Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published Sept. 25, 2002

Shadow Warriors is
an interesting read

In this column on Sept. 11, I wrote of a family involvement in the events of that day in 2001. That was true but not quite as I told it, so I want to set the record straight. Our daughter-in-law is managing director of the North Carolina office that received the call from the flight attendant on the first plane to hit the World Trade Center. However, it was two of her agents who relayed the words to American Airlines headquarters. As director she heard the conversation and also worked with the FBI to arrange the questioning of the two women who took the call. As the writer I apologize for my mistake.

Daughter said, "I certainly heard the tape and have been involved with the individuals who report to me to make sure they are healing from the ordeal, but other than that, and knowing several of the flight attendants on the Boston flight, I cannot take credit for anything." Again, I apologize for misinterpreting the facts.

***
Early this year a new book, Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces, appeared in bookstores. Authored by Tom Clancy and Gen. Carl Stiner (Ret.), its 548 pages are filled with stories of how those aspiring to be part of these elite groups are trained as well as graphic accounts of their missions once they have been accepted.

Clancy is well known but it was not until I reached page 99 that Gen. Stiner's role in the rise of Special Forces began to unfold. A chapter titled "Country Carl" is devoted to his early days growing up on a hundred-acre farm eight miles from La Follette, TN in the 1930s and '40s. It was described as "a God- and country-loving community, and every able-bodied young man served his country."

The Stiner family came from Germany to America around 1710. Carl said the whole family worked hard and when a boy turned 6, he went to the fields to work. Any free time was spent climbing mountains or enjoying Norris Lake after it was built in 1936, and of course, hunting.

The general was raised in a home where discipline, love, respect and adherence to principles were the standards. His father was tough but fair, and his influence stayed with Carl the rest of his life. Both parents stressed a good education and Carl went to Tennessee Tech in Cookeville directly from high school. He enrolled in the ROTC and when he graduated in June 1958, he was commissioned a reserve second lieutenant in the infantry and had to report for active duty at Fort Benning the next day.

Following basic training he went to Jump and Ranger schools and in 1964 he was reassigned to Special Forces as a Green Beret. For 35 years his life centered around improving that secretive branch of all services, and his efforts were acknowledged through promotions to a higher rank. Before retirement a large part of his career was spent as commander of many of the nation's preeminent contingency forces. He was involved with the Achille Lauro hostage rescue, the invasion of Panama and operations during Desert Storm.

Clancy acknowledged Gen. Stiner with these words: "Thanks especially to Carl Stiner, a quiet hero if ever there was one, and a man you definitely want on your side." In Cookeville several weeks ago Gen. Stiner was honored at a special ceremony.

Shadow Warriors is well worth reading in today's unsettled times.

· · ·
Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.