Jack Murphy

About the author

Jack served as a Sniper and Team Leader in 3rd Ranger Battalion and as a Senior Weapons Sergeant on a Military Free Fall team in 5th Special Forces Group. Having left the military in 2010, he graduated from Columbia with a BA in political science. Murphy is the author of Reflexive Fire, Target Deck, Direct Action, and Gray Matter Splatter. His memoir, "Murphy's Law" is due for a 2019 release and can be pre-ordered now.

Micromanaging Special Forces ODA’s

We posted this video previously but I felt this needs another look. Jack was the first to dig this up and since this was tailored to the ODA community….here you go again for those of you that didn’t see it last week! -Brandon Here is the crash course on why a unit organized for unconventional […]

SOG to SOFREP

To the founders of SOFREP, thank you. After viewing Act of Valor, I took my wife to SOFREP’s link to the Navy SEAL Foundation that honors the KIA SEALS since 9/11, literally putting a face on the sailors who paid the ultimate price for our Country. In recent weeks, I’ve reviewed each icon and link […]

Military Free Fall Advanced Tactical Infiltration Course

Advanced Tactical Infiltration Course sharpens freefall techniques Military freefall is as relevant as ever in operational environments where roads are littered with IEDs, and extensive early-warning networks update the bad guys on troop movements. “We like to be able to knock on an enemy’s back door without them knowing we’re in their yard,” Sprouse said. […]

Delta Force re-enactor? I think not.

I recently found this picture floating through the ether of the internet where some dude on a web forum was insisting that the shooters in the picture were simply Delta Force re-enactors playing dress up.  I’m going to have to disagree with this assessment and here is why. Based on the equipment seen here, I’m […]

Failed Hostage Rescue Op in Nigeria

Details are still sketchy, and we remind people not to jump to conclusions, but it has been reported that a rescue mission mounted by the British SBS has failed to safely recover British Engineer Christopher McManus and Italian citizen, Franco Lamolinara being held captive in Nigeria.  Both men were being held by the forces of […]

An American Freedom Fighter in the Libyan Civil War: Part 3

Matthew VanDyke joins us for a final installment about his time spent as a freedom fighter in Libya.  As a former Special Forces Weapons Sergeant, I couldn’t help but pick his brain a bit about the weapons used during the Libyan Civil War. Many of us were impressed by the DIY improvisation of the rebels. […]

An American Freedom Fighter in the Libyan Civil War: Part 2

In part 1 of this series we covered the exploits of Matthew VanDyke, an American Georgetown grad who traveled to Libya to join his friends and participate in the armed rebellion against Gaddafi’s 40+ year dictatorship.  In part 2, Matt told me about the circumstances of his capture by the Libyan military. [divider] “On March […]

Special Forces Sniper Team cleans up at the International Sniper Competition

The Rangers I worked with in Sniper Section at 3rd Ranger Battalion used to do a good job of cleaning house out at the International Sniper competition held annually at Ft. Benning, Georgia. This year it was B/2/3 that dominated, the CIF company with 3rd Special Forces Group stationed at Ft. Bragg. While not as […]

The 75th Ranger Regiment is NOT the same as Ranger School!

From the official Ft. Benning website: -The 75th Ranger Regiment is a Special Operations unit with the mission to plan and conduct joint special military operations in support of U.S. policies and objectives. The Regiment is the largest Special Operations direct action force. -Ranger School is the Army’s premier leadership school and falls under the […]

An American Freedom Fighter in the Libyan Civil War: Part 1

As Americans, especially those in military and intelligence circles, we have an obsession with giving everything a name or acronym.  Everyone gets a label and category.  I asked Matthew VanDyke what he was doing in the middle of the Libyan Civil War.  Was he a mercenary, a private security contractor, or a foreign volunteer?  His […]

Invading Afghanistan with ODA 555: Part II

SOFREP is pleased to present the second part of our two part interview with Scott Zastrow, whose ODA was the first into hostile territory during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. How did your ODA get inserted into Afghanistan and what was this experience like? Task Force 160th flew us in. We actually had a […]

The Future of USASOC: Projecting forward into the coming decades

I get asked a lot about the capabilities of various Special Operations units.  People want to understand who does what and how all of these various SOF elements interact with each other.  I’ve also had to explain that since 9/11 the entire SOF community has had to up their game, and the same also goes […]