A hearing was held on “Disinformation in the Gray Zone: Opportunities, Limitations, and Challenges” by the House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations. The purpose of the hearing was to receive testimony on the Department of Defense’s (DoD) efforts to address malign activities of our adversaries below the threshold of armed conflict.

Witnesses:

Mr. Christopher Maier
Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense
Special Operations / Low Intensity Conflict

Mr. Neil Tipton
Director of Defense Intelligence
Collections and Special Programs (DoD)

Mr. James Sullivan
Defense Intelligence Officer for Cyber
Defense Intelligence Agency

Hearing. The event was approximately one hour long. It began with opening statements by the Committee chairman, Representative Gallego, and the witnesses. The three witnesses had submitted one witness statement for the record that incorporated the comments of all three witnesses. Then the format moved to a question and answer session. This open session was followed by a closed session for more sensitive or classified topics.

Takeaways. Our defense information operations (IO) are not keeping up with those of Russia and China. Currently Russia is the main IO threat to the US but China will soon catch up and move ahead of Russia. The DoD has to relearn how to conduct IO (like we did during the Cold War). The conduct of IO falls primarily to the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The various DoD cyber organizations are working IO into their activities. One of the limiting factors is personnel – recruiting and training an individual who is knowledgeable of language, culture, behavioral science and other disciplines is a time-consuming and long-range venture.

Four Lines of Effort. The DoD has organized its efforts to combat disinformation, misinformation, and propaganda in four areas.

• countering propaganda by adversaries
• force protection
• countering disinformation abroad
• deterring and disrupting adversarial malign influence capabilities

Conclusion. The hearing starts off a little slow but then gets more interesting during the question and answer period. If you are tracking events in the information operations world and USSOCOM’s involvement in IO activities then this hearing could be of interest. The 9-page witness statement is very informative.

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Video – Disinformation in the Gray Zone: Opportunities, Limitations, and Challenges
March 16, 2021, 57 minutes, YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-RCBwyamdY&t=172s

Additional Products. The biographies of the witnesses and the opening witness statement are available on the Subcommittee’s portal at the link below. You can access them on the portal page via the zip file that allows you to download the meeting package. If you just want to read the witness statement – click here to access off SOF News website. (PDF, 9 pages).
https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=111323

A new subcommittee under the U.S. House Armed Services Committee has been formed. The Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations will focus on specific activity areas of the Department of Defense. The new subcommittee will be chaired by Representative Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) He is a Marine Corps combat veteran who deployed to Iraq in 2005 for an eight month long deployment. One Republican member of this new subcommittee is Representative Mike Waltz. He served two tours as a Special Forces officer in Afghanistan.

The Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations (ISO) will have the following jurisdiction:

• military intelligence
• national intelligence
• countering CBR weapons of mass destruction, counterterrorism
• special operations forces
• counter-proliferation
• counterterrorism
• sensitive military operations

There are currently seven permanent subcommittees of the U.S. House Armed Services:

• Tactical Air and Land Forces
• Military Personnel
• Readiness Committee
• Seapower and Projection Forces
• Strategic Forces
• Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems
• Intelligence and Special Operations

It appears that the Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee has been replaced by two new subcommittees: Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems and the Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittees.

A former U.S. Army Green Beret allegedly conspired to provide national defense information to Russian intelligence. The former Special Forces officer has been charged in a Russian espionage conspiracy.

According to a U.S. indictment, Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins, a former member of the 10th Special Forces Group, conspired with agents of a Russian intelligence service from 1996 to 2011. During that time he periodically visited Russia and met with Russian intelligence agents. In 1997 he was assigned a code name – Ikar Lesnikov – and he signed a statement attesting that he wanted to serve Russia.

He is charged with revealing classified information, providing details of his Special Forces unit, and identifying Special Forces team members for Russian intelligence to try to recruit as a spy.

Prosecutors alleged that the former Special Forces officer thought that the United States was too dominant in the world and needed to be cut down to size. He was motivated in part because of his experience with the U.S. Army and a wish to develop business interests in Russia.

Family Life. Debbin’s mother was born in the Soviet Union. He has 17 siblings, including 10 who were adopted. He met his wife in Chelyabinsk, Russia – where they were married in 1997. She was the daughter of a Russian military officer.

Recruitment. Debbins first contact with Russian agents appears to be in 1996 when he was a ROTC student at the University of Minnesota. He attended college from 1994 to 1997. He visited Russia every summer while in college. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in International Relations and Affairs. After graduation he entered the U.S. Army.

He was rewarded for his information with money and gifts. The gifts included a Russian military uniform and a bottle of Cognac. His primary motivation to spy for Russia appears to be his pro-Russia ideology.

Military Career. His first assignment was with an Army chemical unit in South Korea during 1998 and 1999. He served in the unit as a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) officer (74A) with the rank of Lieutenant. He then served with a chemical company at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

Once stateside he volunteered for U.S. Army Special Forces training. Upon completion of the SF training program he was assigned to Special Forces with the rank of Captain. He served with the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group based in Stuttgart, Germany. His deployments included trips to Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Balkans, and other locations in Europe. He never served in Iraq or Afghanistan. While serving in the Army he held a U.S. government SECRET clearance and later, a TOP SECRET clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access.

While with the 10th Special Forces Group he lost his security clearance and was removed from command for an unspecified security violation while deployed to Azerbaijan. He left the Army in 2005 with an honorable discharge.

After his active duty service Debbins would continue to serve for another five years as an officer in the U.S. Army inactive reserves. During this time he continued to meet with Russian agents – providing them with classified information about the U.S. military.

Post-Military Employment. After leaving the active Army in 2005 he lived in Minnesota. He first worked for a Ukrainian steel manufacturer from late 2005 to 2006. He later worked as a Transportation Coordinator for Trademark Transportation, Inc from 2006 to 2010.

In 2010 his security clearance was restored by an Army adjudicator – which opened the door for future employment with firms conducting defense related business. He worked in the defense industry in the following capacities:

• 2011 – 2014. Mission Essential Personnel, LLC, employed as a Senior Research Analyst.
• 2014 – 2015. Booz Allen Hamilton.
• 2016 – 2017. CACI International, Inc. as a contract instructor.
• 2017 – 2020. CoSolutions -as a contractor working at U.S. European Command while based in the United Kingdom. CoSolutions is a technology company that provides services in IT, cyber security, and software systems engineering. He worked as an Area Studies and Hybrid Warfare instructor for EUCOM and NATO. He worked at a NATO regional joint intelligence facility in the United Kingdom.
• 2013 – Present. Principal at Horizon Leadership Group (HLG). According to its LinkedIn page the firm is a provider in training for cyber security, intelligence and analysis tradecraft, and cyber financial crimes.
• 2020 – Present. A professor at the Wisconsin International University (USA) Ukraine in Washington, D.C. He was involved in a cyber security training program. The university is a liberal arts institute located in Kiev, Ukraine.

His LinkedIn page states that he is a “. . . Project Manager with 20 years of experience and knowledge in intelligence, national security, and strategic planning.” He cites a “. . . particular expertise in developing, implementing, and maintaining cyber security and Insider Threat programs . . .” In 2015 he graduated from the Institute of World Politics (IWP) located in Washington, D.C. with a Master of Arts in Strategic and International Studies.

Future Legal Status. If convicted, Debbins faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. The current indictment is an accusation – Debbins is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The news of his arrest was released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday, August 21, 2020.

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Photo: Alexandria, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, booking photo on August 21, 2020.

References:

Indictment, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, August 20, 2020, PDF, 17 pages.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1307186/download

Peter Debbins’ LinkedIn Page.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterdebbins/

“Alumnus Spotlight: Peter Debbins, Army Special Forces, Russia analyst, and cyber instructor”, Students & Alumni, The Institute of World Politics, February 20, 2018.

The Institute of World Politics. Profile of Peter Debbins as an instructor with IWP’s Cyber Intelligence Initiative.
https://www.iwp.edu/cyber-intelligence-initiative-team/peter-debbins/

Have you ever wondered how Army special operations forces personnel become so highly capable in the many and varied missions they conduct around the world? An informative and interesting video provides an explanation of the advanced training ARSOF soldiers receive.

Certainly, the arduous and highly-refined selection process is important to ensure the right individual is accessed into the Army’s Special Forces, Civil Affairs, PSYOP, and ARSOF intelligence and support units. In addition, respective initial qualification courses provide a baseline of instruction to prepare the soldiers for their assignments. However, much of the expertise is attained through attendance at the advanced training courses available at the Army’s school for special warfare after the soldier is assigned to his unit.

The 6th Battalion of the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) conducts over 16 advanced and specialized courses. These courses prepare ARSOF, JSOC, and interagency personnel for a wide range of missions and operations all over the world. The courses range from conventional and unconventional intelligence collection, irregular warfare analytics, biometric and forensic collection techniques, surveillance, and cyber technology.

USAJFKSWCS has released an eight minute video detailing these advanced courses. The short film details the courses conducted by the three companies of the 6th Battalion. If you have an interest in some of the special operations training conducted at Fort Bragg, North Carolina then this video is worth watching.

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6th Battalion Command Video, USAJKFSWCS, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, eight minutes, published on July 20, 2020.
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/760270/6th-battalion-command-video

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Image: From video.

The Regimental Military Intelligence Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment is now an enduring part of the regiment. It was officially activated on June 16, 2020. It had been provisionally activated in May 2017 at Fort Benning, Georgia.

The RMIB is assigned personnel who work as all-source intelligence analysts, drone operators, geospatial analysts, HUMINT collectors, and in the cyber, electronic warfare, and other fields. The RMIB personnel conduct full spectrum intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber, and electronic warfare operations.

The RMIB has a headquarters detachment and two companies. The Military Intelligence Company conducts multi-discipline collection and production, imagery collection, and dissemination of analysis. The Cyber Electromagnetic Activities Company conducts cyber, electronic, signals, and technical surveillance operations. The RMIB enhances the regiment’s situational awareness and informs the staff and commander during the decision-making process. The battalion will be based at Fort Benning, Georgia.

RMIB Officers and Enlisted. There are numerous military intelligence military occupational specialties within the RMIB. Those officers and enlisted who are assigned to the RMIB must pass physical requirements to include the Ranger Fitness Test, Ranger Physical Assessment Test, Combat Water Survivability Assessment, and a 12 mile foot march.

“Today the intelligence and cyber Rangers remain at the top of their fields, able to do things with their tools that are rarely matched by their peers. Each one of the RMIB Rangers earned their tan beret and scroll the same as every other military occupational specialty in the 75th Ranger Regiment formation. Everyone is a Ranger first.”

Lt. Col. Timothy Sikora, Commander, Regimental Military Intelligence Battalion, June 2020

The Ranger Regiment has been extremely busy the last two decades during the Global War on Terrorism. It has had years of non-stop combat deployments across the globe conducting counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations. The RMIB will enhance the ability of the regiment to find and fix (F3EAD) the enemy on the battlefield and conduct direct action missions. The personnel of the RMIB will improve networking within the intelligence community at large, interoperability between conventional and special operations forces, and relationships with partner nation forces. In addition, it will prepare the regiment for the adversaries that it will confront in the new era of ‘great power competition’.

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References:

Regimental Military Intelligence Battalion – Fort Benning
https://www.benning.army.mil/Tenant/75thRanger/RMIB-ABOUT.html

GoArmy.com – Ranger Battalions. A description of the units that make up the Ranger Regiment.
https://www.goarmy.com/ranger/about-the-army-rangers/army-ranger-battalions.html

Video – 75th Ranger Regiment: Joint the Military Intelligence Battalion, The 75th Ranger Regiment YouTube, February 19, 2019, 3 mins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWLMqRW3-N8

Lushenko, Maj. Paul A., U.S. Army, “The 75th Ranger Regiment Military Intelligence Battalion: Modernizing for Multi-Domain Battle”, Military Review, July-August 2018.

Skovlund Jr., Marty, “The 75th Ranger Regiment is Adding a Fifth Battalion”, Task & Purpose, May 17, 2017.

Image: From RMIB info page.

By Thomas G. Pledger.

Current United States counterterrorism strategy concentrates on retribution over network targeting. These different lines of effort, retribution and network targeting, compete for limited resources on an ever-expanding battlefield. Not only do these lines of effort compete for resources from each other, but they also compete for resources from all other military operations globally.

Retribution is the direct targeting of a group’s senior leaders for a kill or capture mission. Retribution operations are often seen as the delivery of justice for attacks against civilians. Retribution satisfies the emotional desire to directly target those who inspired and directed violent attacks (i.e., Osama bin Laden) and the American public’s desire for a personal response.

Network targeting, however, is the daily grind of defeating the logistics and communications networks that violent extremist organizations build in order to enable and conduct operations. Targeting these networks can be conducted via direct military operations, and / or the use of interagency, or partner nation assets. Understanding the effects retribution or network targeting have on a violent extremist organization long-term capability is crucial to understanding which type of operations should receive the priority of limited resources.

Over the past 30 years, multiple countries have conducted retribution operations around the world. Most notably, the US mission against Osama Bin Laden in 2011. Other recent US operations include Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi (AQ-I, 2006) and Abu Ayyub Al-Masri (Daesh, 2010). Israel and other countries have conducted retribution operations against violent extremist organizations around the world. A shortlist of high valued individuals targeted by Israel includes: Khalil al-Wazir (PLO, 1988), Fathi Shaqaqi (PIJ, 1995), Ahmed Ismail Yassin (Hamas, 2004) and Ahmed Jabari (Hamas, 2012). Even while suffering successful retribution operations, Hamas’s operational reach and capability have increased. Equally, Daesh continued to spread after the targeting of Zarqawi and Masri and went onto create a safe haven in Iraq and Syria.

During major combat operations, conventional forces target logistics and communication networks in an effort to prevent, delay, and limit effective adversary military actions. Destroying these nodes breaks the links, which allow communication and movement of supplies to opposition military forces. Looking at the historic aspects of attacking an adversary’s logistic networks, multiple effective examples stand out, using both lethal and non-lethal effects. The shock and awe of the first Gulf War against the Iraqi Army was the ultimate recent example of network targeting. Thirty-nine days of airstrikes, against networks, enabled a 100-hour ground campaign.

Similarly, targeting the networks of violent extremist organizations has proven effective at limiting violent extremist organization operations. Operation Christmas and Operation Rivers of Light are examples of non-lethal operations against a violent extremist organization. Conducted in 2010 and 2011 against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC), specifically FARC transportation networks. Operation Christmas and Operation Rivers of Light effectively removed over 500 guerrillas from the battlefield without firing a shot, including a FARC Commander, a key bomb-maker, and a large cache of weapons. Driving the FARC to the negotiation table in 2012.

The key then becomes finding which Nodes to attack, individuals, physical locations, infrastructure, or some other target or combination thereof. Much research has been conducted on social network analysis and link analysis. Research coming from the University of Maryland illustrated the effectiveness of nodal network targeting to decrease the lethality of violent extremist organizations. This research has shown statistically that retribution operations can create more aggressive or effective violent extremist organizations. In contrast, operations against mid to upper level “staff” will reduce the effectiveness of these same violent extremist organizations. [1] Moving beyond this research, the removal of these mid-level staff by capture operations provides an additional information source for future operations against all levels of the violent extremist organization.

Network targeting is not meant to replace the retribution targeting of high valued individuals. Targeting of the facilitation networks is designed to augment high valued individual targeting by placing indirect pressure on the high valued individuals and reducing the ability of both centralized and decentralized violent extremist organizations to conduct effective operations. Reducing or stopping the number and frequency of violent actions is the goal of any counterterrorism policy.

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[1] Spezzano, Francesca, V. S. Subrahmanian, and Aaron Mannes. “Reshaping Terrorist Networks.” Communications of the ACM 57, no. 8 (2014): 60-69. Accessed February 20, 2019. doi:10.1145/2632661.2632664

Photo: AMQ-9 Reaper armed with GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided munitions and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles flies a combat mission over southern Afghanistan. (USAF photo / Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt).

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Thomas G. Pledger is an Army Infantry Officer currently serving at the Army National Guard Directorate in Washington, DC.  Tom has deployed to multiple combat zones supporting both the Conventional and Special Operations Forces.  Tom holds a Master in Public Service and Administration from the Bush School of Public Administration at Texas A&M University and a Master of Humanities in Organizational Dynamics, Group Think, and Communication from Tiffin University, and three Graduate Certificates from Texas A&M University in Intelligence, Counterterrorism, and Military Policy and Defense Affairs.  Tom has been a guest lecturer at the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute.  Tom’s current academic and professional research is focused on a holistic approach to counter-facilitation/network, stability operations, and unconventional warfare.

The Special Operations Forces Site Exploitation Courses (SOFSE) provide students the ability to exploit sensitive-site materials and detainees. The United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) has two SOFSE courses that are held at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Each is three weeks long and is conducted several times a year.

The Army defines “site exploitation” as the “. . . synchronized and integrated application of scientific and technological capabilities and enablers to answer informational requirements, facilitate subsequent operations, and support host-nation rule of law.” (ATP 3-90.15). Training courses conducted by SOF and conventional forces ensure that service members are knowledgeable about site exploitation procedures and processes. This ensures that information collected and persons found on-site are methodically assessed and transported to the appropriate facility – such as a technical exploitation facility or military police detainee collection point.

SOF units can conduct exploitation at the site utilizing a ‘reach back capability’ that will allow it to rapidly prosecute subsequent targets. JSOC is one SOF unit that conducts intelligence driven operations against ISIS and other jihadist movements. Its “Expeditionary Targeting Force” utilizes ‘identity intelligence‘ (I2) to conduct its missions. In addition, U.S. SOF is also conducting instruction for foreign SOF in site exploitation. For instance U.S. SOF is providing courses of instruction that include tactical site exploitation for the National Mission Unit (NMU) and select Province Special Units (PSU) in Afghanistan.

Some of the different categories of information to include biometric data (retina scan, fingerprints, etc.), cell phone data (CELLEX), electronic media (MEDEX), digital exploitation (DOMEX), and documents (DOCEX). The Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has designated the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (parent unit of USAJFKSWCS) as the lead SOF component for sensitive site exploitation. (page 2-2, ADP 3–05, July 2019).

SOFSE OAC

Photo: A student in the SOFSE OAC fingerprints a captured enemy role player during training at Ft Bragg, NC. (Photo by K. Kassens, Oct 17, 2019).

The SOF Site Exploitation Operator Advance Course (SOFSE OAC) provides students the knowledge necessary to work on a site exploitation team. This includes team organization, responsibilities, planning, and interagency collaboration. The students in the course are trained in organizing, planning, and conducting forensic and biometric collection, document examination, media exploitation, improved explosive device exploitation, tactical questioning and detainee-handling procedures.

SOFSE TEC

Photo: Students in the Special Operations Forces Site Exploitation – Technical Exploitation Course, use a laser to photograph a document during fingerprint training. (U.S. Army photo by K. Kassens, October 22, 2019)

The SOF Site Exploitation, Technical Exploitation Course (SOFSE TEC) graduates will learn how to operate within a SOFSE facility. The students in the course are trained in advanced battlefield forensics, on-site identification, capturing, and transfering latent prints, document digitization and employment of ballistic imaging devices.

NATO SOF SSE Courses

Photo: A computer, cell phones, propaganda flyers, and images of an IED belt are some of the simulated evidence found during a site exploitation as U.S. and allied special forces search a compound for the NATO Special Operations Forces Campus Technical Exploitation Operator Controller Course on Chievres Air Base, Beligium. (U.S. Army photo by Visual Information Specialist Pierre-Etienne Courtejoie, Oct 29, 2015).

NATO SOF has several courses within the sensitive site exploitation field. These courses are held at the NATO SOF Campus in Belgium. The NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations (TEO) Course instructs students in the collection and exploitation of materials during a compressed operation. The NATO Digital Media Exploitation Course concentrates on the retrieval and examination of data stored on computers and other digital storage devices. The NATO SOF Cellular Exploitation Course concentrates on the retrieval and examination of data from mobile devices and the fusion of this data into intelligence reports.

During the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) the art and science of site exploitation has grown leaps and bounds. This has proved to add to the effectiveness of specialized SOF units conducting high value individual (HVI) operations (F3EAD) as well as enhancing the rule of law through warrant-based arrests. Courses of instruction such as SOFSE OAC, SOFSE TEC, and others (NATO SOF) enhance the capabilities of SOF units.

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References:

ATP 3-90.15, Site Exploitation, July 2015
https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/atp3_90x15.pdf

NATO, Technical Exploitation in the Gray Zone: Empowering NATO SOF for Strategic Effect, by Chace A. Falgout, Utica College, May 2019.
https://www.academia.edu/39335310/TECHNICAL_EXPLOITATION_IN_THE_GRAY_ZONE_EMPOWERING_NATO_SOF_FOR_STRATEGIC_EFFECT

Video – Site Exploitation, 2010. A ten-minute long video describing the work of a U.S. Marine Corps Site Exploitation. The video describes the fictional story of how an SE team conducts exploitation in Iraq.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCd7440W0tg

Top Photo: A student at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in the SOF Site Exploitation Operator Advanced Course photographs a cell phone during training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. (U.S. Army photo by K. Kassens, October 22, 2019)

In another exciting fiction read, Nick Heller, a private intelligence investigator in Boston, Massachusetts, gets involved in a complex assignment. Heller, a former Green Beret, breaks the rules’ a few times to get to the truth and solve complex crime mysteries.

This is the fourth book by Joseph Finder that features the former Special Forces weapons man turned ‘private eye’. It is quite common in the ‘Heller’ series by Finder to find our hero Nick getting beat up once or twice and on the receiving end of some gun play. This book is no exception. We also get to observe his ‘unconventional style’ that SF folks would appreciate.

Although his time in Special Forces was cut short due to a war injury Heller suffered in Afghanistan he did learn some skills that help him in his career as a PI. Some of those skills he acquired while serving as a Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant – having been promoted from his weapons position on a SF team. But our hero does not know everything and he is not shy about reaching out to other ‘brothers’ for help with his assignments.

In House on Fire our hero lost a close team mate that saved his life in Afghanistan to a drug overdose. Nick is soon immersed into the world of opioids when approached by a stranger about a job. A whistle-blower wants to expose a pharmaceutical company making a lot of money on the misfortune of others addicted to opioids. There is a document that needs to be found – it will reveal the secret behind the danger of the drug sold by the drug company that has killed thousands.

This story takes place in Boston, New York, D.C., a lovely Caribbean island, and a few other spots as well. There is intrigue, suspense, big money, romance, and more in this story. The powerful and wealthy family that owns the drug firm is threatened by lawsuits. But only the document can bring justice. Nick has to find it – even if it means breaking some rules and putting himself in danger.

Joseph Finder is a bestselling author of fourteen previous suspense novels. He is a founding member of the International Thriller Writers, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. He is a graduate of Yale College and the Harvard Russian Research Center, and lives in Boston.

This book arrived in the mail and it was read by the end of the next day. When you go through a book that quick it means you put everything else aside. How long do we have to wait for the next Nick Heller adventure?

House on Fire, by Joseph Finder, January 2020
www.amazon.com/House-Fire-Novel-Joseph-Finder/dp/1101985844

Photo: Paratroopers from the Italian Folgore Brigade conduct a HALO jump during Exercise Saber Guardian. Photo courtesy of Special Operations Command Europe, September 2019.

SOF News Update – Curated news, commentary, and analysis about special operations, national security, and conflicts around the world. SOE in Burma, famous people of OSS, Golsteyn trial, CAS planes for USSOCOM, intel topics, rebreathers, UK’s ‘Bond Boat’, and more.

SOF News

AF Cross for Valor Pinned. Technical Sergeant Daniel Keller, a combat controller of the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Special Tactics Squadron was awarded the Air Force Cross during a ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky in August 2019. He earned the award – second only to the Medal of Honor – on a battlefield in Afghanistan. (123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs, Sep 13, 2019).

Transfer Attack Planes to USSOCOM? Mike Waltz, a U.S. representative from Florida (and former Green Beret) is advocating for the United States Special Operations Command’s ability to procure light attack aircraft. He is frustrated by the U.S. Air Force’s slow fielding of propeller-driven attack planes to support ground troops. The Air Force has shifted focus from counterinsurgency operations to getting ready to fight the near-peer competition. However, Waltz says that we are in a generational war against violent extremism and light attack aircraft are key in the COIN fight. Read more in “US Lawmaker Threatens to Give the Next Attack Plane to the Army”, Defense One, September 11, 2019.

Dec Date for Golsteyn Trial. A Green Beret officer, Major Matthew Golsteyn, will finally have a trial after an incident almost ten years ago in Afghanistan. He is scheduled for a court-martial in December at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In February 2010, while commanding a Special Forces A-team, he allegedly executed an Afghan villager who had been identified as a bomb-maker. As a service member pending trial, Major Golsteyn enjoys the presumption of innocence. (Task & Purpose, Sep 14, 2019).

USSOCOM and Tracer Rounds. The U.S. Special Operations Command is looking to replace tracer rounds for its machine guns and sniper rounds with a ‘small arms spotting round‘. Read more in “U.S. Commandos Want to Get Rid of Tracer Bullets”, The National Interest, September 14, 2019.

Replacement for MH-6 Little Bird? USSOCOM is in the market for a new specialized attack helicopter that is capable of inserting small special operations teams for strategic missions. Read “Special Ops May Get Army Future Vertical Lift Helo to Replace MH-6 Little Bird”, Military.com, September 9, 2019.

Top Ten SOF Aircraft. Multiple special mission equipment options make the C-130J-SOF the best special mission aircraft available at this time. Read about the top ten SOF aircraft – based on performance parameters such as payload capacity and range. See “Top ten special mission aircraft”, Air Force Technology, September 13, 2019.

Fixing SOF Culture. Special operators have been in the news the last few years as a result of unfortunate incidents. Drug trafficking, murders, and more have tarnished the reputation of the U.S. special operations community. Andrew Milburn, the former commander of the Marine Raider Regiment and CSOTF-I, provides his perspective in “How to Fix a Broken Special Operations Culture”, War on the Rocks, September 13, 2019.

Coping With War. A retired Special Forces soldier with 21 years of Army service provides insight into PTSD, TBI, and multiple combat tours. Read “Soldier to Solider: Coping With the Scars of War”, The Epoch Times, September 13, 2019.

Special Hawaii Vacation – Diving with Navy SEALs. Did you miss out on BUD/S or SF Combat Dive school during your military career? You can make up for that ‘water experience’ with a vacation to Hawaii and attend a dive school with Trident Adventures. Try out their “Navy SEAL For A Day” course that includes a helicopter insertion into the ocean or the “Navy SEAL Land Navigation & Survival” course. Read more in “Adventures With Navy SEALs in Paradise Could be Your Dream Vacation”, Forbes.com, September 15, 2019.

Dangers of Parachuting. George Hand, former SOF guy and writer, provides his perspective on the dangerous occupation of the paratrooper. Read “Beware the Unit Cartoonist Lurking Nearby; Red Light Randy Strikes”, We Are the Mighty, September 13, 2019.

International SOF

Mammoth Hunters Club. A former Australian soldier is helping men ‘find a tribe’ and ‘have a mission’. He says this is the secret ingredient to positive mental health. Read more in “Former Special Forces soldier to help Brisbane men tackle depression”, Brisbane Times, September 8, 2019.

UKs ‘Bond Boat’. A state-of-the-art 39 foot long vessel now in the British special operations inventory is something straight out of a James Bond 007 movie. The VICTA Diver Deliver Unit can be dropped from a helicopter, speed along the surface at 40 knots, and dive to 100 feet. With a range of 250 nautical miles, it is helmed by a two-man crew and can carry another six commandos in dive gear. (The Sun, Sep 15, 2019).

Israeli Paratrooper in Quest to be PM. Retired General Benny Gantz is running for the office of Prime Minister of Israel. He was a paratrooper in the IDF and is a former commander of the Air Force special operations unit called Shaldag or Unit 5101. Read more in “Benny Gantz: Military man on a mission to beat Netanyahu”, The Times of Israel, September 15, 2019.

SOF Guy now in the Movies. A former member of the Israeli Defense Force with some experience in special operations now is working in Hollywood. In his next film he portrays a police captain in “Rambo: Last Blood”. Read more in “Aaron Cohen: Soldier, Actor, Writer, Spy”, Jewish Journal, September 11, 2019.

Panama’s SENAFRONT Gets Six UH-1H Helicopters. The U.S. has supplied the Special Forces Group (AFFE) of the Panamanian National Border Service (SENAFRONT) with helicopters to increase its capabilities. The unit’s commandos focus on countering organized crime, drug trafficking, and other high risk criminal activities. See “SENAFONT’s Special Forces Strengthen Capabilities”, Dialogo – Digital Military Magazine, September 10, 2019.

SOF History

Famous People Who Served in the OSS. Meet five former members (well, maybe four) of the Office of Strategic Services who may be well-known to most Americans. Read “5 Old-Time celebrity favorites who wanted to join the OSS”, We Are the Mighty, September 12, 2019.

SOE Logistics in Burma. Learn about how the Special Operations Executive supplied its units in the Pacific region. Read “Logistics: Supplying SOE in Burma”, September 15, 2019.

SOE and Ceylon During WWII. This short article describes the support provided to the British Special Operations Executive during World War II from the Ceylon political, civil, and military leadership. Read “Clandestine Operations in Ceylon World War II”, Eleven Media Group, September 15, 2019.

Intel and CT Topics

CIA, Pigeons, and Spy Cameras. A recently declassified report has details on the Central Intelligence Agency plans for using pigeons carrying small cameras to photograph secret Soviet military installations. See “CIA unveils Cold War spy-pigeon missions”, BBC News, September 14, 2019.

CIA’s Mind Control Experiments. In the 1950s and 1960s the U.S. maintained a center that had secret programs conducting research on how to control minds through drugs. Read “The Secret History of Fort Detrick, the CIA’s Base for Mind-Control Experiments”, Politco, September 15, 2019.

Azerbaijan Gets Intel and CT Help. A Virginia-based company – VSE Corporation – has received a $10 million contract to upgrade the intel and CT capabilities of Azerbaijan’s Maritime Security Program for the Caspian Sea. Read “Pentagon Helps Azerbaijan Modernize Its Intelligence and Counterterrorism Capabilities”, Caspian News, September 14, 2019.

OBL’s Son Killed. News reports have been circulating over the past two months that the son of Osama bin Laden has been killed. President Trump made it ‘official’ in recent days. Read more in “Osama Bin Laden’s Son Killed in U.S. Counterterrorism Operation, Trump Says”, NPR, September 14, 2019.

AKs and Intelligence Analysis. Tom Ford, an armoured cavalry trooper in the British Army Reserve, cites the value of analysis of weaponry allows intelligence analysts to put together the strategic picture. It tells us who is supplying who, who is where, and more. Read “Infantry Weapons Recognition in Intelligence Analysis”, Grey Dynamics, August 9, 2019.

Military and National Defense

Diving and Rebreathers. Those who have used the Draeger will appreciate this article about the commercial use of rebreathers in the civilian diving community. Read “The Technical Diving Revolution”, DiverNet, August 2019.

Drones and Future War. The recent drone attack against Saudi Arabia oil facilities has the Internet buzzing about how the new technology (UAVs) will change future warfare. A fictitious short story about using drones to protect infantrymen in the future can read in “Virtual Command Part 3 – Hostages”, Grounded Curiosity, September 15, 2019.

Sig Saurer’s Night Vision Operator Course. A weapons manufacturer is incorporating night vision and thermal imaging equipment into one of their firearms courses. Read “Sig Sauer Academy partners with Flir Systems on night vision tactical training”, Military Times, September 10, 2019.

Commentary

Recording the History Contemporary Conflict. The U.S. government has not done a good job of managing the millions of documents captured during the last 30 years in the conflicts it has fought in. Some academics believe that the documents should be turned over to a research or educational institution so they can be studied and used as primary sources for research papers, publications, and books. Read more in “The Ghosts of Past Wars Live on in a Critical Archive”, War on the Rocks, September 11, 2019.

“Soft Counterinsurgency”. Brandon Brooks, currently an International Protection Officer in South Sudan, writes on the differences between “hearts and minds” coin and “enemy-centric” coin. See “Western COIN: The Rise of “Soft” Counterinsurgency Doctrine”, Small Wars Journal, September 15, 2019.

Middle East

Drone Attack on Saudi Oil Facilities. It appears that an Iranian-staged or sponsored attack on two Aramco oil facilities have temporarily shut down half of the oil production in Saudi Arabia. A military spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi militia (supported by Iran) has claimed responsibility for the Saturday (Sep 14th) attack by approximately ten drones. However, some observers believe Iran is directly responsible for the attacks. See “Saudi Arabia: Drone Attacks Halted Half its Oil Production”, Voice of America, September 14, 2019.

Paper – Threats to Saudi Arabia’s Infrastructure. A 13-page paper provides details to the Iranian threat to the Saudi kingdom’s infrastructure to include a drone attack against oil facilities. Read more in Iran’s Threat to Saudi Critical Infrastructure: The Implications of U.S.-Iranian Escalation, by Seth Jones (and others), Center for Strategic & International Studies, August 5, 2019.

UAE and Combat Rescue Helicopters. The United Arab Emirates is shopping around for a new combat rescue helicopter. They may settle on the HH-60W. Read more in “UAE Considering Combat Rescue Helicopter Buy”, Air Force Magazine, September 12, 2019.

Captured ISIS Fighters Face Uncertain Future. Foreign Fighters of the Islamic State captured by the Syrian Democratic Front are finding that their home countries do not want anything to do with them. The SDF is overwhelmed with captured IS fighters and their families. Many of them come from other countries. One solution appears to be the transfer of captured fighters to Iraq where they face trial and death row. Some of these fighters were captured and turned over to Iraq under the U.S. Operation Gallant Phoenix program. Read more in “They Left to Join ISIS. Now Europe Is Leaving Their Citizens to Die in Iraq”, Foreign Policy, September 15, 2019.

Syria’s Buffer Zone. The U.S.-led coalition has said that initial implementation of a buffer zone between northern Syria and Turkey is going well. Turkey is expressing dissatisfaction with the current status and continues to threaten to unilaterally set up its own ‘safe zone’ with its troops. See “Coalition says ‘Good Progress’ in North Syria Buffer Zone”, Voice of America, September 15, 2019.

Turkey’s Security Priorities in Syria. Patrick Hoover explains the objectives of Turkey in Syria in a 16-page essay. Read “Understanding Turkey’s National Security Priorities in Syria”, Georgetown Security Studies Review, August 2019.

Panel Discussion – Iran in Syria. Three Middle East observers provide their insight into Iran’s activities in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. Read the transcript of a panel discussion held in early September 2019 by the Foreign Policy Research Institute entitled Roundtable: The Iranian Way of War. Participants include Aaron Stein, Ariane Tabatabai, and Afshon Ostovar.

Africa

RSF – Sudan’s Military Export. The Rapid Support Forces of Sudan have been engaged in strength in Yeman and now in Libya. They are backed and financed by the United Arab Emirates as well as Saudi Arabia. Read more in “Sudan’s Mercenary Foreign Policy Repeats the Mistakes of the Past”, Small Wars Journal, September 2019.

Counter-Insurgent Unit Targeted. An al-Qaeda affiliate – the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM) – claims it has targeted forces from the G5 Sahel in a deadly attack in Mali near the Burkina Faso border. The incident took place just days before a summit to discuss counterterrorism in the Lake Chad and Sahel regions. See “Ahead of ECOWAS counter-terror summit, JNIM targets ‘G5 Sahel’ forces in Mali”, The Defense Post, September 13, 2019.

Europe

Security in the Arctic. Representatives from Baltic and Nordic countries met in the United States for a forum to discuss their interests in commerce and security in the Arctic region. Read more in “DOD Strengthens Ties With Nordic, Baltic Nations”, U.S. Dept of Defense, September 13, 2019.

Russian Doctrine Update. Dara Massicot, a researcher for RAND Corporation, identifies nine things to look for in a new military doctrine for Russia. Among these is the growing role of private military companies. Read more in “Anticipating a New Russian Military Doctrine in 2020: What It Might Contain and Why it Matters”, War on the Rocks, September 9, 2019.

The Finnish Way of Countering Hybrid Warfare. The Finnish approach of comprehensive security, combined with conscript based military has evolved over the past few years. Read “Countering Hybrid War 2019”, Vantage Point North, September 16, 2019.

MAST 13 for UK’s Navy. The Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed 13 is an autonomous surface vehicle that will test out new capabilities for the UK’s naval service. Read more in “Royal Navy Receives MAST 13”, Shepard Media, September 16, 2019.

Publications

Miltary Police. The Fall 2019 issue of the professional bulletin of the U.S. Army’s Military Police Corps has been posted. The 50-page PDF has lots of articles about . . . well, military police operations. Two could be of interest to the SOF crowd: “Revision of ATP 3-39.20: Police Intelligence Operations for the 21st Century” and “The Train, Advise, and Assist Mission as a Joint Task Force in Afghanistan”.
https://www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/49363

Movies and Videos

Counter-ISIS Coalition. Watch a 1 1/2 hour long video of a panel discussion entitled The Counter-ISIS Coalition: Diplomacy and security in action, presented by the Brookings Institution on September 10, 2019. Participants included General (Ret) John Allen, Brett McGurk, Lise Grande, and Susan Glasser.
https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-counter-isis-coalition-diplomacy-and-security-in-action/

SOF Horsemanship Course. Members of 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group attended the SOF Horsemanship Course at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California. Watch a 8-minute long video about the course. Defense Media Activity – Marines, September 11, 2019.
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/708613/horsemanship-course-edited

GSB Jumps From the Skies! Soldiers from Group Support Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group conduct airborne operations with support from the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado. 10th SFGA, Sep 5, 2019, 1 minute.
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/707234/gsb-jumps-skies

Advisor Forge and 1st SFAB. The 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade enhance their capabilities in an exercise during a two-week period at Fort Benning, Georgia. DVIDS, August 2019, 2 mins.
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/708570/1st-sfab-trains-and-certifies-military-advisors-worldwide-deployment

17 Great War Films. A U.S. Army LTC, Brendan Gallagher, provides his opinion on the best war movies. (Modern War Institute, Sep 9, 2019).

The Incredible Military Career of Lucien Stervinou

By Jeff Goodson

There’s a forested canyon above the town of Quimper in northwest France called les Gorge du Stangala.  Drained by the Odet river, it’s known locally for its wild beauty and tranquility.  In World War II, while training with the British Special Air Service in Scotland, the name was adopted as the nom de guerre of a French resistance fighter and special operations warrior named Lucien Stervinou. 

Over the course of six years, from 1940-1946, Stervinou fought behind enemy lines in Europe and Indochina.  He earned both the Croix de Guerre and France’s highest military award, the Legion d’Honneur.  His story is the story of western special operations at the dawn of the modern age of irregular warfare.      

Escaping the Nazis

Lucien Corentin Stervinou was born in Langalet, France (Brittany) in 1923.  He was barely 17 when he first set out to escape the Nazis.  As a German Panzer division moved toward the French port of Brest, he and his grandmother heard a radio appeal from Brigadier General Charles De Gaulle in London: “Frenchmen, we have lost a battle; we have not lost the war.  From wherever you are, come join me and continue the fight.”  It was June 18, 1940, just four days before Marshall Petain signed the Armistice with Germany.

Young Stervinou hopped on his bicycle, peddled the two miles to Chateauneuf du Faou, and met up with three of his soccer buddies.  The four of them drove south to the port of Concarneau, and talked the captain of a Norwegian fishing boat into taking them aboard along with a group of French troops that he was surreptitiously evacuating to England.  The seas became extremely rough, and half-way across the English Channel the captain turned about and returned to La Rochelle. 

A few hours before the Nazis arrived, Stervinou jumped a military train for Bordeaux.  He then went to Marseilles, Lyon and Vichy, before working his way to Quimper where he settled in with a resistance group that a young priest introduced him to. 

When the Quimper group was later discovered, Stervinou fled to Paris and hid out in the apartment of famous resistance fighter Yves Allain.  Allain, who was later murdered in Morocco, ran the Bourgogne escape route through which some 250 allied airmen escaped Nazi capture by crossing the Pyrenees into Spain.  In June 1942 Stervinou followed that route with Allain, two British pilots and a small group of civilians, crossing the Pyrenees near Pau at night with a Basque guide. 

After splitting up in Spain, Stervinou was captured by Spanish border guards and jailed in Jaca, Huesca and Saragossa.  A few weeks later, he was ransomed to the British Consul, who organized his travel through Madrid and Gibralter to a British air base near Swindon, England.  He arrived July 28, 1942, just over two years after his first attempt to escape the Nazis. 

Supporting the French Resistance

Stervinou’s first stop was “Patriotic School” near Wimbledon, where all foreigners entering England were held and interrogated at length.  He was then released to the Free French Forces, who he worked with for the rest of the war. 

After five months of basic training at Camp Rake Manor in Surrey, Stervinou was recruited by France’s Central Bureau of Intelligence and Operations (BCRA).  Similar to the OSS, but smaller, BCRA was the precursor of France’s External Documentation and Counter-Espionage Service (SDECE)—today known as the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE). 

Stervinou trained at the British Army Commando Training Center, the BCRA training Center, and the Parachute Center at Ringway.  While training with the British Special Air Service (SAS) near Iveranay, Scotland, he took the nom de guerre Stangala.  From then through the first half of 1944, he worked communications between London and various French resistance groups. 

D-Day and Return to Paris

In late May 1944, three “sticks” of ten men each were flown to an unnamed base in the south of England where they were separated from other units.  Just before D-Day, on June 4, 1944, Stervinou’s stick was parachuted into an area prepared by a local resistance group west of Vire in Normandy.  They brought arms and equipment, and trained the resistance fighters who met them in the use of heavy armaments, communications and fighting tactics.  Other sticks parachuted that night into Brittany to destroy railroads and bridges. 

For two months after D-Day, while operating behind enemy lines, Stervinou’s stick avoided German soldiers and the French milice who fought with them.  Finally, in August they were ordered to Paris to regroup and help maintain security in the center of the city.  On August 26, 1944, while providing protection from a rooftop, he watched General Charles De Gaulle march in triumph down the Champs Elysee.  It was the end of Stervinou’s military service in the European theater.

Indochina and Force 136

With dissolution of the French resistance groups, focus shifted to the Pacific theater where the objective was establishing a French military presence and returning Indochina to the colonial field.  Stervinou left Paris in January 1945 for Cairo.  He then took a “flying boat” to Karachi, Bombay and Calcutta, where he again was trained by the British.  This time it was Force 136, at their commando training center for the South Pacific Theater, where he trained for six months in parachuting, radio communications and jungle warfare.    

Today, few Americans have heard of Force 136.  The British Special Operations Executive (SOE) was established in 1940 at the same time that the British Commandos were formed at the request of Winston Churchill.  The SOE carried out sabotage and subversive operations in Europe, and its success led to a knockoff called “The Oriental Mission” in Burma.  Codenamed Force 136, branches were soon established in Burma, Siam, Malaya and Indochina where they supported resistance movements in enemy-occupied territory and conducted sabotage operations.  Rolled up in 1946, Force 136 was one of the first modern organizations to systematically operationalize what today we call unconventional warfare.    

At the end of training, Stervinou’s group was reviewed by Lord Mountbatten, Viceroy of India, after which he took a DC-3 “over the hump” from Bajshahi Airbase to Kunming, China.  Others were dropped in Laos, where they ultimately met severe losses and had only limited success.

“The Kunming commando groups were deployed on the Sino-Indochinese frontier in preparation for the Chinese invasion of Indochina in 1945.  I parachuted into Pakhoi, a Chinese port in Kuang-tong Province.  I was an intelligence officer with the French Navy, patrolling the Along Bay in northern Vietnam.”

The Weichow Raid

Stervinou’s unit operated closely with elements of the OSS, and he was part of a joint OSS/French commando attack on July 22, 1945 that knocked out an advance Japanese airbase on the island of Ouai-Tchao (Weichow).

“A joint Franco/American commando unit landed on the island at 2 AM, and the air base defense was quickly overpowered.  Using the newly acquired TNT explosive, the tower and the landing lanes were rendered unusable.  Now my earlier explosive training made sense.”

The mission was important, and both Kunming and General Chenault, Commander of the 14^th Air Force, were notified of its success. 

The Japanese Surrender of Vietnam

After the Weichow raid, Stervinou’s PT boat Crayssac returned to operating among the islands of Along Bay.   

“Our nomadic life continued, stopping, controlling and often seizing equipment and foodstuff destined to the Japanese army by commercial junks.  We created additional bases on the islands of Gow-To, Table and Singe. 

A few short weeks later, the U.S. dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6^th) and Nagasaki (August 9^th).  The bombing had the desired effect, and Hirohito announced the Japanese surrender on August 15^th. 

The next day, the five men of the Crayssac were ordered to Haiphong Bay to receive the surrender of the 60,000 Japanese soldiers then in Vietnam.  They arrived at 4 PM. 

“The Japanese authorities seemed astounded by our arrival.  On the 16^th, Japanese Colonel Kamya arrived during the night to inform us that General Tsushihashi, Japanese commander of north Indochina, had not received the order to surrender from Tokyo and for us to remain on board ship.  He received his order the following morning.” 

For several days after surrendering, the Japanese supplied the Crayssac crew with food and water.  They then provided them an escort to Hanoi, where they arrived August 23^rd and joined a handful of French administrators under Major Jean Sainteny and a small group of OSS personnel. 

Eleven Men

Years later, Stervinou wrote that:

‘The political scene was chaotic…On August 23^rd, we found ourselves, eleven men, in the former Governor General’s palace with responsibility for overseeing the security of 30,000 French civilians.  It could only be done by negotiations with the new government of the Viet-Minh, the Japanese army responsible for maintaining security, and later the Chinese army.  We had responsibilities beyond our ranks and experience.

‘Twice, I accompanied my commanding officer to meet Ho Chi Minh.  I also met, and for a time worked in liaison with another Vietnamese leader on security matters, Vo Nguyen Giap.  At the time, the French did not know whether these two men were nationalist leaders or communist ideologues.  Later, Giap was the mastermind of the final and decisive battle that ended France’s colonial domination of Viet-Nam, Dien Bien Phu.     

‘It wasn’t obvious to us then, but we had in front of us the beginning of the crumbling colonial era.’ 

Kidnapped, the Last Firefight and Demobilization

Months later, while investigating the conditions of French ex-POWs in the area, Stervinou was kidnapped in Vinh and spirited away for purposes unknown.  He was only released when an American Air Ground Air Service major threated local authorities with a U.S. paratrooper attack. 

Back in Hanoi, Stervinou contracted amoebic dysentery and was evacuated to Saigon.  After five weeks recovering in the hospital, he was sent back to Along Bay on a destroyer to again serve as intelligence officer.  His final kinetic engagement was on March 6, 1946, in a sustained firefight with Chinese forces in the port of Haiphong. 

Shortly after, Stervinou fell to a recurring attack of dysentery and was evacuated to Saigon.  After three more weeks in the hospital, he returned to France on a transport ship where he was demobilized and, on September 17, 1946, finally discharged.  For him, the wars were over.

Croix de Guerre

Eight months after Stervinou mustered out of service, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre des Theatres d’Operations Exterieures with Silver Star, citation at the Ordre de la Division, for his engagements at Along Bay, his participation in the Weichow raid, and his role in accepting the Japanese surrender in Vietnam.  He was individually cited for his “energy, courage and sang froid.”

After the War

The next year, Stervinou came to the United States.  He earned a degree from the University of Houston, became a U.S. citizen in 1953, and for years directed Berlitz language institutes in the U.S. and Europe. 

Widowed in 1978, Stervinou was re-married in 1981 to a U.S. Foreign Service Officer with USAID—Theodora (Teddy) Wood—who he met in Annandale, Virginia.  The two spent years stationed in west Africa, working at USAID’s Regional Office in Abidjan where he promoted private sector development in central and west Africa at the height of the cold war. 

After retiring in 1992, Stervinou continued working with French veterans organizations.  In 2006, he was awarded France’ highest order of merit for military and civilian service, the Legion d’Honneur, at the level of Chevalier.  In addition to the Legion d’Honneur and Croix de Guerre, over his military career he received the Croix de Combattant Volontaire, Medaille des Evades, Medaille de la Reconnaissance de la Nation, and Medaille d’Outre-Mere.

In December 2017, in perfect health, Stervinou was walking one of the large Bouvier dogs that he and his wife Teddy were famous for.  He slipped on an icy sidewalk in Washington, D.C., struck his head, and died of complications six months later at the age of 95.  It was June 16, 2018—78 years, almost to the day—since he had heard de Gaulle exhort his countrymen to join the fight as Nazi Panzers rolled into Brest.    

Epilogue

The military history of Lucien Corentin Stervinou is the history of special operations at the dawn of the modern age of irregular warfare.  From 1940-1946, he was operationally engaged with every major American, British and French special operations force, from the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, precursor of today’s CIA; to the British Special Air Service, Special Operations Executive and Force 136; to France’s Central Bureau of Intelligence and Operations.  

Stervinou’s extraordinary military career stands as a historical benchmark by which every special operations warrior who has followed can justly measure their own. 

   **********

The biographical material in this tribute is drawn mostly from Lucien Stervinou’s surviving writings and lecture notes, provided courtesy of Theodora Wood-Stervinou to whom special thanks are due.  Without her assistance, the military history of this extraordinary special forces combatant could not have been written.  

Jeff Goodson is a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer.  From 1983-2012, he worked on the ground in 49 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.  He served 31 months in Afghanistan, including as USAID Chief of Staff (2006-2006) and Director of Development at ISAF HQ under General David Petraeus and General John Allen (2010-2012).  Goodson worked with Lucien Stervinou at USAID’s Regional Office in Abidjan in the mid-1980s.