On August 13, 1970, during the Viet Nam War, Edward Bugarin, age 20, was drafted into the United States Army.  Shortly after his swearing in at Ft. Derussy, Hawaii, he departed for  Ft. Ord, California for Basic Training as a two year draftee.  Since he did not have a contract with the U.S. Army he was offered the chance to sign up for Special Forces training, which provided him with the excitment that he thought he would enjoy.  It also added an additional one year to serve.  He accepted the offer to go into Special Forces based on advice from his older brother, who was also drafted and had just returned from Viet Nam.  The advice was, “Get all the training you can before they send you off to the war”, so Bugarin took the plunge to “Get the Training”, not knowing what the outcome would be.

After completing Basic Training, Leadership Preparation Course (LPC) and Advanced Individual Training (AIT), he attended the Airborne School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, which is a prerequisite for anyone attending the Special Forces course.  Three weeks and five jumps later, Bugarin was Airborne qualified and went to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.  Beginning in March, 1970, Bugarin attended Special Forces training where he learned his chosen profession as a Combat Engineer (Demolition Expert).  A few weeks before grauduation, you were provided form that was called a Wish List.  You were to put down where you would like to be stationed overseas and and the United States.  You had to list three areas for each.  Most of those in Bugarin’s class, to include Bugarin, had put down Viet Nam as their number one preference for overseas and state side duty.  But no one got their wish.  By the time graduation arrived, all U.S. Army Special Forces were being withdrawn from Viet Nam. In November 1970, immediately after graduation, Bugarin received orders for the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), based in Ft. Bragg

While serving with the 5th Special Forces, Bugarin earned his Combat Divers Badge by attending the 5 week long Special Forces Underwater Operations Course in Key West, Florida.

In 1973, his first enlistment was up.  He had to make a decision whether to get out of the Army or stay in.  Now with a wife and twin boys, Bugarin opted to remain on active duty, and reenlisted for an assignment to Hawaii.  His new duty location was Schofield Barracks, home of the 25th Infantry Division.  Bugarin was assigned to the 65th Combat Engineer Battalion where he learned the ropes as a Squad Leader in a conventional unit where draftees were still a dime a dozen.

Bugarin returned to Ft. Bragg in 1976 and was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group and assigned to a Scuba Team.

In November 1977, the President of the United States directed the Chief of Staff of the Army to form a Counter Terrorist Force since the country did not have a viable CT force at that time.  The U.S. Army began creating such a unit at Ft. Bragg.  It would be commanded by COL Charles Beckwith, a Viet Nam veteran with a background in Special Operations and close ties with the British 22 Special Air Service (British Special Forces).  The word spread quickly of a new unit forming and many clamored to volunteer.  It was easy to find volunteers especially at Ft. Bragg, home of the Green Berets.  But making it to the unit was another matter.  This was to be a secretive unit and it’s official name wasn’t publicized.  In fact there were many cover names used to confuse everyone.  The first nickname given to the unit was “Charlie’s Angels” due to the commander’s name.  Later it was given another name which it still is known as today, “Delta Force”.  The recruiting and training of personnel to create this unit would take almost two years from creation until it became an operational and viable force.  In the Spring of 1978, Bugarin had orders for Ft. Rucker to attend Flight School to become a helicopter pilot.  But after a short time attending flight school, he decided that he would rather spend his career serving with the Counter Terrorist Force, so he resigned from flight school, went back to his old unit at Ft. Bragg and waited for an opportunity to attend Delta’s Selection and Assessment Course.  His chance came in October of 1978.  He attended the Selection and Assessment Course where only those that passed the stringent program were selected to go through the training and hopefully complete the training to become operational members of Delta Force.

Bugarin successfully completed the Selection and Assessment Course and was assigned to the unit in early December 1978 where he waited to go through training.  In January 1979, he began the unit’s Operators Training Course.  Upon successful completion of the training, he was assigned as an operational member with one of the Saber Squadrons of Delta. 

In late October 1979, the Army conducted an exhaustive evaluation of Delta Force testing individual and unit skills to determine if the unit was viable as a CT force.  The unit passed with flying colors.  Just a few days later on November 4, 1979, the American Embassy was overrun by Iranian students.  They took 52 American Diplomats and Embassy Employees Hostage.  Within hours, Delta Force was alerted.  Delta Force began preparation for their first mission, Operation Eagle Claw, which was executed on April 25, 1980, after all other options to free the American hostages failed.

Bugarin served in Delta for 11.5 years, he learned and honed his skills in numerous overseas activities, including operations in Guatemala, Beirut, Grenada and Panama.

In April 1990, Bugarin left Delta to begin his last assignment with on active duty, working for Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC), Hawaii.  He chose this job as his last assignment so he could be back home where he grew up and was drafted.

On February 29, 1992, Bugarin, retired from the U. S. Army with the rank of Sergeant Major.  One year after his retirement from the U.S. Army, Bugarin was hired as the head firearms instructor for the Hawaii Department Public of Safety, assigned to Technical Staff and Development Office where he was in charge of training all new recruits in the safe use of firearms.  He also authored a new firearms manual because the department lacked one.

Bugarin decided to leave when he was offered the opportunity to work as a member of the Security Detail that was to protect Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was living in exile and was to be returned as the President of Haiti shortly after the US lead invasion of that country in September 1994.

Since then, he has worked numerous contracts, such as a firearms instructor at the first and only Delta/SEAL Training Camp and in the training of the Federal Air Marshall program.

Shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, Bugarin was offered a contract to work their as a security contractor.  He has been to Iraq several more times since then always working as a security contractor.