MEYER: Special ops paying a heavy toll

OFF THE WIRE
 By J. STRYKER MEYER
With such a large Marine Corps presence in North County, both at Camp Pendleton and Miramar Air Station, there's almost daily media coverage of the horrific price paid by Marines and Navy corpsmen fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, including those killed in action and wounded in action since Sept. 11, 2001.
The movie "Act of Valor" (featuring active-duty Navy SEALs) recently shed light on another aspect of the grueling toll that Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom have taken on the clandestine world of America special operations service members: SEALs, Army Green Berets, Marine MARSOC and Air Force Pararescue personnel.
In the world of special operations, the norm for a successful operation is no public adulation or recognition: The spec ops men settle for the satisfaction of a job well done.
A year ago, Navy SEALs found themselves in the uncomfortable glare of public celebration upon the bold and successful raid into Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden and dumped his remains at sea to take away the specter of martyrdom for America's dreaded enemy.
However, there is a price that Americans pay for successful spec ops missions, a price that isn't advertised or highly publicized.
For example, at the end of "Act of Valor," there is a moving, silent tribute to the 57 Navy SEALs killed in action since 9/11: Instead of naming the SEALs who starred in the movie, the scroll named the SEALs killed in action. It was one more class act by a unique group of warriors.
On April 5, in North Carolina, another tribute was held during a formal banquet at the end of Special Forces Regimental Day ---- an event celebrating the formation of the Green Beret regiment 25 years ago.
During the banquet, Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland Jr., the commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, called for a moment of silence to honor the more than 270 Green Berets who have been killed in action since 9/11.
Needless to say, the combined number of Green Berets and SEALs killed since 9/11 is a reflection on how deadly this war has been for the elite warriors.
Many citizens today don't realize that within Special Forces, the basic operational unit is an A Team, consisting of 12 Green Berets. These men train in their individual military jobs and learn a foreign language before completing their training as a team and receiving their distinctive head gear. In some cases, because of the extensive level of training and cross-training, some of those men will work for two years before they are assigned to an A Team.
Sadly, there is one more trend that the spec ops community shares with today's conventional forces: Wounded personnel recovering from injuries ---- physical and mental ---- often find themselves confronted with costs and medical bills that are not covered by present health care systems.
For that reason, Orange County resident Aaron Anderson ---- a Green Beret who has had 24 surgeries on his right leg since being wounded in Afghanistan in 2006 ---- formed the Green Beret Foundation in 2009 to help the wounded-in-action Special Forces soldiers pay for unmet needs.
Anderson, the GBF CEO, knows from personal experience, and from working with other wounded soldiers, about unmet needs and hidden costs.
Since 9/11, more than 950 Green Berets have been wounded in action, according to Brig. Gen. Edward M. Reeder Jr., the U.S. Army Special Forces Commanding General at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Both Reeder and Mulholland have endorsed the Green Beret Foundation's mission to help today's Special Forces wounded. Last summer, at the foundation's first gala fundraiser in San Antonio, Reeder spoke of the horrific wounds and dismemberment incurred by some Green Berets, wounds inflicted by the weapon of choice used by terrorists today, the improvised explosive device.
"As one of the premier weapons in the war on terror, our Special Operations personnel will continue to be decisively engaged for years to come," said Anderson.
"This small community of elite service members has paid a heavy toll, and organizations like the Green Beret Foundation stand by to help assist in caring for these brave folks and their families."
The SEALs have had an established foundation to assist their wounded sailors.
And on May 11, MARSOC will host an open house on Camp Las Flores, at the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion on Camp Pendleton. Later there will be a foundation commissioning ceremony in Carlsbad for the MARSOC Foundation.
Thus, as Anderson said, the spec ops community "has paid a heavy toll," and fortunately each community has men and women responding to help the wounded and their families cope with the human cost of modern warfare.
The Special Operations Warrior Foundation in Florida has provided assistance to the families of spec ops men killed in action, which is a separate level of support derived from donations and fundraising that provides full college scholarships to all of the children of special operators killed in the line of duty as well as support to the families of KIAs.