Pete Nealen

About the author

is a former Reconnaissance Marine and veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. He deployed to Iraq in 2005-2006, and again in 2007, with 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Recon Bn. After two years of schools and workups, including Scout/Sniper Basic and Team Leader's Courses, he deployed to Afghanistan with 4th Platoon, Force Reconnaissance Company, I MEF. He is now the author of the military thrillers Task Force Desperate, Hunting in the Shadows, and Alone and Unafraid. His latest American Praetorians thriller, The Devil You Don't Know, is now available on Amazon.

Assistance For the Fallen Rangers’ Families

It’s been getting reported all day that the families of the 5 servicemembers who have been killed since the beginning of the month, including the Rangers killed on Saturday, will not receive their death benefits, to the tune of $100,000, for funeral expenses.  This is a big deal, and a lot of people are coming […]

Jihad Tourism

Syria is becoming a new example of a phenomenon that has become known as “jihad terrorism:” the influx of foreign Muslims to Muslim-affiliated wars in order to take part, waging jihad against the enemy of the moment, in this case the Syrian government and their Hezbollah and Iranian backers. Jihad tourism is nothing new.  The […]

A Look At “Operation Red Wings”

The latest SOFREP ebook, Operation Red Wings, is now available for pre-order on Amazon here and iTunes here. This was a short-fuse project.  Charlie hit me up last month and asked if I could do it in 30 days.  I sat down, had a long talk with Dan Lake, the CRO (Combat Rescue Officer) in the […]

A Look At The Moro National Liberation Front

The Moro National Liberation Front is a separatist rebel organization in Mindanao, Sabah, Palawan, and the Sulu archipelago (called Bansamoro Land by the separatists), founded in 1969 and chaired by Nur Misuari.  Misuari had previously founded a Muslim advocacy group called the Mindanao Independence Movement, in 1963, to protest the perceived oppression of the Muslim […]

MCSOCOM Detachment One, Part 5: Boots on the Ground

The first Det One Marines landed in Baghdad on April 6, 2004.  Fallujah had flared up only a short time before, with the killing and mutilation of the Blackwater contractors, and the Shi’a Sadrist rebellion was driving up from the south.  There was plenty of work to be done. However, it wasn’t nearly as simple […]

Further Splintering and Radicalization in Syria

The Syrian Civil War appears to be becoming increasingly three-way (four-way if you count the Kurds).  The Islamic State of Iraq and as Sham assassinated Ahrar al Sham’s chief humanitarian aid worker on Sept. 11, apparently in keeping with an operational strategy voiced by Ayman al Zawahiri the next day.  On Sept. 12, Zawahiri issued […]

Warning Order: Updates in the Marine SOF Wiki

The Marine side of the SOFREP SOF Wiki has been sorely neglected of late.  However, I’m now getting to fixing and updating it.  The Title is now “MARSOC and Recon,” and the front page has been revamped a little.  Over the next few weeks I’ll get to the rest of it, and hopefully have a […]

MCSOCOM Detachment One Part 4: Training Phase

While there were a few exceptions (which is normal, individual Marines will invariably be sent to schools that open up at various times during a workup, either simply because the opportunity is there, or to fill a gap in capability that couldn’t be filled before), Det One’s individual training, or “schools phase,” ended July 1st, […]

Putin: Champion of Right and Freedom, or KGB Thug?

I’ve been seeing quite a bit of lionization of Vladimir Putin lately, by a lot of the same people who were up in arms last year about Obama’s hot mic comment to Dmitri Medvedev that he’d have “more flexibility” as regards to giving the Russians what they want (re: missile defense for our allies in […]

Are Our Warfighters’ Lives Worth Less Than A Questionable Political Point?

In June 2009, Gen Stanley McChrystal took over as the overall commander of US and ISAF forces in Afghanistan.  Shortly after he took command, he issued new ROEs aimed at helping US and ISAF forces win the hearts and minds of the locals.  This was supposed to herald a new phase of Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan.  […]

Ahrar al Sham Aid Worker Assassinated by ISIS

One of the more standout actions of the Islamist rebel group Ahrar al Sham has been their civilian outreach programs.  They have made a concerted effort to get food, medical supplies, and other aid to the civilians in the war-torn areas of Syria, and have widely publicized their efforts.  It’s an effective “Information Operation,” especially […]

Clashes, Hostage Taking in Southern Philippines

At about 0130L Monday morning, between 180 and 300 fighters of the Moro National Liberation Front entered six coastal villages then attempted to enter the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga, aiming to raise their separatist flag over Zamboanga’s city hall.  Philippine Army forces intercepted them before they could reach the building, and six people were […]