SFA Chapter 29 UPCOMING CHAPTER EVENTS. Got Any Ideas? SPECIAL FORCES ASSOCIATION (THE GREEN BERETS) CHAPTER 29" FEB, 2014

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1 SFA Chapter 29 UPCOMING CHAPTER EVENTS This year our chapter is planning various new events to promote more opportunities for members and SF non-members to interact, hone old skills and learn new ones, and have some fun. " The first new event will be SF Range Night which will be held every Tuesday at OMB Range on Olathe and will be open to all SFers and their family and friends. Range fees and targets for all will be half-off regular prices." Another event being planned is an SF group of motorcyclists whose purpose will be to get together occasionally and ride. We have several riders in our chapter. And there are several KC SF bikers not in our chapter. " Another type of event being planned are hunting weekends. These would entail getting away to hang and hunt with SF brothers, from our chapter and possibly from other chapters. What, birds or deer, and where, would depend on preferences. Let us know yours." Got Any Ideas? Do you have any ideas for chapter events, any topics or skills you want to present or hear about at chapter meetings? Shooting ranges Happy hours Hunting Weekends Motorcycle rides Fishing jaunts CCL presentations Missions, past or present. If you have an interest in hunting, fly fishing, concealed carry, buying a motorcycle, or whatever, and have questions, there is probably someone in our chapter who has answers. If you have any questions about or ideas for events, contact Jeff Forker: jaforker@everestkc.net or SFA CHAPTER 29" PAGE 1

2 PISTOL RAFFLE The Chapter 29 pistol raffle is off like a shot. Members are raffling a Colt Model caliber semi-automatic pistol to help underwrite costs of the Special Operations Ball in March. " To get your tickets to sell, see or contact Roy Williams, either at a chapter meeting, or call RENEWALS FOR 2014 ARE NOW DELINQUENT If you have not renewed your SFA membership for 2014 then you are now delinquent. You have until January 31st of each year. After that you deal with Fluffy." To renew late, send your check and renewal form to: " W 64th Street, Suite 202 Shawnee, KS 66203" Reinstatements, after 31 Jan, cost $ Trips to the Late Renewal Penal Platoon are negotiable, depending on how late your renewal." There are a lot of plans and events in the works this year. Roy at MAJ Kelly Pajak is running point on CGSC ticket sales. " We need to sell a lot of tickets this year due to off-set the increased costs of the SOF Ball, which is coming up fast, in March." Fluffy, our new Late Renewal Coordinator and Morale Officer You don t want to miss them or in any way be out of the loop. " Incidentally, Fluffy, above, is our new Late Renewal Coordinator." Let s all stick together and keep the regiment, and each other, strong." Chapter Officers" TERRY BUCKLER" Chapter President" JON MEIGS" Vice President" TED WHITE" Treasurer" RON SIMMONS" Secretary" CALENDAR February 3 - Board of Directors Meeting, Delta Systems February 8 - Chapter breakfast meeting, Hilton Garden Inn, Kansas City, KCK March 3 - Board of Directors Meeting, Delta Systems offices March 8 - SOF Ball, Argosy Casino Other SOF Dates: Feb 24, MARSOC activated April 9, SF Branch activ d. April 15, SF Regt. activ d. April 17, SOCOM activ d. If you have or know of events that need to be posted in this newsletter, send that information in an to the editors at jaforker@everestkc.net JEFF FORKER" Membership and Newsletter Editor" SFA CHAPTER 29" " " " " " " " " " PAGE 2

3 KOREAN WAR PARTISAN ADVISOR DETAINED BY NORTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT Merrill E. Newman was held since 26 October, 2013, and released and returned to the United States on 7 December. Of interest to this Special Forces chapter is that Newman served as an advisor in the 6th Partisan Infantry Regiment (PIR), 8240 Army Unit (AU), Far East Command/ Liaison Detachment, Korea, with headquarters in Seoul. According to unit rosters, Army 2LT Newman was in the PIR from 10 March 1953 until 1 September Also shown on those rosters is a familiar name, Ted White, Chapter 29 member. " Newman was in North Korea this past fall as part of a tour group. According to news reports and a statement of apology, he returned to North Korea to look for partisans he had advised during the war. The North Korean government saw his actions as look[ing] for spies and terrorists who conducted espionage and subversive activity. The government charged that he was slandering North Korea." The 6th PIR was created in April 1953 at Cho-do, about ten kilometers off the west coast of North Korea in an operational area known as Leopard North. The designations of partisan units conducting operations of the mainland are confusing. This confusion includes the organization that Newman was advising." The 6th PIR consisted of possibly four of what had been known as Donkeys, equivalent to a battalion. The PIR had several designations prior to Newman joining the unit as an advisor. The unit, initially known as the Kuwolsan troop, appears to have been formed as early as 1920, in opposition to the annexation of Korea by Japan. " In December 1950 the Kuwolsan troop and several other guerrilla bands united into the Yeonpung Unit to fight the Chinese who had pushed south toward the 38th Parallel. " The term Donkey was used by Americans and partisans to refer to the partisan units. Its origin is unclear. One explanation is that it was coined by COL John McGee, commander of the Eighth Army guerrilla operations section, when, in a speech to a partisan unit, he said they must be as patient as wise mules, which translated as donkeys. Another is that it is an Americanized version of dong-il, Korean for liberty. A third is that Americans characterized operators of the hand-cranked AN/GRC-9 radio as riding a donkey. " Because of heavy losses and the overwhelming presence of North Korean and Chinese soldiers north of Seoul, the unit withdrew from the mainland to two islands. On 18 December, those two islands were " (Continued on page 7) SFA CHAPTER 29" PAGE 3

4 The 2014 KC SOF Ball The annual SF Ball will be held on March 8, 2014, at the Argosy Casino in Riverside, MO. This event dates back to the early 1980s, and in it current iteration to 1987, when Chapter 29 of the SFA partnered with SF officers attending the CGSC at Ft. Leavenworth to raise the level of the event as well as attendance." This is the major formal and social event of the year for our chapter and the Kansas City Special Operations community. Much fun is always had by all. The food, entertainment and camaraderie is not to be missed. " A squad of bag pipers and Gary Sinise, the actor, will be joining us Norma doing a pre-dinner inspection at last year s ball. this year, as will Jack Tobin, SFA president. Some of our guys having a few at last year s ball. Go here for details about the SOF Ball and to find the registration form:" Chapter officers talking with hotel management in the aftermath of last year s ball. A Very Special Silent Auction A very special one-of-a-kind item will be available for purchase during the silent auction period at the SOF Ball. It is a U. S. Army flag signed by eight Special Operations warriors representing five different conflicts: ALAMO SCOUT TEAM LEADER- LUZON, WW II OSS JEDBURGH- TEAM NOVOCAINE- FRANCE, WW II MEMBER 8240TH AU-UN PARTISAN FORCES- KOREA SON TAY RAIDER- REDWINE ELEMENT, VIETNAM MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT-1ST SF SOLDIER TO RECEIVE MOH, VIETNAM ARMY RANGER- COMBAT PARACHUTE ASSAULT, GRENADA SPECIAL FORCES HORSE SOLDIER - TASK FORCE DAGGER, AFGHANISTAN SF COMMANDER- COMBAT HALO OPERATION, IRAQ Go here to see the flag: SFA CHAPTER 29" " " " " " " " " " PAGE 4

5 HALO and Sport Jumping" A Panoply of Canopies" Hopping and Popping Civilian and Military Chapter members Ron Simmons and Rich Kiper will present on HALO and sport parachuting at the February chapter breakfast meeting." Ron has a long history of sport jumping and will present on that. Rich will present on HALO, High Altitude Low Opening, the military free fall version of the shell game." So, come for the delicious breakfast and camaraderie, and stay for the titillating presentations, pictures and discussions on voluntarily exiting perfectly good aircraft while in flight, which we all have done, but from a wide variety of different aircraft and with a wide variety of parachutes. SFA CHAPTER 29" PAGE 5

6 Total Membership SFA total membership, as reported in the recent Drop, is at 4,544 Decade members, 3,693 General and 1,285 Associate members, for a total of 9,522. Afghanistan Operation Resolute Support is replacing Operation Enduring Freedom as troop withdrawals continue in Afghanistan. Commander recommended strengths by the end of this year, 2014, are between 8,000 and 12,000, most of which will be Special Operations troops, and most of those, likely, will be Special Forces." The BSA, Bilateral Security Agreement, between the U.S. and the Karzai government extends until But the details are still be negotiated. Military Sleep Studies A new study found a high prevalence of sleep disorders and a startlingly high rate of sleep deprivation among active duty military personnel. The study suggests the need for a cultural change toward appropriate sleep practices throughout the military. - Source: "Active duty military personnel prone to sleep disorders and short sleep duration." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 January < 2013/01/ htm>. Class 279 is the most recent SFQC class to graduate and depart from the Special Warfare Center and head to the groups. Berlin Detachment Reunion There is a Det A, Berlin Detachment, reunion of all past members scheduled for this summer to coincide with the SFA National Convention in Columbia, SC. For more information go to the Chapter 34 website: or contact Bob Charest. Son Tay Raider Reunion in KC A reunion of the Son Tay Raiders will be held here in Kansas City next October. If you are interested in helping out or attending contact Terry Buckler, our chapter president. TALOS Assault Suit U.S. Special Operations Command issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for proposals and research in support of the development of Tactical Light Operator Suit (TALOS) TALOS is a USSOCOM effort to provide special operation forces (SOF) with enhanced mobility and protection technologies in a fully integrated assault suit. Some of the potential technologies planned for TALOS research and development include advanced armor, command and control computers, power generators, and enhanced mobility - Source: SOCOM: USSOCOMSeeksIdeasforAdvancedAssaultSuit Development.aspx SFA CHAPTER 29" " " " " " " " " " PAGE 6

7 (Continued from page 3)" captured by enemy forces, and the unit moved to Cho-do and Chuirado. Apparently, the unit split into three regiments, one of which became Donkey 2, another Donkey 15, and the third Donkey 20. In May, Donkey 15 moved to a different island. From March until August the Donkeys were known as the Kuwol Unit." In August Donkey 2 was disbanded and merged into Donkey 20 on Chodo. The history of the Kuwolson Guerrilla Unit states that it remained on Cho-do until the armistice. In April 1953 it became the 6th PIR and remained so until being disbanded on 5 March " The 12 May 1953 operations plan for partisan operations assigned the 6th PIR four missions:" Perform such reconnaissance and observation missions as are necessary to develop enemy tactical situations." Report such tactical information including OB (Order of Battle) to higher Headquarters as obtained." Make determined effort to take CCF and NKA prisoners, enemy clothing, weapons, and documents." Reports as obtained any unusual increase or decrease in the flow of troops and military supplies from Manchuria." During Newman s time with the unit, partisan strength on Cho-do ranged from 2,304 to 3,480, with American advisors being 27 to 41. As the military situation on the peninsula stabilized, partisan operations became much more difficult to conduct. There were too many North Korean and Chinese forces available to provide rear area security. The Kuwolson Unit history states that on 15 July Newman accompanied guerrillas in an unsuccessful attempt to land a force in North Korea with a mission to collect information after the truce was signed (27 July 1953). The month Newman left the 8240 Army Unit it was redesignated as the UN Partisan Infantry, Korea (UNPIK). In March 1954, 2,574 partisans from the 6th PIR were transferred into the ROK Army." In my files I found an from me to Mr. Newman, dated 19 December He, another Korean War veteran, and I were exchanging names of men who had served in the 8240 Army Unit." Contributed by Rich Kiper, chapter member." SFA CHAPTER 29" PAGE 7