09-13-2006, 13:56
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#1
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Vermont
Posts: 3,093
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COL Al DeProspero USA (ret)
Al DeProspero has made his final infiltration. He was a golden gloves boxer, a wrestler, commanded an A-Team on Oki in the early days with missions into Laos and Thailand, Commander B-22 (RVN) 1964-66, and if IIRC commanded 1st Bn, 5th SFG at Bragg in the early 70s, and was a commander of the Special Projects Support Activity (SPSA) in the early 80s. He is well known to many of the FOGS and VFOGS and many of you guys today are way better off because of his dogged determination to make sure that the SOF troops he supported had the best available equipment he could get either from the bureaucratic and slavishly inept DOD system or, more often, off the shelf tapping both into CONUS and OCONUS. For instance you folks wearing GORTEX are wearing it thanks to him and not to NATICK who totally screwed the pooch on this item by doing away with the light weight skins you all should have had as well as a light weight rain suit. There is a whole variety of ordance and wpns systems that you now have that he started the ball rolling on-especially in the black community. There are a number of Special Access Programs that have his imprint on them some of which I got to use latter in my career and others that are still viable today. Little birds are what they are today because of many of his efforts. The list is endless and his drive was tireless. I remember clearly one day when Jake Jakovenko and I walked into his office and Al was sitting there wearing that damn black Army sweater and Jake said, "Damn Sir, I see you are wearing that worthless sweather you can't take to the field". Next day Jake and I had a couple of kit bags full of polypro stuff that was being looked at for some of the units with a note-"This you can wear to the field!" . Most of you have probably never heard of him, but you are all better off for what he did behind the scenes because he was the one that worked to fill your requirements based on mission needs that your unit defined. RIP Al.
__________________
Wenn einer von uns fallen sollt, der Andere steht für zwei.
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Jack Moroney (RIP) is offline
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09-13-2006, 14:05
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#2
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,813
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RIP, Colonel.
Thanks for the assistance.
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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09-13-2006, 14:17
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#3
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Guerrilla
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 198
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RIP, Warrior
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"Do not pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one."
Bruce Lee
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Texian is offline
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09-13-2006, 15:07
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#4
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: In transit somewhere
Posts: 4,044
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I was lucky enough to have worked on some of the testing under the COL, Light weight Gore-Tex, Heavy Gore-Tex, Polypro everything, including socks and sleeping hoods, the 'new' multi bag sleeping system. We got to field test, but we didn't get to keep a lot of it.
RIP COL, we are all better equipped due to your efforts.
__________________
In the business of war, there is no invariable stategic advantage (shih) which can be relied upon at all times.
Sun-Tzu, "The Art of Warfare"
Hearing, I forget. Seeing, I remember. Writing (doing), I understand. Chinese Proverb
Too many people are looking for a magic bullet. As always, shot placement is the key. ~TR
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x SF med is offline
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09-13-2006, 16:57
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#5
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
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En Paz Descanse Mi Coronel
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.
Still want to quit?
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NousDefionsDoc is offline
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09-13-2006, 17:18
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#6
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Culpeper, Virginia
Posts: 203
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RIP COL D
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Karl.Masters is offline
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