If you’re looking for pieces on Jack Idema and his team, please click on this link.

Wow I am even less impressed than when this fellow first started making comments over here objecting to my portrayal of Artis. Does he not know there is a whole legion–army–of people who want to see this man exposed for what he really is? Cantrell came over here talking about how he is a former special forces soldier, and that special forces in general don’t think much of Idema.

But look who is buddy is.

That’s Rick on the left and Ed and his famous vest on the right and their Filippino girlfriends. Excuse me, but Rick tells me those are his wife and daughters. Guess they didn’t pose with Artis’ girlfriend, then. I’m so disappointed.

Here are Rick’s comments since he’s accused me of ‘not using reason’, lol. Funny how this link is now password protected. Since you’re bragging about your affiliation with Artis, what’s the problem and why would you suddenly password protect it when you discovered that I knew these pictures existed? Are you *gasp* trying to pull a deception over here?

Perhaps it would be more indicative of ‘reason’ if Rick were actually a SF guy instead of a humanitarian aid guy like all Artis’ other supporters.

I’ve been reading your blog for a few weeks now and in all honesty, you seem to be a good person, but very misinformed.

I am a retired SF Soldier, living in the Philippines. I am not one of those who spent a three years in SF, I spent 14 years in SF out of my 20 in the Army. SF is a small community and I can indeed speak with some authority on Jack Idema. I crossed paths with him several times and know a whole lot of people who served with him.

First though, I want to say something about Ed Artis. Living in the Philippines, I have been priviledged to see with my own eyes some very good things that Ed Artis does here in this country. I was also aware of what was going on with those twins and very much aware of his involvement in helping them get to the states before they ever went there. I personally saw letters of thanks to Ed Artis from many people involved in getting them back to the states. He was indeed involved in helping them get there and that’s not BS.

As far as the Knights of Malta and Knights Templars are concerned, there are about 20 different orders of each and they all claim to be authentic. Nobody knows who is the real deal and who isn’t. The Catholic Church persecuted both of those sects for many years, even killed them like flys for quite some time. I’m certainly not going to put a lot of faith in someone from the Vatican or anyone else for that matter to decide who is authentic and who isn’t. I’m pretty much appalled that anyone cares enough about this to make an issue out of it. Most people could care less - unless they are out to collect information to sling mud at someone - which appears to have become Jack Idema’s forte.

Does Ed Artis have faults? Yeah, I’m sure he does. However a man shouldn’t be judged by his past - in fact he shouldn’t be judged at all. Since you are quoting scripture - “judge not lest ye shall be judged” should ring a bell or two. Also “let him without sin - cast the first stone”. That’s enough said about that. Ed Artis does a lot of good things -regardless of any faults he may have. Has he lied about anything? I don’t know. I can’t say for sure. However the government you and I both support lies all the time - but we still support it right? Leave the man alone, stop bashing him and let him do his work. You’ll be causing a lot of people to do without a lot of things they really need if you don’t - like food, water, clothing, shelter, medical supplies you know - them things Americans take for granted.

Now as far as Jack Idema is concerned. A lot of people, even SF guys are leary of saying what they really think about that character. You might ask why? Well, that’s because Jack Idema sues anyone that says anything bad about him. He doesn’t deal with those people himself, he hides behind a lawyer and I can assure you, that is not the mark of a Special Forces soldier.

Jack is portrayed as “misunderstood” and “screwed over” by his website and your blog. You know, in my 52 years, I’ve come to know that if a person has a problem with 1, 2 or even 3 other people, he might be “misunderstood” and “screwed over”. That’s not the case with Jack. Everyone who ever worked with him thinks he was and is a worthless piece of crap that is only out to make a name for himself by portraying himself as some kind of misunderstood hero so he can make a buck. I don’t know a single person who served with him in his very short time in SF, and even much less time on an SF A Team who has anything good to say about him. In fact, he’s commonly referred to as Jack Enema and that’s not a complement.

I do know that he has a lot of charisma and he’s a charmer and he has a very uncanny ability to con people into believing that he is something spectacular. I think you are one of those people. My God, you’ve gotten comment after comment from people who served with him in SF on your blog and not one has anything good to say about him. What - do you think everyone in SF is just teaming up to hurt poor Jack’s reputation? Idema doesn’t need anyone’s help to ruin his reputation - he did a fine job of that himself while he was in Special Forces and after he got out.

Those of us in the SF community have heard his crap over and over again for over 20 years and if you are middle aged - you were quite young when we started learning about him. It’s good to be loyal to someone - and I respect your loyalty for someone you’ve decided to crusade for but I can assure you - you’ve been conned. Many people have been trying to tell you that. Maybe you should listen to those who did indeed know him.

As for me, all I can say is that I’ve read about his “exploits” in El Salvador. I spent 5 years in Panama, in 3/7th SF and most of that time was spent in El Salvador. It’s a small community. Everyone there from spooks to soldiers knew each other. I never heard of Jack Idema being in El Salvador at all, much less doing any heroics there. I can’t vouch for anything Jack Idema has done - except to be the opposite of the quiet professional an SF Soldier is supposed to be. However I am pretty sure I can vouch for what he hasn’t done and that is set foot in the country of El Salvador during the time he says he did - unless of course he went as a tourist.

I never wanted to get on some bash Idema campaign. I’ve pretty much kept my mouth shut about it, but personally, I’m offended that everyone is trying to portray possibly one of the biggest scumbags to ever put on a green beret as some kind of hero.

Jack Idema is where he should be - in prison. A lot of people are NOT getting hurt by his being there.

Feel free to give my name to Jack. He’ll recognize it.

I could care less if he tries to sue me. He can have my $10 in savings.

Rick Cantrell
MSG (Retired)
US Army Special Forces

blah, blah, blah. He didn’t recognize it, which indicates that your self-image, like Artis’, is completely overblown. If there are so many people in the SF community like you say, where are they? They haven’t shown up here. Names? Email addresses? Give me some people who aren’t affiliated with the Cabal and maybe I’ll bite. You are speaking some interesting generalities here and even making excuses for Ed Artis’ despicable behavior, which I don’t swallow, either. And he doesn’t stop there, here’s another one.

Sorry but 11B4SW9 was the designation for a Special Forces Weapons Sergeant who was HALO and SCUBA Qualified. Weapons Sergeants who were HALO and SCUBA Qualified were either 11B4SW9 if they were light weapons and 11C4SW9 if they were heavy weapons. Nothing in that MOS refers to being SNIPER qualified. Also if a person had a primary MOS of 11B4SW9, then if he was qualified as a heavey weapons person also, his secondary MOS would simply have been 11C4S. It would not have been necessary to include the W7 on the end of the MOS because W9 is a designator for HALO and SCUBA qualification.

After the 18 Series MOS, weapons personnel were 18B40 by MOS. If they were SCUBA Qualified the MOS would have been 18B40W7, if HALO qualified 18B40W8 and if both, 18B40W9. If he was ranger qualified the MOS would have been 18B4VW9 if he was HALO and SCUBA qualified. A language designator would have been put on the end for example 18B4VLAW9 if the person was a weapons sergeant, ranger qualified, spoke spanish and was both halo and scuba qualified.

As someone who spent 14 years in SF and retired as the Non Commissioned Officer in Charge of the Special Forces Weapons School, Phase II, I have to say that a lot of what you post about Idema’s background does indeed appear to be a little far fetched.

Special Forces was in the 80’s still a fairly small community. It is true that not everyone knew everyone, but everyone had pretty much heard of everyone. All of the people who you show with the laudatory comments on Idema, are people who I never heard of and while there are some I may not have heard of, it’s highly unlikely that after 14 years in SF I would not have heard of some of them, especially in the positions you mention.

However, I’ve heard many, many people in the SF community express their sentiments about Jack Idema and most of those sentiments are not postable because of the language used. Let’s just say that he was not loved in Special Forces by most of those who knew him.

There are indeed Special Forces soldiers who participate in some highly sensitive operations. Always have and always will. Those who did and do, aren’t going to be writing about them. They are keep your mouth shut jobs. True SF soldiers do more to keep attention from being drawn to themselves than to draw it. I am highly skeptical of anyone who makes the claims Idema does while drawing so much attention to himself. Quiet professional means just that - quiet. People who were glory hunters and looking to make a name for themselves and were free about making claims to things they had done in the service of our country didn’t last long in SF.

Rick

Two rants, and -oh, wow I’m impressed by your knowledge, Ricky-boy. If that wasn’t enough, he has other points to make–now he turns the bend into no-man’s land with more:

By the way, I did know Chargin Charlie Beckwith and General Kingston. Kingston was well respected. There were indeed mixed feelings from everyone about Beckwith. While there was indeed a lot of publicity about his “exploits” in Vietnam and in other units afterwards, there were just as many SF Soldiers who believed the man was insane and had little regard for his men.

I can live with insane in regards to SF. But to say that one had little regard for the welfare of his men is a pretty serious thing. SF Commanders were held in high esteem for their concern for their men………and also for wanting to stay “out of the limelight” and keep a low profile.

I think what is important for you and your readers to understand again is the term “Quiet Professional”. Good SF Soldiers keep low profiles, don’t attract attention to themselves and do indeed keep quiet about their exploits.

Most of my time in SF was spent on an A Team. While I spent quite a bit of time in El Salvador, I can’t claim to have done any of the “high speed” things that Idema claims to have done.

But I can say this……..in all honesty. If had I done those things, I sure would not be talking about it to anyone.

Rick

Oh, now he tries to discredit Charlie Beckwith. How many guys would swallow that one? Oh, but there’s still more:

I personally know Ed Artis. He is a good man. He does a lot to help people in the Philippines and has been doing so for quite some time. I don’t agree with all of his methods but then again, I don’t agree with a lot of people on some issues but that doesn’t diminish my respect for them.

Has Ed done some things that he might not be proud of? I’m sure he has but then again hasn’t everyone? Judge not lest ye shall be judged? Let him without sin cast the first stone? I guess I shouldn’t speak for everyone but I have done things in my own life I’m not proud of. What is important is that I try to do good things now. So does Ed Artis.

In regards to the Knights of Malta and Templars, etc. There are so many different sects of those organizations and all of them claim to be the “only” authorized sect. Truth is we don’t know who is for real and who isn’t and that probably includes most of the members. As for me, when I look at the Roman Catholic church’s persecution of those organizations throught history, I find it kind of funny that the Vatican accepts them now. I certainly don’t consider the Vatican or your sources for that matter who bash Ed and his group anymore credible than anyone else. Who cares about all that stuff anyone. What matters is what they are contributing to society - if anything at all.

In regards to those twins, I know for a fact that Ed was involved in helping them to get back to the states. He never claimed to be the only one though. This was done through a whole lotta people and organizations working together. Ed’s organization was just one of them. I do know he was helping them to get to the states through airline reservations and hotel rooms free of charge. Heck, those of us in the Philippines knew about that long before any media did.

No one is perfect. I suggest that you leave Ed Artis alone and let him continue to do good things for people. There are a lot of people who have food, medicine, shelter and clothing as well as money because of Ed Artis and there are a lot of Americans and Filipinos living in the Philippines that can indeed attest to that.

Rick

In regards to the twins, he called the media in and tried to claim he was responsible, in front of the cameras, which is Artis’ style. Yeah, I can see you personally know him. And I can also see why you’re disturbed about what I’m talking about here. Tell me. Are your girlfriends pals?

Wow. Since every Special Forces Weapons man that completed the course between 1989 and 1991 when I retired had to go through me to complete it, as I was NCOIC of the Weapons Committee, I find that kind of interesting. But, enough of this. I’ve said my peace. I know who and what I am, and have nothing to prove to you. Actually I take that as a complement. The less known an SF Soldier was - the better. The good ones didn’t seek to make a name for themselves so thankyou so much for that complement.

There is a place I have a beer at once in awhile here in Angeles. It’s where the SF Association here is and most of the guys there are SF Vietnam Vets, many of them whom I served with and no - I did NOT serve in SF in Vietnam. I’m sure that they will be interested in knowing that I’m unheard of by everybody and anybody in SF. I guess they will all be surprised and pleased to know that they are “nobody’s in SF”.

Rick Cantrell
MSG (Retired)
US Army Special Forces

Who never wrote a book, never had a magazine article and always walked away when a reporter was coming.

No, he never wrote a book, but he has hired cameramen with money people thought they were sending for humanitarian aid to record his exploits on film, and even went so far as to blackmail National Geographic by not signing a “release” and then sent them a 7-page letter telling them what his terms were for the release when he got back to the States from his 6 days or whatever it was in Afghanistan.

And how long does he claim he was in Afghanistan during that first time with Idema? And how long did he claim he was in Rwanda?

C’mon, Rick, you’re just an Artis patsy. I know there are a lot of guys who have never seen combat who have had all their boxes checked but never saw any action–who have a problem with guys who’ve actually used their training and been engaged in a fight. You’d think that instead of petty jealousy, there would be more support coming from guys like you for how much Jack has personally sacrificed to fight the war on terror unlike a guy like you who doesn’t even live in the United States and has a family with a Filippino woman. You don’t have any stories like Jack has, you’ve never seen the action that he’s seen. So I’m supposed to re-think my position because of a guy who left the United States whose claim is he is former SF but in reality is a friend of Ed Artis? Get real, will you?

Just for your own information, I am not Ed Artis. I am:

Rick Cantrell, MSG (Retired), US Army Special Forces. I didn’t just fall off the pumpkin wagaon yesterday and most of my time in SF was weapons and intel. With that said, I don’t post anything unless I know it to be true.

Be well,

Rick

It occurred to me that Bob dug up the name of some dead guy who was impossible to trace in order to rant about this, but I can see you’re a real person. But seeing that picture of you and Ed Artis, I can see exactly who you are and remain unimpressed. Frankly, I’d like to see an actual SF soldier who ISN’T a humanitarian patsy or a clerk like Tracy Warrington who got a “civilian commendation” for his listening in a tiny room to radio transmissions- come out in support of Ed Artis and produce some evidence that Jack isn’t who he claims to be. To my knowledge, they simply don’t exist. Thanks for stopping by and making a fool of yourself and providing more entertainment on behalf of the SMEAR JACK CABAL.

BTW, the one-and two-sentence emails I get from real SF are in true SF style and voice support for Jack, so there’s a lot going behind the scenes that you’re simply unaware of. This includes former and current members of the British SAS who have offered help and support.

Happy now? I gave you and your ridiculous rants full exposure in an entire post.

PS: Advertising for what. Your stupidity? Your connection with the Smear Jack Cabal?

PPS: Since you password protected that link to hide your real agenda, you don’t need access to my website, then. All’s fair, so they say…

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