In this issue:
Edmunds & Stonesifer: The GWOT’s 1st Sacrifices
Retired Green Beret Chris Sorensen, a Task Force Dagger commander, tells the story of the first two casualties of America’s response to the Osama bin Laden-led strike on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001.
LAST CALL
for the Global Gathering
of Green Berets Cruise—
SFACON 2024!
Register by October 10th —
Click here for details
Don’t miss out on this gathering over 2,000+ Green Berets, Gold Star Families, Family and friends!
Nobody is Coming to Save You — released 1 October 2024
Retired Green Beret Scott Mann’s new book, entitled Nobody is Coming to Save You: A Green Beret’s Guide to Getting Big S**t Done, is a self-help guide that uses the author’s experience as a Green Beret to help readers overcome challenges and achieve goals.
Marc Yablonka reviews Ray E. Boomhowers’s The Ultimate Protest, which explores the background of the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam in the spring of 1963 that led to Quang Duc’s self-sacrifice.
Book Review: SOG Codename Dynamite: A MACV-SOG 1-0’s Personal Journal by Henry L. (Dick) Thompson
How Miller reviews SOG Codename Dynamite by Henry L. (Dick) Thompson. Through first-hand stories of the author’s position commanding a SOG unit engaged in secret reconnaissance missions, this two-book series offers an insider’s viewpoint.
Legacies of War Strives for a Legacy of Peace
Frequent contributor Marc Yablonka discusses the non-profit organization Legacies of War. With Sera Koulabdra at the helm, they continue to advocate for clearing Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam of unexploded ordinance (UXO), which have killed in excess of 50,000 civilians.
From the Archive:
MACV-SOG One-Zero School: Part III
From the Sentinel of May 2018—the conclusion of Travis Mills’ MACV-SOG One-Zero School story describes the training and first secret field recon into Laos as part of the real-life exercise of those Green Berets who, upon completion of their dangerous mission, will return to operational status at an F.O.B. with skills to be effective in recon operations and to survive the determined NVA forces.
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YouTube
@sfachapter78!
SFA CH 78 Gary L. Macnamara Interview
Playlist: Meet SFA Chapter 78
LTC (Ret.) Gary L. Macnamara, long-time chapter secretary, tells his story. You can read his member profile on our website, but in this interview he brings his resume to life.
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SOGCast
Untold stories of MAC-V SOG. Vietnam. The Secret War.
John Stryker Meyer, call sign—Tilt, has had a busy September, posting two not-to-be-missed episodes.
049: Did God Speak to a Bloodied “Dynamite” in a Firefight?
Tilt interviews “Dynamite” Dick Thompson for the second time. Dick Thompson’s two part series SOG Codename Dynamite: A MACV-SOG 1-0’s Personal Journal is reviewed this month by Sentinel editor How Miller, and an excerpt from Part 1 can also be read at this link.
Henry L. (Dick) Thompson, Ph.D., president and CEO of High Performing Systems, Inc., is an internationally recognized consultant, educator, speaker and author. His additional publications are The Stress Effect: Why Smart Leaders Make Dumb Decisions–And What to Do About It, Handbook for Developing Emotional and Social Intelligence: Best Practices, Case Studies, and Strategies, and Jung’s Function-Attitudes Explained. Click here for his biography.
050: Randy Harrison, CCS SOG Recon Officer Survived Epic MOH Mission in Cambodia.
CCS Recon Company CO Randy Harrison recounts a historic mission in Cambodia two days before Thanksgiving 1968.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or other major podcast providers. Video episodes are available on our YouTube channel SOGCast playlist.
Click to view or download
print edition (pdf)
ON THE COVER: U.S. Army Soldiers of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment conduct a helicopter rappel exercise from an MH-60M Black Hawk. Edmunds and Stonesifer took their final flight on this type of helicopter. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Hussein Enaya)
From the Editor:
Our President’s message details the wonderful presentation at our meeting by SOG veteran and SOG Codename Dynamite author Henry “Dick” Thompson.
Retired Green Beret Chris Sorensen, a Task Force Dagger commander, in “Edmunds and Stonesipher,” tells the real story of two Rangers, the first two casualties of America’s response to the Osama bin Laden-led strike on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001. Though they died in Pakistan in direct support of Operation Rhino, the Ranger combat jump into Kandahar, they were the first American casualties of the war, now called the Global War on Terror.
Retired Green Beret Scott Mann of Last Out, Operation Pineapple Express, and founder of Rooftop Leadership, and much more, has a new book coming out on 1 October 2024. Entitled Nobody is Coming to Save You: A Green Beret’s Guide to Getting Big S**t Done, it is a self-help guide that uses the author’s experience as a Green Beret to help readers overcome challenges and achieve goals. Mann’s book draws on military training and personal anecdotes to teach readers about self-reliance, adaptability, and responsibility.
Marc Yablonka reviews The Ultimate Protest, by Ray E. Boomhower. A Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc, self-immolated to protest the marginalization of Buddhists by the Catholic President of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, and his government. Malcolm W. Brown’s photograph of the monk’s sacrifice brought the war to the front pages, where it never left.
I review the amazing pair of books titled SOG Codename Dynamite by Henry “Dick” Thompson, followed by an excerpt from book 1.
The excerpt from the riveting SOG Codname Dynamite shows a bit of the SOG mission and how Recon Team Leader (one-zero) Dick Thompson made his teams so successful. It is actually one of the tamer missions, but is an example of how he describes each mission. These books will be considered reference material for future recon leaders.
A few words about a video interview with GB Gary Macnamara and a goodbye to Rick Carter, Sentinel photographer.
In “Legacies of War,” frequent contributor Marc Yablonka discusses the non-profit organization that continues to advocate for clearing Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam of unexploded ordinance (UXO), which have killed in excess of 50,000 civilians. Sera Koulabdra is now at the helm of the organization and is getting both results and funding.
Our focus this month is on the Green Beret Foundation, the wonderful work they do for SF year-round, and how they help GBs transition. Described in this issue are new programs and how you can help.
Feel free to check out our chapter meeting pics, and, as always, please share with us your interesting stories at sfachapter78@gmail.com.
How Miller
Sentinel Editor
SENTINEL Awards
- Awarded best Special Forces Association Monthly Newsletter at SFA National Convention June 2011 and 2014
- Awarded Golden Quill at SFA National Convention June 2015 and June 2016
- Best Newsletter Award for 2017 from Special Forces Association National Board of Directors at the International Convention in Fayetteville, NC
- Special Forces Association (SFA) Cross Arrow Award for Excellence, 2018, First Award Presented by SFA in this category
- The War Reporters Award, Presented by Alex Quade – (War Reporter and Film Producer) for Chapter 78 Sentinel’s Commitment documenting Special Forces History, July 2018
- The Golden Arrows for Excellence in Newsletters 2019 awarded by SFA National
- The Golden Arrows for Excellence in Newsletters 2020 awarded by SFA National
The Sentinel is published monthly by Special Forces Association Chapter 78, Southern California — art direction and design by Debra Holm, Dinwiddie Holm Graphics. The views, opinions and articles printed in this issue do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Army or the United States Special Operations Command, the Special Forces Association, or Special Forces Association Chapter 78. Please address any comments to the editor at sfachapter78@gmail.com.
Cover picture is of a Blackhawk, not a Huey! RT Mamba and SOG were Vietnam era unless they’ve recycled names!
You are absolutely correct. Thank you for pointing this out. The blog index page from September had been copied reused as a template for the October issue, and the caption you read was for the September cover. The error has been corrected.