Special ops troops in Afghanistan told to shave and wear regular uniforms

CNN.com ^ | September 12, 2002 Posted: 6:47 PM EDT (2247 GMT) | Mike Mount | CNN Washington Bureau

[AM2000]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. special operations forces in Afghanistan have been ordered to shave and wear regular uniforms to look more like U.S. soldiers rather than locals, according to an official at the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida.

[sneakypete]

As I said, the SF have fought hard to be accepted. Until I hear it from a real Army SF trooper

I was a career NCO in SF. What you are claiming was seeking approval from the regular army by SF boils down to officers looking for promotions. That ain't the same thing. Yes,it's true that SF officers had their careers limited to promotion to Col. in the old days before SF became a branch. Most career SF officers I talked to didn't really care because they were where they wanted to be,and a side benefit of this was it tended to keep the riff-raff careerists out.

[MARTIAL MONK]

Several years ago some friends and I stopped by a house to do some business. There was an old man in the corner. He was old and blind and palsied, obviously just waiting to die. As we chatted around the kitchen table I happened to notice an old yellow citation in a cheap frame that didn't fit. Merrill's Marauders.

I went over to the old man and it was all I could do to whisper You. . .were a Marauder? That old man squared like a recruit in his wheelchair. His blank eyes lit up and be barked back like a twenty year old "Yes sir, we were Marauders."

When we got outside my friends asked what it was that I said to the old guy that had made such a difference. They didn't know. . .

I'm sure the old man is gone now but I like to think I gave him one last burst of pride, one last bit of recognition, one last salute.

[sneakypete]

I'm sure the old man is gone now but I like to think I gave him one last burst of pride, one last bit of recognition, one last salute.

Good for you. It's sad to acknowledge that our childhood heroes turn into feeble old men who are all either dead or dying,but even time,age,and disease can't diminish their accomplishments or the effect they had on the world. The individuals may be gone,but their deeds will survive forever.

[harpseal]

Sorry I am late to the thread. Its fall and the boat has to be readied for winter on the weekends plus I had a thing I had to do with a local PD. I also will vouch for Travis McGee's service as he has stated.

Now as to criticising the faulty thinking of General Geoff I believe that is the duty of former officers and enlisted when they see it. We are not presently serving so there is no question whatsoever about insubordination.

I never inhabited officers country, I lived in the goat locker. Now as to officers in SF having to kiss some butt of Regular Army types that is consitent with my Navy experience. On the teams enlisted rank came quickly but officers were at a disadvantage at least in the ancient times when I was serving.

Stay well - stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Yasotay]

It may be nice for an O-6 that made it to say it does not matter but it has to hurt to be passed - over (basic human pride). In my year group, 3 out of 4 would not make it to Major in the Infantry(it normally was 37%). The expected cut to LTC was 50%. I imagine series 18 was alittle better. It might be ok for the NCOs to let all the "O"s get rifted since we were only "O"s .... but the officers do need to look out for themselves.

[wardaddy]

Here:

http://www.rhodesia.myweb.nl/sscouts.htm

I had a friend as a teenager who went to Rhodesia in the early 70s to live with his divorced dad and joined the Rhodesian army. One year he was in school playing football with us and the next year he was in Africa fighting Marxist terrs....with some hellacious tales under his belt. He thought these Scouts were topdrawer.

[wardaddy]

Brian has graciously donated 50 dollars to Free Republic.

Damn...cheap talk wolf tickets went up in value from zero to 50 bucks in a matter of hours. Gotta love this forum don't ya?

[wardaddy]

Amen to your motivations with the old man.

My step grandfather (Boyd Sullivan of Sullivan's Hollow in Mississippi, since were all into verification now) fought with Pershing against Villa and later in the Expeditionary Force in Europe in WWI. In his late 80s and very hard of hearing, he loved to regale me with all his stories he had preserved to memory. I'm glad I was able to hear them in his final days.

My own father who passed away a few years ago of a brain tumour was second in commnand of the corps and on the honour court while at VMI in the early 50s. Again for verification anyone may e-mail General Bunting at the Institute and asked who bequeathed the soccer stadium in his will and FReep me for further details should they doubt my veracity on this rather heated thread. After VMI, my dad served 7 years as a tactical fighter pilot USAF flying 84s, 86s, and 100s. I was born in 1957 at Seymour Johnson. While he was dying, it became quite clear that the apex of his life had been the Corps at VMI and his time in the USAF. Likewise all his old buddies stood by him till the bitter end. VMI held a special ceremony for him whereby my brother and I carried him up to Lexington and literally carried him through it. He could not have been happier even knowing his time was drawing very near. It was his proudest moment and mine as well. One cannot underestimate the value of these accomplishments.

Paying honour to old soldiers is a highly commendable pursuit in my view.

Regards.

PS: My two young manchildren (including one due in 5 weeks) are to be tapped for the Institute asap. I hope they are smarter than I was and take the challenge. I feel far more affinity for VMI than I do my alma mater Ole Miss and I regularly represent my family in functions there still. And no, none of us are too happy about recent developments there but we remain hopeful.

[sneakypete]

It may be nice for an O-6 that made it to say it does not matter but it has to hurt to be passed -

The first thing we need to establish is that we aren't talking about oranges and apples. The officers I am writing about came from MY time frame,the middle 60's to early 70's. Back then SF officers kept their branch,and were routinely rotated back into branch assignments so they could get their tickets punched. If they didn't want to come back to SF,their branch members would applaud them and made sure they didn't. As a result of this,about the only SF officers you ever saw at or above the grade of Major was there because they WANTED to be there,and to hell with branch assignments and the promotions associated with them.

I have to agree there had to be some resentment. These guys are by nature not only aggressive,but over-acheivers. This is what most likely led to SF becoming a branch. None the less,the senior officers who were in SF prior to SF becoming a branch were only there because they WANTED to be there. It is true a few of the junior officers (0-1/0-3)were there only to get their "tickets punched" so they could have SF qualification on their 204 file,but these guys typically weren't much of a problem for anybody. When they left,they never returned.

[Squantos]

Awww we should just consider it a bar room brawl over the waitress with the big gazongas and call it a day......:o) Were all on the same side and mean well . It just comes out right and wrong on this forum sometimes.

Stay Safe WD & Harpseal !!

[wardaddy]

big gazongas and call it a day

I'm with you buddy....and so is she!

[Squantos]

Heeeeeeyyyyyy careful there WD you'll put yer eye out :o) Solo'e nanos ?!?!?!? Only the little ones ??

Stay Safe WD .............LMBO

[MARTIAL MONK]

I knew these guys as I was growing up. My father was USAAF-Pacific, my uncle a tanker with Patton. I knew them as bums and bankers, farmers and insurance salesmen. I listened to their stories, saw the haunted eyes of the Bataan survivors and the devil can't get me attitudes of the bomber crews. They're mostly gone now, slipped quietly out of our lives but I remember.

The state has designated Highway 64 the Merrill's Marauders Highway. It's a lonely place where the air is clear and the wind plays a ghostly eternal taps. Up above the Little Colorado by Grey Mountain a dirt road breaks off and snakes over a hill to nowhere. I always try to pull up on top of that hill and pause for o few minutes. I don't think I'm being maudlin, I just want to say "Thanks guys, I remember."

Down below you can see the cars coming out of the Grand Canyon. American tourists. Japanese tourists. I wonder how many know who the Mauraders were.

Maybe they're not supposed to know. America is about peace, not war. It's about kissing your wife, drinking a beer, going to work and taking your kids to the Grand Canyon. It's about all the things these guys did when they got back. Still there's a quiet satisfaction in stopping for a minute and whispering a prayer for the souls of the sentries and honoring their pickets. And saying "Thanks guys. I remember."

[Matthew James]

They need to can this guy and bring back the "modified grooming standards" for SpecOps; anything else is stupid.

Almost looks as if the REMFs are back in charge (in Afghanistan), and the real effort has shifted elsewhere.

[Travis McGee]

Good point. The tip of the spear is aiming somewhere else.

[ArneFufkin]

How many Iraqi military despots have you seen sporting beards?

[Ax]

Yasotay, I don't know if it would've worked or not. Thank God, that theory never got tested. Cheers, Ax.

[Twodees]

A heads up for you and Travis on this pogue, wilson. He pops in on LP and starts threatening to whip my @$$ while claiming that he's there to defend that sorry little limey, jjbrouwer who was banned from here in the spring.

I just FRmailed the pogue detailed directions to my place. We'll see if he can play.

Edd

[PatrioticAmerican]

"With the Army back in charge, it's time to break out the boot polish and razors."

A fine way to pollute a clean can of polish!(i crack myself up)