to continue to help other people.

Page 9 EULIS A. PRESLEY

SFC (Ret), USA

Eulis A. Presley, age 69, passed away peacefully on December 9th, 2010 after a battle with lung cancer. His loving wife, Ok Kyung, was at his side.

Eulis was born on April 20th, 1941 in Laudon, TN, the son of late James and Lillian Presley. He joined the Army in July 1958, and volunteered for Special Forces in 1965 serving as a member of the 6th Special Forces Group (Airborne) following completion of the Special Forces Qualification Course.

In 1967, then Staff Sergeant Presley was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) as the company commander for the 503rd Nha Trang Mike Force, where he led his company on numerous missions supporting beleaguered ODAs and other SF units in heavy contact with the enemy.

In 1968, he was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) on Okinawa, where he volunteered for MACV-SOG’s Command and Control South serving as a member of a Snakebite Team. During this time he was the One Zero of Recon Team Vise and led his team on a successful operation to capture a North Vietnamese prisoner of war in Cambodia.

In May 1969 Eulis was transferred to MACV-SOG Command and Control North, which was featured in John Plaster’s book SOG. In June of that year his team was tasked with locating and interdicting a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) petroleum, oil, and lubrication (POL) Pipeline. His team was inserted west of the Ashau Valley, where they immediately encountered NVA. Evasive

Page 10 movement kept the team ahead of the NVA for two days until full contact was made. The team battled their way out of the area and was extracted.

Eulis returned to Okinawa in January 1970 and immediately volunteered for another tour of duty in the Republic of Vi- etnam. He was assigned to MACV-SOG’s Command and Control Central, 5th SF Group and his first assignment was as the Company B, Exploitation Force (Hatchet Force), 3rd Platoon, Platoon Leader. In February, 1970, he led his platoon on Operation Half Back to establish a road block on Highway 110 in Laos. The operation was a success allowing the U.S. Air Force to destroy more than 100 NVA trucks loaded with ammunition, POL and supplies. It is estimated that approximately 800 NVA were killed in action. Presley’s platoon was positioned to fire directly on HWY 110 when after four days the NVA’s 27th Infantry Regiment overwhelmed the Hatch- et Force requiring their extraction. In April 1970, the now Sergeant First Class Presley, became the One Zero of RT Washington.

In 1971 Eulis briefly left the Army, returning a year later to serve as a recruiter in Chicago, IL, after which he was reas- signed to Special Forces in 1973 as an adviser and instructor in Phases 1 and 3 of the Special Forces Qualification Course.

His follow-on assignment, from 1977 to 1979, was as an evaluator and adviser to the Eskimo Scout program in Alaska, where he provided reconnaissance and unconventional warfare training to the students in the program.

From 1979 until his retirement in 1981, Eulis was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, where he assisted in the development of innovative intelligence and briefing techniques. He also helped to design the evasion and escape kits used on Desert One, when US forces attempted the rescue of American hostages from Iran in 1980.

Eulis remained active in the SF community after retirement, serving as the president of the Chapter XLIII of the SF Associa- tion from 2005-2009. He received the 20-year pin and Life Member of the Special Operations Association, and was one of the founders and a board member of the Operational Advocates Supporting Injured Soldiers Group (OASIS). OASIS has assisted numer- ous members of the regiment with VA claims and has worked to gain increased benefits for service members.

Over the years Eulis worked closely with, and is held in high regard by former Montagnard CIDG and SCU Soldiers and their families. In North Carolina and in Washington State he was instrumental in helping them to register as voters and to participate in Parent Teacher Associations. He initiated the involvement of Ross Perot and General Wayne Downing in the rescue of some 35 Nung families who had served with U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam. Keeping true to the spirit of the Quiet Professional, he never sought nor received acclaim for these and other effort to help others who have sacrificed for our nation.

On August 8th, 2010 Eulis was recognized as a Distinguished Member of the Regiment (DMOR) for his outstanding perfor- mance and contributions to US Army Special Forces. At the ceremony, Major General Sidney Shachnow (Ret.), Honorary Regimen- tal Commander, recognized Presley's accomplishments and declared him a Distinguished Member of the Regiment. MG Shachnow spoke at the ceremony and lauded Eulis when he said "*Retired+ Sergeant First Class Presley, your performance, your act of service, *and+ your hard work in retirement makes you indeed a patriot. I think you can look back and see the force today that is fighting two wars and scattered all over the world, following your legacy *and+ you can be justifiably proud. You can be proud this new gen- eration of *Special Forces Soldiers+ is carrying on the tradition that you have set the foundation for."

Page 11 SOG Project Eldest Son

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During the Vietnam War, the Studies And Observations Group (SOG)>created an ingenious top secret program called Project Eldest Son to wreak general mayhem and cause the Viet Cong and NVA to doubt the safety of their guns and ammunition.

Amid a firefight near the Cambodian border on June 6, 1968, a North Vietnamese Army soldier spotted an American G.I. rais- ing his rifle, and the NVA infantryman pulled his trigger, anticipating a muzzle blast. He got a blast, alright, but not quite what - - he'd expected. United States 1st Infantry Division troops later found the enemy soldier, sprawled beside his Chinese Type 56 AK, quite dead but not from small arms fire. Peculiarly, they could see, his rifle had exploded, its shattered receiver killing him instantly. It seemed a great mystery that his AK had blown up since nothing was blocking the bore. Bad metallurgy, the G.I.s concluded, or possibly defective ammo. It was neither. In reality, this actual incident was the calculated handiwork of one the Vietnam War's most secret and least understood covert operations: Project Eldest Son. So secret was this sabotage - - effort that few G.I.s in Southeast Asia ever heard of it or the organization behind it, the innocuously named Studies and Obser- - vations Group. As the Vietnam War's top secret special ops task force, SOG's operators Army Special Forces, Air Force Air

Commandos and Navy SEALs worked directly for the Joint Chiefs, executing highly classified, deniable missions in the ene- my's backyard of Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam. -

The genesis of Eldest Son was the fertile mind of SOG's commander, 1966 68, Colonel John K. Singlaub, a World War II veter- - an of covert actions with the Office of Strategic Services. "I was frustrated by the fact that I couldn't airlift the ammunition we - were discovering on the [Ho Chi Minh] Trail" in Laos, Singlaub explained. It was not unusual for SOG's small recon teams composed of two or three American Green Berets and four to six native soldiers to find tons of ammunition in enemy base - camps and caches along the Laotian highway system. But SOG teams lacked the manpower to secure the sites or carry the ordnance away. Further, it could not be burned up, and demolition would only scatter small arms ammunition, not destroy it. - "Initially I thought of just boobytrapping it so that when they'd pick up a case it would blow up," Singlaub recalled. Then it hit him boobytrap the ammunition itself! -

- Though obscure, this trick was not new. In the 1930s, to combat rebellious tribesmen in northwest India's Waziristan the - same lawless region where Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists hide today the British army planted sabotaged .303 rifle ammu- - nition. Even before that, during the Second Metabele War (1896 97) in today's Zimbabwe, British scouts (led by the Ameri- can adventurer Frederick Russell Burnham) had slipped explosive packed rifle cartridges into hostile stockpiles, to deadly effect. SOG would do likewise, the Joint Chiefs decided on August 30, 1967, but first Col.Singlaub arranged for CIA ordnance - experts to conduct a quick feasibility study. A few weeks later, at Camp Chinen, Okinawa, Singlaub watched a CIA technician load a sabotaged 7.62x39 mm cartridge into a bench mounted AK rifle. "It completely blew up the receiver and the bolt was projected backwards," Singlaub observed, "I would imagine into the head of the firer."

After that success began a month of tedious bullet pulling to manually disassemble thousands of 7.62 mm cartridges, made more difficult because Chinese ammo had a tough lacquer seal where the bullet seated into the case. In this process, some bullets suffered tiny scrapes, but when reloaded these marks seated out of sight below the case mouth. Rounds were inspect- - ed to ensure they showed no signs of tampering. When the job was done, 11,565 AK rounds had been sabotaged, along with 556 rounds for the Communist Bloc's heavy 12.7 mm machine gun, a major anti helicopterweapon. -

Eldest Son cartridges originally were reloaded with a powder similar to PETN high explosive, but sufficiently shock sensitive - that an ordinary rifle primer would detonate it. This white powder, however, did not even faintly resemble gunpowder. SOG's technical wizard, Ben Baker – our answer to James Bond's "Q" decided this powder might compromise the program if ever an enemy soldier pulled apart an Eldest Son round. He obtained a substitute explosive that so closely resembled gunpowder that it would pass inspection by anyone but an ordnance expert. While the AKM and Type 56 AKs and the RPD light machine gun could accommodate a chamber pressure of 45,000 p.s.i., Baker's deadly powder generated a whopping 250,000 p.s.i.

Sabotaging the ammunition proved the easiest challenge. The PageCIA's Okinawa12 lab also did a very professional job of prying open ammo crates, unsealing the interior metal cans and then repacking them so there was no sign of tampering. In addition - to SOG sabotaging 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm rounds, these CIA ordnance experts perfected a special fuse for the Communist 82 mm mortar round that would detonate the hand dropped projectile while inside the mortar tube, for especially devastating effect. Exactly 1,968 of these mortar rounds were sabotaged, too. -

- Project Eldest Son's greatest challenge was "placement" getting the infernal devices into the enemy logistical system with- out detection. That's where SOG's Green Beret led recon teams came in. Since the fall of 1965, our small teams had been run- ning deniable missions into Laos to gather intelligence, wiretap enemy communications, kidnap key enemy personnel, am- - bush convoys, raid supply dumps, plant mines and generally make life as difficult as possible in enemy rear areas. As an addi- - tional mission, each team carried along a few Eldest Son rounds usually as a single round in an otherwise full AK magazine or one round in an RPD machine gun belt or a sealed ammo can to plant whenever an opportunity arose.

When an SOG team discovered an ammo dump, they planted Eldest Son; when a SOG team ambushed an enemy patrol, they switched magazines in a dead soldier's AK. It was critically important never to plant more than one round per magazine; belt or ammo can, so no amount of searching after a gun exploded would uncover a second round, to preclude the enemy from determining this was sabotage. - Planting sabotaged 82 mm mortar ammo proved more cumbersome because these were not transported as loose rounds, but in three round, wooden cases. Thus, you had to tote a whole case, which must have weighed more than 25 lbs. Twice I recall carrying such crates for insertion in enemy rear areas, and to our surprise, my team once witnessed a platoon of NVA soldiers carry one away. SOG's most clever insertion was accomplished by SOG SEALS operating in the Mekong Delta, where they filled a captured sampan with tainted cases of ammunition, shot it tastefully full of bullet holes, then spilled chicken blood over it and set it adrift upstream from a known Viet Cong village. Of course, the VC assumed the boat's Communist crew had fallen overboard during an ambush. The Viet Cong took the ammunition, hook, line and sinker. -

- In Laos, American B 52s constantly targeted enemy logistical areas, which churned up sizeable pieces of terrain. SOG exploit- ed this opportunity by organizing a special team that landed just after B 52 strikes to construct false bunkers in such devas- - tated tracts, then "salt" these stockpiles with Eldest Son ammunition. However, on November 30, 1968, the helicopter carry- - ing SOG's secret Eldest Son team, flying some 20 miles west of the Khe Sanh Marine base, was hit by an enemy 37mm anti aircraft round, setting off a tremendous mid air explosion. Seven cases of tainted 82 mm mortar ammunition detonated, kill- ing everyone on board, including Maj. Samuel Toomey and seven U.S. Army Green Berets. Their remains were not recovered for 20 years. -

But as a result of these cross border efforts, Eldest Son rounds began to turn up inside South Vietnam. In a northern prov- ince, 101st Airborne Division paratroopers found a dead Communist soldier grasping his exploded rifle, while an officer at

SOG's Saigon headquarters, Captain Ed Lesesne, received the photo of a dead enemy soldier with his bolt blown out the back of his AK. "It had gone right through his eye socket," Lesesne reported.

Chad Spawr, an intelligence specialist with the 1st Infantry Division, heard of such a casebut, "didn't believe it until they walked me over and opened up the body bag, and there he was, with the weapon in the bag." Unaware of SOG's covert pro- gram, Spawr attributed the incident to inferior weapons and ammo. -

- Boobytrapped mortar rounds took their toll, too. Twenty Fifth Infantry Division soldiers came upon an entire enemy mortar - - battery destroyed four peeled back tubes with dead gunners. In another incident, a 101st Airborne firebase was taking mor- tar fire when there was an odd sounding, "boom pff!" A patrol later found two enemy bodies beside a split mortar tube and blood trails going off into the jungle. On July3, 1968, after an enemy mortar attack on Ban Me Thuot airstrip, nine Communist soldiers were found dead in one firing position, their tube so badly shattered that it had vanished but for two small frag- ments.

Boobytrapped ammunition clearly was getting into enemy hands, so it was time to initiate SOG's insidious "black psyop" ex- ploitation. "Our interest was not in killing the soldier that was using the weapon," explained Colonel Steve Cavanaugh, who Page 13 - replaced Singlaub in 1968. "We were trying to leave in the minds of the North Vietnamese that the ammunition they were - - getting from China was bad ammunition." Hopefully, this would aggravate Hanoi's leadership which traditionally distrusted the Chinese and cause individual soldiers to question the reliability (and safety) of their Chinese supplied arms and ord- nance. - - -

- One Viet Cong document forged by SOG and insinuated into enemy channels through a double agent made light of explod- ing weapons, claiming, "We know that it is rumored some of the ammunition has exploded in the AK 47. This report is greatly exaggerated. It is a very, very small percentage of the ammunition that has exploded." Another forged document announced, "Only a few thousand such cases have been found thus far," and concluded, "The People's Republic of China may have been having some quality control problems [but] these are being worked out and we think that in the future there will be very lit- tle chance of this happening."

That, "in the future," hook was especially devious, because an enemy soldier looking at lot numbers could see that virtually all his ammo had been loaded years earlier. No fresh ammo could possibly reach soldiers fighting in the South for many years. - - Next came an overt "safety" campaign, with Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) publishing Technical Intelligence Brief No. 2 68, "Analysis of Damaged Weapons." Openly circulated to U.S. and South Vietnamese units, this SOG inspired study examined several exploded AKs, concluding they were destroyed by "defective metallurgy resulting in fatigue cracks" or "faulty ammunition, which produced excessive chamber pressure."

A SOG operative left a copy at a Saigon bar whose owners were suspected enemy agents. Under the guise of cautioning G.I.s against using enemy weapons, warnings were sent to Armed Forces Radio and TV. The civilian Stateside tabloid Army Times warned, "Numerous incidents have caused injury and sometimes death to the operators of enemy weapons," the cause of which was, "defective metallurgy" or "faulty ammo." The 25th Infantry Division newspaper similarly warned soldiers on July 14, 1969, that, "because of poor quality control procedures in Communist Bloc factories, many AKs with even a slight mal- function will blow up when fired." Despite such warnings, some G.I.s fired captured arms, and inevitably one American's sou- venir A exploded, inflicting serious (but not fatal) injuries. - That incident spurned SOG itself to stop using captured ammunition in our own AKs and RPD machine guns. SOG purchased - commercial 7.62 mm ammunition through a Finnish middleman and, ironically, this ammo, which SOG's covert operators fired at their Communist foes had been manufactured in a Soviet arsenal in Petrograd. -

By mid 1969, word about Eldest Son began leaking out, with articles in the New York Times and Time, compelling SOG to change the codename to Italian Green, and later, to Pole Bean. As of July 1, 1969, a declassified report discloses, SOG opera- tives had inserted 3,638 rounds of sabotaged 7.62 mm, plus 167 rounds of 12.7 mm and 821 rounds of 82 mm mortar ammu- nition. That fall, the Joint Chiefs directed SOG to dispose of its remaining stockpile and end the program. In November, my team was specially tasked to insert as much Eldest Son as possible, making multiple landings on the Laotian border to get rid of the stuff before authority expired. -

Lacking the earlier finesse, such insertions had to have confirmed to the enemy that we were sabotaging his ammunition but even this, SOG believed, was psychologically useful, creating a big shell game in which the enemy had to question endlessly which ammunition was polluted and which was not. The enemy came to fear any cache where there was evidence that SOG recon teams got near it and, thanks to radio intercepts, SOG headquarters learned that the enemy's highest levels of com- - . mand had expressed concerns about exploding arms, Chinese quality control and sabotage. In that sense, Project Eldest Son was a total success but as with any such covert deception program, you can never quite be sure

Page 14 Blast From the Past

Air Assault

SGM (Ret) Bruce Ring

Martha Raye

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