THE IMPORTANCE OF RAPPORT

Rapport. Merriam’s says rapport is “relation characterized by harmony, conformity, accord, or affinity.” I can’t even begin to describe the importance the ability to build rapport brings to the team. It is one of the most overused words when talking about Foreign Internal Defense (FID) or Special Forces, but so many times it is either not really understood, or completely ignored. Even though the word may be overused, there are not many who truly understand it or are capable of applying it in real-world situations.

The ability to build rapport is one of, if not the most important skill Special Forces brings to the table. This importance starts in Robin Sage. After the brutally long infil, you have to conduct a link-up with a couple of guerillas (Gs) sent to guide you to the vicinity of their base (G base). When you do finally get there, you won’t be allowed into the G base. You probably won't be allowed to even meet the G chief for a few hours, or maybe not even until the next day.

You set up your own patrol base near them, but you are not allowed to move into the camp until you have built rapport with the—specifically, the G chief. If something happens, or doesn't happen, the team will find that their newfound rapport has been burned, and you will be kicked out of the camp and have to start over. You'll start back at square one, working just to be allowed to move back into the camp.

Many of the scenarios are designed to test you on your ability to teach and lead foreign troops, but ethical questions will pop up, and your reactions will be judged by the instructors, the Gs, and the G chief. Often, these scenarios deal with human-rights violations, and you are judged both on how you handle the situations internally and what happens after.

These ethical scenarios are important for two reasons. First, if you have developed a good relationship with the Gs and have strong rapport, you may be able to  convince them not to perform an act—an important lesson. Second, instructors can see how you react, or how you deal with difficult situations. What did you do or say that would negatively affect your future relationship with the Gs, and most importantly, the mission?

My mission during Robin Sage was to secure and set up the drop zone (DZ) for a resupply operation. Two Gs and I went early in the morning to conduct reconnaissance on the DZ. Our job was to initially make sure it was clear, watch it throughout the day, then, at night, set it up and receive the bundles.

My guys were playing the part of the surly Gs perfectly. Initially, nothing came easy with them, and I had to use all my powers of persuasion to get them to do anything. As we were sitting on the edge of the clearing all day, bored out of our minds, something changed. They realized they liked me, and things became easier. They opened up, and eventually I even got them to break character. One of them worked at the hospital, and this was his fourth time doing Robin Sage. I was able to get some good info from him for the rest of the exercise.

Rapport, not just for foreign troops

I learned something incredibly important during that exercise: Rapport building is not only important for working with local nationals (LN), it can be used in pretty much every part of your life.

When I first got to Group, the command sergeant major told us, as part of his in-brief, that he wanted us to “practice your rapport skills with the conventional soldiers here on base.” He was kind of a turd (couldn’t wear our issued cold-weather gear or issued boots on main post, we could only wear it in the field or at a range), and I’m pretty sure he just said that so we wouldn’t piss off the conventional 1SGs or sergeant majors, but that line always stuck with me.

I started implementing it with the support guys (especially the commo section) and other sections, units, or individuals I came in contact with. Sometimes it was because I needed something from them, sometimes it was because I might need something from them in the future. Sometimes it was because I’m just a friendly person, and once or twice it was because she had big boobs.

The difference between building rapport and “just being a nice guy” is the motivation behind it. Often, those two will intersect nicely; other times, they will clash. When someone goes out with the intention of building rapport, it is usually because there is a reason. The reasons run the gamut from "I want them to follow me into a house where bad guys are," to "when I leave, I want them to have good thoughts when they think about America." You may need them to protect your life, or you may be asking them to risk theirs.

Just because this sounds very calculated, manipulative, and selfish, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. It usually is like that because it has to be. Just because it’s calculated doesn’t mean it’s not real or honest. There are many reasons someone chooses to help you, but when push comes to shove, and the shady shit starts to happen, the only reason they will help you is because they personally like you.

People can sense when they are being used, and often can sense how you really feel about them. If you walk around with a big ego, thinking you are better than everyone, it won’t take you far. I am still friends to this day with some of the commo guys. I started out knowing I would need their help someday, and I wanted to have a relationship with them. Just because there are calculations behind it doesn’t mean it has to be phony.

I believe rapport-building skills can and should be utilized in all walks of life. It is not just for the Special Forces soldier teaching basic rifle marksmanship in the Philippines, it can also be used when you are dealing with Afghani tribal elders, the colonel from the 101^st who owns the battle space you want to work in, your coworkers, or Bianca, the really hot chick who works at the coffee shop.

Loren's rules for building rapport

1. Understand their culture. This is so important. Without an understanding of the rules, how can you ever hope to play the game? The culture could be a multi-ethnic religious tribal understanding. You might be dealing with a conventional army unit whose senior leadership "hates those guys with beards." It could be office politics, understanding the unofficial hierarchy where you work, or wooing the cute girl in your building who looks great in yoga pants. You have to learn the rules, or you will blow your rapport before you even start.

2. The Golden Rule: Treat others like you want to be treated. Know that people around the world may be very different from you, but if you look hard enough, you will realize that there are similarities. All people want to be treated with respect and dignity, and feel that they are valued. They need to believe that they have something to offer, and be listened to.

This is probably the most important. This has to be real, or at least as real as you can possibly get. If someone is just a generally worthless human, with few redeeming qualities, try to find at least one little thing to focus on. People often know if someone is pretending or lying, so when you interact with them, think about the things they may do right, or a positive quality.

It’s not a time for egos or attitudes. If you go in with the “ugly American” attitude, not only are you headed for failure, but you could be developing an environment ripe for the enemy to use. By disenfranchising potential allies, you are giving the enemy the environment needed to co-opt your soldiers for intelligence purposes or for direct attacks. The Institute for the Study of War studied green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan from 2007-2012, and they suggest that:

There are two main narratives purporting to explain why green-on-blue attacks happen and why they are happening more frequently: grievances and infiltration. Grievance-based insider attacks occur because of cultural misunderstandings between foreign and Afghan troops, low morale, and revenge for perceived insults or provocations. Attacks caused by insurgent initiative are pre-planned violence organized by groups like the Quetta Shura Taliban or their Haqqani Network associates who have infiltrated the ANSF or influenced existing members to execute attacks.

3. In all your interactions, be genuine (or as genuine as you possibly can). This goes right along with rule number two. People intuitively know when you aren’t being real. They can sense when they are being used. Sometimes that’s okay. When you both have something the other wants, then that can be used. But understand the relationship will only last as long as it is mutually beneficial.

4. Find out their motivation. Even before the first time you meet them, you should be studying. Learn as much as you can about their culture and their society. Try to learn the rules. If you know people who have been there and know the different personalities, talk to them and ask them questions. From the first time you meet, you need to listen and assess what is said, learn to hear what wasn’t said, and try to understand them. Try and see what makes them tick. What is their motivation? What do they want or need? Don’t go in with your preconceived notions set in stone; everything must be fluid. Very often, the truth on the ground is different than what you originally thought.

5. Come up with a plan. During every interaction, more information or data will come to you. Learn to be able to see those little pieces, and understand what they are and what they mean. Some information may not be useful now, but it very well might come in handy in the future. Figure out what you want, what they want, and then try to come up with a plan where all parties win. This is not espionage or trying to get dirt on someone, this is attempting to build relationships with people where everyone benefits.

The best analogy to explain the difference between building rapport and building relationships for more sinister motivations such as espionage, is the act of trying to meet girls. Take, for example, those who are just trying to meet girls to get laid, have a one-night stand, and then bounce, versus those who are trying to meet a girl because they think they could have a real relationship with her. The latter would be what I consider rapport.

6. Be willing to invest time, money, or assets. For this relationship to be real, for it to be more than just both of you temporarily using each other, it takes time. It doesn't happen overnight; it takes time, energy, trust, and coming through with what you promised. Helping them without expecting anything back, eating dinner with them, drinking tea, participating with them through hard times and common struggles. When they know you are willing to put your money, time, energy, and body on the line for them, they will start to open up. That is when the important stuff happens.

I will finish this up with a couple of points.

• Never promise them something you are not 100 percent sure you can deliver on. If you say you can do or deliver something, be damn sure you can follow through.
• Never go more than 49-percent native. You may empathize, sympathize, and genuinely like the people you are working with. That’s good. That’s what you want. But in a military setting, never forget that you are an American, and a representative of America. It’s easy to get sucked in with those men you’ve sweated and bled alongside, but in the end, you do what you are told. In the civilian world, don’t give up so much of yourself that you forget who you truly are.

This video is textbook in what not to do when conducting FID and attempting to build rapport: How not to do FID.

Jade Helm 15: Debunking the Insanity

I apologize that I haven’t posted an article in a while. I got sucked into the seedy world of fringe media, extreme right-wing paranoia, militias, and the insanity of the Facebook conspiratorial crowd. If you would believe everything you saw on some of these Facebook pages, you would think that JH15 deals with martial law, gun confiscation, Obama staying in office past 2016, FEMA camps, chemtrails, Illuminati, the New World Order, the Bilderbergs, reptilians, aliens from the planet Draconia, and red/blue dots on mailboxes (which apparently have nothing to do with when or how often you receive a local paper; instead they designate which “list you are on." Blue is for roundup to be interned in FEMA death camps, and red is to be pulled out of your bed at 4 a.m. to be executed).

I wish I was exaggerating or embellishing even a little bit, but every single conspiracy I mentioned are ones that people talked about and are legitimately concerned about. 

Apparently logical thinking and rational thought are not used anymore, and it has been replaced by emotional fear mongering that plays to the lowest common denominator.

I have been attempting to educate people and give a rational counterpoint to the accepted narrative. In return, I have been called a spy, a shill for the government, a paid troll for the CIA, liar, brainwashed, and have been accused of stolen valor. I’ve met fake SEALs and militia members, encountered shady-ass profile pages, people who thrive on drama and fear, racists, the mentally unstable (my diagnosis), and just about every other category of crazy you can imagine.

I’ve also met the average American who doesn't know what’s going on and is searching for the truth. I've been able to influence and educate a number of people who were willing to research and look at both sides before coming to a conclusion. These people give me hope, and made it worthwhile. I want to give a quick shout out to Melissa, Mike, Steve, Amanda, TL, Charissa, Jan and Derrick just to name a few people who were willing to see the truth and not only change their own beliefs, but have since tried to pass it on. (It’s not a complete list and, to those I didn't name, thank you for standing up and being vocal.)

To the admins of the Facebook pages who tried to be impartial, Roy and Tiffany, I apologize for my Tourette-like outbursts against the truly crazy people who inundate those boards with their paranoia and pet conspiracies, but you have to admit, my meme warfare against them was spectacularly epic.

Here are a few rumors and conspiracies I have heard repeatedly. (Note: I will not hyperlink to any of these fringe websites that are pushing fear and divisiveness in order to make money.)

1. "The Jade Helm 15 logo is an occult symbol."

As one YouTube video says:

"The crossed arrows are the symbol of the Christian cross, warped and distorted. The crosspiece (the Father) and the upright (the Son) have been twisted into an X of arrows (arrowheads denote masculinity)…there is a third axis on the cross that we never see—it comes toward us in the third dimension from the center of the cross. This is the Holy Ghost. And in this logo, to make sure that we know this is the Christian cross being portrayed, we're shown a transparent shoe at that intersection (transparency = spirituality, ghost, etc). The sword going from earth toward heaven would symbolize an attack from Satan and his anti-Christ against almighty God."

As anyone can obviously see, it is part of the Special Forces Regimental Crest:

The Special Forces crest insignia was adopted in 1960 and approved as the Special Forces regimental designator in 1984. Its design reflects both the lineage and mission of Special Forces.

In 1890, the crossed arrows were officially prescribed as uniform insignia for the U.S. Army Indian Scouts who served in the American west from 1860 through 1939. In 1942, during World War II, a joint U.S./Canadian special operations unit was established to conduct operations behind enemy lines. Members of this First Special Service Force wore the historic crossed arrows as their branch insignia.

In the current Special Forces crest, the intersecting dagger represents the V-42 dagger issued to each member of the force. 

2. "The symbol in the middle of the logo is a Dutch clog."

Ok, I have to admit, this one threw me. I mean the pictures look alike, but by this time I had heard so many ridiculous theories I just didn't know. I threw it in Photoshop and tried to manipulate the picture to bring it out somehow, and got nothing. Now I didn't know what it was, although I was damn sure that it wasn't a 'spiritual shoe.' So I put some feelers out, trying to figure it out. I got word back from someone at USASOC, and you could have knocked me over with a feather. It was a clog. Not only did the word sabotage come from them, it was used by the OSS as a universal targeting symbol. The reason it is semi transparent was to symbolize that the underground "was not seen, but there."

This was a perfect example of not allowing your personal beliefs or preconceived ideas overpower the actual evidence. Looking at the evidence, understanding the symbolism and the nature of UW, and taking it from someone who works with the guys who made the PPT paints a pretty compelling picture.

3. "The military is training for dissident extraction (DE)."

This is probably one of my favorites.

You can call me what you want, but when I watch this video I don't get scared of my military, I want to stand up and say "That's awesome." I dare you to watch this video and not be in absolute awe of the men flying those helicopters in between skyscrapers (which very often create their own unique wind patterns) and then fast-roping 20-40 feet from a hovering helicopter onto the roof of a skyscraper. Take three minutes and watch this amazing HD video.

Dissident extraction (DE)

Now that we got past that, what is DE? Well, a quick Google search points out that it's not a real term; it apparently is only used by the people who frequent the fringe sites.

Webster's states:

Dissident: Disagreeing, especially with an established religious or political system, organization, or belief.

Extraction: The act or process of getting something by pulling it out, forcing it out.

So a logical assumption is that a DE operation is the capture or kidnapping of someone who disagrees with the established religious or political organization. There are comments that defy common sense that state emphatically, "We know Jade Helm 15 is a DE exercise, and why do they need 60 days to practice this?" So obviously the UN is going to invade...or something.

This video is repeatedly pointed out as an example of a DE exercise, showing the military rounding up dissidents and apparently taking them to FEMA camps to be raped, tortured, and killed. Let me attempt to explain what I think is actually going on in this video. Watch the video, read the following, and then use your own logic and 'common-damn-sense' to determine what scenario is the most believable.

Please understand that the following opinion is just that—an opinion. I wasn't there, and don't know anyone who was there. This is purely my assessment of what we are seeing.

In the beginning, there are what looks like four guys running across the street, dragging something. It looks to be a Skedco litter, and they are moving a (simulated) 'casualty' to the casualty collection point (CCP). This exercise appears to be a hostage-rescue scenario. The part that has everyone flipping out starts at the :53 mark: A line of civilians appear to be walking out of the building with their hands in the air surrounded by armed soldiers. The armed men walk them single file across the street, where they leave the camera.

Apparently, this clearly demonstrates that a DE drill was happening. Or, you know, it was a full mission profile hostage-rescue exercise. Sounds crazy, I know.

In a hostage-rescue scenario the goal is to quickly clear the objective and overwhelm the BG (bad guys), through surprise, speed, and violence of action. The assault force must move quickly and efficiently in order to control the building, eliminate the threat posed by the BGs, control the entire objective (to include any living BGs), and the hostages. There is a very distinct danger that during the chaos of the assault, one or more of the BGs will attempt to mingle with the hostages. For safety reasons, until all the personnel can be searched and identified, they need to be controlled. This is to protect the hostages and the assault force.

With explosives and booby traps being a legitimate concern, the hostages need to be moved to a safe location where they can searched and identified. It wouldn't do anyone any good if the building was controlled and, while searching all the hostages, someone started throwing grenades or detonated a bomb.

Here's a video detailing an actual SAS hostage-rescue attempt, Operation Nimrod, where the BGs did exactly that.

According to the DailyMail, "Three of the gunmen were clutching grenades when the SAS' machine guns stopped them. One of these men, known as Faisal and second in command to Salim, was shot by Lance Corporal Rusty Firmin while trying to sneak out of the embassy with the rescued hostages as they were bundled down the stairs in a pass-the-parcel line to the garden and safety.

"Faisal’s distinctive Afro hairstyle and olive-green combat jacket marked him out and a shout went up. As Firmin—co-author of a new book detailing the inside story of the siege—grabbed him, his eye caught the gleam of green metal in the man’s right hand. It was a grenade. Firmin brought up the muzzle of his MP5 and, at arm’s length, fired two short bursts into the terrorist."

Jade Helm 15: Special Forces Off-Post Training

I had just hooked up my static line to the anchor line cable in the back of the MC-130. I was hunched over from the weight of my 130-pound ruck and 40-pound chute. In the back of the Special Operations C-130 there were only five Americans. The crew chief, jump master, assistant jump master, me, and one of 10^th group's Tactical Air Control Party (TAC-P). With us were 12 members of the elite British SAS. They had been invited by the 10^th Special Forces group commander to take part in the first unconventional warfare exercise run out of the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC).

The SAS had come over with their personal gear and we had given them weapons and night vision goggles, but due to the differences in communications gear, my team sergeant had volunteered me to be assigned to them for the duration of the month-long exercise.

The SAS planned on conducting split-team ops, so a TAC-P was assigned to run comms for the other split. This exercise, while based out of Fort Polk, Louisiana, actually encompassed three states: Louisiana, Mississippi, and (don’t quote me on this, it was 15 years ago) Arkansas. It included 2^nd bn 10^th SFG(A), elements of the 75^th Ranger Regiment, U.S. Navy SEALs, and of course the SAS. (Does any of this sound familiar in regards to the current Jade Helm 15 exercise?)

There were role players who acted as the guerilla force that ODAs had to train and lead. The SEALs conducted operations along the coast and the rivers, one ODA conducted SR and then acted as guides for the Rangers, who jumped in and conducted an assault.

Then there was me and the Brits. Our mission was to conduct strategic reconnaissance (SR) on an enemy facility. The actual location was the John C. Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi.

I could feel my spine compressing, and I was praying to hurry up and jump so I could get out of the chute and only worry about my 130-pound ruck. The tail on the MC-130 lowered, and I took in one of the most memorable sights I experienced in my 20 years of service.

Framed in the opening was one of the massive test stands. It lit up the night like the Las Vegas strip. It was amazing; I had no idea how massive they were, and I knew we were right on target. As the test stand faded, the green light came on and we hobbled off the ramp into the darkness.

Off-post training or realistic military training (RMT)

If you haven't read it, take a few minutes to read the Jade-Helm-PPT allegedly released by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). While researching all of the controversy and conspiracy surrounding Jade Helm 15 (JH15), a common theme always seemed to pop up. The same questions were asked over and over:

“What is RMT?”

“How often does this kind of training happen?”

“Why do they need to train off-post? They have plenty of facilities that are on military bases.”

I will attempt to answer these questions and hopefully minimize some of the fear and borderline hysteria that is occurring because of this exercise.

What is RMT?

According to the Jade Helm 15 PPT, realistic military training (RMT) is:

“Training conducted outside of federally owned property. The RMT process is designed to ensure proper coordination between DOD representatives and local and regional authorities. The process includes the following measures:

·         Risk assessment, medical, and communications plans

·         MOU, MOA (note: Memorandum of Understanding and Memorandum of Agreement), and licensing agreements (training areas, staging areas, role players)

·         Legal review

·         ID of training, staging areas, role players, airfield, drop zone (DZ) and landing zone (LZ)  surveys

·         Letters of invitations obtained from local officials (mayor, county commission)

·         Coordination with local, state, and federal law enforcement

·         Public affairs review

To hone advanced skills, the military and interagency require large areas of undeveloped land with low population densities with access to towns.  The proposed areas offer the conditions conducive to quality training because of real obstacles to challenge Joint and IA personnel during planning and execution of their tasks. These challenges include:

·         Operating outside the normal support mechanism

·         Adapting to unfamiliar terrain, social, and economic conditions

·         Operating in and around communities where anything out of the ordinary will be spotted and reported (locals are the first to notice something out of place)

·         The opportunity to work with civilians to gain their trust and an understanding of the issues

Basically, what it all boils down to is training in terrain or environments that can’t be found on military bases. Imagine conducting reconnaissance on the back 40 of a military base. Your unit has coordinated with range control, and no one, other than your unit, is supposed to be there.

Now compare that to conducting reconnaissance in a state or national forest, where you not only have to worry about your opposing force, but now you have to worry about hikers, hunters, and campers. People on four-wheelers, horses, or in trucks.

Many of these people will call the local authorities (police or forest rangers) if they spot 8-10 armed men in camouflage lurking or sneaking around. Now imagine if those police or forest rangers were aware of the exercise and were cooperating with the opposing force. What if they called up the opposing force and let them know some people had been spotted?

What do you think is more difficult and creates more challenges to overcome? Ask Marcus Luttrell about the difficulty of working in an area where people can show up out of the blue.

How often does this kind of training happen?

All the time! In the last four years before I retired, I worked at the Special Forces Advanced Mountain Operations School. The summer (Senior Mountaineering) course was six weeks long. Five of them took place on:

PRIVATE PROPERTY

CITY PARKS

STATE PARKS

NATIONAL FOREST

The winter (Master Mountaineering) course was five weeks long, and all of them took place off-post. We ran three summer courses and one winter course. Just for the standard courses, that adds up to 20 weeks of realistic military training. That doesn't include instructor training, schools, and courses that we attended—all off-post.

That was just for the mountain school. 10th Group, also located in Colorado, conducted similar training all over the state beyond what we did. I worked very closely with every local, state, and federal entity where we would conduct our training. I submitted land-use agreements each time we used a location.

Talk to the ski patrol or member of the public at many of the local ski resorts to see what they think of Special Forces. We trained at Keystone, Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, and the list goes on.

I have conducted off-post training all over Colorado, in Wyoming, North Carolina, Virginia, California, Washington, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and Louisiana. I very well could have missed some, and keep in mind, this is just my experience.

What is Pineland?

From the USA Today article titled, "Fake Nation Tests Tomorrow's Special Forces:"

Pineland is a contradiction that exists for the best of causes. It is a real place that does not exist, or, perhaps, a fake place that does. It is a military training ground etched onto the landscape itself—a community with a backstory hewn from whole cloth that helps real American soldiers stay alive in real American wars. And much like the country that contains it, Pineland is a society founded upon an idea—that freedom and a fire to fight for it are more than slogans.

A generation ago, a Green Beret named Ed Brodey 'created' Pineland using a set of 1964 encyclopedias as his guide. He has detailed geography (looks a lot like the East Coast), history (mirrors that of the United States, including Pinelanders fighting on the western front in World War II) and ethnicity (Iraqi refugees flooded Pineland after the Gulf War).

What is Robin Sage?

From Professionalsoldiers.com on the history of Robin Sage:

"For more than 50 years, the Robin Sage exercise has been the litmus test for soldiers hoping to earn the coveted Green Beret of the Special Forces. It is during Robin Sage, held in the rural counties of North Carolina, that soldiers must put all the skills they have learned throughout the Special Forces Qualification Course to the test in an unconventional-warfare training exercise.

"In 1952, Colonel Aaron Bank, the man known as the father of Special Forces, created Robin Sage which was designed to put soldiers in 'real-world' scenarios that would test their training and adaptability. The first exercise was played out in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia, and later in the Pisgah and the Uwharrie National Forests in North Carolina.

"In its earlier days, the exercise was known as Cherokee Trail and Gobbler’s Woods; however, the current operation derives its name from the town of Robbins, North Carolina, a central area of operations for the exercise, and former Army Colonel Jerry Sage, a World War II veteran and an Office of Strategic Services, or OSS, officer who taught unconventional-warfare tactics."

Robin Sage facts:

• The exercise is conducted over 8,500 square miles.
• It's conducted in a 15-county area: Alamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Chatham, Davidson, Guilford, Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly, and Union.

Image courtesy of seanlinnane.blogspot.com

• Approximately 1,000 people participate in the exercise, including students, cadre, civilian auxiliary, and military role players.
• Approximately 400 North Carolina residents volunteer support for each iteration of Robin Sage.
• Robin Sage is conducted eight times per year, and is part of the Special Forces Training pipeline.
• The exercise incorporates extensive cooperation and coordination with local law enforcement and governments in those counties, according to the command.
• Under Robin Sage, more than 100 Special Forces candidates will help 'liberate' a fictional country called 'Pineland,' with boundaries that overlap Alamance, Anson, Cabarrus, Chatham, Davidson, Guilford, Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Scotland, Stanly, and Union counties in the state.

Continued from the USA Today article:

From the outside, Ramseur resembles a small town going about its business. But it's like one of those old, black-and-white episodes of "The Twilight Zone": Behind the scenes, everyone is playing a carefully calibrated role.

Cheryl Lake, the Quick Check manager, donates Gatorade, water and coffee. Ramseur police set up checkpoints. And the main character? The town itself. At almost every business there are certificates of appreciation from the Special Forces; providing Fort Bragg with a place to help its soldiers has become part of the community identity.

"Ain't no one else can claim it," says James Parrish, a 54-year-old Pinelander with a beard that rivals Snyder's.

Like other families in Ramseur, the Parrishes have made Pineland a tradition that crosses generations. Parrish's son, Craig, volunteers as a driver, and the Pineland uniform will eventually go to his grandson, an 11-year-old aspiring Special Forces soldier.

Parrish never served in the real-world military. Joining the Pineland "resistance" is his way of compensating.

"It is a passion. It is a chance to pay back the soldiers," he says. "And maybe we're just a bunch of rednecks that like to raise hell."

Pineland has bad guys, too. Here, Jose Cuervo, the local strongman, has a reputation for torturing Pineland guerrillas.

Cuervo is played by Dale Needham, a soft-spoken volunteer firefighter. On the night of the team's final mission — the night the Special Forces students get to rub Cuervo out — Needham is late. He is putting out a house fire. A real one.

It isn't easy being the enemy in your own town. For the past two weeks, Needham has stayed away from the team's camp, which sits on his mother's land nearby. Balancing real life and Pineland life can be a tricky deal...

But for anyone passing through, Pineland is invisible. There are clues, though, if you're looking. If you stop at the diner for some persimmon pudding, you might see two younger guys emerge from a back booth and pay the check in Don. Once, a team left a real American $5 bill as a tip. They were pulled over by a cop in short order.

"We know it is make believe, Snyder says, "but we have to treat it like it is real."

Pinelanders don't sit around on porches and wax philosophic about what it all means. Strip away its details and Robin Sage is simply military support—citizens doing things to make sure that if war comes, the United States has the advantage.

Robin Sage happens six to eight times a year and it is always preceded by press releases in the local newspapers and radio stations. A recent release has some very familiar language to the Jade Helm 15 ppt:

• Throughout the exercise, candidates and Robin Sage role-players not only conduct missions, but also live, eat, and sleep in 'Pineland.'
• All Robin Sage movements and events have been coordinated with public safety officials throughout and within towns and counties hosting the training.
• Residents may hear blank gunfire and see occasional flares.
• Students will only wear civilian clothes if the situation warrants, as determined by the instructors, but will also wear a distinctive armband during these instances.
• Personnel role-playing as 'Pineland' law enforcement officers wear distinctive hats and armbands, as well.
• Training areas and vehicles used during exercises are clearly labeled.
• Approximately 200 military service members from units across Fort Bragg will also support the exercise.
• These military members act as realistic opposing forces and guerrilla freedom fighters, also known as Pineland's resistance movement.
• To add realism to the exercise, civilian volunteers throughout the state act as role-players. Participation by these volunteers is crucial to the success of this training, and past trainees attest to the realism they add to the exercise.

My point with this article was to not only explain that off-post training happens all the time, but also to point out that exercises exactly like Jade Helm 15 have occurred before (although the size of Jade Helm 15 is much bigger than most others). Those who have been working with Special Forces in North Carolina have a great relationship with the Green Berets, and have been doing it for generations.

When I went through, our guy had his kids come out and hang out at the G-Base, and in fact his 12-year-old son carried an AK-47 and took part in the final assault. At the end, we let his six-year-old shoot a 100-round belt of blanks through the M-60. That little bastard was funny as hell. He had to use both hands to hold the grip and pull the trigger. He pulled the trigger once and didn't let up until all 100 rounds were fired. The recoil pushed him back about two feet. He stood up and walked away—acting like it wasn't that big a deal. We weren't the first team that let him do that, clearly. He was already a pro.

The people of Pineland do it for one reason only: They are patriots who love this country, love Green Berets, and it is a way for them to help. They know how important this training is, and realize that it will save people's lives who are sent overseas.