BMT (RIP)
12-08-2007, 04:41
http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=279959
BMT
Mulholland assumes command of 7th Special Forces Group
By Kevin Maurer
Staff writer
Col. Edward Reeder’s wife, Adrian, joked that her husband took command of the 7th Special Forces Group on one of the hottest days in North Carolina more than two years ago and relinquished command Friday on one of the coldest.
Col. Sean Mulholland took command of 7th Group from Reeder on Friday during a brief, chilly ceremony under at Meadows Memorial Field next to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command on Fort Bragg.
“Today, I’ve reached the peak of the mountain,” Mulholland said.
He started his Special Forces career with the unit. He was a detachment commander in the Group’s 3rd Battalion and later served as an operations officer and company commander.
Mulholland said he never imagined being the group’s commander.
“But, by the grace of God, here I am,” he said.
The 7th Special Forces Group was activated in 1942 as the 1st Special Service Force. It was created to carry out raids against Nazi Germany’s nuclear weapons program in Scandinavia.
During World War II, the unit also fought the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands and the Germans in southern France and Italy. The soldiers earned the nickname The Devil’s Brigade.
The unit disbanded after World War II but was reactivated in 1953 and recognized in 1960 as the 7th Special Forces Group.
Multiple assignments
Since the 1980s, the group has been operating in Latin America, combating first communist insurgencies in El Salvador and later narcotics trafficking.
The 7th Group also has been an integral part of the war in Afghanistan.
In Reeder’s 28 months in charge of 7th Group, every battalion in the unit deployed to Latin America.
The group headquarters, support battalion and several of the companies also deployed twice to Afghanistan.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Csrnko, the commanding general of Army Special Forces Command, thanked Reeder for his service.
“You have done a superb job leading this group,” Csrnko said.
The unit returned from Afghanistan in the fall.
Csrnko thanked the soldiers and their families for their sacrifice and praised them for a job well done.
“In your hands rests the freedom and liberties of this great country,” Csrnko said.
Reeder’s new assignment takes him to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. where he will become executive officer to Adm. Eric Olson, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command.
In a short speech, he thanked the soldiers and said commanding 7th Group was the highlight of his career.
“To say that you’ve done well is a monumental understatement,” Reeder said. “You are the greatest fighting force on Earth.”
Staff writer Kevin Maurer can be reached at maurerk@fayobserver.com or 486-3587.
BMT
Mulholland assumes command of 7th Special Forces Group
By Kevin Maurer
Staff writer
Col. Edward Reeder’s wife, Adrian, joked that her husband took command of the 7th Special Forces Group on one of the hottest days in North Carolina more than two years ago and relinquished command Friday on one of the coldest.
Col. Sean Mulholland took command of 7th Group from Reeder on Friday during a brief, chilly ceremony under at Meadows Memorial Field next to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command on Fort Bragg.
“Today, I’ve reached the peak of the mountain,” Mulholland said.
He started his Special Forces career with the unit. He was a detachment commander in the Group’s 3rd Battalion and later served as an operations officer and company commander.
Mulholland said he never imagined being the group’s commander.
“But, by the grace of God, here I am,” he said.
The 7th Special Forces Group was activated in 1942 as the 1st Special Service Force. It was created to carry out raids against Nazi Germany’s nuclear weapons program in Scandinavia.
During World War II, the unit also fought the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands and the Germans in southern France and Italy. The soldiers earned the nickname The Devil’s Brigade.
The unit disbanded after World War II but was reactivated in 1953 and recognized in 1960 as the 7th Special Forces Group.
Multiple assignments
Since the 1980s, the group has been operating in Latin America, combating first communist insurgencies in El Salvador and later narcotics trafficking.
The 7th Group also has been an integral part of the war in Afghanistan.
In Reeder’s 28 months in charge of 7th Group, every battalion in the unit deployed to Latin America.
The group headquarters, support battalion and several of the companies also deployed twice to Afghanistan.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Csrnko, the commanding general of Army Special Forces Command, thanked Reeder for his service.
“You have done a superb job leading this group,” Csrnko said.
The unit returned from Afghanistan in the fall.
Csrnko thanked the soldiers and their families for their sacrifice and praised them for a job well done.
“In your hands rests the freedom and liberties of this great country,” Csrnko said.
Reeder’s new assignment takes him to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. where he will become executive officer to Adm. Eric Olson, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command.
In a short speech, he thanked the soldiers and said commanding 7th Group was the highlight of his career.
“To say that you’ve done well is a monumental understatement,” Reeder said. “You are the greatest fighting force on Earth.”
Staff writer Kevin Maurer can be reached at maurerk@fayobserver.com or 486-3587.