John Friberg

The United States has recently committed to provide funding for upgrades to the airfield in Keflavik, Iceland. [4] This will allow U.S. Navy’s P-9 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to keep tabs on Russian subs traveling through the GIUK gap.

The Robin Sage exercise is an important part of the Special Forces Qualification Course as it prepares the prospective Special Forces Soldier for a variety of missions and how to work with indigenous forces.

U.S. SOF is also heavily involved in the advisory effort for the Afghan Local Police (ALP) – a village-focused security program sponsored by the Afghan Ministry of Interior.

There were lots of things that could have gone wrong – an aircraft could be shot down, the element of surprise could be lost, or the hostages could be moved.

The Afghan National Army has in the past few years completed the fielding of their main artillery piece – the 122-mm D30 Howitzer. Each brigade of the Afghan army has about 6-8 of the howitzers within its brigade combat support battalion or kandak. [1] The D30 Howitzer is the principle means of Afghan fire support. […]

Finland joining NATO is a strong possibility. The Finns are concerned about the aggressive moves by Russia in the Crimea, Ukraine, and Baltic Sea.

Two years later it appears that ISIS is being dealt some significant setbacks – of note is the recapture of Ramadi and Fallujah by Iraqi government forces, once again led by Iraqi SOF aided by Coalition airpower and supported by Shia militia.

For the individual team member there is the challenge of passing Pre-SCUBA, the Combat Diver course at Key West, and then maintaining your physical fitness and swim skills to pass a dive re-qualification once or twice a year.

The VJTF was established within the overall NRF structure and would have up to five maneuver battalions that would be supported by maritime, air, and special forces.

The ‘train and equip’ efforts of the United States in Iraq and Syria over the past few years have yielded mixed results. The CIA and special operations attempts to field rebel Syrian forces to fight ISIS have seen some embarrassing moments.

Political warfare may be the best term to use – especially in terms of the current aggressive nature of Russia and its use of ‘little green men’ [4] and other devices to advance its national security interests. It could also apply to the methodology used by many of the insurgent and terrorist groups found across the world.

NATO exercises held recently in Poland and other Eastern European nations improve the military coordination of the member nations. Could NATO stop Russia from invading the rest of the Ukraine or one of the Baltic States (Estonia, Lithuania, or Latvia)? Unlikely.