MSgt Sellers

Op Sledgehammer, "Gorna Luka Patrol Pt 2"
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Operation Sledgehammer, Combat Patrol Gorna Luka.  Part 1 of 2
As stated previously, videos are published publicly on YouTube each Friday at 0800 CST.  I was busy this morning and did not have time to post it here before now.
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Friday video.
Continuing with Operation Slegehammer.  Please "Like", subscribe and comment.
 
 

Op Sledgehammer, "Patrol Ambush"
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Note:  I will be trying to publish all operation videos on Fridays from this point on.  This does not take into account the special additional public relations videos like yesterday's Memorial Day Video.  Please use these videos to promote the unit, by subscribing to the YouTube channel, Liking the video's, and sharing the link to the videos wherever you can.  The more people see our vids and know we are still active, the more people visit our forums.
 

Operation Sledgehammer, "Escorting the Colonel" aka Colonel Meetings Escort, Part 2.
We whisked the Colonel away for his own security.  We flew to the next meeting location where our helo came under fire.  We were going to abort the meeting, but Colonel Kozak insisted on going back as some of his men were taken captive.  Hence, our mission evolved to a Rescue Mission.
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Operation Sledgehammer, "Rescue the Colonel" mission.  
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Part 2 or 2, "Going Back In"
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Op Sledgehammer, "Convoy Hijack".
Vid is low light due to night time op.  Watch in the dark!!  But don't be afraid.
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"The Beginning" Part 2.  Operation Sledgehammer, 01-19
Part 2 of initial mission.  Watch in High Definition and "Like" please.
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ATTENTION:  I noticed the resolution of this vid at times is terrible when I watched it on YouTube.  I checked my video and it's gorgeous.  I suspect something happened in the upload of the video to Youtube, although I'm not sure.  My production of this video is 4K type qualilty.  At this point, I'm debating whether I should take the time to pull this down and try another upload.
 

Final Predeployment training video before Operation vids start.
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Sgt Reckless:  "She wasn't a horse.  She was  a Marine"
PFC Reckless was purchased by a Marine Lieutenant who was the platoon commander of a 106 recoilless rifle platoon in Korea in 1953.  The Lieutenant purchased the mare using $250 of his own money, to use as a pack horse to haul the heavy ammunition for the recoilless rifles up the large steep hills his Marines had to climb.  
This horse was so loved by her Marines she even slept with them in their tents on cold nights, ate with them, drank beer with them after battles, loved eating eggs and pancakes when it was available and had a voracious appetite.  Reckless was trained to avoid barbed wire and dangerous obstacles, crawl under obstacles, go to a  bunker during shelling, lay down and take cover on battlefields, and after being shown a route to hilltops where her Marines were fighting, could and often did, make the trips unescorted.  During one day of a three day battle at Outpost Vegas, she made 51 trips up the hills to her Marines, unescorted, carrying over 9000 pounds of recoilless rifle ammunition, often carrying a wounded or dead Marine back down the hill on the return trip.
She was wounded twice and always continued on her mission.  She received two battlefield promotions, first to Corporal, then to Sergeant.  She retired as a SSgt at Camp Pendleton, CA, where she was stationed after the war.  There are literally dozens of stories about her and now a bronze statue of her is on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico, VA.  
Watch the following short video for more information and photo's of this heroic Marine, who is listed as one of the top 100 military heroes of the 20th Century.
 

 
 
 

Russian Weapons Briefing #2
Intended for training of MSOT 8410 personnel and not entertainment purposes.
 

Short Training Video, primarily intended for reference by Raiders and personnel of the 4th MRB.
Practical training exercise from this training will follow on next vid.  Basic briefing about weapons and munitions for upcoming eastern European deployment.
 
 
 

Part 2 of "Pre-deployment Brief and Training".
Note:  I will be adding an information text message at the beginning of videos during our next Operation to inform viewers why we are not using USA or Raider equipment, weapons, etc.
 
 

MERRY CHRISTMAS  you Virtual Marines!!  It was a fun year and looks even better next year.
 
 

Op Arch Stand.  Mission to stop Syndikat members from driving out of our AO.  Possibly last chance to hit their members and destroy their stuff.
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Note:  Sometimes when I first upload and publish a video, the video is very choppy on playback.  That was the case with this vid.  It usually settles down in a couple hours and plays just fine.
 

Operation Arch Stand.  Next mission vid.  
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For any of you interested, information about my father’s destroyer during World War II, the most decorated destroyer in the US Navy, Pacific Theater, the USS Buchanan DD484.



The USS Buchanan, aka the “Buke” was a Benson – Gleaves class destroyer.  Ships were ordered based on a plan, but different ship builders added their own modifications to improve the original plans.  No two ships were exactly the same.

The Buchanan and Aaron Ward, DD485 were built together and launched in November 1941.  These were the destroyers that were designed to hold off the Japanese Navy.  Note, the Ward, known as the “Double A”, was attacked by Japanese dive bombers in April 1943 in Iron Bottom Sound near Tulagi, and sunk.  In 1994 divers discovered the Ward in 240 feet of water in remarkably good condition.

The Buchanan was dispatched to the South Pacific where she was assigned a multitude of assignments as were all the destroyers at that time.  The Area of Operation was so large, and the US Navy so small, these fighting ships became the work horses of the Navy when things were most desperate.  She was assigned carrier escort duty with the carrier, USS Wasp, CV 7, but was detached on another assignment before the Wasp was attacked and sunk.  The Ward was with the Wasp at the time.  The Buke was attached to the newly created Destroyer Squadron 12 (Desron 12). This fighting squadron of destroyers participated in the entire Solomon’s campaign and were involved in numerous naval engagements.

During the invasion of Guadalcanal, the Buchanan supported the 1st Marine Raiders and a Paramarine battalion who assaulted Tulagi.  While the 1st MarDiv was landing unopposed on Guadalcanal across the sound, the Marine Raiders encountered heavy resistance from  Japanese Rikusentai, Japanese Marines, the toughest fighters Japan had.  The fighting at Tulagi was brutal with both of these two elite fighting forces slugging it out; neither side willing to accept defeat.  The Buchanan’s Captain saw the heavy fighting and ordered his ship in dangerously close to shore so they could put direct fire on Japanese fortified positions.   The Marines later commended the Buchanan for her daring and heroic action which saved many Marine lives.

The Buchanan and her sister destroyers fought the Japanese navy while being outgunned, outnumbered and with less experience.  They held the line during the most desperate time of the war.  Desron 12 later made a daring raid on Kavieng and Rabual for which they were commended, and given the nickname, the “Scrappers.”  Desron 12 later was referred to as The Scraperoos”.

The Buchanan participated in the entire Solomon’s campaign, including Guadalcanal, Bougainville, raids on Rabaul and Kavieng, and supported the invasions at Pelilu, Philippines, Formosa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and raids on Japanese mainland with the 3rd and 5th Fleets.

Admiral Halsey remembered two of his old war horse destroyers with special honors during the surrender ceremony in Japan in August 1945; the Buchanan and Lansdowne.  The Buchanan was assigned to escort the flagship for Admiral Nimitz, the battleship, USS South Dakota into Tokyo Bay.  The Buchanan was assigned to ferry Admirals Nimitz and Halsey around Tokyo Bay and a couple days later transported General McArthur to the surrender ceremony on the USS Missouri.

Eleven Benson-Gleaves class destroyers were decorated for action in WWII, two for actions in the Solomons; the Laffey and the Buchanan.  The Laffey was sunk during the battle of Cape Esperance (Guadalcanal) in November 1942.  Sixteen Gleaves class destroyers were lost during the war.

The Buchanan was awarded 16 battle stars, the Presidential Unit Citation and Navy Unit Commendation for Task Force 38, and ended up being one of the most decorated Navy ships of WWII, and the most decorated Navy Destroyer in the Pacific Theater.

Note:  My father joined the Buchanan as an 18 year old new sailor shortly before the invasion at Guadalcanal.  He was a signalman.  His station on ship was the radio room directly behind and connected to the ship's bridge and the bridge wings where the signal lamps were mounted.  I have often wondered if my father is in the photos of the Buchanan taken from the carrier Wasp while she was alongside taking on fuel and provisions.  You can see the Buchanan briefly in the famous John Wayne movie, “The Sands of Iwo Jima”.  My father saw the US Marines in action many times in the war.  The night before I went to Boot Camp we sat and he told me stories about what he saw.  He said the Marines were the toughest fighters he ever saw.  He said everyone knew, once the Marines landed the battle was won!  The Marines would not accept defeat and it was just a matter of time.

More stories for another day. 

 



The "Scraperoos" returning from THE famous raid on Rabaul.  Savo Island in background, Guadalcanal to their south (or right).  

 

 
Along side CV7, USS Wasp in Coral Sea area south of Solomon Island chain.
 
PS  I wasn't even a twinkle in my father's eye yet !!!

 

A great set of photos from the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) held in Tampa earlier this year.
Mainly featuring the 160th SOAR (A) Nightstalkers and their MH-60M & MH-6M helos along with FRIES demonstrations, you can also see SOC-Rs & CRRCs.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/duane_88/sets/72157696936865564/with/41597403465/

Part 2 of Search and Destroy Mission.  Finally some action!
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Part 2 of "First Combat Patrol"  Operation Arch Stand
 
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"Operation Arch Stand"   The Beginning.
 
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(Our YouTube Channel is a way to advertise our unit to people out there who may be interested in Arma 3 and Realism Units like ours.)
 
 
 

First Combat Patrol of OPERATION ARCH STAND.
 
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OCTOBER 23, 1983
 
A couple weeks from now will be the 35th Anniversary of the deadliest day for the Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima.  On that day, a terrorist drove a truck full of explosives into the temporary barracks building for the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines (1/8) in Beirut, Lebanon.  The attacked took the lives of 220 US Marines and 21 other US personnel.
 
Two days later, Marines landed on Grenada to carry out Operation Urgent Fury to protect the lives of over 600 Americans who were students at a medical school.  Among other things the Marines secured Pearls Airport, Grenada's principle civilian airport and temporarily named it MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) Douglas in honor of the 8th Marines Sergeant Major F. B. Douglas who died in the Beirut attack.
 
 
One other quick comment about Operation Urgent Fury.  The Marines who participated in Operation Urgent Fury were from the 22nd MAU (Marine Amphibious Unit).  The 22nd MAU was the reinforced 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines who were already aboard ships and heading to Lebanon to replace their brothers of 1/8.
 
You may not recall this incident but it was conducted very quickly with very little intelligence.  The first units there were the US Marines of the 22nd MAU and Army Rangers, followed shortly after by SEALS and Army Special Ops personnel.
 
 
The following notable quote came from General John Vessey, US Army, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
 
  "We have two companies of Marines running all over this island and thousands of Army troops doing nothing!"
 
This was absolutely true as the US Army commander for this operation kept ordering more 82nd Airborne battalions to the island, while a few companies of US Marines kept overrunning the island by themselves as they are known to do!