Army special forces leader views 919th SOW deployment hub

  • Published
  • By Dan Neely
  • 919th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  The leader of one of the 919th Special Operations Wing's top warfighting customers made his first visit to wing's centerpiece deployment processing facility here March 4.

Major Gen. Michael Repass, the commanding general of U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) headquartered at Fort Bragg, N.C., was ushered on a tour of the 919th Logistics Readiness Squadron Deployment Distribution Facility. His command organizes, equips, trains, validates and prepares special forces units to deploy and execute operations requirements for the U.S. military's warfighting geographical combatant commanders throughout the world.

One of his subordinate units, the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), is currently building its new home post near Duke Field.

Major Scott McDonald, 919th Logistics Readiness Squadron commander, led General Repass throughout his unit's state-of-the-art facility designed to offer special operations units nearly everything they need to process personnel and equipment for deployments under one roof. The expansive facility comprises a deployment control center, passenger processing line and hold stations, mobility and aerial delivery equipment warehouses, as well as aerial delivery staging, logistics planning and traffic management offices.

"We primarily toured the deployment processing line and (passenger) hold areas, then we showed him the (parachute) rigger area, and he loved it," Major McDonald said. "He especially enjoyed seeing the BLU-82 static display." The BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" is a 15,000-pound bomb originally designed to clear helicopter landing zones in Vietnam and formerly employed by 919th SOW aircraft for psychological effect against enemy combatants in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Major McDonald said General Repass "understood why the other Army folks that have seen our facility were so positive about their potential utilization of it. He was very impressed with the processing line and mentioned it might be a venue to look into for their personnel processing," he added. "I would guess that any senior Army officer that comes to see this facility and hears our pledge for support, is another advocate for the joint (Air Force Special Operations Command) mission with the 919th."

(General Repass' bio can be found here: