“Bob epitomizes all the qualities I admire in Night Stalkers,” Hutmacher said. “He was unwavering in his commitment to the soldiers in his units to his left and right and most importantly to his SOF operator on the ground, the man in the arena. In the final couple years of service as my command chief warrant officer in the regiment and then again at the ARSOAC, he displayed a level of professionalism and competence which I have rarely seen in my career. It’s not so rare here [in Army Special Operations Aviation] because of the type of soldiers that serve here, but I will tell you outside of this august group, it is extremely rare. It is not common, and Bob is the type of soldier that’s extremely hard to find.”
Another command change came at the 160th SOAR on June 27, when Col. John R. Evans Jr., handed over command to Col. Michael J. Hertzendorf. Commenting on Evans’ two years in command of the regiment, Peterson said:
“During his time with the regiment, John Evans has courageously led change, nurtured and strengthened the positive Night Stalker ethos and culture. He [Evans] has served as a steward of the proud Night Stalker legacy and masterfully grew and developed an entire generation of confident leaders of character.”
A jumpmaster assigned to the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade conducts pre-jump training and exiting procedures from the ramp of an American C-130 Hercules aircraft for Dominican Republic special operations service members during a Joint Combined Exercise Training (JCET) operation at the 4th Paracaidista FARD, Comando de Fuerzas Especiales, Fuerza Aerea training facility, on San Isidro Air Field in the Dominican Republic, March 18, 2014. The event was part of a monthlong JCET held from Feb. 17 to March 20, 2014. Photo by Lt. Joe Nawrocki
Finally, 2014 was a dynamic year for the airframes they operate, both new and old. The newest, the C-27J Spartan, stood up flight company operations in 2014, and is already providing all of USASOC with vital support, training, and liaison services across a wide variety of activities. The oldest, the MH-60K Black Hawk SOF transport helicopters, were flown and stood down for the last time in 2014. Finally, USASOC and ARSOAC, while they do not commonly talk about their dealings and usage of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), made some quiet news within the community in 2014. Much of this centered around an ARSOAC-hosted UAS conference, providing industry and military leaders an opportunity to share ideas, and better define the future needs of the American SOF community overall.
95th Civil Affairs Brigade (CAB)
For the 95th CAB, 2014’s stability came in the form of completing the largest CA community enlargement in its history. Having grown from a single battalion to an entire brigade of five regionally oriented battalions in just a handful of years, the 95th is now the most powerful and important CA force in the U.S. Army. Last year also saw the 95th changing commanders, with Col. Scot N. Storey taking charge on June 5. His predecessor, Col. James C. Brown, is now part of the staff of Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan (SOJTF-A) under former JFKSWCS commander, Maj. Gen. Edward M. Reeder Jr. Cleveland presided over the change of command ceremony.