By Alvin Conley.

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii – The 25th Infantry Division and U.S. Army Hawaii hosted a Division Change of Command Ceremony Aug. 25, 2023, at the installation’s historic Weyand Field.

The ceremony was held to honor U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Ryan as the outgoing 25th Inf. Div. and USARHAW commanding general, and welcome U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Marcus S. Evans as the incoming 25th Inf. Div. and USARHAW commanding general.

Ryan served as the Division commanding general from July 2021 to August 2023. During his tenure as commander, Ryan oversaw several Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) rotations, deployed 25th Inf. Div. forces throughout the Indo-Pacific as a part of Operation Pathways, and led Task Force Ohana, providing support to Soldiers, families, and the local community.

“I stood here, and I spoke two years ago about commanding with the Hawaiian values of Ha’aha’a and Alaka’i in mind,” said Ryan about his time as the 25th Inf. Div. commanding general. “To be humble and modest, to respect others, to persevere and to lead with courage and commitment. What an honor it has been to serve with you.”

Ryan will move on to become the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, U.S. Army, in Washington D.C. He thanked his family, loved ones, and mentors for their support.

“Family is important in Hawaii,” said Ryan. “To have family here as part of my change of command, and the people I celebrate it with and actually execute it with such as Lt. Gen. Xavier Brunson and Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans, both of whom I’ve known for decades, is really important. It makes this pretty easy because you know what you’ve dedicated yourself to for the past two years is in good hands.”

Ryan welcomed Evans to his new position, as this marks the third time Ryan and Evans have changed command positions.

“Marcus Evans has been my teammate for the last 25 years,” said Ryan. “I’m nothing if not utterly envious of him today. He and Kelly are very simply joining the greatest Division in the Army.”

Evans most recently served as the Chief of Staff, U.S. Special Operations Command.

“Thank you for this opportunity to command in this Division,” said Evans. “Joe and Julie, Kelly and I can’t thank you enough for this transition, and more importantly for you all’s friendship over the years. Thank you both for what your leadership and service has meant to this Division and to our Army. All the best in your next assignment.”

Evans has multiple operational deployments, has served in Airborne, Ranger, Light Infantry and Mechanized formations, and has previously commanded the NATO Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan, the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the forward deployed Joint Special Operations Task Force.

“I’m truly blessed to be a part of such an incredible unit such as the Tropic Lightning Division,” said Evans. “I look forward to serving alongside you all.”

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This story, “25th ID Welcomes New Commanding General”, by Sgt. Alvin Conley was first published by www.army.mil on August 25, 2023.

Photo: U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans gives a speech at the division change of command ceremony at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Aug. 25, 2023. Maj. Gen. Ryan is now assigned as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, Headquarters, Dept. of the Army, Washington, D.C., and Maj. Gen. Evans most recently served as the Chief of Staff, U.S. Special Operations Command. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Mariah Aguilar, 28th Public Affairs) (Spc. Mariah Aguilar)

Sergeant Leandro Jasso died on Saturday, November 24, 2018 in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was killed as a result of wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaging enemy forces.

Editorial Note: A subsequent Resolute Support news release dated November 27, 2018 states that “An initial review indicates Sgt. Jasso was likely accidentally shot by our Afghan partner force. There are no indications that he was shot intentionally.”

Jasso, age 25, was from Leavenworth, Washington. He was assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. He was engaged in combat operations in Khash Rod district, Nimroz province. Upon being wounded he was immediately treated and medically evacuated to a medical treatment facility in Garmsir district, Helmand province, where he died of his wounds.

SGT Jasso enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 2012. He completed Basic Combat Training, One Station Unit Training as an infantryman and Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. Following initial training he was assigned to 2nd Ranger Battalion, where he served as an Assistant Machine Gunner, Automatic Rifleman and Grenadier.

SGT Jasso’s military education includes the Basic Leader Course and U.S. Army Ranger Course. His awards and decorations include:

• Army Achievement Medal
• Army Good Conduct Medal
• National Defense Service Medal
• Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
• Army Service Ribbon
• NATO Medal
• Ranger Tab
• Combat Infantryman’s Badge
• Expert Infantryman’s Badge
• Expert Rifle Marksmanship Badge.

SGT Jasso deployed twice before in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. At the time of his death SGT Jasso was serving as a team leader on his third deployment to Afghanistan.

Jasso was an Eagle Scout who also played on school soccer, wrestling, and football teams. He came from the small town of Leavenworth in central Washington.

News Reports:

“Sgt. Leandro A.S. Jasso was ‘charismatic,’ ‘wonderful kid,’, friends, mentors recall”, Stars and Stripes, November 26, 2018.

“DOD Identifies Army Casualty”,  DoD, November 25, 2018.

“U.S. Service Member Killed in Afghanistan”, Resolute Support Mission, November 24, 2018.

Photo: Provided by USASOC.

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]]> 9221 https://sof.news/video/arsof-value-to-the-nation/ Fri, 13 Oct 2017 17:52:40 +0000 http://www.sof.news/?p=4139 ARSOF Value to the Nation. The October 11, 2017 panel presentation and discussion entitled Army Special Operations Value to the Nation held during the AUSA annual exposition was extremely informative.  [1] The Association of the United States Army once again provided [...]]]>

ARSOF Value to the Nation. The October 11, 2017 panel presentation and discussion entitled Army Special Operations Value to the Nation held during the AUSA annual exposition was extremely informative.  [1] The Association of the United States Army once again provided an informative and entertaining annual conference. One of the forums was a headed by LTG Ken Tovo, the commander of the United States Special Operations Command (USASOC). The broad set of experiences provided by the panel participants ensured a wide range of topics of importance to Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) were discussed. Fortunately, the panel discussion was taped and the Defense Video Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS) has made it available online. [2]

USASOC Commander. LTG Tovo’s opening remarks were illuminating and helped to form the ensuing discussion. He emphasized how Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) provides a unique set of capabilities at the strategic level with a different approach to the national security objectives of the nation. Using the words from the Jerry McGuire movie Tovo said that SOF and CF ‘complete each other’. He stated that currently ARSOF is in 70-80 countries with about 4,300 personnel deployed overseas. He stressed the importance of interagency cooperation in developing a full team effort to managing conflict and crisis situations.

Four Capability Sets. Tovo outlined four distinct areas where ARSOF provides unique capabilities.

• Indigenous Approach. ARSOF works through indigenous forces to establish or strengthen stability and security. ARSOF’s language ability, cultural understanding, and regional specialization sets it up for success with local national forces and government officials. This approach emphasizes the concept of foreign forces conducting their own operations.
• Precision Targeting. USASOC units are able to target human and physical networks using kinetic and non-kinetic methods within the unique SOF targeting process.
• Understanding the Environment. ARSOF’s repetitive and persistent presence in the more volatile regions of the world provide it with a greater understanding of regional and local conflicts. It also aids in the development of long-term relationships with partners and allies. That provides the ability to give policy makers the micro-context to many crisis and conflict environments.
• Crisis Response Capability. SOF in general has a network of distributed forces around the world that provide on-location problem solvers that can leverage long-term relationships.

Ambassador Pyatt. The current U.S. Ambassador to Greece (and former Ambassador to Ukraine) was also a panel member. He high-lighted the importance of the relationship between special operations forces and the Department of State Foreign Service. Over the years he has spent some significant time in Europe working with Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR). He observed that SOF conducted consistent, repetitive deployments to the same countries. He grew to appreciate SOF’s speed, flexibility, agility, and precision and its ability to interact with the Chief of Missions within the concept of the ‘country team’. He commended SOF’s involvement in the Ukraine pointing to the SF mission to professionalize the Ukraine special operations forces and the Military Information Support Operations (MISO) mission to help the Ukraine military to develop its Information Operations campaign. The ambassador also noted that SOF spends a lot of time in Greece – which pays huge dividends in the exchange of information, opens up new areas of cooperation, and fosters stability in the eastern Mediterranean region. His experience is that SOF and the Department of State is a critical partnership because of the ability of SOF to provide a flexible response to problem sets in today’s complex international environment.

BG David Komer. A member of TRADOC provided some insight on how interoperability of SOF with Conventional Forces (CF) has remarkably improved over the past decade and more. He as seen the relationship change from ‘deconfliction’ to ‘integration’. He also noted how the bigger Army is looking closely (and adopting) SOFs more streamlined and efficient acquisition process. He closed by outlining SOF’s role in the four objectives of multi-domain operations. [4]

COL Brandon Tegtmeier. The commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment stressed the importance of his unit’s synchronization with SOF and CF units. He noted that his regiment provides a core capability of precision targeting – what he referred to as Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, and Analyze or F3EA. Tegtmeier outlined how the regiment provides lethal, tailored options for crisis response. He described how the Rangers are now working very closely with host nation forces on mission sets utilizing kinetic and non-kinetic methodology. In addition, he provided information on how his Rangers are now working in an advisory capacity with some of the host nation forces they have developed long-term relationships with. He described the current situation in Afghanistan as improving. 2017 was a better year for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) than 2016 – with more ‘good news’ than ‘bad news’. With the new South Asian policy now implemented the Afghans are more optimistic of long-term U.S. support.

COL Bethany Aragon. The commander of the 4th Military Information Support Group described in detail the MISO role in the degrading of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army in Africa. Her vignette helped to emphasize the importance of lead-times in the employment of MISO teams.

LTC Tom Craig. A battalion commander in the 5th Special Forces Group, Craig has recently re-deployed from a six-month rotation to Syria. His task force (augmented with Civil Affairs, MISO, Marines, and Army CF units) worked with the Syrian Democratic Front (SDF) in northern Syria. He stressed that the ‘indigenous approach’ was absolutely working. His assessment is that ARSOF is well-suited to this type of operation due to its regional orientation, cultural expertise, and language capability. His task force enabled its SDF partners with training, equipment, advise, and operational support [5]. He believes that his task force provided contextual understanding to senior U.S. decision-makers. SOF units were able to provide scalable, tailored, mission command nodes (providing C2) across the battlefield. The current fight in Syria is going well, partially because ARSOF is fully integrated with conventional forces, Department of State, USAID, and other agencies. His assessment is that the ground campaign in Syria is going well – ISIS has been steadily losing territory over the past 18 months.

Questions to the Panel. No panel discussion is complete unless there are questions from the audience. This article will not outline all the questions and answers but will note some of the more important ones. A few of questions concerned the fate of the SDF once ISIS is defeated. A comparison was drawn between the Montenards of South Vietnam who worked with U.S. Special Forces and the SDF. Will the US abandon the SDF or stick with them? Other questions for the panel were posed and some good responses were provided. How does MISO train up its personnel in the new information and cyber environment? How does the Army’s plan for Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) synch with Army Special Operations Forces? How is USASOC or the DoD in general learning from the Niger incident where four members of 3rd SFGA were recently lost. There were some excellent answers to the above questions and other questions as well. For that . . .  watch the video.

Footnotes:

[1] See the website for the 2017 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition. http://ausameetings.org/2017annualmeeting/

[2] AUSA 2017 – CMF 10: Army Special Operations Value to the Nation, October 11, 2017. The video is almost two hours long and every bit of it is informative.

[3] As commander of USASOC the ARSOF units are under his command.

[4] See the new FM 3.0, Operations (Fall 2017).

[5] Presumably ‘operational support’ includes ISR, fires, CAS, etc.

SOF News Update 20170619 – Organization, mission, and training of the 75th Ranger Regiment; new approaches needed for an over-extended SOF force; a profile of the 5th Special Forces Group; USSOCOM shopping list; info on Bill McRaven at University of Texas, suicides in Navy SEAL community; and more.

Ranger Regiment Organization. Scott Gourley, a former U.S. Army officer and current writer, provides a detailed description of the training, mission, and organization of the U.S. Army’s Ranger Regiment in 75th Ranger Regiment Organization, Defense Media Network, June 14, 2017.

New Approach Needed for SOF. Phillip Lohaus, a former Department of Defense analyst and currently a research fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, provides his perspective on the overuse of America’s special operations forces. He believes that the Obama administration used SOF for missions that could very well have been done by conventional forces. He states that the over-extended SOF forces need to focus on priority missions that cannot be done by conventional forces. Read more in “The Uncertain Future of Special Ops”, U.S. News & World Report, June 15, 2017.

‘Decompression’ Time Needed for SEALs. A retired Navy SEAL officer is speaking out about recent suicides in the Navy SEAL community and the need to provide some decompression time to those who are transitioning from military to civilian life. Read “More ‘decompression’ needed: Recent suicides in Navy SEAL community”, The San Diego Union-Tribune, June 16, 2017.

A Pictorial Essay On Green Berets. Paul Szoldra, editor of Business Insider’s Military and Defense section, has wrote a piece (with some great photos) about the U.S. Army Special Forces in “Why Green Berets are the smartest, most lethal fighters in the world”, Business Insider, June 14, 2017.

Baltic SOF Conduct Training. SOF units from Estonia (K-komando), Latvia (Omega), and Lithuania (Aras) participated in a joint exercise in northern and central Estonia. (Baltic Times, June 18, 2017).

U.S. & South Korean SOF in a Korean Conflict. Col (Ret) David Maxwell, a former Green Beret, has penned an article about the possible role of U.S. and South Korean special operations forces should a conflict on the Korean peninsular occur. Read “How U.S., South Korean Special Ops Would Join Forces in a New Korean War”, The Cipher Brief, June 18, 2017.

Book Review – Special Forces Berlin. James Stejskal, a veteran of ‘Det A’ writes up a history of the Berlin contingent charged with a ‘cold war mission’ behind the “Iron Curtain”. Read a book review of his work in “Book Review: Soldiers’ secrecy part of mission”, Decatur Daily, June 18, 2017.

SOF in the Philippines. A small number of U.S. special operations forces are currently in the Philippines in an “advise and assist” role to help the Philippines retake Marawi – and inland city of more than 200,000 people. “Islamic State threat in Southeast Asia raises alarm in Washington”, Military Times, June 18, 2017.

McRaven’s Job at University of Texas System. Former Navy SEAL Admiral (Ret) Bill McRaven is completing his first three years at the University of Texas System. Will his time there be extended? Good Question. (Business Insider, June 18, 2017).

SOF Christmas Shopping List. Stu Bradin, President and CEO of Global SOF Foundation (and former SF guy), has penned an article about the budget requests sent to Congress by the services (and USSOCOM). With the 2019 US National Defense Budget taking shape he says it is important that SOF asks for everything it needs from Congress. Read more in The Special Operations Forces Christmas List, LinkedIn, June 15, 2017.

Profile of the 5th Special Forces Group. Read about the lineage, activation, history, past combat action, and current engagement of the 5th Special Forces Group of Fort Campbell, Kentucky in Profile: 5th Special Forces Group, Military.com.

SOF News Update for 20160904 – Australian Special Forces, Special Forces knife, JSOA, a Green Berets’ mistress, CIA’s venture capital firm, fake SEAL goes to jail, Russian SF on Ukraine border, Blackbeard’s Ride, Afghan SOF rescue aid worker, a case for SOF FID Officers, Estonian SF in Ukraine, overseas U.S. SOF bases, and more.

Paper on Australian Special Forces. A paper by Ian Langford published in October 2014 by the Australian Army explains the principles and considerations for the employment of Australian Special Forces.

History of Original SF Knife. The U.S. Special Forces in the U.S Army race their honors and lineage to the First Special Service Force (FSSF). The FSSF was the joint Canadian-American elite unit that was formed up, trained, and fought during World War II. A special knife was designed for the FSSF – the “V-42”. Learn more in “V-42: The Original Special Forces Knife”, Solider of Fortune Magazine, August 27, 2016.

JSOA Association. The Joint Special Operations Association has been formed up “. . . with the common interest of supporting JSOC and the organizations that make up the JSOC enterprise, the unit members and their families”. Learn more at www.thejsoa.org.

SOF FID Officers. One writer believes that we need to revamp the USSOCOM FID program and cultivate Special Operations Forces Foreign Internal Defense specialists. Read more in “Special Operations Forces and the Professionalization of Foreign Internal Defense”, Small Wars Journal, August 24, 2016.

Estonian Special Operations Forces in Ukraine. Estonia has SOF training with their Ukrainian counterparts. Read more in in a news report by Estonian Public Broadcasting, August 24, 2016.

A Green Beret’s Mistress. “Men, Special Forces is a mistress. Your wives will envy her, because she will have your hearts. Your wives will be jealous of her because of her power to pull you away”. Read more in “Men, Special Forces is a mistress”, LinkedIn Pulse, July 12, 2016.

Afghan SOF Rescued Kidnapped Australian. According to a Afghan special forces rescued the female Australian aid worker held captive for four months. Read more in “Kidnapped Australian Aid Worker Freed in Raid by Afghan Forces”, Reuters, August 29, 2016.

Sixth Annual Blackbeard’s Ride. Watch a 3-minute long video of the 6th Annual Blackbeard’s Ride dedicated to the memory of SSG Matthew A. Pucino who died in Afghanistan in at age 34 on November 23, 2009 while serving with 20th Special Forces Group.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaBtg6zUxCE

Medal of Honor for Navy SEAL? A SEAL may be considered for the top military medal after a review of his heroic actions in Afghanistan in 2002. See “SEAL Team 6 and a Man Left for Dead: A Grainy Picture of Valor”, The New York Times, August 27, 2016.

Photos of Fight Where Navy SEAL Died. In May 2016 a US Navy SEAL was killed in combat with the Islamic State. Read the story and view some photos in “Never before seen images show the failed ISIS assault that caused the death of a US Navy SEAL”, Business Insider, August 30, 2016.

Ranger Dies in Parachute Mishap. A U.S. Army Ranger died in a parachute jump. He was a member of Company E, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment based at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. Read more in “U.S. Army Ranger died during training”, US Army, August 26, 2016.

US Trains Iraqi Soldiers to be Rangers. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq are conducting a Ranger-style training program. The training is taking place at Camp Taji located just northwest of Baghdad. Read more in a news story by Task & Purpose, August 29, 2016.

Russia SF on Ukraine Border. According to the a news report in the Ukraine Today (26 Aug 2016) Russia is deploying special forces to the Ukraine border area as part of military drills.

Fake SEAL Going to Jail. A Texas man who posed as a decorated Navy SEAL will be serving some time in the slammer. Read more in “Texan who faked being decorated Navy SEAL gets prison”, Stars and Stripes, August 30, 2016.

Female NCO fails Tryout for Rangers. The first female Soldier attempting to join the Rangers didn’t quite make it. Read “Female NCO tries out for Army’s elite 75th Ranger Regiment”, Army Times, September 1, 2016.

Overseas Special Operations Bases. To accomplish their missions the U.S. special operations forces maintain a number of forward operating bases overseas. Learn more in “The Pentagon’s Not-So-Secret Commando Army”, War is Boring, August 30, 2016.

Kaepernick Pisses Off the World; A Green Beret Responds. Colin Kaepernick, a backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has decided to sit during the playing of the national anthem (seems he is protesting something). Of course, this isn’t a popular action, and a NFL player (and SF dude) has responded. Read more in “An open letter to Colin Kaepernick, from a Green-Beret-turned-long snapper”, Army Times, August 30, 2016.

CIA’s Venture Capital Firm. In-Q-Tel is somewhat associated with the Central Intelligence Agency. It is a venture-capital firm in Virginia funded by the CIA. Read “The CIA’s Venture-Capital Firm, Like Its Sponsor, Operates in the Shadows”, The Wall Street Journal,  August 2016.

“Col Maggie’s” 100th Birthday. If she were still living Martha Raye would be 100 years old. She was a favorite of Special Forces during the Vietnam War. Read a tribute to her by John Downey (retired SF) in “Remembering Martha Raye”, Fayetteville Observer, August 31, 2016.