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Special Forces Association |
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About Us
Membership in the SFA is limited to active duty/ National Guard and former Special Forces qualified personnel, and to others who have contributed significantly to the missions and operations of Special Forces units throughout the years. Chapter I-XVIII operates the Team House on the Memorial Grounds at 4990 Doc Bennett Rd in Fayetteville, NC. The Chapter is headed by a Board of Officers consisting of a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, all of whom are elected for two year terms. One of the primary missions of the SFA and its Chapters is to promote and support the general welfare of the Special Forces community. The Chapter holds a monthly meeting at the Team House the Second Saturday of each Month beginning at 1330 hrs. SFA members, the SF Community and families are invited. See Calendar for meeting dates and other events. |
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Special Forces Association - Purpose The Special Forces Association was formed to: A. To unite fraternally all persons who are now or have been assigned to the United States Army Special Forces. B. To perpetuate the Special Forces traditions. C. To commemorate fittingly the memory of Special Forces troops who have given or shall give their lives in defense of the Free World. D. To educate its members and the citizens of the United States in the proper development of Special Forces and to keep them abreast of new developments in the field of Special Forces as is consistent with Security regulations. E. To assist in keeping Special Forces units adequate and powerful for the defense of the United States and the Free World by supporting the establishment of Special Forces in an appropriate relationship with the rest of the Army. F. To encourage every member of the Association toward a closer personal relationship and a friendly spirit of cooperation. G. To forward and promote the general welfare and prosperity of the members and to improve by all lawful means their status and conditions. H. To be a source of inspiration and esprit de Corps for all Special Forces Units. |
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Special Forces Decade Club (SF Decade Association) Special Forces Association History
In May 1964, SGM Mateo and a group of NCOs began a plan to form an organization for Special Forces members. SGM Mateo and MSGT Montgomery took the lead and along with then Capt Sully De Fountaine presented the idea to 5th SFG Commander Colonel Roye whom concurred and authorized them to go to the 18th ABN Corps for final approval. During discuss numerous ideas surfaced as to how to run the organization. Except for Sully all were all NCOs; they insisted that 10 years in SF assignment should be the base for membership. Other qualifications were presented and accepted: OSS; 8240; White Star. Discussion about how we would call each other. Sully proposed that we call each other by rank, (British influence!); Mateo just said "NO WAY!” We were about 20 of us at that meeting. If credit has to be given to anyone individual for the formation of this organization, it should go first of all to "Doc" Montgomery. He succeeded to get the first By-Laws written and accepted by 18th ABN Corps. At the clubs second meeting, about 40 of SF’ers got together. The name "Decade" was introduced and accepted we were to be known as the "US Special Forces Decade Club ". (Again British influence... “Special Forces Club" London UK). Discussion went into what numbers should be given to individuals. Member # 1 was offered to Sully but he requested he be assigned number #7 believing others were more deserving of the lower numbers and recommended #1 to #6 include Herbert Brucker; John Striegel; Pete Walkonski; Louis Conein; Sam Amoto. The members at this meeting selected numbers 8 and above leaving numbers 1-6 unassigned. Some of the NCO’s at the first two meetings were Mateo; Montgomery; Seyer; Yosich; Linchoten; Zaiden; Licon; Vukovich; Nolte; Shevchenko ; Manuel; Hoskins; Bizaillon; Borkowski; Dean; Fafek; Ruddy; Davis; Grant ;Mancuso; Duffield; England; and Waugh. In August 1964, "SF Decade Association issued "certificates dated August 15, 1964, signed by Daniel Weddington, Secretary. The certificates reflected a change in name. Due to repeated deployments and the War the Association wavered in its early years and in 1965 Herb Brucker had returned to Bragg to retired and accepted the task of getting the Association moving again (He had served in the SOE/OSS from 1943 to 1945; 10th SF 1952 to 1957; UW department 1957 to 1960; and White Star 1960-1962). That is when the Association, for all purposes, started to be a viable organization. Herb and his wife Lilo started a monthly newsletter “Letters from Mother Goose” and put all their effort to the benefit of the Decade Club. Lilo single handedly typed all the letters and mailed it to the members and this at least until 1972. A lot is owed to the late Herb and his late wife Lilo. They put their talent and their perseverance into starting the Drop, which is now a revered publication. Herb started the BBC section of the Drop based on the WW II communication system that the British Broadcasting Corporation established to communication with the underground in occupied countries. It later on became the "Bugged Bami Ba" beer can for RVN sake. In 1971 the membership voted to change the name from the “SF Decade Association” to the “Special Forces Association”. The Association incorporated in the same year and applied for and received charitable non-profit status as a 501(c)(19) veteran service organization. At this time to be a member of the Special Forces Association you had to be Special Forces qualified. Those with ten years or more were given decade status and less than ten years associate membership. In 1974 a membership status for soldier serving in support of Special Forces but not Special Forces qualified was established to recognized non-SF contributions to Special Forces. Over the next forty-plus years the Association grew to over 9,000 members and continues to grow today establishing eighty-six (86) Association Chapters worldwide. Annual the Special Forces Association and its Chapter provides assistance/support to the Special Forces Community, supporting the soldiers and families of Special Forces units; award annual scholarships both at the National and Chapter levels; promote camaraderie within the Force and act as the voice of Special Forces. These activities are supported by member and public donations. Please consider making a donation and support our charitable activities. All donations are used to support our many charitable activities. Make a donation…mail to: treasurer@sfa1-18.org
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For Information About Joining The Special Forces Association
Contact : Secretary@sfa1-18.org To Print an Application click on the Documents below: |