"Oh yeah I'm Special Forces"

[7breaths]

Well I'm reg army, not even airborne/assault, but because of the shortage of medics in my part of Afghanistan I have on 4 occasions gotten to go out with special forces and state department. It's not uncommon. Most of the sf guys you would never believe are sf but they are. There is this one guy who goes on patrols with no iotv/plate carrier and wears an orange longhorns cap they all have facial hair and some of them have beer guts. Not what I had imagines for the best of the best.

[ScorpioVI]

I've always been told "you will never forget your Drill Instructors" Funny, because I can't remember mine to save my life. I always have to go to my red book to read their names.

Drill Sergeant Perez, Drills Sergeant Scott, Drill Sergeant Berkebile, and another one I'm forgetting (short black dude, thick Alabama accent). It's been 14 years since I went to OSUT (Alpha 2/54) in Benning. LOL

I almost threw up when I went to a movie theater about 2 years after I got out. And they were playing an Army of One commercial and here comes Drill Sergeant Berkebile in all his Special Forces glory. I came *this* close to beating my face.

[themailman]

Its amazing how even us veterans can bend the truth to make it sound like we did so much more without really even lying. I watched a guy explain what his medals were, "This is a National Defense, its for defending our freedoms. This is a Global War on Terrorism, its for going to war with terrorists. This is a Good Conduct ribbon, its for being one of the best marines we had." People fall for that, thinking he had gone to war in defense of our liberties, when really, he stayed stateside his whole enlistment and managed to stay out of trouble.

[winnre]

SSG Stinson and good ol' SSG Weymeier. I will never forget that name again. I forgot it when doing pushups and had to stay down until I could remember it. 1980. I'll take those names to the grave!

[Donk310]

Its amazing how even us veterans can bend the truth to make it sound like we did so much more without really even lying. I watched a guy explain what his medals were, "This is a National Defense, its for defending our freedoms. This is a Global War on Terrorism, its for going to war with terrorists. This is a Good Conduct ribbon, its for being one of the best marines we had." People fall for that, thinking he had gone to war in defense of our liberties, when really, he stayed stateside his whole enlistment and managed to stay out of trouble.

I saw this thread just yesterday and just this morning someone asked me what did I do in the military. I though about this thread... so I told them "I was in a special force team put together to fight the war on drugs." (That would be JTF for all you hard chargin' Devil Dogs out there). They responded "SPECIAL FORCES.. WOW!" I said... "yeah..." HAHA!

[winnre]

JTF-6! Hooah!

[chris]

JTF-6! Hooah!

JTF-6. that was used when i putting up the fence on the Mexican border in 92, 93.

[chris]

They call themselves Quiet Professionals for a reason...The first thing that sets off the BS-meter is guy that steps up to tell his war story.

Been around my share of operators, and they really don't volunteer stories. Unless you get several of them together...

SF guys do tend to stick out. if you have been around them. they have a certain walk and demeanor to them and also they do have an exception to policy in regards to uniform, grooming standards and so on while in theater.

7breaths
Well I'm reg army, not even airborne/assault, but because of the shortage of medics in my part of Afghanistan I have on 4 occasions gotten to go out with special forces and state department. It's not uncommon. Most of the sf guys you would never believe are sf but they are. There is this one guy who goes on patrols with no iotv/plate carrier and wears an orange longhorns cap they all have facial hair and some of them have beer guts. Not what I had imagines for the best of the best.

heck dude i was just a gunner for my team and we gave them target info and they asked i wanted to come along and gun for them in a HUMMWV. and i have to tell you i have never been treated so well and recieved some great training while they were there, that i will remember them for the rest of my life for have the dinstinct honor and privelege to serve with them.

also i'm not affraid to share my stories of my time in Iraq with SF and everyone else we went on missions with. it's no BS either and my stories are'nt ones that are crazy sh*t happened on them.

[winnre]

JTF-6. that was used when i putting up the fence on the Mexican border in 92, 93.

I was with them in 1992. I still remember the supposed secret information we were told: "There is a drug problem in California."

[chris]

I was with them in 1992. I still remember the supposed secret information we were told: "There is a drug problem in California."

LMAO!!!!!!!! dude that was alot of fun on the border putting that fence up.

[The Director]

True story:

About eight years ago two guys walk into my office - it was in a marina at the time - asking if they knew of any boats they could dive on to clean. I had just fired my diver, so I say hey head down to such and such dock - clean my boat. If you do a good job I'll let you maintain it on contract.

The two guys head out. One of them was a pretty well muscled guy...real quiet, smile on his face, super polite. He says come on over in a hour and we'll tell you what the bottom of your boat looks like, if you need zincs replaced, whatever.

So I head down there later and this guy (Scott was his name) has just gotten out of the water. His buddy was gone - off cleaning another boat. Scott unzips his wetsuit down to his waist as I approach (he doesn't see me coming) and I see he has a pretty big eagle, globe, and anchor tattoo on his back.

I say to him - "Hey - a Marine! Thanks for your service!"...think I startled him..he threw on a T shirt real quick and was like...."Yup...thanks"...blew it off. Turns out he did a great job....and so he maintained my boat for a year.

Quiet as hell. Efficient. One month we started talking about guns on one of the rare times he was talking. He says..."I'll bring you something interesting to look at".

Next day he brings this gun case to my office...opens it up, and there's a full on Marine issue M40A3 in there....I fondled it....he was like "Come down to Pendleton and I'll let you shoot it". Sadly, I never took him up on it....I got busy. I asked him where he learned to shoot....he said "Quantico" and clammed up again.

One day came around and I got notice that Scott was no longer in the country and that he had gone to work for Blackwater in Iraq (this would've been around 2005). His partner had taken over the dive business, and he called to tell me.

So I got to asking his partner about Scott...said I liked him a lot and that he did a great job, was reliable, and punctual - boat was always clean.

The guy told me that Blackwater made him an offer he couldn't refuse, and that he had left town that week...said they needed his skillset.

So I said to his partner kinda jokingly...."what skill set is that? Boat bottom cleaning?"...I laughed...the guy didn't you could've heard a fly fart.

He says to me..."Do you have any idea what he did in the corps?" I shook my head no.

"Scott was in for eight years...He was Force Recon.....went to Quantico Sniper School.....had a list of black ops missions a mile freaking long. Diplomatic passports, the whole bit!"

My jaw dropped. I guess Scott wanted to slow down after he was discharged, and took up bottom cleaning 'cause he liked to dive. And the urge to go back into battle drove him back to Iraq.

What happened to him I don't know. I wish I could find him, make sure he is okay, and give him the respect he deserves....that I don't think I gave him. He never asked to be treated like anything special, even though he was.

Godspeed, Scott, wherever you are.

[Notorious]

I call BS... you would have never been able to sneak up on him. He would have torn off your head and ate it before you even knew what happened.

In all seriousness, that is what it means to be a quiet professional. The more you talk, the less you did.

[The Director]

LOL!


All this inspired me to look for him. I've spent the last hour tracking down his wife, a surgeon, who was held the rank of CDR in the Navy. Don't know if they're still married.

Hoping he's still alive!

[The Director]

I found him!

Not only is he still alive - he's in charge of ALL of Afghanistan for this massive security company.....

He sent me this pic last night of him and his team....he's the circled one in the middle...this was taken a couple months ago.

I'm floored, man. I had no idea.

The ones that are real truly are quiet professionals.

[Steve T]

One of my funniest experiences is when I walked into an office (this kid worked for his dad) and I saw a good half dozen pictures of him in his Beret. His had ones on the drop zone, some on the rifle range, all nice pictures of him.

I saw them and said "SF, me too."

He immediately said "I'm just in the admin section, I haven't gone to the Q-course."