Ranger Register Fall-Winter09-FinalE-zine · tary Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and...

RANGER REGISTER FALL/WINTER 2009

V

FROM THE CO’s TENTBy Linc German, President

USARA

fo20RtinreG23HwMR

InRRercuniciRouThmtio

The Las Vegas Muster was asuccess due to Craig Vanekand many of his family who

Terri is writing several songs togo into a SOF album with onesong dedicated to and about

R

RRAANNGGEERR RREEGGIISSTTEERRTHE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

RANGER ASSOCIATION, INC. DEDICATED TO THE IDEALS AND

PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY RANGER.

olume XVI, Number 3/4

Photo by Ranger Peter S. Parker

angers, the holidays areover and we are looking

rward to 2010, but year end09 brought sad news to the

anger community. Two dis-guished Rangers, both MOHcipients, passed on to thereat Ranger in the Sky. On

December COL (Ret.) Boboward died and on 14 NOVe lost COL (Ret.) Lew Millett.ore on these noteworthyangers below.

other news, welcome Mikeanger as the EXEC VP andafe Delli-Bovi as new West-n Region Director. All otherrrent Board members run-

ng were re-elected. All areted with contact data in thisanger Register and also atr www.ranger.org Website.e Board approved other of

y appointments to key posi-ns that are cited herein too.

showed up as Workers also.Special was the BanquetSpeaker’s remarks about thisYear 2009, being the secondyear of the NCO. CSMRanger Mike Hall came fromKabul, Afghanistan to attendand brought along his lovelywife for the few days RangerGEN McChrystal gave him asagreed, when Mike was re-called to Active Duty to bethat CG’s CSM, TOP NCO in-Country. Mike’s presentationis on the Website. ThisRanger has been out of uni-form so long I did not realizejust how much the Army NCOCorps has grown in profes-sionalism and the actualcommand role CSM’s nowtaking on, being charged withtaking care of Soldiers. Soold Rangers, read his pitch.No wonder the GEN askedfor Mike’s return, a superRanger. Another surprisewas the dropping into theHospitality Suite of RandyBrumit whose twin sons areserving in Afghanistan onewith 7th SFGA, the other with1/75th Rgr Bn. Dad’s headedthere also. Randy dropped offa few CD’s his wife Terrimade singing her self-composed CW song honoringall US SOF. It is titled “Warri-ors in the Night” and may befound at www.terribrumit.com.

Rangers. We raffled the CDs offto attendees, and speaking ofthe Raffle: Winners were EdMitchell of MD, the Judge re-volver; Al Lopez of CA the MK-IIRanger Dagger, and WaltDedent, OH, the laser Illumina-tor.

The Muster’s dinner cruise onLake Mead and the trip to NellisAFB were special events en-joyed by all. Rangers were es-pecially pumped and impressedbeing briefed by a FemaleUSAF Parachutist and Aviatorabout one of the USAFSOFPave Hawk helicopters. HerBird!

IN THIS ISSUE:

Warning Order: ARM 2010…..……....2Ranger Bob Howard Passes……..……3COL Lew Millett Dies at 88..…………..4A Soldier’s Prayer………………..………..5Hawaii Honors Son of Ranger……..…51/75 Memorial Service Invite……..…63/75 Ranger Gets Silver Star……….…7Two 3rd Grp. Silver Stars………………..7CSM Mellinger Writes……..…………...8Brit NCO Earns Ranger Tab………..….975th Wins Rifle Competition…….......92010 Presidential Appointees…..…10USARA 2009 Election…………………..10Review: Forsaken Warriors……….…11Marketing Report………………………..11USARA Officers & Officials……….….12USARA Balance Sheet……………….…12Ranger Store Order Form……….…..13Rangers in the News……………..…….14

http://www.ranger.org/

http://www.terribrumit.com/


Volume XVI, Number 3/4

The Treasurer’s report is citedelsewhere but be assured welost zero dollars in the eco-nomic downturn, in fact contin-ued to make interest income.The Board approved Bob’s re-port and also Craig Vanek’sMarketing report that did notdo as well. Folks are notspending money on Rangerstuff from our Store thesedays. The downturn also hadan impact on fewer than ex-pected coming to the Fla-mingo. Hoping our 2010 Mus-ter scheduled for 14-19 SEP inSan Antonio, at the River WalkCrowne Plaza will be better at-tended. Karl Monger is leadingthat ARM’s Planning Teamand the Hotel ReservationINFO is on www.ranger.org.Early Rangers get the limitedrooms reserved. I’m Bookedalready! The Board also ap-proved the 2011 ARM locationas Savannah, GA for you longrange planners.

Note that 2010 is Year Sixtyfor the Ranger Dept/TrainingBrigade. We are thinking abouta Mini-Muster at Ft. Benning ifthe RTB is doing anythingspecial of interest to our mem-bership…stay tuned.

A few ADMIN amendmentswere approved to the Bylawsand for the first time the By-laws are available on theWebsite, as are the newRanger Hall of Fame Bylawsand Len Boulas’ latest USARANominations SOP, also Boardapproved. Frank Casey, ourRHOF Committee Chairmanseeks your nominations andLen seeks your inputs for next

year’s elections. The RHOFnominations need specificdetails as cited in the RHOFBylaws; read and heed.

We have contracted withConstant Communications(CC) in hopes to improve ourcommunicating via the Inter-net with those members hav-ing good Email addresses onfile. The latter is a real prob-lem as many forget to let usknow when those change ormove. That’s why many ofyou have been getting mailand phone calls to correctbad addresses. The first CCmessages will be comingsoon and infrequently to notbore or bother you with junkmail. We will also provideboth Opt-In and a method,once in, to Opt-Out. We hopeyou stick with us as we getbetter at it. Also, somethingnew at the Website. A newMembership Application isthere by Hal Marshall’s tal-ents that has a Credit Cardmethod of renewing, signingon or just plain donating. Thiswill also be available for otherassociation events, such asthe next Muster Registration.Mike Ranger leads the CC ef-fort with Hal as Backup.

There’s a new term in theRegiment, (RASP) forRanger Assessment and Se-lection Program. This re-places (RIP) Ranger Indoctri-nation Program. “Selection” isa term in long use by the UKSAS, where CharleyBeckwith was a US LNO atone point. He adopted thatfor modern SFOD-Delta us-

age at that unit’s formation, withthe methods used, also of UKSAS origin. A side detail. Alsofrom the past, the Board hasapproved bringing back our As-sociate Membership status thatwas dropped a few years back.There’s something also happen-ing in Indiana. The 38th ID(USANG) is submitting for theestablishment of a new USARARanger Base. COL Ivan DentonUSARA Member and DIV Bri-gade CMDR is leading thecharge. This evolves from FredSpaulding’s efforts recruiting Di-vision Rangers from the LongRanger Surveillance Company(LRSC) that spread throughoutthat BDE. If this effort comesthrough, it will be a first for anyNG Division. Look forward towelcoming them; the Base hasyet to be named.

Wishing the best to you andyours in 2010 and thanks for allyou do for Rangers, their fami-lies and our association. Keepour Troops out of harm’s waysuper Ranger in the sky.

Rangers Lead the Way.

Linc German, PresidentUSARA

Warning Order: ARM 2010

The Annual Ranger Muster 2010 iscoming to the River Walk CrownePlaza Hotel, San Antonio, TX 14-19SEP 2010. Further information will beposted on www.ranger.org and in theRanger Register as soon as theschedule is finalized. Rangers shouldmake their Hotel Reservations ASAPto insure limited rooms set aside forRangers at preferred prices($99.00/day vs $117) are available.




RANGER COL ROBERTHOWARD PASSES

AWAY

rmy Ranger, COL (Ret.)Robert L. Howard, one of

America's most decorated soldiers,died on 23 DEC in Waco, Texas. Hewas 70. Ranger Howard died ofpancreatic cancer and is to be buriedin Arlington National Cemetery.Details are pending.

COL Howard served five tours inVietnam and is the only soldier inour nation's history to be nominatedfor the Medal of Honor three timesfor three separate actions within athirteen month period. Although itcan only be awarded once to an in-dividual, men who served with himsaid he deserved all three. He re-ceived a direct appointment fromMaster Sergeant to 1st Lieutenant in1969, and was awarded the Medal ofHonor by President Richard M.Nixon at the White House in 1971.His other awards for valor includethe Distinguished Service Cross -our nation's second highest award,the Silver Star - the third highestaward, and numerous lesser decora-tions including eight PurpleHearts. He received his decorationsfor valor for actions while serving asan NCO (Sergeant First Class).

Bob Howard grew up in Opelika,Alabama and enlisted in the U.S.Army in 1956 at age seventeen. Heretired as a full Colonel in 1992 af-ter 36 years service. During Viet-nam, he served in the U.S. ArmySpecial Forces and spent most of hisfive tours with MACV-SOG (Mili-tary Assistance Command VietnamStudies and Observations Group)also known as Special OperationsGroup, which ran classified cross-border operations into Laos, Cam-bodia, and North Vietnam. It wasfor his actions while serving on amission to rescue a fellow soldier inCambodia, that he was submitted for

the Medal of Honor the third timefor his extraordinary heroism.COL Howard is said to be our na-tion's most decorated soldier fromthe Vietnam War. He was the lastVietnam Special Forces Medal ofHonor recipient still on active dutywhen he retired on Sept. 29, 1992.His story is told in John Plaster'sbook, SOG The Secret Wars ofAmerica's Commandos in Viet-nam.

Howard’s military assignments in-

clude duty with the 82d and 101stAirborne Divisions; 2d Ranger Bat-talion; 3d, 5th, and 6th, SpecialForces Group; 5th Infantry Divi-sion; 7th Corps, XVIII AirborneCorps. He served in the EighthUnited States Army and CombinedForces Command. Service in Viet-nam included serving with 1/327thAirborne Infantry, 1st Brigade,101st Airborne Division, 5th Spe-cial Forces Group, and MACVSOG. Colonel Howard commandeda Reconnaissance Company,MACV SOG in Vietnam, a sepa-rate Ranger Company at Fort Ben-ning, Georgia, two Ranger Compa-nies while assigned to the 2dRanger Battalion. He was the PostCommander of Kelly Barracks,Stuttgart, Germany, Executive Of-ficer of the 2d Ranger Battalion,and the Mountain Ranger Camp.His military instructor duties in-

clude Airborne, Ranger, and Path-finder at the Infantry School, Tactics atthe Command and General Staff Col-lege, Special Operations and SpecialForces at the Special Warfare Center.Staff assignments have included dutywith AC of S, G3, XVIII, AirborneCorps, C3, J3, G3, Combined ForcesCommand/Eighth United States Army,Korea. Military training includes theBasic and Advanced Infantry Coursesat the Infantry School; Special ForcesEnlisted and Officer Courses at theSpecial Warfare Center and School;Command and General Staff Collegeat Fort Leavenworth, and the NationalWar College in Washington, D.C.

COL Howard was a distinguishedhonor graduate of the Ranger Course,Pathfinder Course, and Parachute Rig-ger School. He received the Out-standing Infantryman's Trophy as Out-standing Infantry Officer of Class1979-1980 at the Command and Gen-eral Staff College. He graduated fromthe National War College, Class 1987-1988.

His military service also contributed toexceptional civilian recognition forservice to his nation. He received theOutstanding Young Man of Americaaward 1970; nominated as one of tenOutstanding Young Men in America in1971 and 1972; inducted into MilitaryHall of Fame, Hoover Institute, Stan-ford University in 1980, inducted intoMilitary Hall of Fame, Veterans ofForeign Wars, State of Alabama in1973; Promoted to Colonel for Life,Alabama State Militia, State of Ala-bama in 1976.

COL Howard was a Life Member ofthe USARA and was inducted into theRanger Hall of Fame in 2005. Afterretirement from military service in1992, COL Howard was employed bythe Department of Veterans Affairs.He retired in January 2006 after 52years of government service.

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COL LEW MILLET DIESAT 88

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Army where he served with the 1stArmored Division. After serving invarious positions and attaining therank of sergeant, Millett received abattlefield commission. Following

bayoneting the enemy, while urginghis men forward by shouting encour-agement, according to his Medal ofHonor citation. "Despite vicious op-posing fire, the whirlwind hand-to-

K

lume XVI, Number 3

orean War Medal of Honor Re-cipient, COL (Ret.) Lewis L.

llett passed away on 14 NOV9. Ranger Millett,died at the Veteransairs Medical Centeroma Linda, Calif. ofgestive heart failure

was buried on 5C 2009 at the River-e, CA Nationalmetery. COL Milletteived the Medal ofnor during the Ko-n War for his actions7 FEB 1951 when heCompany E, 27th In-try, 25th Infantry Di-ion in a bayonetrge up Hill 180 nearm-Ni, Korea. This

s the last majorerican bayonetrge.

nger Millett wasn on 15 DEC 1920 inls, Maine. He joined thard at the age of seve

101st field Artilleryts National Guard. In 1llett enlisted in therps serving as an air gun

years, he joined they. In 1942, Millett enl

WWII, Millett joined the 103rd In-fantry, Maine National Guard. Heserved with the 103rd for four yearsbefore joining the 27th InfantryRegiment "Wolfhounds" in Japan.

As a member of the WolfhoundRegiment, Millett deployed to Koreawhere he served with valor and dis-tinction. While serving as com-mander of Easy Company he led thebayonet charge against heavily forti-fied enemy positions that earned himour nation’s highest military award,the Medal of Honor. A captain atthe time, Millet was leading hiscompany in an attack against a

hand assault carried to the crest ofthe hill," the citation states. "Hisdauntless leadership and personalcourage so inspired his men that theystormed into the hostile position andused their bayonets with such lethaleffect that the enemy fled in wild dis-order." Easy Company killed forty-seven while another sixty had report-edly been wounded and evacuatedoff the hill during the battle. Of thedead, eighteen died of bayonetwounds. During the attack, Millettwas wounded by grenade fragmentsbut refused evacuation until the ob-jective was firmly secured.

Following Captain Millett's

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service in Korea, he was as-signed to the ContinentalArmy command as Aide deCamp and then as Trainingand Operations Officer forthe Military Advisor Group.In 1956, Millett attended theInfantry Officers AdvancedCourse and Ranger Schoolas a Major. Following hisstay at Fort Benning he wasassigned to the 101st Air-borne Division where hefounded the 101st AirborneDivision Recondo School.Millett became heavily in-volved in the Special Op-erations community follow-ing his service with the
Painting of Capt. Lew Millett leading the bayonet charge up Hill
180 in Korea, February 1951, that won him the Medal of Honor.

4

MechanicNational

teen withassachu-

940, PFCrmy Air

ner. AfterCanadian

sted in the

strongly held position when he no-ticed that a platoon was pinned downby small-arms, automatic, and anti-tank fire. Millett placed himself atthe head of two other platoons, or-dered fixed bayonets, and led an as-sault up the fire-swept hill. In thefierce charge, Millett bayoneted twoenemy soldiers and continued on,throwing grenades, clubbing and

101st. He helped establishthe Vietnamese RangerSchool and the Commando

training program in Laos. He alsofounded the Royal Thai ArmyRanger School with help of the 46thSpecial Forces Company. This unit isreportedly the only one in the U.S.Army to ever simultaneously be des-ignated as both Ranger and SpecialForces.

Painting hangs in the UN Command Officers Mess in Seoul.



Colonel Millett retired in 1973 afterserving as the Deputy Commander ofthe 2nd Corps.

Colonel Millett's awards include theMedal of Honor, Distinguished Ser-vice Cross, Silver Star, Legion ofMerit (with 2 oak leaf clusters), AirMedal (with numeral 2), PurpleHeart (with 3 oak leaf clusters),Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry andVietnam Campaign Ribbon amongothers.

After his retirement, he remained ac-tive in both national and local veter-ans groups from his Idyllwild, Calif.,home. His son, SSG John MortonMillett, was a member of the 101stAirborne Division returning fromduty in the Sinai Dec. 12, 1985,when a charter plane crashed upontakeoff after stopping at Gander,Newfoundland. He was one of 256Soldiers killed in the crash.

A SOLDIER’SPRAYER

byCOL (Ret.) Lewis L. Millett

I’ve fought when others feared toserve.

I’ve gone where many failed to go.I’ve lost friends in war and strife, who

valued duty over the love of life.I’ve shared the comradeship of painI’ve searched these lands for men

that we’ve lost.I’ve sons who’ve served our land ofliberty who’d fight to see that other

lands are free.

I’ve seen the weak forsake humanity.I’ve heard fakers praise our enemy.

I’ve seen challenged men stand everbolder.

I’ve seen the duty, the honor, thesacrifice of the soldier.

Now, I understand the meaning of alllives,

The lives of comrades of not so longago.

So to you who answered duties sirencall, may

God bless you my son, may Godbless you all.

Hawaii Medal of HonorGiven to Son of Ranger

Excerpt from article by Curtis Lum - HonoluluAdvertiser

Sunday, 20 DEC 2009

Jase Brostrom proudly wears a pin onhis shirt that bears a picture of himselfand his father following his dad’sgraduation from Army Ranger School.On December 19, 2009, the 7-year-oldfirst-grader was presented another

award that he said he will cherish for aslong as he lives. Jase was given the Ha-waii Medal of Honor by Gov. LindaLingle in honor of his father, 1st Lt. Jona-thon Brostrom, who was killed in Af-ghanistan last year. “I’m happy to begetting the award,” Jase said. “I misshim.”

Brostrom, a University of Hawaii ROTCgraduate, died on July 13, 2008, in afirefight in Wanat, Afghanistan. The 24-year-old ‘Aiea resident was pinneddown by machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades as he attempted tohelp reinforce an observation post thatwas being hit hard by enemy fire. Bros-trom was posthumously presented theSilver Star, the third-highest militaryaward for valor, and in March the statehonored him by presenting his familywith the Hawaii Medal of Honor. Butbecause Jase lives in Utah with hismother, he was unable to attend theceremony. Yesterday, however, Gover-nor Lingle, Maj. General Robert Lee,and the state Legislature held a specialceremony in the governor’s office andpresented Jase with the state’s Medal ofHonor.

“They’re saying that they all agreedthat your father will be forever remem-bered,” Lingle told the boy. Jasethanked the governor and had a gift ofhis own to present to Lingle. Afterstruggling to pull a box from his pocket,he gave Lingle a silver bracelet that’sidentical to one he wears that is en-graved with his father’s name, unit anddate of death. “This is from my dad,”he said to Lingle. “Thanks for havingus.” After the ceremony, Jase said hewears the pin and the bracelet becausethey have special meaning to him. “Iremember him as a hero,” Jase said.“I’ve been wearing it for a long timebecause it reminds me of my dad.”

David Brostrom, Jase’s grandfather, saidhis family appreciates the effort thestate made to honor his son and grand-son. “It’s something that he’ll rememberfor the rest of his life. It’s a great Christ-mas present,” Brostrom said. “This is allpart of the healing process. The supportwe’ve gotten from the state of Hawaiihas just been absolutely fabulous.” Hesaid he also believes that Jase is han-dling the death of his father well. If Jaseis anything like his dad, David Brostromsaid, he will “become a great man.”

Lew Millett wrote the above poem inmemory of soldiers who have madethe ultimate sacrifice, especially hisyoungest son, SSG John Morton Mil-lett, and the 347 people who werekilled returning from a peacekeepingmission in the Sinai.

http://www.oc82ndabn.org/index.htm/images/ColMillettFuneral09/album/index.html



The Rangers of 1st Battalion,75th Ranger Regiment

Invite you to attend a

Memorial CeremonyOn January 14, 2010 at 2 O'clock p.m.

This Memorial Service will honor the memory of

Staff Sergeant Jason S. Dahlke

Sergeant Roberto D. Sanchez

Private First Class Eric W. Hario

The Memorial Ceremony will be held at the1st Ranger Battalion Memorial,(Behind Building Number 405)248 Stephen Douglas Street,

Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia

R.S.V.P. to Mrs. Shelia Dudley,Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Or(912)315-5608 or (912)414-5437

Uniform is Class A/Civilian Business Casual

mailto:[email protected]




3/75 Ranger ReceivesSilver Star

Via 75th Ranger Regiment Public Affairs19 November, 2009 09:08:00

FORT BENNING, GA — A 75thRanger Regiment Soldier wasawarded a Silver Star medal during aceremony on Nov. 24 at the RangerMemorial. Staff Sgt. Michael E. Nor-ton was awarded the Silver Starmedal for extraordinary heroism dur-ing an assault on a heavily armedfighter camp in the mountains of Af-ghanistan Aug. 4 and 5, 2009.

Ambushed at close range, Nortonordered his squad to break contact.At great risk to his own life, he thenbraved multiple rocket-propelled gre-nades and withering machine gunfire and returned to recover two ofhis Rangers who lay unconscious inthe beaten zone of enemy fire, sav-ing their lives. He then rallied hissquad and continued the attack,eliminating two more enemy com-batants in the course of the mission.His actions saved the lives of hissquad and resulted in the destructionof an enemy headquarters camp.

Norton, 27, serves with 3rd Battalion,75th Rgr. Regiment, and has been aRanger for five years. He has de-ployed five times in support of thewar on terror. The Silver Star is theArmy’s third highest award for com-bat valor and is awarded for gallantryin action against an enemy of theUnited States during military opera-tions involving conflict with an oppos-ing foreign force. Lt. Gen. John Mul-holland, commander of U.S. Army

Special Operations Command at FortBragg, N.C., presided over theceremony and presented the award.

TWO 3RD GROUP SOL-

DIERS RECEIVE SILVER

STARSUSASOC News Service

By Cpl. Katryn McCalment50th PAD

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Hundreds ofSoldiers from the 3rd Special ForcesGroup (Airborne) gathered before theThanksgiving holiday to recognizethe valor and sacrifice of 40 of theirown during a valor award ceremonyin the John F. Kennedy auditorium.Staff Sgt. Linsey Clarke, who servesas a medical sergeant, for Opera-tional Detachment-Alpha 3123,Company B, 1st Battalion, 3rd Spe-cial Forces Group (Airborne) andMaster Sgt. Anthony Siriwardene, anoperations sergeant of OperationalDetachment Alpha 3236, Co. C, 2ndBn., 3rd SFG were each awarded theSilver Star for acts of valor duringbattles in Afghanistan. The crowd ofSoldiers, Family members andfriends stood as Lt. Gen. John F.Mulholland Jr., commander of theU.S. Army Special OperationsCommand, pinned the medals ontheir uniforms. “Strength and honorwas the motto given to Task ForceDagger,” said Mulholland. Strengthand honor is exactly what you heardexemplified here today in the combatactions of our Silver Star recipients.”

A Daily PatrolThe sky was clear. The air had a biteto it, but for Afghanistan it was abeautiful day, said Clarke. It wasFebruary 20, 2009. Clarke was thedriver of one of four vehicles con-ducting a joint operations patrol withmembers of the Afghan NationalArmy, Afghan National Police andCzech Special Operation Forces inKhordi, a village in southern Af-ghanistan.

SSG Linsey ClarkeThe third vehicle in the convoy wasstruck by an improvised explosivedevice and the lead vehicle was en-gaged by rocket propelled grenades.Each vehicle was taking small armsfire from both the east and west asthe patrol was being ambushed.Clarke immediately backed up hisvehicle to assist those who had beenstruck by the roadside bomb. Hedismounted and ran through a volleyof fire to discover three of the meninside had been killed instantly. Thetwo remaining teammates were alive,but both were badly wounded.

Clarke found Staff Sgt. Eric Engle-hardt first. Both his legs were brokenand he was bleeding heavily, soClarke quickly and calmly applied atourniquet to his right leg anddragged him from the burning vehi-cle. With no cover, and enemy fireon both sides, Clarke returned to thedestroyed vehicle and found MasterSgt. David Hurt. He again draggedhis comrade to safety. With theteams other medic now tending to thewounded, Clarke volunteered to stayin the firefight to secure the remainsof the fallen Soldiers. Today, evenwith a Silver Star pinned to his chest,Clarke doesn’t believe he is a hero.“It’s something any one of thoseguys would’ve done for me. Therewasn’t a second thought,” he said.



MSG Siriwardene

Siriwardene directs the fightIn August, four years earlier, MSGSiriwardene and his teammates bat-tled for 56 hours through seven en-emy engagements in Zabol Province,Afghanistan. Working alongside theAfghan National Army, Siriwar-dene’s team came under heavy en-emy fire while on patrol in the BukaGhar Valley, an insurgent strong-hold. During the second engagement,Siriwardene repeatedly left the safetyof his vehicle to reposition an ele-ment of ANA soldiers, said Capt.Blayne Smith, Siriwardene’s teamleader.“The enemy forces would have takenadvantage of the ANA element andwould have destroyed their unit ifMaster Sgt. Siriwardene had not di-rected them in the right positions,”said Smith. As the battle raged on,the insurgents called for reinforce-ments and regrouped into better-trained, stronger units in order to at-tack again. The sixth engagementfound the team taking extraordinaryvolumes of machine gun fire and avicious onslaught of rocket propelledgrenades. Siriwardene again riskedhis life by sprinting to the last truckwhich was taking the brunt of the at-tack. As the turret burst into flames,Siriwardene pulled the gunner tosafety and then using the cover of avehicle began to gather up ANA sol-diers who had been pinned down byenemy fire. The following morning,

Siriwardene’s team was joined by aQuick Reaction Force element andafter the fiercest of the seven battles,was able crush the enemy forces.“We had pinpointed and fixed theenemy,” said Siriwardene. “Now, webasically controlled the tempo of thebattle.” When the fighting was over,the team was able to confirm 65 en-emy kills.

Like Clarke, Siriwardene doesn’t be-lieve he did anything to deserve rec-ognition over his teammates.“The way the guys in the detachmentperformed – it was amazing,” hesaid. “This is what we do.”These awards show the level of dedi-cation these Soldiers have to theteam and to the mission, said Capt.Adam Paxton, Clarke’s team leader.“It’s not without sacrifice. It’s notwithout loss. But, victory is the endstate achieved by these men,” saidMulholland. Along with the two Sil-ver Stars, Mulholland presented nineBronze Stars with valor devices, sixPurple Hearts, and 25 Army Com-mendation Medals with valor de-vices, all to brave 3rd Special ForcesGroup Soldiers.

Editor’s note: Does anyone know ifthese two exemplary NCOs are Rangers?If not, they should be.

CSM Mellinger WritesBy

Jeff MellingerDecember 2009

To the troops in the field: Weknow you are there and we appre-ciate your performing your duty insuch a magnificent manner.

When I awoke on a Saturday morn-ing at PT time (0430), and looked atmy surroundings, the worst winterstorm in DC for a number of yearshad arrived in force. Snow, and lotsof it. Roads were closed, planeswere grounded, and people werehuddled comfortably inside theirhomes or foolishly out trying to learnhow to drive in snow.

Rather than roll over, I put somewarm clothes on, leashed the dogs,and out we went for some exerciseand introspection. As I walked, I wastrying to imagine being in those win-ter camps and fights so long ago.

I thought of Washington's Christmasraid at Trenton, and his last, lonelywinter camp. I thought of the sol-diers at Fort Niagara. I thought of thebitter cold of the Argonne, the Huert-gen Forest and Bastogne, the Aleu-tians, the Chosin Reservoir, the SavaRiver, and Tora Bora. As I thoughtof those heroes of our past, thoselegendary Soldiers, Marines, Sailorsand Airmen that we regularly honorand pay tribute to, I thought of thosequiet professionals in current fightsthat we don't speak of often enough.

Look around on any forward operat-ing base or outpost in Afghanistan,the Philippines or Iraq. Watch theSoldiers passing through our airportscoming home on or returning fromR&R. Listen to speeches during adeployment or redeployment cere-mony. Stand silently and renderhonors to one of our fallen (some-thing which is hardly more sincerethan on Disney Road and at that air-field!).

Modern American heroes (not ourover-indulged athletes or actors) arehardly given their due. They walkedor still pass quietly among us, neverseeking acknowledgement or fame,but simply doing their duty as theyhave sworn oaths to do. We alreadyknow some of their names:Smith, Murphy, Monsoor, Dunham,McGinnis (Medal of Honor);Hollenbaugh, Cooper, Nein, Sanford,Coffman (Distinguished ServiceCross); Hester, Birch, Roundtree,Kandarian, LaFrenz (Silver Star);Kopp, Shumney, Kuban, DeLeon,Gentry (Bronze Star for Valor);Biggs, Carbone, Turecheck, Rush-ing, Berwald (Army Commendationfor Valor). And, I submit, for everywarrior we acknowledge in a cere-mony, there are a hundred or a thou-sand more who are never acknowl-edged for the difference they makeevery day.



So as I finished my peaceful walk inthe snow, I thought of the Soldiers,Marines, Airmen and Sailors that arecarrying the fight away from home sothat I could have this walk in peace,and I am forever grateful. I thoughtof those in MRAPs slowly searchingroadways for hidden dangers, othersworking with local police to secure avillage, and yet others moving quietlyand quickly to eliminate or capture ahidden enemy, and I am filled withpride.

Wherever you are, and whatever youdo or did to continue to guaranteemy safety and freedom, I thank eachof you in, headed to, returning from,or supporting the fight. You are myheroes, and I thank you.

British NCOEarns Ranger

TabBy Kristin Molinaro, The Bayonet

18 DEC 2009

CSM Angel Ortiz, top NCO for 2ndBattalion, 11th Infantry Regiment, pins theRanger tab on the uniform of British Sgt.Maj. Alan Bissett, upon graduation fromthe U.S. Army Ranger School. (KristinMolinaro photo)

FORT BENNING, Ga. - A seniorNCO is setting the example forNCOs and students with B Com-pany, 2nd Battalion, 11th InfantryRegiment (Infantry Basic OfficerLeadership Course). British Sgt.Maj. Alan Bissett, B Company's firstsergeant, graduated Friday from theU.S. Army Ranger School. "It'sleading by example," Bissett said."I've got young NCOs and lieuten-ants who aspire to do this, and I am

now in a position to answer anyquestions they may have."

Bissett is one of three British soldiersserving in an exchange program atFort Benning, said British army Lt.Col. Pat Tracy, the British liaison of-ficer for Fort Benning and FortKnox. An officer serves as an in-structor at the Maneuver Captain'sCareer Course and an NCO serveswith the 75th Ranger Regiment.

"We send people to America forthese jobs and they are very carefullychosen, no surprises," Tracy said."But it has surprised me how dedi-cated (Bissett) is. He never gives upand it's a good mark of the man."Bissett, 44, may be one of the oldeststudents to graduate from the school,but his age didn't concern him. "Ididn't feel it. I prepared for it physi-cally," Bissett said. "I wasn't going touse that as a reason to quit." Bissettsaid the weather was an unexpectedchallenge.

"It is similar to courses I've taken inthe British army, though they don'tfocus as much on the lack of sleepand lack of food," he said. "It's not somuch the course, but the weather thatis challenging. It has its moments butwe are all in the same boat." Bissettsaid he feels the camaraderie amongRangers that comes with earning theRanger tab. "It's a good link we havewith the American Army. Next year,I am off to Afghanistan, HelmandProvince, and if in some godforsakenplace I run into an American with aRanger tab, it will be another forgedlink," he said.

CSM Angel Ortiz, the senior NCOfor 2nd Bn., 11th Inf. Regt., said Bis-sett has set the bar for future NCOs."He's got a great operational back-ground throughout the world," saidLTC Scott Halstead, commander ofthe 11th Inf. Regt. "The British armyis very good at counterinsurgency,and he's brought those lessonslearned to our cadre and students."

Bissett, a 23-year veteran, has servedas B Company's first sergeant fornearly a year and a half. He com-pleted the U.S. Army AirborneSchool last year. Prior to that, Bissettserved on the Queen's Guard in Eng-land. "I consider it a privilege andthe best of all experiences," he saidof his role at Buckingham Palace."I've traveled to 38 countries anddone nine operational tours."

75th Ranger RegimentWins ShootingCompetition

75th Ranger Regiment Public Affairs25 November, 2009 09:21:00

FORT BENNING, GA — Two non-commissioned officers from the75th Ranger Regiment competedin the 2009 Rifles Only ShooterBash Competition held in Kings-ville, Texas Nov. 6-7. Sgt. Christo-pher K. Wooten and Sgt. NicholasG. Irving, both assigned to Head-quarters and Headquarters Com-pany, 3rd Battalion, 75th RangerRegiment placed first and secondrespectively.

During the competition, Wootenand Irving conducted multiplesniper tasks not commonly taughtwithin the sniper community.Shooters Bash was specifically de-signed for precision rifle shooting,ranging from 400-1000 meters,with targets ranging from oneinch in diameter to 11 x 18 inchtargets.

“Throughout the competition,every shot had to be well calcu-lated from the range, tempera-ture, barometric pressure, humid-ity, and wind in order to make a1,000 meter shot on an 11-inchtarget,” said Wooten. Rarely didcompetitors shoot from the stan-dard prone position. Much of theshooting was con-



ducted from alternate positions,including standing, kneeling andsitting. “As a sniper platoon, weneed to focus more towards al-ternate shooting positions, par-tially exposed targets and com-bat-focused pistol shooting,” saidIrving.

Stress shoots were also con-ducted which consisted of shoot-ing from inside buses, make-shiftsniper hides, and building struc-tures. Combat pistol shots notcommonly practiced nor taughtwere also a major portion of thecompetition. During the combatpistol shoot, competitors shot one-handed from 10 meters to 100meters as they were moving for-ward and dragging an 80 poundbag, simulating a wounded indi-vidual, as well as shooting movingtargets.

“We are fortunate enough to bearound and train with the mostmotivated, physically and men-tally toughest individuals I havehad the privilege of serving with inclose to ten years of service,” saidMaj. Richard Taylor, Commander,Headquarters and HeadquartersCompany, 3rd Bn., 75th RangerRegt. “These two Rangers are notonly gifted snipers, but they areextremely gifted and talentedleaders and are the highest qual-ity Soldiers.”

“One of the great qualities withinthis organization is the fact thatthese two Rangers will now taketheir high skill set and their ad-vanced level of training andspread their wealth of knowledgethroughout their platoon, com-pany and the battalion,” said Tay-lor. The competition consisted of60 competitors from both the mili-tary and civilian shooting com-munities.

2009-2010 PresidentialAppointees

By Linc German, President

As approved by the Board at ARM-2009:Gregg Orth, Chaplain.Craig Vanek, Marketing Director.Joe Casteel, Sergeant-at-Arms.Mike “McGeek” McClintock, Editor,Ranger Register.Hal Marshall, Website Administrator.Peter Bostrom, Website AdminBackup.Mike Ranger, CC Net Control.Hal Marshall, CC NC Backup.John Hollstein, Attorney, Legal Advi-sor.Steve Jaeger, Inspector General.Len Boulas, Nomination CommitteeChairman.Bill Biser, Budget & Finance Commit-tee Chairman.Jim Colligan, B&F Committee.Kerry O’Hara, B&F Committee.Historian Slot is VACANT!Region Deputy Directors:Matt Bacik, SRDD.Karl Monger, CRDD.Joe Mattison, NRDD.WRDD is VACANT!Frank Casey, RHOF Selection Commit-tee ChairmanRHOF Committee: Up to three mem-bers are selected and appointed pri-vately to keep politics from havingany influence on nominees.

Primary Points of Contact with ActiveDuty Ranger Units are:

Butch Nery, RTB and the Ranger REGT.Frank Casey, Backup to Butch. Alsonote our IG is the single POC for con-tacting the RTB Training NCO forRangers’ verifications.

Each of the Ranger Battalions alsohave designated POC’s as follows:1/75……….Art Silsby2/75……….Craig Vanek3/75……….Matt BacikRST…………Butch Nery4th RTBn…. “ “5th RTBN…Joe Mattison6th RTBn….Mike Ferguson

It is important that USARA membersgo thru these designated POC’swhen wanting to contact these unitsfor USARA matters as they are over-

taxed now with too many outfits andpeople asking to help or for informa-tion. USARA wants to lessen theirloads where possible. There are aboutseventeen Ranger organizations notincluding those associated with eachRanger Unit. Often your questions canbe answered by our Website INFO orthese POC’s; use them. Trouble con-tacting them, call or Email me! RLTW,and these volunteers do!

USARA 2009 ELECTIONSLen Boulas

Chairman Nominating Committee

If you were not at the recent ARMand have not heard the 2009 Elec-tion of Officers has taken place. Thisyear’s election was uncontested.Based on the election results, the fol-lowing officers were sworn in at theARM:

Executive Vice President:Ranger Mike Ranger

Vice President Personnel:Ranger Arthur J. Silsby

National Secretary:Ranger Mark Pelphrey

International Region Direc-tor:Ranger Gerard B. (Butch)Nery Jr.

Western Region DirectorRanger Rafe Delli Bovi

Southern Region Director:Ranger Wade Lnenicka

USARA Election of Officers is cur-rently an annual event with ½ of theAssociation’s Officers being electedeach year. It is not too early to beginthinking about the 2010 Electionwhich will take place during themonth prior to the 2010 ARM in SanAntonio. This will be an importantelection year for the Association,since the position of President will beup for election and the current Presi-dent can not run due to term limita-tions.

The other positions up for election inaddition to that of the President are:

Vice President Logistics National Treasurer Northern Region Director Central Region Director


Volume XVI, Number 2

If you are interested in running forone of positions or would like toget involved as a member of thenominating committee, or justhave questions about the elec-tions process, please contact meor one of the officers of the asso-ciation. I can be reached throughone of the following methods:E-Mail: [email protected] 505 541-1449 (H)AC 303 522-7374 (C)

Northern Region NewsBy Walt Eckhardt, Director

There are 228 Ranger USARAmembers in the Northern Re-gion listed on the current roster.Of these, only 20 do not have aknown e-mail address. At onetime there were many more. Icalled those who had a phonenumber listed, and learnedsome have e-mail, some havenot in service numbers, andsome are wrong numbers. I leftmessages with a few that havenot been returned. I sent lettersto 18 who only had a snail mailaddress. I learned of severalwho were deceased and afew replied with their e-mailaddress. No letters have beenreturned by the Post Office asMOVED NO FORWARDING AD-DRESS. One came back UN-ABLE TO FORWARD meaning hisforwarding expired.

The following USARA membersdo not have an e-mail addressin the USARA Northern Regionroster:

David Dolby, LRR1741 Bruce Heerter, HON2380 Jason A. Henderson,

LRR2613 Michael Lynch, LRR2315 Paul D. Mahaffy, LRR0579 George W. McAuliffe,

LRR3688 Eric Miglinas, LRR3062 Douglas J. O’Conner,

LRR2243 Alfred A. Pantano,

LRR0858 John J. Perry, LRR0504

Roman A. Polka, LRR3962 Paul Sanborn, Jr., ARR

1827 Paul F. Schubert, LRR2596 William Selbach. LRR1967 Richard Stewart, LRR1618 John A. Summers,

ARR3825 Fredrick B. Tompkins,

LRR1125 Francie E. Wickham,

LRR0754 Donald D. Williams,

ARR4081 John P. Yoshimura,

LRR3581

If anyone has contact withthese Rangers, please call me(301-370-3444) with their e-mail, current mailing address,or a good phone number. Thisis my Verizon cell phone andyou can call anytime.

If you prefer, ask your Rangerbuddy to send an e-mail [email protected] with acopy to you so you can verifythat they did send it.

USARA needs to reduce thecost of postage, so we areplanning to use e-mail formost communications to themembers.

Book Review: For-saken Warriors

ByRobert L. Tonsetic

This book is the personal memoir of COL(Ret.) Tonsetic’s service as a Senior Advisorto ARVN Ranger and Airborne units duringthe period 1970-71 as American forces be-gan to withdraw from Vietnam and “Viet-namization” was the newest catch phrase.This is an insider’s account of how SouthVietnam’s elite fighting forces struggled tocarry on the war against the Communistsduring the U.S. withdrawal. The units thatthe author advised were at the forefront ofcampaigns in S. Vietnam, Laos, and Cambo-dia; areas in which US forces were eitherheld back from or forbidden to fight in.These units were often outnumbered andoutgunned, fighting the Viet Cong and North

Vietnamese in difficult terrain from the legen-dary U Minh forest southwest of Can Tho andMo So mountains in the Mekong Delta, to therugged hills of southern Laos.

Tonsetic explains the role of the small US ad-visory teams, operating with little supportfrom higher headquarters, and accompanyingthe Vietnamese units on highly dangerouscombat operations over which they had nocommand or control authority. More often thannot, When US advisors were restricted fromaccompanying South Vietnamese forces oncross-border operations in Cambodia and es-pecially Laos, the South Vietnamese forceswere badly mauled, which raised concernsabout their readiness and training, and theirability to operate successfully without their USadvisors. As a result, a major effort wasplaced on training these forces while the clockcontinued to run on the US withdrawal. Basedon his combat experience as a company com-mander with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade,Tonsetic expresses his views on this phase ofthe Vietnam War and offers his criticisms andopinions as to why the South Vietnamesearmed forces were ultimately defeated.

Available from Casemate Publishers([email protected]). Alsoavailable from Amazon.com, Barnesand no-ble.com, and Borders.com.Hardcover. 256 pages. $32.95. Publication 30December 2009.

MARKETING REPORTBy Craig Vanek,

Marketing Director

Income from royalties and com-missions for the 1st and 2ndQTRs CY 2009 is $2167.21.

PLEASE VISIT THE RANGERSTORE AND OUR VENDORSWHO SELL OUR LOGO'dITEMS!RANGER STOREhttp://armyranger.usptgear.comSunglasseswww.soseyewear.comCell phone/Laptop skinswww.skinit.comHot Saucewww.sauce2u.comT-Shirtswww.balzout.com




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http://www.soseyewear.com/

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http://www.balzout.com/


Volume XVI, Number 2

U.S. ARMY RANGERASSOCIATION

OFFICERS, DIRECTORS& APPOINTEES

NATIONAL OFFICERS

President

Linc German(703) [email protected]

Executive Vice President

Mike [email protected]

Vice President Logistics

Craig Vanek(253) [email protected]

Vice President Personnel

Art Silsby(478) [email protected]

Secretary

Mark Pelphrey(614) [email protected]

Treasurer

Bob Kvederas(860) [email protected]

REGIONAL DIRECTORS

North

Walt Eckhardt(301) [email protected]

Joe Mattison (Deputy Director)(585) [email protected]

South

Wade Lnenicka(770) [email protected]

Matt Bacik (Deputy Director)(334) [email protected]

Central

Tim Swain(309) [email protected]

Karl Monger (Deputy Dir.)(316) [email protected]

West

Rafe Delli-Bovi(310) [email protected]

International

Butch Nery(706) [email protected]

MARKETING

Marketing Director

Craig Vanek(253) [email protected]

INSPECTOR GENERAL

Steve Jaeger(601) [email protected]

SERGEANT-AT-ARMS

Joe [email protected]

LEGAL ADVISOR

John [email protected]

BUDGET & FINANCECOMMITTEE

Bill Biser(603) [email protected]

USARA WEBSITE

www.ranger.org

Website Administrator

Hal Marshall479) [email protected]

Alternate AdministratorPete Bostrom(212) [email protected]

RHOF SELECTIONCOMMITEE CHAIRMAN

Frank [email protected]

RANGER REGISTER

Editor

Mike “McGeek” McClintock(650) [email protected]

RANGER STOREhttp://armyranger.usptgear.com

US Army Ranger Association, Inc.Balance Sheet

30 September 2009

ASSETSCurrent Assets

Columbus Bank & Trust Co. $ 8,527Pentagon Fed Credit Union $128,811

Total Current Assets $137,338

Property & EquipmentTotal Property & Equipment $ 1,500

Other AssetsTotal Other Assets $ 3,383

Total Assets $142,221

LIABILITIES & CAPITALCurrent Liabilities

Total Current Liabilities $ 0.00

Long-Term LiabilitiesTotal Long-Term Liabilities $ 0.00

Total Liabilities $ 0.00

CapitalRetained Earnings $135,795Net Income $ 1,543Other Assets $ 4,883

Total Capital $142,221

Total Liabilites & Capital $142,221
























http://armyranger.usptgear.com/

RANGERS IN THE NEWS

Winners of ARM 2009 Raffle Prizes

1st Prize Taurus Judge Revolver

Ranger Edwin MitchellAnnapolis, MD 21401

2nd Prize EK FS II Commando Knife

Ranger Alfredo LopezMontebello, CA 90640-2124

3rd Prize Weapon Laser Illuminator

Ranger Lawrence DedentMalvern, OH 44644

Kenny Stewart, right, and his brother, Alex, look at somestickers presented to them by Maj. Wayne Pare, 5th RangerTraining Battalion operations officer Dec. 1. Kenny who hascancerous brain tumors spent the day at Camp Frank B.Merrill near Dahlonega, Ga., participating in Rangeractivities. He also received a Ranger beret, uniform patch anda walking stick like the ones Ranger instructors carry at the mountain-training facility.Donnell).

FROM:U. S. ARMY RANGER ASSOCIATION, INC.P.O. BOX 52126FORT BENNING, GA 31995-2126

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

TO:

(Photo Credit: Brenda

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 717SAN MATEO, CA

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