5th Special Forces Group Desert Shield Christmas Cards

[bryang]

I was a member of the 5th Special Forces Group for most of my Active Duty career (1986 to 1997, then again 2005 to 2008). I deployed with 5th Group to the First Gulf War, Somalia as well as a couple tours to Iraq.

 

While in northern Saudi Arabia, during Desert Shield, I was asked by our battalion XO to draw a couple designs for Christmas cards for the battalion (I was with 2d battalion). I used to draw and doodle cartoons, many of which were made into overhead slides for our daily battalion command & staff briefings ... I'd been doing this for a few years.

 

I came up with four hand-drawn designs and handed them in. Two were chosen and the unit had these locally produced and disseminated for our guys to be able to send a card home. I learned, several months later after the war, that the 5th Group had cards made for the other two battalions as well (a good friend of mine in 1st battalion sent one of them to my mom).

 

I recently came across my original drawings. These are the two which were not chosen (a pity, because I sort of liked the camel one!):

 

 

 

 

[bryang]

These were both selected and made into Christmas cards:

 

 

 

 

This one is my favorite:

 

[bryang]

Here are the actual locally-produced cards:

 

 

 

 

 

[468abnarm]

Very nice work. While Flashes and Ovals are the main focus of my collecting I have always enjoyed "field art". Again, nice!

[bryang]

Very nice work. While Flashes and Ovals are the main focus of my collecting I have always enjoyed "field art". Again, nice!

 

I appreciate it!

 

 

Speaking of flashes and ovals, these are mine from when I was in the Reserve in the early '80's. I was with the 5th Infantry Platoon (Pathfinder)(Airborne) - which was a small and obscure unit based at Fort Meade, MD. This unit was disbanded in the 1990's, when the Army Reserves and National Guard reoriented units and missions. I was on Active Duty by this time.

 

Our platoon consisted of only 20 of us on the MTO&E: A Platoon Leader, Platoon Sergeant, and three 6-man Pathfinder teams (I was in Team 1 "Bushmasters").

 

Unfortunately I only have few of these items left (I gave many of these away nearly 30 years ago).

 

Best - Bryan

 

 

 

[Herbf]

I love those cards. This is kind of unbelievable but I was adding some Desert Storm Christmas cards to my article on the PSYOP of Desert Storm today. The Commander of the PDB sent me the one he made and I had some from the 82nd and the 24th ID. So, I put them up today and a friend who is a former SF guy sends me this page and tells me you did the cards. I will add a little bit from your comments to the page. Wonderful stuff. They are very professional;.

[kammo-man]

Love the sandbag snowman.

The arms are fun.

Very clever.

owen