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.
Differences Between Foreign Internal Defense (FID) and Counter Insurgency (COIN)

Differences Between Foreign Internal Defense (FID) and Counter Insurgency (COIN)

Here at SpecialOperations.com, we frequently get questions from our readers, many of whom are or will shortly be aspiring members of our Special Operations Forces (SOF). Since most of our articles deal with the training aspect of SOF, we always welcome them. We had a question and answer session this past weekend in one of […]

Remembering Green Beret 1LT Loren Hagen Medal of Honor Aug. 7, 1971

Remembering Green Beret 1LT Loren Hagen Medal of Honor Aug. 7, 1971

As the US involvement was winding down in Vietnam in 1971, there was still dangerous work being down by the Special Operations Forces working under the cover of MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group). This in the shadows unit was once active all South and North Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos but as […]

The “Green Beret Affair” Project GAMMA, A Massive Snafu for the Army

The “Green Beret Affair” Project GAMMA, A Massive Snafu for the Army

During the war in Vietnam, the US Army Special Forces were headquartered in Nha Trang. During this time, the Special Forces troops had a close liaison with the CIA and the two organizations worked closely on many intelligence and special operations missions. Their most successful covert intelligence unit “Project GAMMA”, had its mission effectively shut […]

The “Grey Man” in Special Operations Selection, Misconceptions Abound

The “Grey Man” in Special Operations Selection, Misconceptions Abound

We’ve talked about the whole “Grey Man” thing in the past and in certain situations yes you should endeavor to blend into your surroundings and become the grey man, but as far as Selection, I’m sticking by my earlier observations and say that it isn’t a smart thing to do. I’ve gotten questions and emails […]

Iraq Special Forces, Rebuilding After Mosul Battle, Must Keep Standards High

Iraq Special Forces, Rebuilding After Mosul Battle, Must Keep Standards High

The Iraqi Special Forces, the best troops in their military are looking to rebuild and re-arm after the nine-month bloody battle for Mosul. The joint US-Iraqi trained “Golden Division” suffered losses reportedly as high as 40 percent during the siege to oust the Islamic State fighters from the city, which was effectively razed to the […]

Civic Action Projects Are Very Important in Special Operations Missions

Civic Action Projects Are Very Important in Special Operations Missions

When mentioning Special Operations missions, the talk generally centers around those direct action missions, the raids on suspected terrorists’ locations, and the like. Everyone likes those linear, tangible missions and the results are much easier to gauge the success or failure from. But in the Unconventional Warfare or Counterinsurgency environment, the results are harder to […]