Special Forces Misrepresentations
This page is devoted to recognizing those who make or are reported to have made, either through
ignorance or disingenuous and duplicitous intent, claims that they or their unit is Special Forces.
Special Forces, when used to describe capability, individuals, units or organizations, refers to a
very select set of US Army Soldiers. The purpose here is to preserve, undiluted, the history, honor
and reputation of those who earned, will earn, and wear the Green Beret. None of the men or units
listed here have done that and therefore their claim to be Special Forces is either an ignorant error
or an intentional masquerade.
VSF Editor's note: There are no Marine Special Forces. We are pleased to see innocent Marines exonerated, but senior USMC leadership
has a special duty to correct these false assertions that they have a "Special Forces" unit.
UPDATED: 12/30/2007
USMC Commandant General James Conway in a CSPAN interview on 5 Dec 2007. CSPAN removed the interview from their web site and on-line archives. See DOD link below for complete interview transcript.
VSF Editor EXCERPTS: Q: And the Marines and counterinsurgency?
GEN. CONWAY: Well, we are probably all the world's premiere counterinsurgency forces at this time... Q: I think there are a significant number of Special Forces. Did your plan envision MARSOC returning to Afghanistan? And are they ready for that?
GEN. CONWAY: Yes. You may not know this, but after the first MARSOC came home, we very quickly put another one in there, and we have had MARSOC in Afghanistan now... But because they're Special Forces, I won't say much, except that they're having huge success in conjunction with the Army teams that they operate with and the other coalition force nations whose sectors they serve in. Q: Are you concerned that MARSOC may be taking some of your best people? And what does that do to your ability to have experienced officers and very skilled people in the Marine Corps?
GEN. CONWAY: ... When I was a MEF commander, I had an entire First Reconnaissance Company that I could deploy long range. These guys were very good at what they did. They were -- they were our equivalent of Special Forces inside the corps ...
... And it is helpful and healthy to the degree that someone with the MOS, someone that is highly trained and highly qualified, has yet another place that he can go and not feel like he's sort of reached the pinnacle after once he leaves the First Reconnaissance Company and then maybe change services and goes on to join Army Special Forces. General Jones once said that if he met another Marine in Army Special Forces who said he would have stayed if there was someplace to go, said he was going to jump off a bridge somewhere because he just -- it was happening to him all the time... Complete Transcript Here
UPDATED: 12/30/2007
Nov 29,2007 - WASHINGTON (AP) — A Marine company involved in the shooting of civilians in Afghanistan last March responded appropriately to an ambush against them, and should not have been pulled out of the country, the commander of Marine Corpsspecial forces said Thursday... In other comments, Hejlik said the creation of the new Marine Special Operations Command is moving along well. So far, he said, there are about 1,700 Marines in the special forces command, and he will reach the goal of 2,600 by late 2008. MORE
John Frueh, a special forces weather commando at the Air Force's Special Operations command headquartered at Hurlburt AFB in Florida. Hurlburt's website says, "Every night, as millions of Americans sleep peacefully under the blanket of freedom," Air Force Special Operations commandos work "in deep dark places, far away from home, risking their lives to keep that blanket safe."
This week's Special Forces of the week is the Air Force unit known as the PJ's. Have you ever thought about getting little more out of your Air Force career? Or have you ever thought about risking your life to save another? This is the mission of the Air Force Special Force -- the men of the Para-Rescue and CCT or Combat Control Technician. These men are responsible for providing emergency and lifesaving services to airmen, soldiers and civilians in both peacetime and combat environments. When a plane goes down in the jungle or ocean, it is the PJs who are there to find and save the pilots and crew. With extensive medical and combat training, Para-rescuemen truly live up to their motto, "That Others May Live."
Capt. (Dr.) Josh Appel attended commissioned officer training at Maxwell and spoke of his experience on a mission to rescue a wounded Navy Sea, Air, Land special forces member trapped in a Taliban-held section of Afghanistan. The captain and his PJ team were successful in getting the only survivor of the Navy SEAL team to safety.
-- Air Force photo by Carl Bergquist
Boeing said a "business development representative" briefed Air Force Special Forces Command (AFSOC) in April 2005 on the MH-47G, showing "a chart depicting a 3:15 build-up for deployability" and saying he "expected the time could be improved." The representative "did not say the CSAR requirements could not be met," the email said. About two weeks later, the representative "and others" briefed service officials at Wright Patterson Air Force Base "with the same message." In an email on its CSAR-X interest to the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Boeing said a "business development representative" briefed Air Force Special Forces Command (AFSOC) in April 2005 on the MH-47G, showing "a chart depicting a 3:15 build-up for deployability" and saying he "expected the time could be improved." The representative "did not say the CSAR requirements could not be met," the email said. About two weeks later, the representative "and others" briefed service officials at Wright Patterson Air Force Base $"with the same message." MORE
U.S. Air Force Special Forces : Pararescue: Pararescue (Warfare and Weapons) (Library Binding)
by Kim Covert (Author), Bob Holler (Author)
MORE
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Marine special forces cleared in killing of Afghans
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/05/marine-special.htmlMajor gets five months for faking awards
Court documents say Calderone put those false statements, including that he had a Silver Star, the Special Forces and Ranger tabs, and the Combat Infantry Badge, on his DA Form 2-1, the personal qualification record, and on his DD 214, the certificate of release from active duty. Calderone later submitted the falsified DD 214 to his Army Reserve unit, according to court documents. Those false statements on official military documents led to his promotion to major in July 2006, and led to him earning more pay, according to court documents... MOREThis Marine unit is not Special Forces
VSF calls on USMC CMDT General Conway to correct this press release and give credit for this debacle to MARSOC. There are no USMC Special Forces. "Tuesday, January 08, 2008 - CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The Marine Corps launched a rare tribunal Monday to publicly investigate disputed allegations that a special forces unit killed as many as 19 Afghan civilians after the military convoy was rammed by a car bomb..." MORE The court of inquiry, an administrative proceeding last used by the Marine Corps more than 50 years ago, will focus on the actions of Maj. Fred C. Galvin, commander of the 120-person unit, and platoon leader Capt. Vincent J. Noble. The officers were members of a Marine special operations company that opened fire March 4 along a crowded roadway in Nangahar province after an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into their convoy. No Marines were killed and only one was wounded. Witnesses said the Marines fired indiscriminately at pedestrians and people in cars, buses and taxis in six locations along a 10-mile stretch of the road, according to a report issued by Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission.UPDATED: 12/30/2007
USMC Commandant General James Conway in a CSPAN interview on 5 Dec 2007. CSPAN removed the interview from their web site and on-line archives. See DOD link below for complete interview transcript.
VSF Editor EXCERPTS: Q: And the Marines and counterinsurgency?
GEN. CONWAY: Well, we are probably all the world's premiere counterinsurgency forces at this time... Q: I think there are a significant number of Special Forces. Did your plan envision MARSOC returning to Afghanistan? And are they ready for that?
GEN. CONWAY: Yes. You may not know this, but after the first MARSOC came home, we very quickly put another one in there, and we have had MARSOC in Afghanistan now... But because they're Special Forces, I won't say much, except that they're having huge success in conjunction with the Army teams that they operate with and the other coalition force nations whose sectors they serve in. Q: Are you concerned that MARSOC may be taking some of your best people? And what does that do to your ability to have experienced officers and very skilled people in the Marine Corps?
GEN. CONWAY: ... When I was a MEF commander, I had an entire First Reconnaissance Company that I could deploy long range. These guys were very good at what they did. They were -- they were our equivalent of Special Forces inside the corps ...
... And it is helpful and healthy to the degree that someone with the MOS, someone that is highly trained and highly qualified, has yet another place that he can go and not feel like he's sort of reached the pinnacle after once he leaves the First Reconnaissance Company and then maybe change services and goes on to join Army Special Forces. General Jones once said that if he met another Marine in Army Special Forces who said he would have stayed if there was someplace to go, said he was going to jump off a bridge somewhere because he just -- it was happening to him all the time... Complete Transcript Here
UPDATED: 12/30/2007
Nov 29,2007 - WASHINGTON (AP) — A Marine company involved in the shooting of civilians in Afghanistan last March responded appropriately to an ambush against them, and should not have been pulled out of the country, the commander of Marine Corpsspecial forces said Thursday... In other comments, Hejlik said the creation of the new Marine Special Operations Command is moving along well. So far, he said, there are about 1,700 Marines in the special forces command, and he will reach the goal of 2,600 by late 2008. MORE
John Frueh, a special forces weather commando at the Air Force's Special Operations command headquartered at Hurlburt AFB in Florida. Hurlburt's website says, "Every night, as millions of Americans sleep peacefully under the blanket of freedom," Air Force Special Operations commandos work "in deep dark places, far away from home, risking their lives to keep that blanket safe."
This week's Special Forces of the week is the Air Force unit known as the PJ's. Have you ever thought about getting little more out of your Air Force career? Or have you ever thought about risking your life to save another? This is the mission of the Air Force Special Force -- the men of the Para-Rescue and CCT or Combat Control Technician. These men are responsible for providing emergency and lifesaving services to airmen, soldiers and civilians in both peacetime and combat environments. When a plane goes down in the jungle or ocean, it is the PJs who are there to find and save the pilots and crew. With extensive medical and combat training, Para-rescuemen truly live up to their motto, "That Others May Live."
Capt. (Dr.) Josh Appel attended commissioned officer training at Maxwell and spoke of his experience on a mission to rescue a wounded Navy Sea, Air, Land special forces member trapped in a Taliban-held section of Afghanistan. The captain and his PJ team were successful in getting the only survivor of the Navy SEAL team to safety.
-- Air Force photo by Carl Bergquist
Boeing said a "business development representative" briefed Air Force Special Forces Command (AFSOC) in April 2005 on the MH-47G, showing "a chart depicting a 3:15 build-up for deployability" and saying he "expected the time could be improved." The representative "did not say the CSAR requirements could not be met," the email said. About two weeks later, the representative "and others" briefed service officials at Wright Patterson Air Force Base "with the same message." In an email on its CSAR-X interest to the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Boeing said a "business development representative" briefed Air Force Special Forces Command (AFSOC) in April 2005 on the MH-47G, showing "a chart depicting a 3:15 build-up for deployability" and saying he "expected the time could be improved." The representative "did not say the CSAR requirements could not be met," the email said. About two weeks later, the representative "and others" briefed service officials at Wright Patterson Air Force Base $"with the same message." MORE
U.S. Air Force Special Forces : Pararescue: Pararescue (Warfare and Weapons) (Library Binding)
by Kim Covert (Author), Bob Holler (Author)
MORE
Return to Top