The Reaper
12-14-2014, 14:32
Nice little article.
Good question.
TR
Fort Bragg special operations leaders say sacrifice in Afghanistan making a difference
http://www.fayobserver.com/news/local/fort-bragg-special-operations-leaders-say-sacrifice-in-afghanistan-making/article_93bf83b1-39d2-5fc5-93e7-97a070be34bc.html
By Drew Brooks Military editor
KABUL, Afghanistan - A woman being trailed by a 10-year-old girl approached Maj. Gen. Edward Reeder after a ceremony on Fort Bragg earlier this year.
The woman had lost her only son in Afghanistan a decade earlier. The girl was her granddaughter, a child who never met her father.
"She asked me, she said, 'When you come back, I want you to tell me was this worth it. Was this war worth it?'" Reeder said. "'Come back off the deployment and tell me it was worth it.'"
Reeder believes the answer is yes. He believes the sacrifices paid by Special Forces soldiers have made a difference in making the world a better place.
But he also knows the loss has been great.
Special operations forces make up a small percentage of the overall military, yet they account for more than 10 percent of the more than 2,100 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan.
The latest came this month, when Staff Sgt. Matthew Ammerman, a soldier with 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, died during an operation in Zabul Province.
A memorial at Camp Vance, a special operations compound at Bagram Air Field, includes the etchings of more than 200 names of special operators who have given their lives in combat.
In all, more than 215 Army special operations soldiers have been killed, along with dozens of Air Force, Marine and Navy special operators.
Fort Bragg units have paid the heaviest tolls.
According to a Fayetteville Observer tally of war deaths, more than 100 local special operations troops have been killed in Afghanistan, with the bulk coming from the 3rd Special Forces Group and the 7th Special Forces Group, which was located at Fort Bragg until September 2011.
"We've lost some great Green Berets," Reeder said when describing the memorial. "When you look at that, you'll see the sacrifices that our guys made."
Col. Robert Wilson, commander of the 3rd Special Forces Group, had an office in a building next to the memorial when he served as commander of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan earlier this year.
He said the sacrifices go well beyond the names on the memorial.
"Just about every deployment we've been on over here, 7th Group as well, people have paid a price," Wilson said, adding that each deployment resulted in dozens of injuries in addition to the deaths in combat.
Some soldiers currently serving with Special Forces in Afghanistan have several Purple Heart medals for past wounds.
There also are the nonphysical sacrifices: the time away from family, missing holidays, birthdays and other events.
"You don't realize a lot of times the personal sacrifices that the noncommissioned officers, specifically in 3rd Group, make to work here in Afghanistan or anywhere else," said one Special Forces detachment leader, describing senior enlisted soldiers with repeated wartime deployments. "The work often goes unnoticed.
"A lot of these guys have been wounded before," the captain added. "For some of these guys, it's their third Purple Heart. That's a burden for the families, too. It's not just the guy or the team, it's the families, too. The support they provide is pretty incredible."
Lt. Col. Michael Sullivan, who commands the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, said his wife and children have accepted the risks.
"She knows who I am and why I do what I do," he said. "I've always had her support."
At the same time, he said the deployments - Sullivan is on his sixth tour in Afghanistan - never get any easier.
"I think it actually gets harder for the families," he said.
"Everyone is more aware of just how dangerous it can be," Sullivan said.
"We're very aware of the challenges we're going to face over here, especially as Green Berets."
Green Berets are paired with Afghan commandos.
"They're the best in Afghanistan - the tip of the spear. And we're going to be right there with them," he said.
Wilson, the 3rd Group commander, said he doesn't sugarcoat the risks of a deployment, not even with family members.
"I try to make sure everybody understands what we do over here," he said.
Sullivan's battalion deployed in October.
A month later, the unit lost Sgt. 1st Class Michael A. Cathcart, a 31-year-old soldier on his fifth deployment. He was killed during an operation in Kunduz Province.
Sullivan said there was nothing the unit could do to prepare for the loss.
"I don't know if you can every truly really prepare for it, he said.
"Once you get to this level, you truly get a sense of how amazing the guys that work for you are," he said. "The caliber of man that it takes to be a Green Beret and go out every day - it's lost on you even when you're on the team because it's just kind of what you do."
Military editor Drew Brooks can be reached at brooksd@fayobserver.com or 486-3567.
Good question.
TR
Fort Bragg special operations leaders say sacrifice in Afghanistan making a difference
http://www.fayobserver.com/news/local/fort-bragg-special-operations-leaders-say-sacrifice-in-afghanistan-making/article_93bf83b1-39d2-5fc5-93e7-97a070be34bc.html
By Drew Brooks Military editor
KABUL, Afghanistan - A woman being trailed by a 10-year-old girl approached Maj. Gen. Edward Reeder after a ceremony on Fort Bragg earlier this year.
The woman had lost her only son in Afghanistan a decade earlier. The girl was her granddaughter, a child who never met her father.
"She asked me, she said, 'When you come back, I want you to tell me was this worth it. Was this war worth it?'" Reeder said. "'Come back off the deployment and tell me it was worth it.'"
Reeder believes the answer is yes. He believes the sacrifices paid by Special Forces soldiers have made a difference in making the world a better place.
But he also knows the loss has been great.
Special operations forces make up a small percentage of the overall military, yet they account for more than 10 percent of the more than 2,100 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan.
The latest came this month, when Staff Sgt. Matthew Ammerman, a soldier with 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, died during an operation in Zabul Province.
A memorial at Camp Vance, a special operations compound at Bagram Air Field, includes the etchings of more than 200 names of special operators who have given their lives in combat.
In all, more than 215 Army special operations soldiers have been killed, along with dozens of Air Force, Marine and Navy special operators.
Fort Bragg units have paid the heaviest tolls.
According to a Fayetteville Observer tally of war deaths, more than 100 local special operations troops have been killed in Afghanistan, with the bulk coming from the 3rd Special Forces Group and the 7th Special Forces Group, which was located at Fort Bragg until September 2011.
"We've lost some great Green Berets," Reeder said when describing the memorial. "When you look at that, you'll see the sacrifices that our guys made."
Col. Robert Wilson, commander of the 3rd Special Forces Group, had an office in a building next to the memorial when he served as commander of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan earlier this year.
He said the sacrifices go well beyond the names on the memorial.
"Just about every deployment we've been on over here, 7th Group as well, people have paid a price," Wilson said, adding that each deployment resulted in dozens of injuries in addition to the deaths in combat.
Some soldiers currently serving with Special Forces in Afghanistan have several Purple Heart medals for past wounds.
There also are the nonphysical sacrifices: the time away from family, missing holidays, birthdays and other events.
"You don't realize a lot of times the personal sacrifices that the noncommissioned officers, specifically in 3rd Group, make to work here in Afghanistan or anywhere else," said one Special Forces detachment leader, describing senior enlisted soldiers with repeated wartime deployments. "The work often goes unnoticed.
"A lot of these guys have been wounded before," the captain added. "For some of these guys, it's their third Purple Heart. That's a burden for the families, too. It's not just the guy or the team, it's the families, too. The support they provide is pretty incredible."
Lt. Col. Michael Sullivan, who commands the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, said his wife and children have accepted the risks.
"She knows who I am and why I do what I do," he said. "I've always had her support."
At the same time, he said the deployments - Sullivan is on his sixth tour in Afghanistan - never get any easier.
"I think it actually gets harder for the families," he said.
"Everyone is more aware of just how dangerous it can be," Sullivan said.
"We're very aware of the challenges we're going to face over here, especially as Green Berets."
Green Berets are paired with Afghan commandos.
"They're the best in Afghanistan - the tip of the spear. And we're going to be right there with them," he said.
Wilson, the 3rd Group commander, said he doesn't sugarcoat the risks of a deployment, not even with family members.
"I try to make sure everybody understands what we do over here," he said.
Sullivan's battalion deployed in October.
A month later, the unit lost Sgt. 1st Class Michael A. Cathcart, a 31-year-old soldier on his fifth deployment. He was killed during an operation in Kunduz Province.
Sullivan said there was nothing the unit could do to prepare for the loss.
"I don't know if you can every truly really prepare for it, he said.
"Once you get to this level, you truly get a sense of how amazing the guys that work for you are," he said. "The caliber of man that it takes to be a Green Beret and go out every day - it's lost on you even when you're on the team because it's just kind of what you do."
Military editor Drew Brooks can be reached at brooksd@fayobserver.com or 486-3567.