Navy SEAL receives Medal of Honor for Aghanistan actions in 2002 ... 18 TipTip ofof thethe SpearSpear U.S. Army Gen. Raymond A. Thomas III U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Patrick L. McCauley Commander, USSOCOM Command Sergeant Major This is a U.S. Special Operations Command publication. Contents are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, U.S. Navy Capt. Jason Salata Department of Defense or USSOCOM. The content is edited, prepared and Special Operations provided by the USSOCOM Communication Office, 7701 Tampa Point Communication Office Director Blvd., MacDill AFB, Fla., 33621, phone (813) 826-4600, DSN 299-4600. An Daniel Wade electronic copy can be found at www.socom.mil. E-mail the editor via Command Information Chief unclassified network at [email protected]. The editor of the Tip of the Spear reserves the right to edit all copy presented for publication. Michael Bottoms Managing Editor U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Ryan Scranton U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Barry Loo U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Heather Kelly Staff NCOIC Photojournalist Staff Writer/Photographer Command Information U.S. Army Master Sgt. Timothy Lawn U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jerimiah Richardson U.S. Army Sgt. Jose Reyes Staff Writer/Photographer Staff Writer/Photographer Staff Writer/Photographer (Cover) Medal of Honor recipient retired Master Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Britt Slabinski stands on the stage during his induction ceremony into the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon Auditorium. Slabinski was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Donald J. Trump for his heroic actions in March 2002 during the Battle of Takur Ghar while serving in Afghanistan. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul L. Archer. Tip of the Spear 2 HighlightsHighlights Departments SOF Around the World 1st SFG(A) saves Korean farmer’s life ... 4 SF, attack aviation helicopters strike behind enemy lines at exercise Combined Resolve X ... 6 Green Berets mentor US, Albanian, Lithunian forces at Allied Spirit VIII ... 7 2000 NATO, SOF rapidly deploy for Trojan Footprint 18 ... 8 Multinational SOF conduct capabilties exercise in Tampa ... 10 U.S. Army Special Operations Command USASOC farewells Lt. Gen. Tovo; welcomes Lt. Gen. Beaudette ... 12 Multinational SOF conduct First USASOC Command Chief Warrant Officer passes capabilties exercise in Tampa ... 10 reigns, retires after 36-year career ... 14 10th Group conducts rescue training ... 16 Naval Special Warfare Command Navy SEAL receives Medal of Honor for Aghanistan actions in 2002 ... 18 Air Force Special Operations Command 24 Airmen recieve the Distinguished Flying Cross ... 22 ST legend earns second retirement ... 24 24 Airmen receive the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command Scruffy special operator retires with honors ... 26 Distinguished Flying Cross ... 22 Special Feature: Warrior Games Steadfast, resilient, relentless: The story of Army Staff Sgt. Lauren Montoya ... 28 7th Group Green Beret competes, enjoys his first Warrior Games ... 30 Camaraderie, competition: Team SOCOM in the 2018 Warrior Games ... 32 Headquarters SOCOM commemorates D-Day with memorial shoot ... 34 “Wild Bill” Donovan: SOF pioneer ... 36 SOCOM competes in 2018 Warrior SOCOM receives replica of Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the Office of Strategic Services ... 38 Games special feature ... 28 Fallen Heroes ... 39 Tip of the Spear 3 Soldiers from the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the Republic of Korea Special Forces provide lifesaving emergency care to a Korean farmer April 25. The partnered forces were traveling from one training location to another when a local flagged them down to treat the injured farmer, saving his life.1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) courtesy photo. Tip of the Spear 4 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Soldiers save Korean farmer’s life By U.S. Army Maj. Alexandra Weiskopf Lt. Col. Matt Gomlak, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 1st 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) SFG (A) Soldiers involved in the event. “This incident is indicative of the broader strength of the ROK-U.S. alliance Soldiers from the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the things that we can accomplish together as one team.” and Republic of Korea Special Forces responded to a The farmer in his 50s was injured and unconscious after farming accident while conducting partnered training in the an accident with his tractor, which turned over and caught Republic of Korea on April 25, saving the civilian’s life. fire, in the vicinity of Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Together, the U.S. and Republic of Korea Special Forces province. Soldiers responded to an injured and unconscious Korean A Republic of Korean Special Forces general presented farmer who fell from his tractor and lacerated his right knee. the American Soldiers with citations on behalf of the The tractor subsequently caught fire and burned the farmer’s Republic of Korea Special Warfare Command commanding airway. Local civilians flagged down the Soldiers who then general. stabilized the patient and extinguished the tractor fire before “It was a great opportunity for the detachments to transfering the patient to emergency medical services. demonstrate the friendship and interoperability of ROK and “There’s a Korean man who is alive today because of the U.S. SOF,” said the Republic of Korea Special Forces efforts of U.S. Special Forces and Republic of Korea special battalion commander in charge of the Korean Special Forces operations troops who were training nearby. We are soldiers involved in the event. “Further, it demonstrated to exceptionally proud of their effort as well as the training and the Korean people that we can be trusted as a combined expertise they possess that allowed them to stabilized an force. It was truly the friendship between our forces that set injured civilian, extinguish a vehicle fire, and transfer the the conditions for the Soldiers to help the elderly farmer, and patient to local emergency medical services personnel,” said leave a positive impression on the local community.” Soldiers from the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the Republic of Korea Special Forces receive recognition from the Republic of Korea Special Warfare Command for their lifesaving actions on April 25. The partnered special operations forces were taking part in training when a local Korean asked them to assist a badly injured elderly farmer. Their emergency care saved the farmers life. 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) courtesy photo. Tip of the Spear 5 Special Forces , attack aviation helicopters strike behind enemy lines at exercise Combined Resolve X By U.S. Army 1st Lt. Benjamin Haulenbeek U.S. Special Operations Command Europe U.S. Army Green Berets assigned to 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and attack aviation helicopters assigned to the 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division conducted missions to engage targets deep in enemy territory during exercise Combined Resolve X at Hohenfels, Germany in early May 2018. The ability to operate far from friendly lines is a core capability for special operation forces. “Something that SOF elements are experts at is doing deep reconnaissance,” said a senior communications sergeant U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jared Seat, an opposing forces role assigned to 19th SFG(A). “We can take the conventional player and section sergeant assigned to Dakota Company 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, stands guard next to a target forces mission further and deeper. Their forward observers being surveilled by U.S. Army Special Forces in southern can only push out so far from friendly lines, and we are able Germany, May 1, during exercise Combined Resolve X. Photo to go in as far as the commander needs us to.” by U.S. Army 1st Lt. Benjamin Haulenbeek. Combined Resolve is a biannual U.S. Army Europe-led Hellfire missile from a concealed location several kilometers exercise series that is designed to give U.S. and NATO away. During the maneuver portion of an exercise such as combat brigades in Europe the opportunity to train within a CBR, the fires are notional. During a real-world combat joint, multinational environment. mission, the AH-64 Apache would launch a Hellfire missile On a mission during Combined Resolve where the at a high trajectory that would then be guided onto the target objective was to destroy a truck carrying missile system by the SOF team’s laser. components several kilometers behind enemy lines, the 19th “They were set in somewhere with positive identification SFG(A) Soldiers and 227th Avn. Regt. leveraged their and could laser the target,” said Lemmons. “The power of a strengths to destroy the target. remote shot is that we can fire and forget. We don’t have to “It was great to have a Special Forces team to work with have positive identification on the target, this means we are on this mission which was a deep attack,” said 1st Lt. Blake not designating for the missile that we fire, which minimizes Lemmons, an AH-64 Apache pilot assigned to Alpha the risk of us being seen or engaged by the enemy.” Company, 1st Battalion, 227th Avn. Regt. “Anyone with a The increased level of combat survivability is a mutual device that can shoot coded laser energy can designate for benefit for both aviation and SOF. When the capabilities of us. What SOF can do is get to places that a conventional SOF and attack aviation are combined, it greatly enhances force cannot.” the ability of a commander to strike deep in enemy territory. Operating deep in enemy territory, Special Forces teams “We are a small element,” said the communications greatly enhance the ability of aviation assets to effectively sergeant. “We don’t want to get decisively engaged. It is not engage targets with their weapon systems without being necessary that we destroy the target, so it’s good we can get exposed to enemy fire.