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Special boats get a new resting place
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
Every year hundreds of special operations forces commandos take part in thousands of dives in the waters off Key West as students of the Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School.
The Green Beret instructors log hundreds of hours on the 12 center console boats used to ferry the nation's most elite soldiers to and from the Fleming Key base, making them one of the most critical tools at the base other than the scuba gear, said commander Maj. Samuel Kline.
Currently, the boats are kept in a small dock just off the eastern edge of the base where they are often beaten by the elements, but that may change. The Army has plans for a new multi-million-dollar boat storage, dry rack facility.
"Over time we've developed the need for more storage, because training continues to increase," Kline said. "We've basically outgrown the storage we have now."
How much the facility will cost is still up in the air as the Army only recently put the project to bid, but it is expected to cost millions, Kline said. The renderings of how the building will look continue to change and are being discussed in more detail by Army leaders at U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., Kline said.
Instructors currently have to remove the boats and dock them elsewhere on Navy property when bad weather approaches, Kline said. Technically, the Army base itself is on Navy property, which leases the land to the Army.
The new storage rack will serve two purposes: It will keep the boats in better shape and protect them during foul weather such as hurricanes, Kline said.
Instructors hope to put shovels in the dirt by next year, but Kline was hesitant to offer a firm date, noting that the Army is still hammering out the details, said U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School spokesman David Chace.
The new facility is expected to look a lot like the other buildings on the tip of Fleming Key.
"I think the maintenance guys are more excited than anybody," Kline said. "It should decrease their maintenance time and repair costs as well as lengthen the life cycle of the boats."
Work on the new facility comes when work is expected to begin shortly in the painting of the drab white, 50-foot dive tower with the words "U.S. Army" as well as the Green Berets' symbol and the school's logo: A diver's mask flanked by two sharks set over two daggers.
For years residents have been confused about who works on the base, what they do and what branch oversees operations. The Navy's strong presence in Key West and the often misused term "Special Forces" are likely factors in the confusion.
"Special Forces" is singular to the Army and refers only to that branch's Green Berets. The media often uses it incorrectly to refer to any elite military unit, such as the SEALs. "Special Operations Forces" is the correct term for all elite military units such as the SEALs, the Air Force 24th Special Tactics Squadron, or the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment to name a few.
The school continues to grow as students grow in numbers, Kline and the last three base commanders have said over the last four years. The War on Terror created an increased need for highly-trained Special Operations Forces and that has translated to more students at the school, considered by many to be the most demanding school in the Army, said Maj. Gen. Bennet S. Sacolick, director of force management and development at U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa in a interview with The Citizen last year.
"The new boat facility is part of our long-term vision for the school and our presence in Key West," Kline said.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
Special boats get a new resting place
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
Every year hundreds of special operations forces commandos take part in thousands of dives in the waters off Key West as students of the Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School.
The Green Beret instructors log hundreds of hours on the 12 center console boats used to ferry the nation's most elite soldiers to and from the Fleming Key base, making them one of the most critical tools at the base other than the scuba gear, said commander Maj. Samuel Kline.
Currently, the boats are kept in a small dock just off the eastern edge of the base where they are often beaten by the elements, but that may change. The Army has plans for a new multi-million-dollar boat storage, dry rack facility.
"Over time we've developed the need for more storage, because training continues to increase," Kline said. "We've basically outgrown the storage we have now."
How much the facility will cost is still up in the air as the Army only recently put the project to bid, but it is expected to cost millions, Kline said. The renderings of how the building will look continue to change and are being discussed in more detail by Army leaders at U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., Kline said.
Instructors currently have to remove the boats and dock them elsewhere on Navy property when bad weather approaches, Kline said. Technically, the Army base itself is on Navy property, which leases the land to the Army.
The new storage rack will serve two purposes: It will keep the boats in better shape and protect them during foul weather such as hurricanes, Kline said.
Instructors hope to put shovels in the dirt by next year, but Kline was hesitant to offer a firm date, noting that the Army is still hammering out the details, said U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School spokesman David Chace.
The new facility is expected to look a lot like the other buildings on the tip of Fleming Key.
"I think the maintenance guys are more excited than anybody," Kline said. "It should decrease their maintenance time and repair costs as well as lengthen the life cycle of the boats."
Work on the new facility comes when work is expected to begin shortly in the painting of the drab white, 50-foot dive tower with the words "U.S. Army" as well as the Green Berets' symbol and the school's logo: A diver's mask flanked by two sharks set over two daggers.
For years residents have been confused about who works on the base, what they do and what branch oversees operations. The Navy's strong presence in Key West and the often misused term "Special Forces" are likely factors in the confusion.
"Special Forces" is singular to the Army and refers only to that branch's Green Berets. The media often uses it incorrectly to refer to any elite military unit, such as the SEALs. "Special Operations Forces" is the correct term for all elite military units such as the SEALs, the Air Force 24th Special Tactics Squadron, or the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment to name a few.
The school continues to grow as students grow in numbers, Kline and the last three base commanders have said over the last four years. The War on Terror created an increased need for highly-trained Special Operations Forces and that has translated to more students at the school, considered by many to be the most demanding school in the Army, said Maj. Gen. Bennet S. Sacolick, director of force management and development at U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa in a interview with The Citizen last year.
"The new boat facility is part of our long-term vision for the school and our presence in Key West," Kline said.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
