Boundary Waters Canoe Area

My name is Scot Scheftner. I retired from the US Army on 1 Mar 2016. Since the ninth grade I have been interested in history. That was 1976 in Des Moines, Iowa. At that time my future really did not seem that challenging. A year later I found myself, -by myself-, on an airplane landing in Switzerland where I would finish high school. More important was the landing of the airplane. I was only 14 years old and Swiss Army trucks with armed soldiers were positioned along the runway. Once inside the airport I observed uniformed and heavily armed personnel everywhere. The way I remember it there were more solders than passengers. “I am not in Kanas anymore”. The Rote Armee Fraktion  (RAF) or Red Army Faction was at the height of attacks in what became known as the “German Autumn”. The Swiss were on high alert as of all of Western Europe was. The thing that surprised me the most was how everyone went about their normal business as if nothing was going on. I met my contact which took me to my new school, Institute Montana, Zug Switzerland. 

Fast forward a few more years the Cold War was in full swing. I was a Ranger in the 25th Infantry Division. Clint Eastwood mayor of Carmel California and Ronald Reagan President. I have to ask, does anyone remember why Clint wanted to be mayor? I had a bumper sticker which said, "Russia Sucks", but we survived the Cold War. When the Berlin Wall fell, I was a Special Forces Engineer on an A Team in Bad Tölz Germany. Fast forward now with Putin at the reins of the great bear, I cannot help but think about my bumper sticker. 

At the end of first Gulf War the Kurds found themselves in a humanitarian crisis. After attacking Saddam Hussein and losing, hundreds of thousands fled into the Turkish Mountains. It was winter and they had only what they could carry. Does that sound familiar? Special Forces were sent into northern Turkey to provide aid. The operation was called Provide Comfort and continued for many years. After the humanitarian aid the operation became more military in nature and on Iraqi soil. It later proved successful as we have a good working relationship until President Trump link abandoned the Kurds

After a hardship discharge from the army, I was able to re-enlist. Again, I found myself on a Special Force A Team. This time I was 47yrs old the year was 2008. We were training an Afghani SWAT team. At the time I hoped Afghans are able to control their own destiny.

My interest in history is twofold. If you put a drop of water into a glass of red wine you will not taste the difference. Sometimes I feel like that drop of water. The other is how history has repeated itself. Just go back to the early 1900s: Woodrow Wilson, WW1, League of Nations, America isolation, the roaring twenties, Prohibition, Hitler, book burning. WW2, United Nations, Cold War, Pol Pot, Vietnam, The Sexual Revolution, "Just Say No" USSR Afghan War, both Gulf Wars, and a cold wind blowing out of the East. America is again moving back towards isolation policies. 

One more thing to clear up. The most miss use term is Special Forces. It is often confused with Special Operations. Special Forces fall under Special Operations as do Delta Force, Seals, Rangers, and a few other units. Special Forces does do Direct Action missions (going in guns blazing). Other missions include Unconventional Warfare, Long Range Reconnaissance, Foreign Internal Defense and Anti-Terrorism. Unconventional Warfare and Foreign Internal Defense are similar both require cultural awareness and mentoring skills. That is what I really enjoyed about being a Green Beret.