Blog Posts tagged with "352nd Special Operations Group"

The cold days of winter are fast approaching here in Germany.  Heck…they’re already here!  Man it's cold already!  For a lot of folks, it's good news because it also means that ski season has arrived as well.  One of the great perks about living in Southern Germany is that world class slopes are only a few hours away!  And this year, with Veterans Day falling smack in the middle of the work week, many families are taking advantage of an opportunity to get a 10-day vacation while missing only two school days.  You see, here in Stuttgart, kids were off school last Friday, Nov. 6 and they are off Nov 11-13 as well.  Count it up! 

I make the point because it is easy to forget the importance of recognizing Veterans Day when long vacations are a part of the equation.   The Department of Veterans Affairs conveys a pretty decent (although a bit dry) history of how Veterans Day came into being.  The bottom line is that it, like Memorial Day, was established to honor service members (the main difference being that Memorial Day is designated as a day to recognize those who died in battle whereas Veterans Day is intended to recognize and thank living Veterans for their service.)  It is important to remember that men and women are still serving their country in hostile areas and that their contributions to our national security are 100% appreciated. 

In honor of the Veterans serving within SOCEUR, I offer a couple of great stories from this past year.  The first, RAF Mildenhall air assets aid in rescue operation, is about how one of the 352^nd Special Operations Group’s Combat Shadows, among other U.S. and British Air Force aircraft, aided a multinational mission to rescue a man complaining of abdominal pains from a ship in the Atlantic Ocean this past summer.  According to one of the Air Force captains on the mission, "The helos couldn't have done it (rescued the man) without the SOG refueler, the SOG refueler couldn't have done it without our gas, and I'm not sure any of us would have been able to find the ship out there without the help of the British Nimrod.” (A Royal Air Force Nimrod is an anti-sub, anti-surface-warfare and search-and-rescue aircraft.)

The second story, Two days of hell, nine men of valor, describes two harrowing situations the men of a 1st Battalion, 10^th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Operational Detachment Alpha endured during their deployment to Afghanistan last spring that resulted in nine of them being recognized for valor.

Of course, these are just two of many stories that could be highlighted.  Others have been told, especially during the after-hours of many a social gathering, but unfortunately, most will never be printed.  Such is the reality in the world of special operations.   Nevertheless, through the 29 Joint Combined Exchange Training events, eight Bilateral Training activities, nine Military-to-Military engagements, and six Counter-Narco Terrorism missions conducted in 18 countries this past year, you can be sure that SOCEUR personnel contributed extensively to our country’s national security efforts.   

D-Day Veterans reminisce during the 65th Anniversary of the landings this past June. Photo by Master Sgt. Donald Sparks.

So… on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, please remember our Veterans, active duty, national guard, reserves, or long retired, regardless of where they serve or served, because you can bet that they either put their life on the line or are willing to do so for you!

Happy Veterans Day!

MAJ Jim Gregory

SOCEUR PAO