A Special Forces Warrant Officer (180A) is the recipient of the OSS Society’s Peter Ortiz Award. Lt. Gen. Scott Howell (USAF), the Vice Commander of USSOCOM, presented the award to CW4 David Shane Gandy of the 1st Special Forces Group. [1]

The Peter Ortiz Award is named after a legendary member of the Office of Strategic Services. Ortiz was an exceptional man – one who had several occupations. He served in the French Foreign Legion for five years and was highly decorated for his service. In addition, he was a US Marine – both active and in the Marine reserves. He was most noted for his time as a member of the OSS during World War II where he participated in several dangerous missions in Nazi occupied Europe. He was held as a prisoner of war twice and was the most decorated member of the OSS. After the war he spent time as movie star in Hollywood. [2]

CW4 Gandy, the 2017 recipient of the Peter Ortiz Award, has spent over twenty years in the U.S. Army with the bulk of his time in the 1st Special Forces Group. Each SF group specializes in a specific region of the world – the 1st SFGA has the Pacific region. Gandy has deployed to many countries in the Asian theater of operations during his Special Forces career. In 2010 he suffered serious injuries from an improvised explosive device (IED) which involved a significant recovery period. During his recovery he became a patient advocate assisting in the recovery of other wounded service members. He would later return to Afghanistan where he served with Special Operations Task Force West as a targeting officer.

The award ceremony for Shane Gandy was recorded and a video of the presentation posted on the OSS Society’s YouTube site. You can watch the presentation of the OSS Society’s Peter Ortiz Award at the link below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGq3kFrQSUM

Footnotes:

[1] OSS Society, www.osssociety.org The year 2017 was also the 75th anniversary of the formation of the OSS.

[2] See Legionnaire, OSS Officer, US Marine and Hollywood Hearthrob, Central Intelligence Agency, June 12, 2017.

SOF News Update 20170629 – Entry into Australian SOF, USSOCOM tests laser weapons on Apache helicopter, 60th Anniversary for 1st SFGA, USAF SOF conducts refueling exercise, foreign weapons for USSOCOM, SF team instructs Hondurans on 106-mm RR (history), Operation Red Wings, UDT / SEAL Museum conducts renovation, Kony and LRA, and more.

Australian SOF fitness assessment and workout. It is hard to get into the special operations forces of Australia. The SOF units include the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), two Commando Regiments, and five other SOF specialist units. Read about the fitness test and subsequent evaluation for entry in “Are You Special Forces Material”, Australian Men’s Health, June 2017.

60th Anniversary for 1st SFG. The 1st Special Forces Group recently observed their 60th Anniversary by holding an outdoor event that taxed its participants and required them to have a knowledge of Special Forces history reaching back several decades. Read more in “1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Celebrates 60th Anniversary with Living History Training Event”, DVIDS, June 23, 2017.

Operation Red Wings. In late June through mid-July 2005 Operation Red Wings took place in the Pech district, Kunar province, Afghanistan. It would turn into a tragedy as 19 U.S. lives were lost. A four-man SEAL reconnaissance element was compromised (3 KIA, 1 WIA) and a rescue mission resulted in a crashed helicopter with more lives lost. Wikipedia has a detailed account of the event. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Red_Wings

USSOCOM Tests Helicopter Laser. The United States Special Operations Command – along with the U.S. Army and Raytheon – have tested a helicopter-borne offensive laser. (The Washington Times, June 27, 2017).

Joseph Kony & LRA: Mission Accomplished? Ever since October 2011 U.S. Army Special Forces have deployed small elements to Uganda (and some nearby countries) to assist several African nations (principally Uganda) in the search for the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army. The group has been whittled down to about 100 fighters and the U.S. has closed down the advise and assist mission called Observant Compass. Read more in “$800 Million Later, Joseph Kony Is Still a Threat”, Foreign Policy, June 28, 2017.

WWII Gallery at Navy UDT-SEAL Museum. Renovations are being made to the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida that will highlight the exploits of frogmen during World War II. (Tampa Bay Palm, June 27, 2017).

Some History – SF Team & 106-mm RR & FID South of the Border. Read a historical account of a 7th Special Forces team heading to Honduras to instruct a host nation unit on the employment of the 106-mm Recoilless Rifle. See “Those Green Berets Sure Taught You How to Shoot Straight”, Special Operations, June 28, 2107.

Foreign Weapons for USSOCOM. The U.S. Special Operations Command has the ability to purchase foreign weapons for its operations overseas. It’s streamline contract process can result in (sometimes) quick turnarounds for fielding weapons to ‘proxie’ forces across the world. There are many factors involved to include purchasing safe and reliable weapons at a competitive price. Many times the foreign weapons are bought from firms based overseas. One U.S. foreign weapons manufacturer has some heartburn (go figure). Read “Weapons maker wants SOCOM to heed Trump’s ‘Buy American’ edict”, Tampa Bay Times, June 26, 2017.

353rd SOG and JASDF Work Together. The 353rd Special Operations Group based at Kadena Air Base, Japan recently trained with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) during Exercise Teak Jet in June 2017. Read “USAF and JASDF complete Black Hawk air refueling exercise”, AirMed & Rescue TV, June 27, 2017.

SOF Integration – 1st SFG and 2nd Infantry Div. SOF and conventional forces trained together at Yakima training center, Washington during Exercise Bayonet Focus 2017 to enhance their ability to work together during operations. Read “1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) SOF Integration”, DVIDS, June 17, 2017.

During OEF-P or Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines Special Forces teams from the 1st Special Forces Group and 19th Special Forces Group had a long-term commitment in the Philippines in a ‘train, advise, and assist’ mission. The Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC) based in Hawaii had assisted in the deployment of a Joint Special Operations Task Force (JSOTF) to provide the C2, staff, and support necessary for the SF operational detachments to perform the advisory and training mission.

Linda Robinson, a Senior International Policy Analyst at RAND Corporation, has published numerous works on special operations forces. In an article in PRISM she writes about the “. . . partnered, light footprint approach . . .” used in the Philippines that has met with success. The 14-year long endeavor saw U.S. SOF as a primary outside force supporting a partner nation’s security forces that were the leading actors in a long-term counterinsurgency and counterterrorism campaign.

OEF-P was formed to assist the Philippine security forces in combating the insurgent and terrorist groups in the southern region of Mindanao. The initial phase saw almost 1,300 U.S. forces deployed but that number was reduced in time to around 500-600 personnel. The operation was first conceived in the fall of 2001 shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 when a SOF assessment team visited the Philippines. In 2002 Joint Task Force 510 – a SOF task force – was established to provide training, advice, and assistance to the Philippine security forces in civil-military operations, information operations, and security. In time, a Joint Special Operations Task Force or JSOTF was formed for the mission.

The task force was comprised of Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Military Information Support Operations (MISO) personnel. Members of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Navy SEALs participated in the training mission as well. U.S. SOF also provided tactical battlefield advice, intelligence support (ISR), and casualty evacuation.

JSOTF-P officially ended its operations in early 2015. The 14-year commitment by U.S. SOF to professionalize the Philippine security forces and degrade the terrorist networks and groups operating in the Philippines is considered a big success. Currently, SOF interaction with the Philippine security forces consists of contacts through the U.S. Embassy in Manila as well as periodic training exercises by U.S. special operations forces and conventional forces (although the current political environment seems problematic).

Read the entire article by Linda Robinson in “The SOF Experience in the Philippines and the Implications for Future Defense Strategy”, PRISM, Volume 6, No 3, December 7, 2016.

Photo credit: SSG Christopher Hubenthal.