Green Beret veterans celebrate brotherhood at Carnegie gala

Good times and camaraderie took center stage Saturday evening at the Carnegie Hotel.Retired and active members of the Green Berets, their families and their friends gathered to celebrate their global accomplishments and decades of dedicated service.The occasion was the third annual Fall Gala of Chapter 111 of the Special Forces Association. Drue Loiselle is the president of the chapter."It is a time of camaraderie, when old guys can reconnect with their brothers in arms," he said.Loiselle said Chapter 111 is a regional chapter that includes the Northwestern North Carolina, Southwestern Virginia and East Tennessee. He said it is one of the newest chapters of the Special Forces Association, and it is about five years old.Despite its being so new, the chapter has developed a lengthy list of projects and missions it supports. Doug Wisnioski, sergeant at arms for the chapter, said these include full scholarships, support for Gold Star families, and other support for veterans.Because of the chapter's location at ground zero of the destruction caused by Helene, the chapter was able to provide help to their own community in the way that the Special Forces has always been trained and organized to do.One of the traditional ways a Special Forces Unit performs its mission when providing support in a foreign country is to establish what is called a forward operating base. These bases have been created by Special Forces unit in some of the remotest parts of Vietnam and Afghanistan.Little did any of the members of Chapter 111 dream that they would one day operate an FOB in their own home community, but that is exactly what happened during the recovery from Helene.When their neighborhoods were left without electricity, with roads and bridges out, with telephones and other communications out, the methods and techniques developed at FOBs in the mountains of Afghanistan proved just as effective in places like Poga and Elk Mills.The chapter's version of an FOB was active for eight months during the recovery from the destruction cause by Helene.The man who was named the guest speaker for Saturday night's gala was really not a guest. Brian Penrod was one of their own. He is a retired command sergeant major of Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, and he has been recognized with the Legion of Merit and 10 Bronze Stars Medals (one with V device).Penrod has also been productive in civilian life, being conferred with the doctorate of business administration (finance) from Liberty University.Penrod's speech was about the debate on the future of Special Forces. Loiselle said every new generation of generals from the conventional warfare side of the Army seem to believe the role of Special Forces is outdated and that only conventional forces will be needed in the next war.In addition to his successful military career and academic career, Penrod has also found success as a champion competitor on the national barbecue circuit. In that role, he once again won the hearts and minds of his fellow veterans by using his barbecue talents for the meal served at the chapter's very first gala.