Tag Archives: Green Berets

These Are Very Special Americans

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On Friday, The New York Post reported that a group of retired military veterans has been rescuing our Afghan allies from Afghanistan.

The article reports:

A group of highly trained US military veterans has been secretly rescuing hundreds of allied operatives from Afghanistan — volunteering over fears those allies would otherwise be left for dead, according to a report.

The weeklong secret operation dubbed “Pineapple Express” has been carried out by a group of special ops veterans including retired Green Berets and SEAL Team commanders, they told ABC News.

They were driven by deep frustration “that our own government didn’t do this,” former Navy SEAL Jason Redman told ABC.

“We did what we should do, as Americans,” he said.

They initially formed to rescue an ex-Afghan commando who was getting death threats from the Taliban for having worked with US special forces and elite SEAL Team Six, ABC said.

…“I have been involved in some of the most incredible missions and operations that a special forces guy could be a part of, and I have never been a part of anything more incredible than this,” Gant (Maj. Jim Gant, a retired Green Beret) insisted.

“The bravery and courage and commitment of my brothers and sisters in the Pineapple community was greater than the US commitment on the battlefield,” he said.

The volunteer force was led by another retired Green Beret commander, Lt. Col. Scott Mann, who told ABC the team was proud to have helped “dozens of high-risk individuals, families with small children, orphans, and pregnant women.”

“This Herculean effort couldn’t have been done without the unofficial heroes inside the airfield who defied their orders to not help beyond the airport perimeter, by wading into sewage canals and pulling in these targeted people who were flashing pineapples on their phones,” Mann said.

…Some of those rescued said they witnessed people just inches away from them being killed, while others refused to leave unless their family members were also evacuated.

“Leaving a man behind is not in our SEAL ethos. Many Afghans have a stronger vision of our democratic values than many Americans do,” said Dan O’Shea, a retired SEAL commander and former counterinsurgency adviser in Afghanistan.

The article concludes:

Former deputy assistant secretary of defense Mick Mulroy said the task force felt it was their duty to save allies who “never wavered” in supporting the US.

“I and many of my friends are here today because of their bravery in battle. We owe them all effort to get them out and honor our word,” Mulroy said.

Men like these give me hope for the future of America. They are truly leaders.

Sometimes Justice Takes A While

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Last September I posted an article about Sergeant First Class (SFC) Charles Martland, a Green Beret who was selected for an involuntary discharge through an Army force reduction program. SFC Martland has served honorably, having been awarded two Bronze Stars during his time in the Army. He was chosen for release because he was charged with assaulting an Afghan leader.

This is the story:

In 2011, Martland was nearing the end of his yearlong deployment in northern Afghanistan’s Kunduz province when he and an officer became outraged with the behavior of some local leaders they were responsible for developing as police commanders.

Martland and his detachment commander, Capt. Daniel Quinn, lost their tempers when one leader near their base kidnapped a boy for more than a week, chained him to a bed, raped the child and then assaulted the boy’s mother, Quinn said.

The mother appealed to the Green Berets to help her son. Quinn said the soldiers brought the Afghan commander to their base and confronted him.

Quinn told The News Tribune that the Afghan admitted he had raped the boy. He angered the American soldiers by showing disregard for their concerns.

“He started laughing when we talked about what a big deal this was,” Quinn said.

Martland and Quinn proceeded to assault the Afghan. Accounts vary on how badly they hurt him.

Yesterday the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) posted an update on the story.

They reported:

The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ),  which has been advocating for Sergeant First Class (SFC) Charles Martland – a decorated war hero facing expulsion from the army for defending a child, calls today’s decision by the U.S. Army to retain the Green Beret war hero a “significant victory” and that “justice has been served.”

SFC Martland faced expulsion from the Army for defending a child from sexual abuse and confronting an admitted sexual predator in Afghanistan. The ACLJ argued that his actions – stopping the perpetrator who was violating Afghan law and forcibly removing him from a U.S. military base – were heroic.

“The decision by the Army to retain this hero is long overdue and represents a significant victory for SFC Martland,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ.  “Justice has been served. The U.S. military has a moral obligation to stop child sexual abuse and exonerate SFC Martland for defending a child from rape. The Army finally took the corrective action needed and this is not only a victory for SFC Martland, but for the American people as well.”

Pedophilia is not an American value. We should strongly discourage its practice in any country that we do business with.