Why Write a Book About the Brown Berets

by David Rowland

A story worth telling

Why does someone sit down and write a book? It’s hard work, long hours, you don’t know if it will sell, or worse yet if anyone will actually read it. I certainly had those thoughts when I started writing the framework for what would become a book back when I was in Mongolia. However, when I started to peck away at the keyboard and write down what happened over the past several months I realized what we’d accomplished was extraordinary and a story worth telling.

In essence I wanted to highlight the work and effort of the Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and officers of 1^st Battalion, 5^th SFAB and our attached artillery, engineers, and logistician experts. I wanted them to gain the recognition for what they had done for a nationally significant mission in the Indo-Pacific region. Each of the over 172 individuals had taken a risk with their careers and decided to volunteer for something untested and untried in the U.S. Army.

On July 17th, 2019, the inaugural 5th SFAB members don their brown beret for the first time at the Iron Mike statue at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. Out front are Brigadier General Curt Taylor and Command Sergeant Major Robert Craven.

Determination and Grit towards achieving objectives

They worked on ambitious projects with minimal guidance and resources and through sheer determination and grit achieved their objectives. When those NCOs and officers arrived in over 11 different Indo-Pacific countries it was a noteworthy accomplishment. The American people and our hiring businesses should know how intelligent, focused, and extraordinary they people who stand in our formations.

However, once the Brown Berets arrived in the various countries we knew there wasn’t going to be any combat awards, streamers to add to guidons, or parades to come home to. All that we had, was the simple satisfaction of knowing we accomplished the mission. But I didn’t think it needed to end there. An untold story of struggle, setbacks, and ultimate achievement needed to be told.

SSG Jun Choh from MAT 5132 walks with members of the Indonesian Army (TNI) following training.

More than soldiers: they are adaptable, persistent, and innovative entrepreneurs

I want the American people, policy makers, and businesses looking to hire Army veterans to know that our Army of NCOs and officers could be entrepreneurial, adaptable, persistent, and innovative. They could train hard, master their craft, be able to teach essential combat skills to others, and thrive in foreign cultures. In fact, they could do all of those tasks without the constant oversight of senior leaders looking over their shoulders.

Sebastian Bonilla, Mark Goodwin, Dave Rowland, & Jeff Lockwood pose for a photo following the first officer PT session

These Brown Berets overcame numerous obstacles and eventually found themselves in the tropics of Indonesia, the strategically important island of Taiwan, and in the remote training areas of India. Who wouldn’t want to know about their story? The chronicle of 1^st Battalion, 5^th SFAB was worth telling. Someone needed to do it. For me I felt telling their tale was more of an obligation that stemmed from a sense of duty as their commander. I put the book together to honor those early adopters, the “plank holders” of the SFAB concept.