August 2022 Sentinel

In This Issue:

• President’s Page
• ACL Afghan Refugee Community Update
• The Chaplain’s Hooch
• Book Review — Code Over Country: The Tragedy and Corruption of SEAL Team Six by Matthew Cole
• Book Review — Survival on the Spiritual Battlefield: A Christian Warrior Training Manual on How to Safely Lead Your Family on the Battlefield and How to Be Victorious by Salvador “Si” Rangel
• SAVE TEAM 11 — Nat’l Guard SF Soldier Works to Evacuate Former Afghan Colleagues from Afghanistan
• Wounded Warrior: Part Two
• The National Special Forces Green Beret Memorial
• Special Forces Association 2022 Convention — Honoring Medal of Honor Recipients and Featuring the De Oppresso Liber Symposium Series (view pdf)
• July 2022 Chapter Meeting

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From the Editor:

We open this Sentinel with an introduction by our enthusiastic new chaplain, Si Rangel. He will occasionally be contributing articles of interest and has already submitted his book to me for review, which appears in this month’s issue.

Our Kenn Miller’s book review this month about Matthew Cole’s Code Over Country contrasts his last review of a book about SEALs (Alpha in the May 2022 Sentinel) with this book, which contains history, corruption and more.

As mentioned above, I had a chance to review Si Rangel’s book, A Christian Warrior Training Manual. He dials down in detail his prescription for combining military and spiritual skills.

“Save Team 11” tells of a courageous group of Afghans, formed under SF, who unfortunately got mostly left behind last August. Thomas Kasza describes how his growing 501(c)(3) charity Save Team 11 is being critical to the emigration efforts of the Afghan National Mine Reduction Group, that was trained by and worked exclusively with SF, contributing enormously to the success of SF operations, especially at night.

Greg Walker’s “Wounded Warrior” continues in Part 2. The amazing Mike Echanis has overcome his combat wounds, defying medical assessments that he would forever be crippled, and has become the go-to instructor for his radically reformed hand-to-hand combat techniques.

At the invitation of Charlie Beckwith, Mike Echanis trained his newly formed Delta operators, and was also invited by later SEAL Team 6 founder Richard Marcinko to come train his SEALs. Greg takes us through Mike’s demise in the assassination of Nicaraguan General Jose Ivan Alegrett in 1978, while they were flying together, as well as some of the controversy that followed his death. It is quite a tale.

And check out the details of the presenters and events at SFACON2022 in Colorado Springs, Sep 20-24. There is an outstanding lineup of presenters who cover subjects beginning with the OSS and weaving through Vietnam, Berlin, El Salvador, Afghanistan, Iraq, and present day activities of manning and deploying of SF troops. There will be half a dozen Medal of Honor recipients, a tour of facilities with the 10th SFG, and many other activities. There is not much time left to get on board, but plenty of opportunity.

Enjoy.

How Miller
Sentinel Editor