Michael L. Kunik

Michael L. ‘Mike’ Kunik, GS-11, Facility Maintenance Engineer for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) headquarters building (E-2929), on Desert Storm Drive, Fort Bragg, N.C., retired from civil service on 31 January 2019. This Department of Army Civilian (DAC) was a key ‘plank holder’ in the establishment of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (USASFC) and USASOC. He renovated the old Fort Bragg stockade on Butner Road, that would be USASFC headquarters until the construction of the new Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) headquarters, was complete. E-2929, dedicated to Major General (MG) Robert A. McClure, was specially designed to house three separate headquarters: USASOC, USASFC, and what became U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (USACAPOC).1 What did this fifty-six year old veteran ‘bring to the table’ in 1992?

Sergeant First Class (SFC) Mike Kunik retired from the U.S. Army on 31 December 1991 after almost twenty-three years as a combat engineer, helicopter repairman and crew chief in Vietnam, and Special Forces (SF) medic. Born 4 December 1936 in Rockland, NY, he learned to fight from a family of professional boxers. Like his father, uncles, and brothers, Mike worked union construction in upstate New York. A decent student but better athlete, Mike graduated from Congers High School (NY) in June 1954. He worked construction full time before joining the Army on 9 August 1954. An earlier attempt to enlist for the Korean War during high school had been rebuffed by his parents.2

As an eighteen year old airborne combat engineer enlistee, Private (PVT) Kunik did Basic Combat Training (BCT) at Fort Dix, NJ, and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Riley, KS, before being assigned to the 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. Slated to be a draftsman after completing parachute school, he did ‘ground’ training at Fort Bragg (the first of two weeks was preparatory physical raining [PT] ‘hell week’). ‘Tower’ and ‘jump’ weeks were done at Fort Benning. When paratrooper PVT Kunik returned to Fort Bragg, he discovered that the serving draftsman had re-enlisted. As a result, Kunik was being assigned as a draftsman in an infantry battalion operations section (S-3) instead of as a combat engineer.3

The brand new ‘five jump commando’ paratrooper objected. That brazenness led to a special duty (SD) assignment with the 82nd Advanced Airborne School. Happy to work with the maintenance non-commissioned officer (NCO) on construction projects, his willingness to help wherever needed got him appointed as an acting Sergeant (SGT). With authority legitimized by NCO chevrons, SGT Kunik assisted a fellow ‘acting jack,’ Corporal (CPL) Robert L. ‘Blood’ Burns, a legendary PT ‘animal’ who daily ‘exercised’ future airborne soldiers.4

After PT, Sergeant First Class (SFC) James ‘Jim’ DuBois put SGT Kunik’s engineer construction experience to good use. They built two 34-foot jump towers without a crane using ‘gin-poles’ to set the telephone pole supports. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) constraints were sixteen years away. A great uncle Barney, who built fire towers in the Catskill Mountains of New York, came south to supervise the work. The Fayetteville Power and Water Company (PWC) sent electrical power linemen to install cables and trolleys to ‘gravity ride’ future paratroopers to a harness release berm 50 meters away. PWC also installed rope pulley parachute swing landing trainers to practice directional slip techniques and landing falls (PLFs): forward, rear, and both sides.5

After a year of accumulating lots of day and night proficiency, equipment, and mass tactical parachute jumps, the young, energetic paratrooper sergeant still yearned for combat engineering. It was an 11th Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, KY, ‘call for volunteers’ for the 188th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (ARCT) ‘gyroscoping’ to Germany that offered an escape. Adventure was calling. Kunik and SFC DuBois knew that the 82nd Airborne Division, America’s strategic reserve, had not gone to the Korean War and was stuck in the States.6

Having filled the ranks for deployment, the 11th Airborne would sort out its military occupational specialty (MOS) problems overseas. Hence, SFC DuBois and now Private First Class (PFC) Kunik were ‘carried’ on the rolls of the 511th Signal Battalion in March 1956. With no combat engineers authorized, they were transferred to Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 188th Airborne Infantry Regiment (AIR). As MOS overages the two were put on aggressor detail for maneuvers. After serving as a guerrilla for 10th SFG, PFC Kunik was sent to the U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) aviation maintenance school in Mannheim, Germany.7

The 11th Airborne Division was forming an organic aviation company. PFC Kunik came back qualified as an aircraft mechanic and crew chief for the OH-13 Sioux light observation and CH-34 Choctaw medium helicopters and O-1 Bird Dog, U1-A Otter, and U-6A Beaver airplanes. By then, the 11th Aviation Company, had occupied the WWII-era Messerschmitt Aircraft factory hangars at Haunstetten Airfield outside Augsburg. Kunik moved from Flak to Infantry Kaserne.8

When the Army announced the 11th Airborne Division inactivation, its paratroopers were encouraged to volunteer for 10th SFG at Bad Tölz. Specialist Fourth Class (SP4) Kunik did, and the airborne aircraft mechanic was accepted. Emergency leave just before reenlistment led to his first ‘break in service’ (one year BIS) to care for parents injured in an automobile wreck. When they were back to health, Mr. Kunik enlisted again in August 1958. After a second BCT at Fort Jackson, SC, he returned to Fort Bragg with the same rank he had left with in 1956. Finally, PFC Kunik was assigned as a Combat Engineer in the Army Special Warfare Center and School with duty at Camp Mackall. SP4 Kunik reenlisted for 10th SFG in 1963.9

During the 1960s, SP4 Kunik did airfield facility construction and performed aircraft maintenance for Colonels (COL) Jerome M. ‘Jerry’ Sage (1961-1963), Stephen E. Cavanaugh (1963-1965), and Robert E. Jones (1967-1968). At night he worked at the Bad Tölz Rod & Gun Club. The pre-WWII grass glider club airstrip near Flint Kaserne was made all-weather with scrounged pierced steel planking (PSP) while a hangar, repair facility, two-story control tower, and a small weather station were being built. Vertical construction skills learned prior to Army service proved invaluable and Kunik rose to Specialist Fifth Class (SP5).10

In the meantime, the most capable STOL (short takeoff/landing) aircraft ever, the U-10A Helio Courier, had been fielded to 10th SFG. The CH-34 Choctaw medium helicopters, equipped with inflatable floats, could better support maritime operations. However, by 1967, U.S. combat divisions, committed to the fight in Vietnam, needed Army helicopter units.11

The 10th SFG flight detachment was decimated. Many of the personnel, including the commander, executive officer, maintenance warrant officer, and SP5 (P) (promotable) Kunik were levied for Vietnam. Once in country, they became cadre for the 48th Assault Helicopter Company (AHC) ‘Blue Star,’ 1st Aviation Brigade, at Phan Rang in 1967, and then Phu Heip. UH-1B Iroquois ‘Hueys’ were assault helicopters, or ‘slicks,’ (call sign “Blue Star”). UH-1Cs, fitted with M-60 machineguns and 2.75 inch rocket pods were called ‘guns’ (call sign “Jokers”). High day and night operations tempo (OPTEMPO) led to considerable cross-training to field complete flight crews, especially door gunners on the ‘slicks.’12

In 1968, then SP6 Kunik, a senior mechanic, crew chief, and Pathfinder to help allied infantry prepare for airmobile assaults, regularly filled in as a door gunner. During the Tet Offensive, he was wounded in the lung and left leg just before his helicopter was shot down. The air crew took cover behind the crashed Huey until they were rescued by the former 10th SFG maintenance officer, Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3) J.D. Wilson, flying the ‘spare.’ While recovering in the hospital, SP6 Kunik studied for the Proficiency Pay (Pro Pay) test. He qualified for the P2 Level pay; significant bonus money that prompted selection to E-7.13

Having been given an in-country service ‘drop’ to escort a friend’s body to the United States, SP6 (P) Mike Kunik chose not to reenlist in September 1968. He left the Army with two Army Commendation Medals, an Air Medal for Valor, a Purple Heart, several Good Conduct Medals, the Expert and Combat Infantryman Badges, Air Crewman Wings, a Master Parachutist badge, Pathfinder badge, and Vietnam service ribbons. Thus began a 12 ½ year BIS wherein Mike Kunik returned to construction in New York, married Elsie Stalter, and fathered five daughters: Mellanie, Jennie, Kimberly, Billie Sue, Heather, and one sone, Thomas.14

After joining the U.S. Army Reserve on 4 February 1981, PFC Kunik returned to Fort Bragg for summer training. There he met Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) James N. ‘Nick’ Rowe, one of 34 prisoners of war (POWs) to escape captivity in Vietnam.15 Rowe had been recalled to active duty in 1981 to design a Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) course and training facility based on his experiences. It was to include all four SERE elements, emphasizing survival, mental and physical, to escape if afforded the opportunity. LTC Rowe was looking for a very resourceful, well-qualified combat engineer with SF experience. This serendipitous meeting ended with PFC Kunik accepting Rowe’s challenge and agreeing to enlist again if age waivers were granted.16

PFC Kunik resigned from the Army Reserve and was allowed to enlist for airborne SF medic training (biggest SF MOS shortage) and to reenlist as needed to complete 20 years active duty service. But, the 44 year old PFC had to undergo BCT again at Fort Jackson. This time he would be an acting Sergeant…for the female platoon in Training Company C-6-2! This proved to be an eye opening experience for the father of five girls, and his wife Elsie was not thrilled. But, by mid-July 1981, PFC Kunik was undergoing AIT at Brooke Army Hospital, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, TX.17

Kunik qualified as an SF medic (18D) a year later as a SP5, and the ‘old soldier’ was assigned to the SWCS 18D Committee. He represented what could be achieved regardless of age, and gave the younger SF trainees a ‘run for their money’ during morning PT. That was when LTC Rowe intervened. SP5 Kunik was needed to supervise the SERE facility construction at Camp Mackall. He would be the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for the project. By the time the compound was finished, Staff Sergeant (SSG) Kunik had acquired a reputation for excelling at tough, challenging engineer construction projects.18

The SERE compound was just the beginning at Camp Mackall. SSG Kunik built a new rappel tower. He got a helicopter to sling-load an abandoned fire tower in the Uwharrie National Forest to Camp Mackall to serve as a ‘slide for life’ confidence platform. He rebuilt the ‘Nasty Nick’ confidence course obstacles, covered the sawdust PT training pit, and fabricated a 40 foot tall rope climb tower. A 200-man hot water shower facility was completed at the same time the original runway was being replaced, extended, reinforced, and repaved to accommodate larger transport airplanes, turboprop and jet. The 50 foot radio tower at Camp Mackall was dismantled for use at Fort Bragg Range Control. The troop medical clinic (TMC) was enlarged and upgraded to handle major trauma cases. But, more work awaited him on Smoke Bomb Hill, Fort Bragg.19

In the 1980s, Sergeant First Class (SFC) Kunik was refurbishing the 1960s era President John F. Kennedy Hall of SWCS. He created a second general officer command suite, additional personal staff offices, and other amenities, removed the spiral staircase from the basement to the first floor, upgraded the heating and air conditioning, and replaced all the hallway ceiling tiles because they contained asbestos. SFC Kunik accomplished this at night with a team of twelve SF 18C engineers to avoid disturbing the Army civilians. Establishment of a U.S. Army Special Forces Command (USASFC), the first step to transform the 1st Special Operations Command (1st SOCOM) into a three-star Army Special Operations command, posed more challenges.20

The 1st SOCOM was divided into USASFC (P) Provisional and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) (P) headquarters, the newest Army Major Command (MACOM). All Army special operations units, including National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve, were assigned to USASFC. That headquarters was to be organized and housed in the old Fort Bragg stockade compound on Butner Road, across post. SFC Kunik, 5th SFG, was chosen by Major General (MG) James A. Guest in June 1989 to transform the stockade into an operational headquarters as soon as possible. It was prior to the Final Offensive in El Salvador in November 1989 and the invasion of Panama (JUST CAUSE) a month later. The USASOC headquarters was operational when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August of 1990.21 The ‘lion’s share’ of the credit for getting the two headquarters ‘up and running’ belongs to SFC Kunik.

Evolving into an Army civilian facilities engineer was a natural fit for SFC Mike Kunik, who retired in December 1991. The imminent construction of a unique ARSOF headquarters building on the south side of Fort Bragg was waiting for him. The building was designed for the headquarters of three separate commands: USASOC on the third floor; USASFC on the second floor; and the newly forming U.S. Army Reserve Special Operations Command (USARSOC), responsible for all USAR and National Guard Psychological Operations (PSYOP) and Civil Affairs (CA) units on the ground floor. USASOC would also be an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) under a new Congressionally-mandated combatant command, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in Tampa. The basement of ARSOF headquarters would house sensitive activity offices for all three commands. The Army caveat for creating the new ARSOF commands was “zero (personnel) growth.” E-2929, undergoing construction on Desert Storm Drive, Fort Bragg, was a ‘one of a kind’ headquarters building.22

A facility engineer ensures that a building has 24/7 electricity, heat, air conditioning, water, fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and secure communications while maintaining surrounding ground space. Mr. Kunik was the ‘go to’ staff person to handle building problems and resolve crises. But, he had ‘other duties as assigned.’

Shortly after E-2929 was completed and the three headquarters staffs had occupied it, Lieutenant General James T. Scott, the fourth commanding general of USASOC, directed that the iconic Vietnam Special Forces statue, affectionately referred to as ‘Bronze Bruce,’ be moved from the John F. Kennedy Plaza on Smoke Bomb Hill to the Memorial Plaza of the USASOC headquarters. This decision was very emotional and numerous SF veterans vowed to obstruct the move. To minimize the ‘fuss’ LTG Scott told Mr. Mike Kunik to do it at night. CG orders would be obeyed. ‘Bronze Bruce’ and the Memorial Stones from the JFK Plaza were relocated without incident. Everyone adjusted. However, placement of a second bronze sculpture as ‘company’ for ‘Bronze Bruce’ proved problematic.23

A statue of Major (MAJ) Richard J. ‘Dick’ Meadows, gifted by Mr. H. Ross Perot, a major patron of Army Special Forces dating to the Son Tay POW rescue mission, was to be placed atop a marble base at the west end of Meadows Field. As Mr. Perot and the USASOC command group and engineer watched, the contract crane operator proceeded to position the heavy marble base for the bronze statue. When he lowered it down on the concrete pad, the securing straps were caught underneath. The contract crewmen jammed a steel wrecking bar under a corner of the marble base to raise it and free the straps. They managed to break a big chunk off a corner of the marble base. An exasperated Perot exclaimed, “Can anybody here do better than that?”24