Region IV — Carolinas Region
Greetings from the original Aaron Bank, Samuel S. Theriault, and Matthew "Matt" Williams Memorial Chapter 1-18 of Fayetteville/ Fort Bragg. This quarter we continued strides towards the chapter objectives, executing organizational outreach and collaboration with other organizations, making definitive impacts and growing new and reclaimed members. We buried several great members and spent time visiting our sick and hospitalized members. We presently have 636 members.
February 14th, the chapter will host the regularly the scheduled meeting/Valentine’s potluck. March 13 -15th the GORUCK will host one of their largest annual events of the year the “King of all Rucks” as designated by GORUCK Nation, Bragg Heavy was the first ever GORUCK Heavy dating back to 2012, and GORUCK Cadre execute it annually in and around the hallowed ground of Fort Bragg, NC, where all Special Forces soldiers are put to the test. This weekend event is modeled after Special Forces training that awards soldiers the Green Beret, “A symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom” - JFK. The GORUCK organization founded by Special Forces veteran Jason McCarthy and wife Emily a former CIA , build a rucksack with life or death quality standards that would thrive in Baghdad and NYC, not to mention Côte d’Ivoire — and show people of all walks of life how to operate smartly and safely in some of the harshest environments in the world (using said rucksack).
The in Work continues on our 64-acre compound which includes planning for the Chapter Restroom project, new archery lanes, trail maintenance and other cosmetic improvements to the property. Soon Piedmont Natural Gas/Duke Energy begin installation of a natural gas pipeline through the chapter property using approximately seven acres of land to connect with lines providing service to the surrounding local areas. We have extended the use of our grounds to chapter members, guests, local organizations, and clubs to host their respective gatherings. These events provide an excellent venue for groups and offer valuable opportunities for the chapter to raise funds in support of our mission.
Chapter 1-18 meets at 1:30pm on the second Saturday monthly. We are located at: 1509 Zinnia Court, Fayetteville. Follow us online at via Teamhouse, at https://teamhouse.specialforcesassociation.org/SFACh1-18, www.SFA1-18.com or on Facebook at ‘SFA Chapter 1-18’. If you would like to receive email updates from the chapter, email the Secretary Marcus Washington at: Q_Rator@yahoo.com.
Take time every day to look and say thank you to everyone that has made a positive change in your life. No matter how small it was!!!!
We held our winter meeting on 10 JAN 26 at our compound. The day prior our shooting team met at the OGT range for prep of the Steel Challenge Events coming up. The morning of our meeting, we received a tour of the SERE training facilities by the SERE Company OPNS SGT.
Upcoming events:
8 MAY 26 – Annual Golf Fundraiser in support of Gold Star Teens and Jack Tobin Scholarship fund.
9 May 26 – Spring Meeting in the morning at our compound
9 May 26 – Cynco De Mayo party in the afternoon at our compound
Summer Steel Challenge event – date – TBD
18 JUL 26 – Summer Meeting at our compound
3 OCT 26 – Fall Meeting at our compound
Second week of OCT 26 -dates – TBD – Memorial Valor Foundation Steel Challenge fundraiser support, in support of Gold Star Families
If you are ever in the area, feel free to contact us and we will try to link up and give you a tour of our compound!
Chapter 17 (The Jerry “Robin” Sage Memorial Chapter) has republished the book SAGE, which is COL Jerry “Robin” Sage’s memoir.
Chapter 17 has republished Col Jerry Sage’s Memoir. In his Memoir, SAGE, COL Sage recounts his experiences as a German POW during WWII. This book was the basis for the movie, The Great Escape. Jerry Sage was an OSS officer who was captured by the Germans during WWII. During his three years of captivity in a German POW camp, Sage helped work on the three-tunnel escape project that helped form the plot for the movie The Great Escape. After WWII, he commanded a Regimental Combat Team in the Korean War and commanded 10th SFGA in Europe during the Cold War. He completed his lifetime of public service as “Teacher of the Year” in South Carolina. Check the book’s web site at www.oldmp.com/sage to order paperback, hardback, and hardback limited edition. A link to the Kindle version of the book is also on the web site.
Chapter 17 is in the process of reprinting another historical book, this time about the Vietnam War: Mike Di Rocco’s Fire Your FPL's. Look for it to come out later this spring/summer!
About Di Rocco’s book per Lieutenant General William P. Yarborough, “Beautifully written, professional level writing. I was especially impressed with Mike’s powers of recall in recreating so much of the environment of wartime Vietnam. No one who was not involved in that fracas as intimately as Mike, could speak with such accuracy and authority about equipment, tactics, and techniques.”
At our last meeting on 7 February 2026, Seaux Larreau led a lively discussion about Special Forces’ support to Helene disaster rescue efforts, emphasizing the need to formalize some of our existing qualifications to support future emergencies. This will be a topic of discussion at the upcoming Spring Convention in Nashville.
Greetings from Southern Pines in the Sandhills of North Carolina.
December saw Chapter members get together for our annual Christmas Celebration at the VFW. We had a great turnout this year and everyone enjoyed the food and camaraderie.
Next we begin gearing up for the Annual International Sniper Competition in March. This event just seems to get bigger and better every year. Mark your calendars for March 18-20, 2026, and come enjoy the shooting and rubbing elbows with the shooters and vendors.
As always, anyone in the neighborhood is invited to stop in for one of our monthly meetings on the 1st Saturday of each month at 1800 hrs at the VFW at 615 South Page Street in Southern Pines, NC.
De Opresso Liber
Previous Range Day
Welcome to 2026, which marks the beginning of our 7th year as a chapter. Covid set us back in our organization, but we are now rolling at full speed and gaining new members monthly. We are in planning mode for our main fundraiser, Range Day. We have a new, upgraded, location this year and hope to make it our location moving forward as we continue to expand this event. This year’s Range Day will take place on Sunday, April 19th. It’s our first time having it on a Sunday, but that was when we had access to our new site. Thanks to Vice President Kirk Ferguson for taking the lead on this year’s event.
There are many changes going on at National and the chapter will adapt, as SF troops always do. We look forward to the challenges facing us and will continue to move forward and accomplish our goals.
Green Beret Jingle Jog
Since the last issue of the Drop, Chapter 100 continues to support the local SF community around Fort Bragg. Working with the Jedburgh Foundation and the 3rd SFG Chaplain were supported 3rd SFG families in need over the Thanksgiving and Christmas period.In early December, we hosted the 14th annual Green Beret Jingle Jog at Dirt Bag Ale. We had a record number of registered attendees this year at 723. This event raised monies to support the ten $2000 scholarships we will award at the 24th annual Stan the Man Charity Golf Classic in June.
Planning for the Stan the Man tournament is in full swing with Ed Petkovich serving as the Tournament Director. The tournament will take place 20 June at Gates Four Country Club in Fayetteville. To register: https://givebutter.com/stmcharitygolfclassic2026
Our Chapter Secretary, MSG(R) Mark W. Peters was selected to participate in Warrior Expeditions, 2026 Warrior Hike Program and will begin the 2197.4 mile trek of the Appalachian Trail starting at Springer Mountain, GA in late March. His goal is to summit Mount Katahdin, ME over the Labor Day weekend.
SFA Chapter 363 closed out in 2025 with our annual Christmas Dinner. The 72 attendees included 18 ROTC cadets representing Clemson University, Furman University, and Wofford College. COL(R) Stu Farris served as the guest speaker and shared his insights from the book, The Intoku Code by CPT(R) Wade Ishimoto. The evening included a silent auction that raised over $1500.00 for SFA CH 363.
During the Christmas Dinner, the new officers for CH 363 were announced after an election held in November. Elected to serve SFA CH 363 were: Pat Fensom, President; Jake Dunn, Vice-President; Ralph Longello, Secretary; Alden Sims, Treasurer; and John Kelly, Assistant Treasurer.
The chapter kicked off 2026 by teaching an 8-week course at Furman University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for the Winter semester. The course titled Special Forces in Vietnam highlights SF’s role during the Vietnam War, including operations, notable SF Veterans, and lessons learned. SF Vets who served in Vietnam serve as co-instructors and share their experiences of serving on A-Teams, MIKE Force, and SOG.
