Educating Special Forces Junior Leaders for a Complex Security Environment

[John T. Fishel]

the SF operating norm. SF has been with us for 57 years. During mostof those years it has been operating a long way from any other US troops. In 1967 an SF team led by Major Pappy Shelton trained the Bolivian Ranger battalion that hunted and chased down Che Guevara. The only other US force in the country was a two man SF training team consisting of CPT John Waghelstein and an NCO training the Bolivian Airborne. They made a decision independently to try to hunt down and capture the remnants of Che's band. 20 years later, I visited with then CPT Charlie Cleveland in the Chapare in Bolivia where his ODA was alone and supporting the Bolivian Rural Police in their operations against coca trafficking. (Last I heard of him BG Clevland was commanding SOCSOUTH). BTW, they had to coordinate with DEA, USAID, US immigration and customs, all of which were working in the area. While Charlie and his team were directly subordinate to the US MILGP, COL George Alport, the commander, had little contact with them (which was a reason for the visit). The COL wanted to see what they were doing and if he could provide any support. To get out there we flew from La Paz to Cochabamba and picked up a vehicle and drove 8 hours down a mountain road that was a cross between a roller coaster and a deathtrap. Point is, this is the norm for SF operations. Even El Salvador (where Waghelstein commanded the MILGP) was something of an anomaly with SF operating in two man operations and training teams with other advisors to make up the famous 55. The SF guys were out at the ESAF brigades; the others in San Salvador except for the Marine team with the ESAF Marines and one SF CPT assigned to work with USAID.

Cheers

JohnT