November 19, 1863, President Lincoln Delivers the Gettysburg Address

November 19, 1863, President Lincoln Delivers the Gettysburg Address

Just four and a half months after one of the bloodiest battles in American history at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the ground of the battlefield was being rededicated as the “Soldiers’ National Cemetery” at Gettysburg. President Lincoln was invited to attend and give a few words but he was not slated to give the “oration” on that […]

West Point Grad Esper Confirmed as New Army Secretary

West Point Grad Esper Confirmed as New Army Secretary

The US Army finally has a new Secretary. Dr. Mark T. Esper was confirmed by a vote in the Senate, 89-6, to become the 23rd secretary of the Army on Wednesday. Esper was nominated by President Trump back in July to take over the Secretary’s job. Esper testified before Congress two weeks ago and laid […]

Book Review: “War Stories of the Green Berets” by Hans Halberstadt

Book Review: “War Stories of the Green Berets” by Hans Halberstadt

Frequently, we get emails or tweets here at SpecialOperations.com in the realm of questions about the training and the qualification course. Many of course deal with Selection and I have to tell people that the Instructors don’t actually kill anyone during the events and one doesn’t have to be 10-feet tall to pass. But one […]

Bruce Crandall Awarded the Medal of Honor, Battle of the Ia Drang Valley

Bruce Crandall Awarded the Medal of Honor, Battle of the Ia Drang Valley

  On November 14, 1965, the 1st Bn. 7th Cavalry landed with 457 men in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam. They would soon be surrounded by over 3000 regulars of the North Vietnamese Army. The resultant, bloody battle would mark the first large-scale American involvement in the war and forever change how the soldiers […]

Celebrating Veterans Day In Our Schools Is Possibly the Most Meaningful

Celebrating Veterans Day In Our Schools Is Possibly the Most Meaningful

First of all, a belated Happy Veterans Day to all of those who serve, have served and especially for those who are about to serve. Last week was a very busy one for the veterans in our small town in Central Massachusetts. Members of our local Veterans Council, the VFW, and the American Legion were […]

Daily Beast: Green Beret Murdered After Discovering SEALs Stealing Cash

Daily Beast: Green Beret Murdered After Discovering SEALs Stealing Cash

The story about the Green Beret found murdered in his apartment in Mali has taken an ominous twist. A recent piece penned by the Daily Beast, says SSG Logan Melgar of the 3rd Special Forces Group was murdered by two Navy SEALs from SEAL Team Six after he found out about the pair’s stealing of […]

The US Military Now Has Over 15,000 Troops in Afghanistan

The US Military Now Has Over 15,000 Troops in Afghanistan

Since the announcement in August that the Trump Administration has committed to Afghanistan, the U.S. military’s numbers there continue to grow. There could soon be 16,000 troops in the country as the Army is gearing up to deploy hundreds of Army trainers there early in 2018. In his August speech, President Donald Trump said that […]

Battle of Mazar e Sharif, Special Forces Troops Mount Horseback Assault

Battle of Mazar e Sharif, Special Forces Troops Mount Horseback Assault

The fall of Mazar-e-Sharif on November 9, 2001, was the first major defeat of the Taliban and was taken by the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (Northern Alliance), along with US Army Special Forces A-Teams and precision Air Force bombardment. The taking of the city was somewhat of a shock for both […]

Operation Torch, the Allies Invade North Africa in Morocco, Algeria

Operation Torch, the Allies Invade North Africa in Morocco, Algeria

Both Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt knew that they had to make some tangible moves against the Germans in 1942. And despite Josef Stalin’s insistence that western allies open a second front, Churchill knew that would end in disaster. So the powers decided that they’d first pacify North Africa, where the British Eighth Army and […]

Trump: No Dictator Should Underestimate U.S. Resolve

Trump: No Dictator Should Underestimate U.S. Resolve

President Donald Trump is making strong overtures about the North Korean regime and plans on using this trip to drum up more support for his policies toward the government of Kim Jong Un, to stop them from gaining nuclear weapons. On Sunday he said that “no one, no dictator, no regime… should underestimate American resolve.” […]

Bowe Bergdahl Walks With No Jail Time, Was Justice Served?

Bowe Bergdahl Walks With No Jail Time, Was Justice Served?

Army Judge, Colonel Jeffrey Nance ruled in the Bowe Bergdahl sentencing that the former Sgt. now a private doesn’t have to serve any jail time. The judge in a surprising ruling, reduced Bergdahl to private, forfeiture of $1000 a month for 10 months and put him out of the service with a dishonorable discharge. The […]

On This Date, November 4, 1979 The US Embassy in Tehran is Stormed

On This Date, November 4, 1979 The US Embassy in Tehran is Stormed

This would be one of the U.S.’ first brushes with politicized Islamic fundamentalists and would change the country’s relationship with Iran forever. The resultant hostage taking of US Embassy employees would last 444 days and would result in the Carter administration being routed in the 1980 elections. The US had been a big supporter of […]