Pic Of The Day 2

[98Z5V]

[Cunuckgaucho]

[shooterrex]

[Armed Eye Doc]

Isn't that a sexy defensive weapon waiting for a reason?

[Armed Eye Doc]

And no, not for a cat to come through the door!😡

[shooterrex]

[Magwa]

10 hours ago, shooterrex said:

No $hit

[shooterrex]

[shepp]

@98Z5V @imschur

[shooterrex]

[shooterrex]

[Armed Eye Doc]

7 hours ago, shooterrex said:

Thanks for the reminder.  Watching the movie now.

[Cunuckgaucho]

[98Z5V]

15 hours ago, shooterrex said:

Yeah, brother.   I shot a match on Saturday, 3  Oct.  Gave a speech beforehand.  33 years since that firefight happened,  and it was the most intense firefight since anything that happened in VietNam.  18 dudes lost that day, all badasses, between Delta and Rangers.  The two most giving people lost that day were Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart, that requested multiple times to be inserted on the ground to secure the Durant crash site - they knew exactly what they were asking for, the first time they asked, and were denied.  After multiple requests to be inserted on the ground, they were approved, they went in.  For what they gave,  Mike Durant is still here.  Ultimately, after many years, both were approved for the CMOH.

In the very late '90s and early 2000, I had a bunch of those guys in my unit, sent there to build leadership and progress themselves. The medic?  Kurt Schmid, he was a CW3 in my unit. John Macejunas was HHC 1SG. Jody Nacy was the Group CSM. There was a complete pile of them, in 1SFG(A).  Everything they were sent there to do, was accomplished, and we went nothing but up.  They built capabilities, skills, and mindset.  Bad Motherfukcers.  A few years later, in Nov-Dec 2003, in Afghani-Land, I directly worked with Jeff Struecker, from that battle in '93.  By then, he was a CPT, and a US Army Chaplain.  I've never met a more badass Chaplain in my life.  After an IED blew up the gun truck with Jay Blessing and Gary Toombs, we went back out there the next day, to the IED site, and held a ceremony, Chaplain Struecker leading. The message was simple.  Try again, and see what happens. Jay Blessing died, only casualty of the deployment, Gary Toombs made it - in 1995, he was one of the SF Company Sergeants Major in 2nd Battalion, 1st SFG(A), when I first got there. He'd since retired, and was the Civilian Contract Armorer at 2/75 when that IED blew him up.

The lessons learned from Somalia were definitely passed down - directly, from leaders that were there, years later, in our unit. Those men were the reason we had monthly shooting competitions, just for bragging rights, and a name on the trophy that was posted in the Mess Hall - but, to build capabilities and skills, foremost.  Those men were the reason that we had a private range built, directly across the road from the front gate of the compound - that we had full control of.  Those men made a difference in the future of 1SFG(A), forward, and changed the direction of warfare, post 9/11. At least for us, but I'm sure, completely, for the rest of the units that they were all sent to, besides ours.  In my opinion, we got the best ones. 

Mace was unreal...  Nacy - unwavering, and badass as all fuk. Doc Schmid - coolest dude you'd ever meet, so layed back, matter of fact, and so on point. Completely calm, collected, in everything that he did. That was a valley of heroes, and we were blessed with their presence.  They had a job to do, go back to White SOF and train people - and they did it. They changed trajectory.  For the better.  Not long after 9/11 happened, all their training paid off, for us. 

To them all, in 1993...  Rest easy...  

For those that made it out, and eventually found me, and changed me...  I can't thank you all enough...