Previously Held MOS 11B10-Infantryman
11C10-Indirect Fire Infantryman
11C20-Indirect Fire Infantryman
30221-Communications Center Officer (SF Qualified)
31010-Combat Signal Unit Commander (SF Qualified)
2520-Training Officer
1542-Infantry Unit Commander
37A-Psychological Operations
35B-Strategic Intelligence Officer
01A-Officer Generalist
Special Forces Tab awarded on a retroactive basis on 2OCT84.
Previously Held MOS notes:
1. 37A-Psychological Operations - originally awarded as Specialty Skill Identifier 48B - Psychological Operations Officer on 28FEB85, since psychological operations was then part of the Foreign Area Officer functional area 48. It was later designated a separate functional area (39) and subsequently, a separate branch (37).
2. 01A-Officer Generalist - was for duty as a qualified detailed inspector general.
3. Awarded Specialty Skill Identifier 18A - Special Operations on 5FEB85.
Official Badges notes:
1. Assigned to the Retired Reserve on 11MAY98. Placed on the AUS Retired liston 18MAR09 (thus the post-2007 retirement badge).
2. Appointed as an ALARNG Recruiter, period indefinite, effective 11SEP74.
Ribbon Bar
Marksmanship badges for Rifle (Caliber 5.56 mm, M16A1), Pistol (Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1) and Mortar (81mm, M29A1) reflect original qualifications from BCT(1969) and AIT(1970).
Other
At least six of my eight great, great grandfathers (William Curlee, Lewis Kilgore, Thomas Holland, Edwin Sockwell, William Thompson and Noble Delashaw) served as Confederate soldiers in the War Between the States (all have TWS profiles shown below).
Special Forces Motto Information
The U.S Army interpretation of the Latin phrase De Oppresso Liber is generally considered to be "to free from oppression" or "to liberate the oppressed".
A more correct and/or literal translation of the Latin phrase de oppresso liber would be "from (being) an oppressed man, (to being) a free one".
MARCH AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. MARCH AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) _ Thousands of Army paratroopers and Marines, along with Navy and Air Force units, gathered throughout the Southwest on Thursday for realistic practice in desert warfare.
''Gallant Eagle '86,'' which begins Friday and lasts for 10 days, is drawing 35,000 troops to the area.
Foot soldiers will hone their skills at fighting in hot, dry climes. Fighter and bomber pilots will buzz the desert floor in mock air-to-ground attacks.
Air Force transports will fly in troops and equipment from Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Campbell, Ky. and Fort Stewart, Ga.
During World War II, Gen. George Patton trained his tank crews and infantrymen in the deserts of Southern California, preparing them for the hardships they would face against hardened Nazi veterans in North Africa.
More than 40 years later, tanks and artillery are back in the remote deserts so that soldiers can train for the conditions they would find if war were to break out in the Middle East or similar regions.
The troops involved in Gallant Eagle are attached to the U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for the readiness of troops that would be sent to the Middle East, eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula or Pakistan.
The maneuvers are held every other year in the Southwest under coditions so realistic that in 1982 a drop of 2,300 paratroopers left six dead and 150 injured.
''This is the biggest exercise that the Central Command will be involved in,'' said Maj. John Meyer, a public affairs officer working at the maneuver headquarters at March Air Force Base, 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
The biggest enemy will be the heat. In recent days, thundershowers have cooled the parched region that is dotted with little more than sagebrush and Joshua trees, but the National Weather Service predicted temperatures ranging from 98 to 108 degrees during the opening days of the exercise.
The troops are carrying plent of water, Meyer said.
Units of the four armed services, along with units from the Reserves and the National Guard will participate.
''Air support for the exercise will be staged from several airfields spread throughout the southwestern United States,'' a Pentagon statement said.
Much of the ground battle will be fought at the Marine Corps' desert combat center in Twentynine Palms.
Artillery and aircraft will perform live-fire missions, and 18,000 soldiers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and the 197th Infantry Brigade will be flown in from bases in the East to practice desert warfare at the Marine base.
Other troops will face off against each other at the Army's Fort Irwin, near Barstow. Leathernecks from the 1st Marine Division stationed at Camp Pendleton on the California coast will also participate.
In addition to March, other California bases involved in the exercise include Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, George Air Force Base in Victorville and the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Orange County.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
July / 1986
To Month/Year
July / 1986
Last Updated: Jan 29, 2023
Personal Memories
Memories We were billeted and worked at El Toro MCAS. Enjoyed drinks and dinner a number of times at the Officers' Club at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) during Gallant Eagle '86, a CENTCOM exercise in early AUG86. First time I ever enjoyed a Mongolian barbecue!
My first cousin, who lived in Los Angeles, picked me up and we spent the middle weekend touring and enjoying the sights and good food in Laguna Beach, CA!
