Why join the Grey Beret Association?
It is a fair question, and one we haven't directly addressed—until now.
The Grey Beret Association is a small organization serving a small community. Today, we remain entirely volunteer-driven and have approximately 145 paid members (there are more of you "Non-Members" in our mailing list, and nearly 400 in our FB Private Group!).
Unlike larger military associations with thousands of members, paid staffs, and substantial financial resources, the Grey Beret Association is built by volunteers who believe our history, mission, community, and legacy are worth preserving.
For many years, we have focused on preserving and documenting the history of Airborne and Special Operations Weather personnel, maintaining connections across generations of Grey Berets, supporting reunions and link-ups, and building a lasting repository of interviews, photographs, documents, research, and firsthand accounts that might otherwise have been lost forever.
The same focus exists today.
The history we are preserving is not limited to World War II, Laos, or the Cold War. It includes the experiences and contributions of today's Grey Berets as well.
Today's operators are tomorrow's history.
The history we preserve tomorrow depends on the people who choose to preserve it today.
History is often lost not through malice, but through absence.
The public record of Grey Beret history is often incomplete, oversimplified, or simply incorrect.
Preserving and documenting our own history helps ensure that future generations inherit facts instead of mythology.
If we don't tell our own story, someone else will.
In some instances, that has already happened. Portions of our history have been lost, misunderstood, or inaccurately documented, making the need for accurate historical preservation more important than ever.
But the Grey Beret Association is also more than a historical organization. It is a community.
Through reunions, mentorship, professional connections, Hall of Fame recognition, research, and relationships that span generations, we help preserve the people, experiences, and stories that give our history meaning.
Our community is unique. Many Grey Berets spent portions of their careers moving between Airborne, Special Operations, and conventional weather assignments. As a result, the Grey Beret experience was never completely uniform, and long-term connections are not always automatic.
That is one of the reasons the Association exists.
To preserve the history.
To preserve the connections.
To preserve the legacy.
The journey was different for each of us.
The legacy belongs to all of us.
If you have been considering joining, we invite you to become part of preserving the history, mission, community, and legacy of the Grey Berets.
The journey was different for each of us.
The legacy belongs to all of us.
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RESPECT,
Grey Beret Association Board
The Grey Beret Association Official Email Account is accessed by the GBA Executive Board
GBA President: Will Barnwell
GBA Vice President: Logan English
GBA Secretary: Cory Barack
GBA Treasurer: Andy Strickler
GBA Founder & Web Administrator: Johnny Reid
GBA Historian: Charlie Harris
GBA Quartermaster: Charlie Hine