John Friberg

About the author

John is a retired Command Chief Warrant Officer (CW5 180A) with 40 years service in U.S. Army Special Forces with active duty and reserve components. Since his Army retirement he has worked for three years as a Counterinsurgency Advisor in Afghanistan (2012-2014) and as a defense contractor providing exercise support and military advisor training for USSOCOM and NATO (2015-2016). In his civilian occupation (when not on active duty) he worked domestically and overseas in high risk areas as a security consultant specializing in personal protection, protective systems, and anti-terrorism. He holds a Certificate of Proficiency in Security Management from University of Massachusetts - Lowell (one-year program) and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree (ALB) from Harvard University concentrating in International Relations.

New Contributing Editor joins SOFREP

I look forward to my role as a contributing editor for SOFREP and welcome your suggestions and observations on my reporting, analysis, and commentary.

Integration of Women in SOF Units

In December 2015 Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that all military training, occupations, and units will be open to women to include those found within the special operations forces. (1). Early in 2015 female volunteers were selected to attend the Army’s Ranger School. The first class started in April 2015 with 19 female students. […]

Elite U.S. Targeting Force Now in Iraq

An elite U.S. special operations targeting force has arrived in Iraq and will carry out operations against the Islamic State, part of a broader effort in 2016 to strike at the militants.

The Key to Successful Afghan Peace Talks

If the Pakistanis are sincere, they will exert influence on the Afghan Taliban to get them to the negotiation table. If not, then there will be just a lot of talking going on about ‘peace talks,’ and America’s longest war will continue.

“rel=”nofollow”: The Terrorist Group That Would Be a State”

“Michael W.S. Ryan presents a net assessment of ISIS: its strengths and weaknesses. The conclusion will propose some recommendations for degrading ISIS, both militarily and ideologically. Clearly, ISIS is a fluid topic, subject to change.” This recently published comprehensive 59-page report by the Center on Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups of the U.S. Naval War […]

Special Operations and the Challenge of Working in the “Gray Zone”

Military, government, academic, and policy gurus are forever formulating new doctrine, concepts, terminology, and acronyms for the military. Years ago there were very few terms to consider (compared to now) in the special operations world – Unconventional Warfare (UW), Foreign Internal Defense (FID), Internal Defense and Development (IDAD), Counterinsurgency (COIN), and a few others. It […]

War Zone Blasts and Brain Damage

“Washington (AFP) – US military members who are exposed to repeated blasts in a war zone may suffer permanent damage in parts of the brain that lend emotional stability, said a study Wednesday.” “Researchers have described mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) — more commonly called “concussion” — as the “signature injury of the wars in […]