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‘IN THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE’ COLD WAR ABOVE: Team 1, Scout Swimmer cadre of Detachment A undergo training in 1974 in Grossenbröde, DETACHMENT A, BERLIN BRIGADE Germany. They are, back row: Kevin Monahan, Bob Charest, Richard Lahue, Ralph Ormes, Willie Headon and Ron Bruce; Clandestine commandos of the legendary Green Berets front row: John Silk, Ernie Kirk, Frank Midill, Lee Dickerson, Paul served east of the Elbe River and behind the Iron Curtain Piuisz and Sparky Airhart. to confront communism between 1956 and 1984. Until this year, their role in the Cold contingent operated behind the scenes, not even acknowledged until long after War was unheralded. With the 25th the Cold War ended. Only this year were anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall, they fully and publicly recognized. now is a good time to provide them BORN IN THE MID-’50S with long overdue recognition. Though the Status-of-Forces Agreement signed by all four powers occupying 9P9F9:?8I<JK Photos courtesy Bob Charest Berlin prohibited elite forces, each coun- try had its own prowling the city. It was erlin was a dangerous place during the Cold War. A preserved piece of 10 years after WWII ended, however, the Wall containing a mural memorializing 146 Germans killed trying to before the U.S. had such a unit formally escape communism stands in stark testament. in place there. As the grand central station of East-West espionage, the city was a play- In August 1956, the elite 10th Special ground for all sorts of secret agents. And its place in the history of the 20th Forces Group, based in Bad Tolz, Germany, century far outweighs its size. Indeed, 37% of Americans viewed the fall of stationed the secretive 7781 Army Unit Bthe Berlin Wall as the single most important event of the 1980s. (also known as the 39th Special Forces That Wall came down after 28 years because Americans in uniform stood as a bar- Operational Detachment) in West Berlin. rier to Soviet aggression. The vast majority of those GIs were clearly visible. But a small It consisted of six modified detachments 42 VFW ƞNOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 that became part of the Headquarters Company of the 6th Infantry Regiment. Each team had six members. Two years later, the unit was renamed Detachment A and assigned to the Headquarters Company of the U.S. Army Garrison, Berlin. Then in April 1962, it was attached to the Berlin Brigade. Its area of operations was primarily that city, but it could undertake missions elsewhere in Europe. “Detachment A was literally in the eye of the Cold War hurricane,” said Lt. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, commanding gen- On Jan. 30, 2014, this monument was dedicated to the Cold War warriors of eral of the U.S. Army Special Operations Detachment A of the Army Special Operations Command Memorial Plaza, N.C. Command. As an unconventional and classified outfit of 90 men (a normal tour of duty As masters of spy craft, team members military starting in 1972—came into play, was three years), Detachment A carried carried items reminiscent of a James killing six GIs in all. That meant being out clandestine operations. Originally Bond movie. Coal filled with C-4 explo- prepared to take on terrorists with snip- operating in small cells, by the late 1960s sives was used to potentially sabotage ers and SWAT tactics. it expanded to 12-man “A” teams. the rail ring surrounding Berlin. One- “They were very brave men and took Unit members were as unique as the shot cigarette-lighter guns, vials filled on some tough missions,” recalled Sidney U.S. Army ever recruited. Many were with metal shavings for destruction of Shachnow, who led Detachment A from German or East European refugees who turbines and noise-suppressed weapons 1970 to 1974. still had families trapped behind the Iron for eliminating targets were all part of Still, the Soviet threat hovered over ANE’ Curtain. In the early years, a significant the arsenal. The German Walther MPK the divided city. In 1978, the unit was number were WWII vets, too. Hence 9mm SMG that fit in a briefcase was the tasked by the CIA with digging up sev- they brought much-needed skills along weapon of choice. All scuba gear was eral mission sites positioned throughout with knowledge of other nations and lan- German-made, including the one-man Berlin for stay-behind operations. Also, guages to the unit. portable decompression chamber. to maintain the equipment in them— Every member spoke fluent German weapons and demolitions, for example. TRAINING & TOOLS OF THE TRADE and dressed mostly in authentic German Within six years, however, the mis- Physical training was wide-ranging and civilian clothes. They sometimes carried sion of this unique outfit was deemed progressively intense. For instance, win- non-American flash documentation and unnecessary even though the Cold War ter warfare training in Bavaria consist- identification. Dual passports, or dual was far from over. At the end of 1984, ed of downhill and cross-country skiing nationalities, were part of the deception. Detachment A was disbanded. “I knew equivalent to extreme skiing. Adversaries in this potentially dead- when I closed the door,” said Eugene Specialized demolition training was ly game of cat and mouse included the Piasecki, the detachment’s last com- required for various targets in Berlin. notorious East German Secret Police mander, “I would no longer serve in a Some teammates attended the CIA’s spe- (Stasi), Soviet KGB (Committee for State unit like that.” cialized demo course at Harvey Point, Security) and even Spetsnaz (Russian To preserve that legacy, the idea of N.C. Scuba diving was another required Special Purpose Forces). Being vigilant erecting a permanent tribute was born. skill. Every month, members made para- of Soviet surveillance was a given. It was the brainchild of unit veteran chute jumps staging out of Tempelhof The KGB had members under con- Jimmy Spoo. On Jan. 30, 2014, a monu- Air Base in Berlin. stant watch and possessed dossiers on ment was dedicated on the Army Special Detachment A participated in NATO everyone in Detachment A. Yet the Green Operations Command Memorial Plaza at escape and evasion exercises. Exercises Berets always deceived their adversaries Fort Bragg, N.C. exclusive to Berlin included dead drops, into believing they were an exponential- “This is the true legacy of the men of live drops, primary meetings, surveil- ly larger force than they really were. Detachment A,” Gen. Cleveland said. lance and communications. “They played a crucial role in vanquish- Team members trained with the elite MISSION AND MONUMENT ing an existential threat to our way of West German Federal Border Guard During the mid-1970s, the unit’s mission life. We bring this unit a bit more out the and Border Protection Group 9, British began to evolve. Though the classic Cold shadows by dedicating this stone.” - Special Air Service and special police War enemy always remained, a new one E-MAIL [email protected] units. But they also taught an urban reared its ugly head in the form of ter- BOB CHAREST, a retired Army master course to other 10th SFG personnel, as rorism. The lethal Red Army Faction —a sergeant, served with Detachment A from well as SEAL Team 2 based on Crete. rabid Marxist group targeting the U.S. 1969 to 1972 and 1973 to 1978. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 WWW.VFW.ORG 43.

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