Grey Berets in DESERT STORM
Story and photos provided by Johnny Reid
Frank Hall (left), Steve Rose (center), Garth McCullough (right) getting ready to convoy northward to Kuwait
“Several months prior to when the Iraqis invaded Kuwait in Aug 1990, I had come back from supporting 2nd Battalion, 7th SFG(A) in Panama during JUST CAUSE.” – MSG (Ret.) Johnny Reid
Burning oil well photo taken by Johnny Reid from a Kuwaiti Puma helicopter
In late 1989, US Army Master Sergeant (Ret.) Johnny Reid was a US Air Force Staff Sergeant serving with the XVIII Airborne Corps Weather Team as a forecaster, when he was chosen to go to Panama with the 7th Special Forces Group because their Staff Weather NCO (SWNCO) – Staff Sgt. Jeff Johnson, – was attending Military Freefall School.
SOWT stencil by SSgt Garth McCulloch
When Staff Sgt. Reid returned from Panama in February 1990, his detachment commander (Det 3, 5th Weather Squadron) and senior enlisted advisor rewarded him for his performance by making Staff Sgt. Reid the SWNCO for both the 3rd Battalion, 5th SFG(A) and the 3rd SFG(A) Activation Cell.
At that time, 3/5 SFG(A) was Africa-focused and was the Rear-Battalion when 5th SFG(A) moved to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 3/5 SFG(A) was redesignated 1st Battalion, 3rd SFG(A) upon reactivation of the 3rd SFG(A) on July 1, 1990.
Aaron Otte (left) and Johnny Reid (right)
“For a few months, I supported 3/5 on local exercises and one large off-site excellent exercise in Montana called ‘Caisson Cowboy,’ which Staff Sgt. Scott Crutchfield and I did together, then the 3rd SFG(A) was activated,” Reid stated. The SOWT started focusing on Africa, and Staff Sgt. Reid attended Military Freefall School. “When the Iraqis invaded Kuwait, the 1/3 SFG(A) Commander; Lt. Col. Frank Toney, was pissed as hell,” Reid stated. This was due to the 5th SFG(A) was the primary special forces group for USCENTCOM and the battalion had recently been redesignated under 3rd SFG. “Meantime, I was potentially tagged to deploy with the 82nd, but because the 3rd wanted to keep me with them and were potentially going to be committed, I stayed behind to wait and see,” Reid commented.
When 3rd SFG (A) received their warning order to deploy to Saudi Arabia during Operation DESERT SHIELD, Staff Sgt. Reid was the only Special Operations Weather Team (SOWT) member assigned to support them, and his focus was on the 1st Battalion, as the Group Headquarters was only an activation cell at that time.
Johnny Reid (left) and Steve Rose (right) next to truck with Iraqi Airborne logo
The 3rd SFG(A) eventually was tasked as part of the follow-on forces. “We reached up to 5th Weather Squadron to ask for augmentees to form a SOWT for the 3rd SFG(A). We had 4 guys at Bragg who were good to go and immediately earmarked for the Team,” Reid stated. The four members included Tech Sgt. Frank Hall (who was the SF Command SWNCO at the time), Staff Sgt. Johnny Reid, Sgt. Owen Somers and Airman 1st Class Jerry Owen. “Frank and I were adamant that we wanted guys with SOWT experience as primary augmentees because we knew there were guys out there in 5th Weather Squadron,” Reid commented.
Frank Hall in his bunk
5th Weather Squadron tasked SOWT Veterans Staff Sgt. Rob Patterson and Staff Sgt. Bill Malcomb. Staff Sgt. Patterson had experience with the 1st SF Group SOWT. Staff Sgt. Malcomb was also and experienced SOWT and had done his time at Hurlburt Field. “As I recall, Rob came to us from Fort Lewis and Bill came to us from Fort Polk,” Reid mentioned.
Airman 1st Class Aaron Otte recently graduated from Basic Airborne Course and was assigned at Fort Rucker awaiting an assignment to Fort Bragg. 2nd Lt Steve Rose graduated from Basic Airborne Course when he was a ROTC cadet and was providing Army Support at Fort Ord prior to being reassigned. “Rounding out our All-Augmentee SOWT was Staff Sgt. Garth McCulloch. He was the only non-jumper on the Team, who was a highly experienced forecaster doing Army Support at Fort Rucker,” Reid commented.
Stefan Padillo (left), Travis Longmire (center), Johnny Reid (right) outside the 5th SFG(A) SOWT tent (January 1999)
Once all personnel were present at Fort Bragg, the Team’s focus shifted to training all personnel on the tactical and meteorological equipment necessary to effectively operate in the combat environment and other activities designed to increase the ability to effectively work together.
“One of the things Frank and I talked about was “Team-Building” with all these new guys who had been thrown together and who would shortly be deployed,” said Reid. Some of the members were on jump status and some were not. Tech Sgt. Hall and Staff Sgt Reid still wanted to put the entire team in berets. “We had a shortage of beret crests at the time and were in one of our wacky beret device transition periods, so Frank and I had been wearing the beret flashes and crests of our supported units [SF Command and 3rd SFG(A)], respectively,” Reid added.
3rd SFG(A) crest and flash on the Weather Parachutist Beret
When the entire SOWT arrived, they held a ceremony to award the Grey Beret to the members who hadn't previously earned it (2nd Lt Rose and Airman 1st Class Otte) and also to "award" the 3rd SFG(A) Crest and Flash to the whole Team minus Staff Sgt. McCulloch, as he had not graduated Basic Airborne Course. “The first time we showed up for a pre-deployment event with the 3rd SFG(A) and they saw us wearing their flash & crest, they loved it. All we got was positive feedback all around,” Reid stated.
Upon arrival at King Fahd, the Team quickly set up operations and established secure HF communications with the existing weather net in theater. They were also able to assist the Special Operations Command Central’s Staff Weather Officer (SWO) to re-establish communications and effectively operate his radio and cryptological equipment, as he had received no training prior to his deployment.
Johnny Reid at King Khalid Military City visiting 5th SFG SOWT
Once the team deployed and was fully integrated into the mission, Staff Sgt. Malcomb and Staff Sgt. Reid were tasked to go as attachments on special reconnaissance (SR) missions with 3rd SFG(A) ODAs. “As far as I know, we were the only SOWT members tasked like this and I firmly believe it's because of the excellent working relationships we had built up with the 3rd SFG(A) over the past several months of pre-deployment training,” Reid explained.
Aaron Otte (left), Kuwaiti Paratrooper part of the Emir’s security team (center), Johnny Reid (right)
A few background notes from Sergeant Reid:
Staff Sgt. Reid had attended US Army SERE school with the 1st Battalion, 3rd SFG(A) S3 Maj. Ron Newton in March of 1989 when he was a Captain and Staff Sgt. Reid was on his way to a PCS assignment to Panama. “At one point during the RTL he was the SRO and being severely stressed. I diverted the cadre's attention to me and took some of the heat off him. After the course, he told me he'd never forget that,” stated Reid.
French Paratrooper (left), Johnny Reid (center), Owen Somers (right) on an Iraqi tank
When Staff Sgt. Reid arrived to support 3/5 SFG(A) after JUST CAUSE, Maj. Newton was the Charlie Company Commander and wanted Staff Sgt. Reid to do everything with his company. “We were heavily involved in planning for a trip to Zaire when DESERT SHIELD kicked off and had an excellent working relationship with each other and he was a great officer. He was one of those officers you’d gladly follow anywhere,” explained Reid.
Aaron Otte
Shortly after, Maj. Newton became the S3 for 3/5 SFG(A) and kept Staff Sgt. Reid close at hand the entire time they were deployed. “I believe this is why we received a lot of support and also why we were tasked for these SR missions. Just another example of our guys building personal relationships that ended up impacting the mission,” Reid said.
Johnny Reid (left), Kuwaiti Paratrooper (center), Kuwaiti Air Force Airman (right)
During pre-deployment training in November 1990 at JRTC on Fort Chaffee Sergeant Reid explains:
One of the teams was in isolation getting their pre-launch final brief from Staff Sgt. Malcomb. “This was back in the time when the standard was to move from one significant geographical feature away from a hide site to make comm shots,” explained Reid. Staff Sgt. Malcomb briefed them not to leave their hide site between certain hours, and the Team Leader skeptically asked, "OK, Weather Guy - Why?" Staff Sgt. Malcomb then proceeded to tell them that this was his forecasted time for dew formation; based on saturation of the air and that since it was November, if they left their hide site during those times they would disturb the dew and when it turned to frost in the morning, anyone would be able to track them right back to their hide site. “Man-O-Man, you could see the light bulbs light up above the heads of everyone on that ODA and the Team Leader said: "All right, Air Force - That's valuable information - Thanks very much!" I love that story because it's a great example of how a guy who's been there and done that is the best guy to support a special operations mission like this,” stated Reid.
He explains that this is a perfect example why a weather forecaster should receive tactical training. The forecaster can then understand and tie in the “So What” in their forecast.
Johnny Reid (center) and Jerry Owen (right) with Egyptian and Senegalese paratroopers at the Kuwait Airport when the Emir returned
~ Back to the SR Mission Story ~
The following 5th Weather Squadron personnel were members of the 3rd SFG(A) SOWT: 2nd Lt Steve Rose, Tech Sgt. Frank Hall, Staff Sgt. Bill Malcomb, Staff Sgt. Rob Patterson, Staff Sgt. Garth McCulloch, Airman 1st Class Aaron Otte, Staff Sgt. Johnny Reid, Sgt. Owen Somers, and Airman 1st Class Jerry Owen.
The initial plan was to insert a 4-man element (18F, 18B, 18C, 18D, 18E - Potentially an officer as well) each from two Teams (ODAs 332 & 333). The two planned SR sites were along the planned route of the armor forces. The understanding was that the 4-man element would provide intel to the armor forces and then link up when the position was overrun. Each team initially had 1 Armor Officer, 1 SOWT, and 1 Chemical Recon NCO attached. Staff Sgt. Malcomb and Staff Sgt. Reid were picked for this mission because they were both combat veterans. Staff Sgt. Malcomb was a British Commando in the Falklands and Staff Sgt. Reid was a SOWT in Panama. Both had formal survival/resistance training and advanced infiltration skills (Staff Sgt. Malcomb as a combat diver, Staff Sgt. Reid as a military freefall parachutist).
Bill Malcomb while serving with the 75th Ranger Regiment SOWT in 1997 / Johnny Reid while on a military freefall operation in 2000
Staff Sgt. Malcomb was in isolation training with ODA 333 for about a week, and Staff Sgt. Reid was waiting for a replacement to cover down on 1st Battalion before he went into isolation. “This was because we couldn't pull any of the guys from the Group SOWT to cover down on the Battalion, because the SOWT as a whole was undermanned as it was,” explained Reid.
Steve Rose looking for souvenirs
In the meantime, a soil sampling mission was done near the planned SR sites and as a result it was determined they needed to cut the size of the SR teams. This was because the area wasn't suitable for larger hide sites. They cut the SF guys down to 2 or 3, the Chemical Recon members remained due to the chemical warfare threat and they cut the Armor Officers and SOWTs. The SOWT members then trained the SF Teams in Forward Area Limited Observer Program (FALOP) and the SOWT received observations from them while they were behind enemy lines. “This was pretty significant for us,” indicated Reid.
During isolation, training of the 3rd SFG (A)’s Special Forces Operational Detachments Alpha (ODA) and Military Intelligence Special Operations Teams Alpha (SOT-A) began, using the Forward Area Limited Observing Program developed by the Team during pre-deployment operations at Fort Bragg. Once these ODAs and SOT-As were deployed on missions, the SOWT received periodic and exceptionally useful limited weather observations from inside Iraq.
Left to Right: Aaron Otte, Jerry Owen, Garth McCullough, Bill Malcomb at King Fahd Airport
The SFOB 30 SOWT (2nd Lt. Rose, Tech Sgt. Hall, Staff Sgt. Malcomb, Staff Sgt. Patterson, Staff Sgt. McCulloch, and Airman 1st Class Otte) was the first weather team on the ground in Kuwait and they sent out the first official weather observations. “They arguably had the best communications of the entire weather support force and most days they successfully transmitted observations via secure HF Radio 22 out of 24 hours,” explained Reid.
The FOB 31 SOWT NCOIC (Staff Sgt. Reid) was initially tasked to deploy on the air assault into Kuwait with the FOB staff and the rest of the FOB 31 SOWT (Sgt. Somers and Airman 1st Class Owen) deployed with the SFOB 30 SOWT via ground convoy. When resistance was virtually non-existent and the SFOB 30 ground convoy arrived before the FOB 31 air assault mission commenced, the available air assets were realigned from MH-53s to MH-60s and the size of the assault force was significantly reduced. Additionally, SFOB 30 and FOB 31 were collocated at the US Embassy and the operations tempo was tapering off. As a result, the FOB 31 SOWT personnel were tasked with augmenting Joint Special Operations Command personnel operating in Western Saudi Arabia for a short time, until those activities also decreased. For a short time during operations, some 3rd SFG (A) SOWT personnel also augmented the conventional weather support force Detachment at Kuwait International Airport, before returning to the Team.
Kuwait City
In recognition of their contributions to the 3rd SFG (A) mission, members of the SOWT were given the honor of participating in the historically significant flag raising ceremony at the US Embassy in Kuwait.
TSgt Frank J. Hall, SSgt Robert D. Patterson, SSgt Garth A. McCulloch, and A1C Aaron W. Otte participated in flag raising ceremonies at the American Embassy in Kuwait. Along with three Army personnel they lowered the embassy flag that had flown over the embassy since it was abandoned and raised a flag that had flown over the White House on 26 February (the day Kuwait was liberated). The new ambassador to Kuwait, Mr. Gnehm, and U.S. Senator D’Amatto of New York participated in the flag raising. (02 March 1991)
At the end of hostilities all members of the Team were reunited at King Fahd Airport, redeployed to Fort Bragg together and took part in the 3rd SFG (A)’s welcome ceremonies, before returning to their respective home stations.
As a result of their service during Operation DESERT STORM, all 3rd SFG (A) SOWT members were awarded both the Special Forces Shoulder Sleeve Insignia – Former Wartime Service and the US Army Commendation Medal.
3rd SFG(A) on the tarmac after returning home.
By their exceptional service as Special Operations Weathermen assigned to the 3rd SFG (A) during Operation DESERT STORM, the men of the 3rd SFG (A) SOWT directly contributed to the success of Air Force Special Operations Command’s Special Operations Weather Teams and paved the way for the success of the Grey Berets serving throughout the world today.
Staff Sgt. Reid’s Army Commendation Medal Citation from DESERT STORM