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Letter to the editor

Cheney honors 'quiet' heroes

The vice president awards several medals, assesses the war on terror and wraps up a military conference.

By PAUL DE LA GARZA and BRADY DENNIS
Published June 11, 2005

[Times photos: Chris Zuppa]

Vice President Dick Cheney walks with Gen. Bryan "Doug" Brown, left, and Gen. John Abizaid after arriving at MacDill Air Force Base on Friday. Cheney also visited the Tampa Convention Center, where he spoke about the global threat posed by terrorists.

	A crowd gathers to greet the vice president after his arrival at MacDill Air Force Base. He received briefings at SoCom and at MacDill-based Central Command, the nerve center of the war in Iraq.
	Vice President Dick Cheney pins a medal to the chest of Chief Boatswain's Mate Donald B. Stokes on Friday at MacDill Air Force Base.

TAMPA - The war on terror is like no other war, Vice President Dick Cheney said Friday.

The enemy is scattered in cells around the world. It is well-funded, well-trained and operates out of caves and other cheerless terrain that tests "the upper limits of human endurance."

Unlike during the Cold War, Cheney said, amassing large armies at the borders won't do.

What's needed are small, agile and lethal fighting units - such as the elite military commandos under the control of the U.S. Special Operations Command, or SoCom, based at MacDill Air Force Base.

On Friday, Cheney awarded medals of heroism at MacDill and wrapped up an international military conference at the Tampa Convention Center by heaping praise on the "quiet professionals."

"Every single day, SoCom confirms its reputation: It's a small command that produces big results for the United States of America," Cheney told more than 300 special operations forces from around the world at the convention center.

"Special ops have been vital to answering some of the fundamental challenges of this war - fighting the enemy on its own turf, supplying a model for transformation, not only for our military, but also for coalition partners."

Cheney closed International Special Operations Forces Week - sponsored by SoCom - by sketching the global threat posed by terrorists.

He said the greatest danger is that terrorist groups will acquire weapons of mass destruction, which would enable them to blackmail entire nations and kill hundreds of thousands of people.

"None of us wants to turn over the future of mankind to tiny groups of fanatics," Cheney said. "We must direct every resource necessary to defending the people we serve."

The vice president singled out special operations forces in the audience from Afghanistan and Iraq, and he spoke of the need for international cooperation in the war on terror.

But he reserved his highest praise for America's commandos, who, as a rule, are older than regular fighting units, undergo more rigorous training, speak different languages and study other cultures. They include the Green Berets and the Navy SEALS.

"In the Cold War, national security required massing large forces at borders and a year-after-year standoff," he said. "Today's security environment often requires small teams of men searching caves, going over mountain peaks and walking along narrow ledges in the pitch-black night.

"And for that kind of work," he said, "we turn to the silent professionals."

At every stage of the war on terror, Cheney said, special operations forces have undertaken "the most perilous, most technical, most time-sensitive and least visible missions."

Cheney noted that in Afghanistan and Iraq, U.S. commandos were the first "boots on the ground."

In Afghanistan, they built relationships with anti-Taliban forces, engaged enemy holdouts and marked targets for bombing.

"They also linked the technology of the 21st century with the transportation modes of the ancient world - riding horseback on wooden saddles, painting targets with lasers, and calling in precision airstrikes from hundreds of miles away," he said.

In Iraq, special operations forces worked with the Kurdish opposition in the north and took out Scud launchers in the west.

Other coalition teams secured oil fields, dams and bridges, and converted roads into airstrips. They also helped pave the way for the largest parachute drops since World War II.

In Iraq, special operations forces are working with the Iraqis in the search for insurgents.

"You are the ones who can go into unclear territory, become part of the environment, prepare battle spaces, learning languages, cultures, building relationships, picking up intelligence," Cheney said.

"Special operators hunt down, engage, kill and capture enemies. Yet they also set up hospitals, call in humanitarian aid and help villages become self-sufficient."

He characterized special operations forces as warriors, physicians, diplomats and engineers.

Earlier in the day, Cheney received briefings at SoCom and at MacDill-based Central Command, the nerve center of the war in Iraq.

He also awarded medals for heroism. He called the group the "tip of the spear" in the ongoing war on terror. He spoke the name of each of the five men on hand to receive medals, turning to them and saying, "Your country is very proud of you."

He pinned medals on each of them: the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Bronze Star.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Stephan Johns was awarded the Silver Star for his actions while serving in Afghanistan on May 30, 2004.

Officials said the helicopter carrying Johns, an airborne sniper, came under heavy fire and lost its communication equipment. They said Johns disregarded his own safety and launched a frontal assault on an enemy position.

"His precision marksmanship and courage resulted in nine confirmed enemy killed," reports stated, "and the recovery of various arms, mine and improvised explosive device materials."

Johns expects to head back to Iraq within the next week. "It's our job; we do it all the time," he said Friday. "We're always in harm's way."

[Last modified June 11, 2005, 00:26:12]