Jack Murphy

By 1978 the Rhodesian Bush War had gone hot with ZIPRA and ZANLA communist terrorists flooding across the borders of Mozambique, Zambia, and Botswana.  Despite the war, life had to go on for the civilians who chose to stand their ground in their homeland. Lake Kariba was a popular resort location and vacation spot for […]

Before long, George was talking about going to Africa to take up the fight against communism once more. He flew to Angola in 1975 and attempted to join FNLA but was turned down. The other anti-communist movement, UNITA, also turned him down, perhaps because they suspected him of being a CIA informant. In late 1975 […]

MACV-SOG had been a joint venture between the Special Forces and the CIA from the very beginning. It was a concept well ahead of its time that fused the intelligence gathering aspects of the CIA with the technical and tactical proficiency of professional soldiers who knew how to work on the sharp end. Special Forces […]

In May of 1969 Recon Team Illinois was infiltrated into Cambodia to conduct a Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA) on the latest airstrike as a part of Henry Kissinger’s so-called “secret” bombing campaign. This was the third bombing of Operation Menu, this time targeting the North Vietnamese Army’s 27th Infantry Regiment’s base camp. On the ground […]

Trekh Nawa, Afghanistan – The planned emplacement of an improvised explosive device (IED) on Main Service Road Tulley was delayed again, according to local Taliban leader Mullah Ahmidullah, because all the emplacers had to attend “another goddamned safety brief.” “We were all set to go this morning, until I got my turban chewed by Mullah […]

When I first heard the name George Washington Bacon mentioned there was very little information about him available until I started to make some inquiries. Eventually, some interesting people began to get in touch with me. George Washington Bacon was the real deal and it’s high time that people learn about who he really was. […]

I’m pleased to announce that Rob Maylor will now be a contributing writer here at SOFREP.  Rob brings a wealth of experience to the table and his own unique perspective as a former SASR Soldier. Rob served in the British Royal Marine Commandos in 40 Commando and passed selection in 1994 to go to 3 […]

I was going to go on an epic rant but I found someone who said it and sourced it better than I did, so here it is.  First hearing about this a few weeks ago, I held off commenting until we had confirmation.  Yesterday, it hit the press.  Maybe when I regain my composure I […]

Sergeant Major William Bowles had an amazing career that stretched from Post-Word War II Germany as a young signals operator, to becoming one of the original members of the Special Forces Regiment.  As a Special Forces Communications Sergeant he deployed to South Korea, conducted a top-secret mission to Laos, and was with the first two […]

Any military draw down, such as what we’ve seen in Iraq and will experience in Afghanistan, is an especially hazardous time. The asymmetric enemy, ever adaptive and certainly emboldened, is alert to any hint of slackened security. Combat arenas are experiencing an ominous uptick of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and shoot-and-scoot attacks. As U.S. conventional […]

I was just reading about Scott Thompson, the late CEO of Yahoo’s media sites after getting a tip from Feral Jundi.  Apparently Thompson had lied about having a degree in computer science on his resume.  When the board of directors got wind of it they decided to pull the plug on him.  Good riddance I […]

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  The War on Terror is winding down, or so we are told, with all but a token force left behind in Iraq and a phased withdrawal set to begin in Afghanistan soon.  Interestingly, the war seems to be expanding outwards in all directions with covert […]