Special Forces veterans swap war stories at LV convention

Jace Radke

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 | 9:24 a.m.

Lou Rothenstein recalled being in Beirut in 1958 to support the Lebanese government against Communist rebels. By the time 1,800 U.S. Marines landed to help, Rothenstein and his team of Special Forces sent in to protect American citizens had already been hunkered down on the roof of the Beirut Hilton for three days.

"We found an old 105 mm recoilless cannon, and we were using it to take out snipers from the roof of the hotel," said Rothenstein, now a 65-year-old Las Vegas resident and a retired command sergeant major with the Green Berets.

"When you look back at all the reports about that time, they focus on the Marines, but we had been there for three days and watched them make their amphibious landing from the Hilton," he said.

Being recognized is something to be avoided when you're conducting secret missions behind enemy lines, but this week is different. Rothenstein and more than 1,500 other Green Berets are at the Riviera hotel to share stories and friendships as part of the National Special Forces Convention.

Las Vegas resident Pablo Olivarez, a 63-year-old who served in Vietnam and later in Central America, said he relishes seeing his fellow Green Berets at the annual convention in Las Vegas through Friday.

"We're really a band of brothers, a true band of brothers for life," Olivarez said. "These guys can tell where you've been and what you've done just by looking at you or by mentioning the name of a guy or a place.

"There are a lot of wannabes out there, but the guys that are here in Las Vegas are the real deal," he said.

The Special Forces were formed 52 years ago with the mission of organizing, supplying and training foreign forces to fight behind enemy lines using guerrilla tactics. Green Berets operated in the jungles of Laos and Vietnam and most recently have been seen riding horseback in Afghanistan and training the new Afghan National Army.

"Those are our guys out there who are still leading the regular Army, finding targets and setting things up in Afghanistan," said Ron Thomas, a 66-year-old, and one of about 100 local Special Forces Association members.

While the technology and weaponry has changed over the years, the mission of Special Forces has remained the same, Rothenstein said.

"When you train these indigenous populations, you are creating extra firepower without putting more U.S. soldiers in harm's way," Rothenstein said.

Along with training foreign soldiers in combat zones, Green Berets are trained to fight behind enemy lines and gather intelligence.

Special Forces soldiers undergo training that can last as long as 57 weeks and includes parachute jump school, survival training, language training and specialty training in either weapons, medicine, engineering or communications.

Olivarez spent time in Vietnam in the 1960s as part of a 12-member roving Green Beret team that would assist the other Special Forces A-Teams that were in the jungles training Vietnamese guerrilla forces.

"Our team went in when it was getting hot for the other teams and they needed support," Olivarez said. "We were the hammer that was called in to squash the enemy and run patrols until the area was clear."

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