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Special Forces VetPage   

Photos and stories of current and former members of the US Special Forces

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Major Zoltan Krompecher, 1st Special Forces Group

Major K exits from the ramp of a CH-47.

 

 

Matt Sonner, C Co, 2nd Battalion, 11th SFG (A) 1989-1994

 

A Marine to the Max

 

US Marine Globe and Anchor

 

In 1990, Mike Stover graduated from Ohio State and become a Marine Corps Officer. He honored me by giving me his first salute. He died in Iraq 2006.

 

I met Mike after leaving the 2nd Ranger Battalion and returning to finish school at Ohio State. He was a man of honor, who was intelligent and quick with a laugh. He was an all around good person and a great American.

 

Major Mike Stover

 

We lost a Good Friend

 

Dave Shephard, Zoltan Krompecher and Matt Sonner at Zoltan's wedding to Tina. Dave was killed in Mosul, Iraq in 2005.

Dave Shephard

 

Article in Military Brats

 

The three of us attended the Q Course together at Fort Bragg, NC in 1990 and graduated as Special Forces Engineers. Dave went back to 12th Group in Washington while "Z" and I returned to Ohio to serve out of Jamestown with the 11th Group. In 1994 both groups were moved from the Army Reserves to the Army National Guard and the 11th became the 19th and the 12th became the 20th. Within a few years two of our Q Course classmates would die while on Active Duty. John Burgess was killed while conducting HALO operations with 7th SFG and "Butch" Miller died during SCUBA school. Dave Shephard served  tours in Afghanistan and Iraq as a Special Forces Operator before he was killed in Mosul, Iraq while working as a civilian security contractor for Blackwater.  

 

 

Team Pictures

 

Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer Course. Don Austin, Joe Hanby, Steve Rasta.

Jump Master of C-130 Hercules Airborne Operation.

Airborne operations with the Canadian Parachute Regiment. They gave us a great set of jump wings. Myself, Dave Spriggs, Ron Seitz (Team Sergeant).

Sustained airborne training before we parachute out of C-130s. A great weekend with the Canadians as they were awesome hosts.

Jumpmaster of CH-47 jump over Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. My friend Zoltan broke his back but recoverd and continues to serve on Active Duty.

My friend, Brad Ageter and I on counter-drug ops in California. They only thing we found was this super sized pinecone.

 

Charlie Company was located in Jamestown, Ohio with the Battalion Headquarters based in Columbus.  I attended the Jumpmaster Course at Fort Campbell, KY which was instructed by members of the 5th Special Forces Group.  The 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, located at Fort Benning, GA hosts their own course and is responsible for US Army Jumpmaster training, standards, and equipment testing and fielding.

 

Canadian Flag

 

Unofficial Canadian Airborne Regiment Home Page

 

   Norwegian Winter Warfare Course

 

Joe Hanby, Ed Gero, Ron Seitz, Steve Rosta.

Ice cave which was heaven compared to the outside. Ron Seitz, Steve Rosta, Matt Sonner, Natick Lab rep, Norwegian instructor.

After capturing Norway, the Germans built bunkers such as this one to guard open areas against parachute assault. Ed Gero and Joe Hanby.

At higher altitudes, no more trees grow and the snow, cold and the wind is unforgiving to those without shelter.

Setting up our Norwegian style tent which consisted of two pieces of canvas. We had a small stove inside to keep warm during the night.

The small town of Dombas, Norway was were the Norwegian Home Guard Winter Warfare School was located.

Shooting the G3 rifle, .M2 .50 cal, and a German light machinegun at Icecrete bunkers that were very good protection against bullets.

Church in Dombas, Norway. Pretty impressive architecture.

 

The Norwegian Home Guard ran a winter warfare course out of Dombas. This was a great school and it showed that becoming proficient in winter warfare was a serious, long-term undertaking. Needless to say, the Norwegians could ski circles around us and were comfortable with a only moderate degree of cold weather clothing on. The Norwegians issued us German made G3 rifles which weighed a lot more then the M16A2. Along with all of our other gear, this rifle made skiing, and falling, a much more hazardous experience. The first American to die during World War II was Captain Robert M. Losey, who was in Dombas during the German invasion.  Attending this school in Norway qualified us for the Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon.

 

Skis Against The Atom

 

 

Skis Against The Atom is an amazing true story written by Norwegian Knut Haukelid on how they were able to sabotage German efforts to build the atomic bomb during World War II. Hollywood made a movie based on this event in 1965 titled The Heroes of Telemark.

 

Norwegian Flag

 

Norwegian Army Website

 

Links

 

Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course (SFAS) information.

The Airborne and Special Operations Museum is located in Fayetteville, NC.

The 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum is also located in Fayetteville at Fort Bragg, NC.

Contact Information

You can contact me via email with any questions or comments. Please address it to Matt at  tacarm@aol.com. I can also be reached at 910-672-0027.

 

Ballistic Combat Uniform   
Designed for Combat. Worn for Life TM 

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