Before the graduation ceremony, tables with 142 green berets and other awards to be presented to the outstanding class graduates. (Photo courtesy John S. Meyer)
SFQC Graduation —
Class 335
February 14, 2024
By Isaac Staats
On February 15 142 men donned their new Green Beret for the first time during a graduation ceremony held at the USASOC Hangar, Pope Army Airfield, N. Carolina with friends, family members and Special Forces veterans in the audience.
After they donned their berets, Special Forces veterans, active duty Green Berets and U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School staff raised a glass of wine to the newest members of America’s elite warriors.
Guest speaker Lt. Gen. Jonathan P. Braga, USASOC Commanding General, welcomed the 142 Green Berets while thanking family members for their life-long support of the newly minted special warfare soldiers.
Following the graduation, guest speaker Lt. Gen. Jonathan P. Braga, USASOC Commanding General, took time to record a video promo for the Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne) inside the USASOC Hangar, at Pope Army Airfield, N. Carolina where the event was held. Guests and family members of the 142 graduates of the Special Forces Qualification Course Class 335, attended the event hosted by the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. (Photo courtesy of John S. Meyer)
Among those 142 men were seven Southern California troops who were presented their new gold, metal life-time Special Forces Association membership plates by SFA Chap. 78 President Aaron Brandenburg.
Brandenburg made the presentations during a pre-graduation BBQ jointly sponsored by SFA Chapters 78 and 1-18—where the Mission BBQ luncheon was held on Chapter 1-18’s ever-improving campus a short distance off of Interstate 95 in Fayetteville.
Brandenburg congratulated the new chapter members upon earning their berets and how entering the SFA will provide them opportunities to learn about Special Forces history and to share camaraderie with different generations of Green Berets.
At right, SFA Chapter 78 President Aaron Brandenburg speaking at the pre-graduation BBQ. At Aaron's right, stands SFA Chapter 1-18 President Jeff Rinaldi. (Photo courtesy of John S. Meyer)
Before the food was served SFA Chapter 1-18 President Jeff Rinaldi and Past President Chris Wilkerson welcomed the new troops into the SFA and encouraged any Special Forces soldier to visit the ever-improving campus for events or just to stop by the team room for a cold drink and a hot meal. After SFA National President Kevin Harry spoke to the troops, Brandenburg spoke to the gathering about his personal experience of learning first, about the SFA, and then about how joining the SFA provided him with opportunities that led to business and personal connections that he hadn’t experienced before joining the national organization.
John Meyer with the SFQC graduating class at the pre-graduation BBQ. (Photo courtesy of John S. Meyer)
After lunch was served, some of the new chapter members hung around to speak with Brandenburg and Chapter 78 member John S. Meyer, who added: “Meeting these young men who will don the Green Beret that they earned, is a personally rewarding moment in time because it shows me that regardless of all the public rancor in America today by noisy anti-US personnel, our country still produces young men who are willing to serve it in America’s finest special operations unit, the hallowed Green Berets…
“Their stories of how they became motivated vary from reading books, viewing podcasts that discuss service to God and country in Special Forces to reading old editions of Soldier of Fortune magazines that printed stories about Green Berets serving in Vietnam, including MACV-SOG, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria to the Philippines. It was an honor to shake their hands and to hear their stories.”
About the Author:
Isaac Staats has been a frequent contributor to Soldier of Fortune Magazine with chronicles of the daring exploits of special operations troops in the Vietnam war. Isaac Staats has been there, done that, and is a California-based journalist.
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