CSM Forrest K. Foreman

Orginally posted on the GT Forum:

FROM MARCUS 27th October, 2004
Hey guys --

One of my mentors passed on Monday, I just found out. Command Sergeant Major Forrest K. Foreman, US Army Special Forces, retired, died of a heart attack while doing one of the things he loved to do, sailing his boat off the coast of North Carolina. CSM Foreman was well known and respected in the special operations community going back to the Viet Nam era. He was one of the original founding members of the American Delta Force, and served in a variety of positions including Operations and Training Senior NCO. He was hand-picked by COL Charles Beckwith to work on the start-up of DELTA, and spent a lot of time working with our allies at Hereford, where he spent time with Lofty Wiseman.

I met CSM Foreman in Korea in 1980; we were both assigned to the same unit. Rather, he was assigned and I had volunteered, and I rode in the same jeep with him up into the Korean DMZ, and he came down to watch me in the little selection course I had to go through.

He was fresh out of DELTA at the time, and was, at the time, one of the leading authorities in the US arsenal on CQB tactics and training. He was also a serious martial artist, with high rankings in uechi-ryu and goju-ryu, and a serious fighter with handgun (or any other handgun). He was the first guy I ever saw integrate martial arts usage (and hard core combatives) with the pistol at close quarters, and that was only one of the many things he taught me.

I spent a lot of time talking with him (mostly asking questions and then shutting up, a good thing to do when you run into somebody who's been out on the sharp edge long enough to get gray hair while doing it) about CQB, pistol usage, martial arts, training and selection, fighting in the real world.

He was one of those serious "bad ass" individuals I've talked about before, a "strong, neutral" presentation, given to dressing off duty in expensive casual clothes and looking like a prosperous business man or upscale tourist. But he was a handful and then some at close quarters.

It's hard to overstate how much of an influence he was on my early thinking about combatives and fighting in the real world.

I've been thinking recently about the impact the various instructors and mentors I've had over the years had on me -- and about how I've gone on to influence others, who've gone on to influence others...

That's a thing we sometimes don't think about enough, when you're an instructor, is about just how wide an influence you can cast. You influence a student, like Greg did with his female friend in the "Positive Feedback" thread, she goes on to influence somebody else and so on...

That really makes you think about making sure that all your interactions are positive ones, energizing and affirmative ones, so that all that gets carried forward to the benefit of so many people down the road.

Food for thought.

God bless you and rest you, Sergeant Major. It was a privilege to serve with you. I'm going to take some time off and have a drink to your memory.

cheers, M
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FROM AL BECKETT
A touching tribute Marcus.

It may be just me but we seem to have lost a lot of good men recently.

Alan
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FROM DEN
Marcus, I remember you speaking highly of CSM Foreman. Valhalla has another member.
Den
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FROM MARCUS
Nice thoughts, guys! Thanks! I'm sure he's in the VIP Lounge, sipping on the most expensive single malt Scotch on the menu, and debating the fine points of tactics with Otto Skorzeny right now.

cheers, M