Long term former Detachment”A” member Tom Neuhaus passed away Friday, 13 October 2017 after a long illness.
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The Man Who Brought Detachment “A” In From The Cold
Detachment “A” member Tom Twomey had the only website information back in the 1980s. He was an original organizer of the Detachment “A” functions which coincided with the Fayetteville NC Special Forces reunions.
Tom was no longer able to maintain his web site, it was to be inactivated. He asked Bob Charest if he would take over and create a website for Detachment “A”. It was a weekend, when Tom’s website was deactivated.
Bob realized that this spark was about to be extinguished forever, so he decided to take on this responsibility and created a new website, that very weekend in order to keep the history of Detachment(A) exposed. It was basic, but it was a start.
It was also at a time when Bob realized that Detachment (A)’s history was fading away into the historical dust bin, that he started an effort to bring Detachment(A) in from the cold. With this most important goal at stake, and with the knowledge of how important this unit and its members were to the Special Forces history he began an endeavor that took years of hard work and dedication to accomplish the one goal in his mind: to bring Detachment(A) in from the cold; to finally bring about the recognition that was so richly deserved to the Detachment(A) unit and its members. He could not let this unit fade away.
Bob Charest, an eight-year veteran of Detachment(A) 1969-1972 and 1973-1978, launched this endeavor as an independent look into the Military History of Detachment(A), 39th Special Forces, Berlin 1956-1984.
He began by organizing Detachment(A) functions – Detachment”A” members were scattered all over the world. They started out very small but grew each year and have become very successful.
He then created a new Detachment(A) web site and domain, dedicated exclusively to Detachment(A). In conjunction with this, he wrote and published the article “A Thumbnail Look at Detachment(A) Berlin Brigade in January 2012. Then things just took off. He continued organizing and hosting Detachment(A) functions with increased numbers and success.
The Thumbnail Look at Detachment(A) Berlin Brigade was circulating for some time, and the Special Forces Association(SFA) got hold of it and published the article on their website Home – Special Forces Association in the 2013 Winter edition of the Drop Magazine.
Bob also worked with the SFA and was able to obtain a section dedicated to Detachment(A) in the Drop Magazine.
The Detachment(A) functions continued to grow with members getting together to share stories about serving in Detachment(A). These functions were gatherings of the Detachment”A” folks, and the format and motto was simple: come as you are, pay as you go, BYOB and no agendas, no frills, and no politics. Jeff Raker told him never change this format.
Bob organized several projects to continue to bring Detachment(A) in from the cold which were all team efforts including representation of Det-A in the JFK Museum, collecting Det-A artifacts, and managing the project that brought Jimmy Spoo’s Memorial Stone idea to fruition.
Bob made the Memorial Stone project a team effort which allowed all Detachment(A) members to contribute to the Memorial Stone, which they generously did. He coordinated with SFA to manage the contributions. The project was fast and furious, collecting all the money that was needed and then some. All monies over the necessary funds were donated to the Green Beret Foundation.
He also worked with USASOC and General Shachnow on ceremony activities including speakers, guests, press and many other ceremony details. He also ensured that special recognition was attributed to Major Hermann Adler who was unable to attend.
The Detachment (A) Memorial Stone Dedication Ceremony was hosted by LTG Charles Cleveland, Commanding General for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) on 30 January 2014.
The Memorial Stone ceremony was covered by the local copy press and was also televised. It was a major success and a real team effort.
Bob then continued his efforts and wrote another article for the VFW Magazine entitled: “In the Eye of the Cold War Hurricane, Detachment A Berlin Brigade” which was published in the November/December 2014 issue.
It was at one of the Detachment(A) functions that James “Styk” Stejskal indicated that he would like to write a book about Berlin Special Forces.
In the meantime, to keep the momentum going with the goal to bring Detachment(A) in from the cold, Bob worked with WeAreTheMighty.com and published the article: This top secret Green Beret unit quietly won the Cold War. The article was published on 1 February 2015.
Another article was then published by WeAreTheMighty.com which featured Detachment(A): The 6 most-secret units in military history which was published on 14 June 2015 followed up with a video The 6 most-secret units in military history
Bob also worked with two highly established authors and writers who wanted to write books about Detachment(A). These two projects were put on hold because fellow Detachment(A) member James Stejskal’s book was still in progress and Bob did not want to interfere with his efforts until his book was published.
Bob continued his efforts and worked with SOFREP’s reporter Jack Murphy from SOFREP.com who published a short article about Detachment(A) entitled: Detachment A: the Cold War Sabotage Experts of Special Forces published on 27 April 2016.
Jack was a guest at the September 2016 Det-A function. He interviewed Detachment(A) members for a follow-up article which was published on SOFREP.com in a 4-part series dated from 07 February 2017 – 10 February 2017:
Detachment A: Clandestine Special Forces Missions from Berlin to Iran
Part 1: Detachment A: Clandestine Special Forces missions in post Hitler’s Berlin published 6 Feb 2017
Parr 2: Detachment A: Green Berets play cat and mouse with communist agents published 7 February 2017
Part 3: Detachment A: counter-terrorism and Operation Eagle Claw published 8 February 2017
Part 4: Detachment A: Final missions, the wall comes down, and the end of an era published 10 February 2017
Jack conducted in depth interviews with Det(A) members and the articles he published were outstanding. Jack has been instrumental in bringing to light Det(A)’s legacy to the public with his professional writings.
The full article is entitled: Detachment A: Clandestine Special Forces Missions from Berlin to Iran
All of these articles are posted on the Detachment(A) website.
Jim’s book entitled Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army’s Elite, 1956–1990 was published 17 February 2017.
Our function in Fayetteville NC in memory of Jeffrey Raker in June of 2017 featured a Detachment(A) formation at the Memorial Stone. This was probably the last formal formation of Detachment(A).
There was work performed for a project towards a biography of Detachment(A). Barry Duplantis and Chase Millsap collaborated on this project. There were interviews conducted at the function. The two teams of biographers as well as the military professionals worked together on this project. These efforts resulted in videos of some of our Detachment”A” members which are published on the Detachment(A) website. Barry Duplantis conducted video interviews with Detachment”A” members and Barry Duplantis along with Chase Millsap generated the Detachment”A” Intro video 1956-1984.
Next, Bob unexpectedly found out that many Detachment”A” members also served in the SOG unit so he published the Who’s Who in Detachment”A”/SOG on 7 Feb 2018.
WeAreTheMighty.com published another series of articles about Detachment”A”:
“The top-secret plan to cripple Berlin during a Soviet invasion“ authored by Logan Nye and published on 14 August 2018.
“Top-tier special operators of the Cold War worry about modern ‘soft skills’ “ authored by Logan Nye and published an article on 29 August 2018.
“A secret Cold War unit was the basis for today’s special operations” authored by Blake Stilwell and published an article dated 23 August 2018.
On 19 May 2019 after much work and review, Jack finalized his Detachment”A” publication entitled: Unredacted: Special Forces Detachment A—Cold War espionage and counterterrorism from Berlin to Iran.
The Who’s Who In Detachment”A”/SOG list was followed up with an article Bob Charest wrote on 5 Apr 2021 entitled Det-A and SOG which was published by SOA in their 1 May 2021 Newsletter.
Many of the articles have been updated over the years as well. Thanks to all the gifted contributors who worked with Bob to provide exceptional articles and other media-related information about Detachment”A”.
For many years, and at many functions, Jeff Raker has spoken about Bob Charest bringing Detachment-A in from the cold. At the September 2016 function, he honored Bob Charest by recognizing all the projects and efforts Bob has done for Detachment-A. He presented a thank you card signed by the Detachment(A) members and here is what he said:
“I am not modest in what I’m going to say right now. One reason we are all here; one reason Det-A, after all those years Detachment-A got put on the map. One reason there’s a marker at headquarters, with Detachment-A on it, is because one individual, he did have some help, but one individual went all out and made sure we didn’t die. That individual is here, and because of that individual, we are all here. And Bob if you will be so kind and stand up – with this card that we all signed thanking you for keeping us together, thanks Bob.”
For Bob, this was the ultimate honor, one he will never forget, from Detachment(A) members and from one of the best Special Forces soldiers he has ever served with, and a very special friend.
Another Special Forces legend Major General James Guest also recognized Bob’s efforts with this message when recognizing a new chapter being formed in the Upstate South Carolina.
It is great that Upstate South Carolina will have a Special Forces Chapter to preserve the legacy of the Special Forces and the Special Forces Soldiers. They prove the truth of the old adage that out of a 100 soldiers, 80 are just there, 10 insure the mission is done, 1 leads the 10 in doing it. I believe that the SF are all in the ranks of the 10 who will get the job done regardless of what it takes. Bob Charest represents the 1. He rescued the Legacy of the Berlin Detachment from the dustbin of forgotten history and added it to a place in the Legacy of Special Forces to its rightful place of Honor in the Special Forces Regiment.
The SF Soldiers will keep the Legacy always. MG Jim Guest
This goes without saying that coming from MG Jim Guest, a very special honor.
There are now countless articles and videos about Detachment”A”. Detachment”A”, its rich legacy within the Special Forces community, is now in the history books and it all started with one man, Bob Charest who saw the legacy of Detachment”A” fading away; its history forgotten; Bob set in motion the recording of the Detachment”A” history and legacy. He has worked tirelessly: organizing and hosting Detachment”A” gatherings, establishing a history related Detachment”A” website, the inaugural overview article entitled A Thumbnail Look at Detachment(A) Berlin Brigade in January 2012 and engaging and coordination with numerous organizations, individuals and projects to get the Detachment”A” history and legacy recorded.
The best commander 410th SFD (aka PSSE-B) ever had… 1986-1988
Detachment “A” OPlan “Strangle”
Our biographers Barry Duplantis and Mark Valley were searching the freedom of information act data base have come up with a copy of DET A OPLAN “Strangle”. The documents came to light though James’s research as detailed in his book, SF Berlin.
Secrets of a Special Forces unit operating in Cold War-Berlin
This article was published in the Fayetteville Observer authored by Drew Brooks.
Dressed in civilian clothes with long hair, the men looked like any other on the streets of East Berlin.
Their German accents didn’t give away their true identities as American Special Forces soldiers, part of a clandestine military unit operating during the Cold War.
Berlin, a divided city located 100 miles behind the Iron Curtain, was a focal point in the tensions that developed between NATO forces and the Soviet Union after World War II.
With a literal line drawn between the forces – American troops and their allies in West Berlin and Soviet troops and their supporters in East Berlin – the city became the “Grand Central Station of East-West espionage” and a “playground for all sorts of secret agents,” according to Bob Charest, a retired Army master sergeant and former Green Beret.
2018 Detachment “A”/PSSE Special Forces Berlin Function Asheville NC
Folks,
Despite the adverse weather conditions, we had a big crowd and plenty of beer. Wives brought cakes and snacks, and everyone donated big time to keep the bar well stocked.
PSSE member Mike “Ike” Ivosovic gave a large donation for beer. Styk and Doug Snow bought and tapped a keg along with six others.
On Sunday there was still a well-stocked bar. According to Kevin Monahan, it was donated to the local SFA chapter 17 rather than leaving it behind.
A good time was had by all at this Special Forces Berlin function.
Many thanks to all of you who attended.
Bob Charest Host/POC
Det(A) 2017 Photo Op – Special Moments – MG Sidney Shachnow and Gerald “Paco” Fontana
At the Detachment(A) 2017 Photo Op old friends meet. Former DET(A) members Gerald “Paco” Fontana and MG Sidney Shachnow(Ret) and share a special moment.
MG Shachnow was the former Commander of Detachment(A) and Guest Speaker at our Detachment(A) June 2017 function held at Fort Bragg NC in memory of Det(A)CSM Jeffrey Raker.
Seal Team 2 Urban Ops Training
Gil Turcotte Detachment “A” Plaque Donation
Background
Earlier this year, Gil called Bob Charest and discussed a concept and idea he had for making of a Detachment “A” plaque. Bob said ‘go for it’. Gil came up with the concept and design, hired a woodcarver to construct the plaque, and funded it. Gil put a lot of thought, time and effort into this plaque.
Gil wanted an ‘eagle’ cane for Detachment ”A”. Eagle Canes are a tradition in many states. Woodcarvers/artists hand craft each custom cane and donate it to the veteran; in support of our veterans. Maine shares in this tradition and Gil hired George and Donna Gunning, of Windsor ME. They carve each eagle cane individually to specifications and donate it to any veteran who has honorably served, no matter how long they served.
Gil wanted the eagle cane to be focal point feature of the plaque.
The woodcarvers did their research about Detachment “A”. They read the articles posted on our web site and as they learned more about Detachment “A” they became very enthusiastic about the unit and the project.
The overall plaque design consisted of: the eagle cane mounted on the plaque, Detachment A” items, US Army items and a large area for Detachment “A” members to sign their name and dates they served in Detachment ”A”.
Gil collected all the items he wanted on the plaque then created a mock-up where each item would appear on the plaque. The entire project took about 4 months. There was a lot of collaboration and iterations – Gil was very particular on what he wanted.
Gil’s Detachment “A” Plaque Description
The actual wooden plaque is 4 feet long and 2 feet high. It weighs 40 pounds. It will be positioned at a 20 degree angle for proper viewing. Gil described each component of the plaque as follows:
The most distinguishing feature of this artifact is the Eagle Cane. The cane has an intricate Bald Eagle’s Head carved and painted into the handle representing the national symbol of freedom and independence. The shaft of the cane consists of the American Flag, the Army Branch of Service emblem, a burned etching of “Detachment ”A” with dates of existence 1956-1984, and the Berlin Occupation Medal.
On the left side there is a burned-in wooden block etched with MG Sidney Shachnow’s name, as he is the best known Commander of Detachment “A”. In the center there is another larger burned-in wooden block containing the Special Forces Crest, SF Shoulder Patch, American and German Wings, and two Detachment “A” coins one coin for the Head and one for the Tails which were Gil’s own coins. The head consisting of a parachute, represents the infiltration into Berlin by Detachment “A” members led by MG Sidney Shachnow(Ret). The tail consisting of a broken wall represents the exfiltration of Detachment “A” out of Berlin as LTC Piasecki(Ret) was the officer in charge of the final 10 days to clear out, sanitize and clean the station. On the right side of plaque there is another burned -in wooden block etched with LTC Eugene Piasecki’s name.
The far right side of the plaque contains the Taps List with those departed members of Detachment “A”. It is positioned under base of the cane. Gil expressed its significance to be that whenever the base of a cane touches the ground it serves as a reminder of our honored comrades and brothers who are no longer with us, and to honor them and never forget them.
The original taps list was sent out for reformatting and printing. It was originally printed on plain white paper. The owner wanted to know about the ‘Taps List’. When Gil explained it to her she ordered it to be re-printed on parchment and refused to accept any payment.
On the back of the plaque Gil wrote: “Donated by Gil Turcotte, SGM(Ret) 2017”.
The rest of the plaque is reserved for Detachment “A” member signatures and certain dignitaries. Each member signs their name along with time served in Detachment “A”.
Detachment “A” Plaque Signing
Gil arrived on Wednesday to the 2017 Detachment “A” function in honor of Jeff Raker with the plaque.
Gil designated that the first signature and the location of the signature at the top of the bald eagle’s head be reserved for Bob Charest. Gil wanted Bob to have this distinction of being the first to sign because he ‘brought Detachment “A” in from the cold” and “made it prominent by bringing long due recognition for the unit”. Bob was honored as the first Detachment “A” member to sign the plaque at the head of the eagle.
Members present on Wednesday also signed the plaque including John Lee, Chris Feudo, Rick Westbrook, Steve Bright, Lee Fondas, and Eugene Piasecki who signed under the block containing his name.
On Thursday after MG Jim Guest’s speech, Gil had CSM Jeff Raker’s son Jeff to sign the plaque on his father’s behalf and in his honor.
Gill then caught up with our distinguished guest speaker MG James Guest’s(Ret) former Commanding General, United States Army Special Forces Command and obtained his signature.
Gil continued collecting signatures from all Detachment “A” members present at our function. He also signed for some members with their permission, who were unable to attend, including Daryl Katz, Peter Gould and Doug Curry.
On Friday, right before our ceremony, Gil got MG Sidney Shachnow(Ret) to sign the plaque under the block containing his name.
Our June 2017 function in honor of Jeff Raker, included the presentation of the plaque. At the conclusion of our ceremony after MG Shachnow’s speech, Bob Charest called on Gil Turcotte who then presented the plaque to MG Sidney Shachnow(Ret) who then donated it to the JFK Museum on behalf of Detachment “A”.
About the Cane Woodcarvers
At the far right bottom corner of the plaque contains the woodcarver’s names George and Donna Gunning, Windsor ME, 2017. They did not want to put their logo because they thought it might detract from the plaque but Gil convinced them to place it on the plaque. They have produced 3,800 canes for Maine veterans at no cost to the veterans. Donations are accepted to keep the tradition going. Gil presented them with an autographed copy of Styk’s book Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army’s Elite, 1956–1990 as a gift, along with a donation for their work.
Detachment(A) Display at JFK Museum
At the 2004 SFA Convention in Las Vegas, Bob Charest developed an awareness that Detachment ”A” seemed to be fading into the shadows of history.
After previously visiting the JFK museum, he noticed that there was no Detachment “A” representation there and thought it would be a great first step into bringing Detachment ”A” back from its disintegrating and forgotten history. Bob had a conversation with Roxanne Merritt the Director of the FJK Special Warfare Museum about creating a Detachment “A” exhibit at the JFK museum. He did not want Detachment ”A” to completely fade away, and since this seemed to be a place to start, he asked Roxanne if this would be feasible and she agreed informing him that artifacts needed to be collected for the exhibit, and she would design and plan the exhibit display.
During the intervening years, Bob started hosting small DET-A Get together’ s, and Detachment ”A” interest reemerged and started to grow and grow.
In 2010, Bob initiated a project with the mission statement: Detachment (A) JFK Museum Representation. With the help of all Detachment “A” members, and Roxanne Merrit, he believed it could happen. He called upon Detachment”A” members to donate artifacts to the museum for the exhibit, and he got an exceptional response. Detachment”A” artifacts started arriving the JFK Museum.
In May 2011, at the Detachment “A” Asheville NC Get Together, Bob invited Roxanne Merritt to the function to provide an update on the exhibit. Many DET-A Members brought their artifacts with them to hand over to Roxanne. The mission statement prepared by Hilmar Kullek would be used as our focal point. Harvey Cox produced an 18×18 professional replica of the condensed Mission Statement. Some of the Det(A) Artifacts pledged:
- MG Sid Shachnow (Ret): Telephone from Check Point Charlie
- Kevin Monahan: Three plaques from the DET(A) trophy case
- Bob Charest: DET(A) Gold Coin
- Wayne Searcy: RS4 radio
- Jack Fulp: Trophy from the 1st Para Red Devils Airborne, and a Det A Beer Mug
- Harvey Cox: Donated his art business services and materials to produce an 18×18 professional replica of the condensed Mission Statement by Hilmar Kullek seen on the DET(A) web site
- Frank Gallardo: 13” Cloak & Dagger wood statue
- Bruno von Haas: East German Flag that flew over the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin given to Bruno by friend and Berlin Chief of Police in 1989 when the wall went down
- Mike Linnane: Special Forces DET(A) patch.
- Larry Coleman: DVD with pictures of DET(A)
- Hilmar H. Kullek: Wooden Maneuver Display – Flintlock 1972, Beer Mug – Kampfschwimmerkompanie Eckernfoerde, Beer Mug – 1956 – 1984 CKB
- Doug Snow: Berlin Perimeter sign
Along with many other donated items.
Roxanne Merritt was instrumental in the establishment of the Detachment “A” exhibit as were all Detachment “A” members.
Detachment “A” now has a small Detachment “A” Berlin exhibit within the SF Historical displays.