Steve Balestrieri

About the author

Steve is a SOFREP Senior Editor. He has served as a Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer before injuries forced his early separation. He writes for SOFREP and covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and his work was regularly featured in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and Grafton News newspapers.
11 American warfighters wounded during Iranian missile attack

11 American warfighters wounded during Iranian missile attack

The military evacuated 11 soldiers from Al Assad Air Base in Iraq and treated them for concussion symptoms after the Iranians rocketed two Iraqi military bases earlier this month, which housed U.S. troops, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command said late on Thursday. In the aftermath of the Iranian rocket attack, some of the injured […]

US Military resumes counter-ISIS operations in Iraq

US Military resumes counter-ISIS operations in Iraq

The United States military has resumed some offensive operations with Iraqi military units against Islamic State targets. The U.S. will also shortly resume the training of Iraqi units. (The two sides are currently trying to work out the details — we don’t currently know who the U.S. negotiators are.) This resumption of operations comes just […]

Iran goes after US allies threatening retaliation for helping America

Iran goes after US allies threatening retaliation for helping America

The Iranian government is facing mounting protests at home, where Iranian security forces are reportedly using live ammunition on Iranian citizens. The citizens were protesting the government shooting down an airliner that took off from Tehran. All 176 onboard, including 82 Iranians died in the shootdown. The government admitted that it “lied to the people” […]

Disaster in the making? US to withdraw from Africa

Disaster in the making? US to withdraw from Africa

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley was in Brussels to speak at a gathering of NATO commanders. There he said that the U.S. wants to reduce its footprint in Africa. Meanwhile, France’s President Emmanuel Macron was hosting a conference of the G5 nations (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger) […]

Another US/Iraqi base hit with rockets, 4 Iraqis wounded

Another US/Iraqi base hit with rockets, 4 Iraqis wounded

On Sunday, eight rockets slammed into an airbase in Balad, Iraq, wounding an Iraqi air force officer and three Iraqi enlisted men. Although the Americans have used that base for training and operations, no Americans were injured and few were even present at the time of this latest attack.  No one has claimed responsibility for […]

Iranian forces arrest British Ambassador as protests against the regime grow

Iranian forces arrest British Ambassador as protests against the regime grow

The British ambassador to Iran was arrested Saturday for allegedly “inciting” protesters that were taking to the streets again against the regime outside of the University of Tehran. The protests sprang from a vigil at the university for the victims of the airliner shot down by Iranian forces.   Ambassador Rob Macaire was arrested by Iranian […]

Islamic Militants attack Nigerien base, kill 25 soldiers

Islamic Militants attack Nigerien base, kill 25 soldiers

Suspected Islamic militants attacked a Nigerien military base in a two-pronged assault on Thursday that left at least 25 soldiers dead. Government forces killed 63 jihadists and destroyed several motorcycles.  The attack took place in the town of Chinagodrar, which sits seven miles from Niger’s border with Mali. Although no one has taken responsibility for […]

Ukrainian airplane shoot-down just another one in a long list of military screw-ups

Ukrainian airplane shoot-down just another one in a long list of military screw-ups

The world reacted with horror over the mistaken shootdown of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 by the Iranians. The shootdown killed 176 people including 82 Iranians. What made that tragedy even worse was the fact that Flight 752 had just taken off from Tehran’s international airport.  This highlighted a common problem among disasters of this […]

Airstrike on Iranian Militia “Land Bridge” in Syria Kills 8

Airstrike on Iranian Militia “Land Bridge” in Syria Kills 8

Unidentified aircraft pounded Iranian-backed militias on Friday in Syria, near the border with Iraq. Eight militiamen were killed by the strikes, Iraqi officials reported.  The targets were two trucks carrying ballistic missiles. This latest attack comes at a time when tensions between the United States and Iran are very high after a series of escalating […]

Did the Iranians shoot down the Ukranian passenger plane?

Did the Iranians shoot down the Ukranian passenger plane?

The missile strike conducted by the Iranians on the United States’ bases in Iraq as retaliation against the United States for the drone airstrike on January 3 that killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, Commander of the Quds Force, may have claimed unintended victims: Pentagon and intelligence officials increasingly believe that the airliner that took […]

Army refuses to restore Special Forces Tab to pardoned Golsteyn 

Army refuses to restore Special Forces Tab to pardoned Golsteyn 

The U.S. Army is setting up another showdown over a pardon issued by President Trump to Major Matt Golsteyn. The Washington Post was the first to report, citing two different sources on the condition of anonymity within the Army, that Lieutenant General Francis M. Beaudette, the commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), had […]