Video Information

In the summer of 1990, the Public Affairs Office at the Department of the Army at the Pentagon decided to make a commercial for the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve featuring a HALO jump (High Altitude, Low Opening).

Southern California was chosen as the location primarily because the film production company contracted to produce the commercial was based in the Los Angeles area.

The Army was already planning to hire civilian skydivers and civilian extras to play Green Berets in the commercial when someone at the Pentagon remembered there was an entire USAR Special Forces company based in the Los Angeles area. By having soldiers from C/3/12 star in the commercial, they saved the Army thousands of dollars.

Several unit members filmed scenes, but as is always typical with video production, not all scenes were included in the final version of the commercial. The following C/3/12 members appear in the commercial:

1) MSG Gary Marshman, the actual HALO jumper in the commercial. He was also Team Sergeant for ODA 333.

2) CPT Ronald LaGrassa
(Company S-4 Officer)

3) 1LT Elton Johnson
(Company S-1 Officer)

4) SSG Jeffrey Rose
(ODA 335).

To ensure 12th Group was "represented" in the commercial, 1LT Johnson (site owner, now LTC), stuck his beret inside his helmet with the 12th Group flash in plain view.

If you have a quick eye, you can spot it in the opening sequence of the commercial. Hey, they don't call us "Sneaky Petes" for nothing.