USASOC Honors Gold Star Families in Ceremony

USASOC Honors Gold Star Families in Ceremony

The Army’s Special Operations Command Memorial Wall added seven new names to their list of honored fallen soldiers in a solemn ceremony at Ft. Bragg, NC. After each name was read the toll of a bell was heard to honor the sacrifice of the troops. The command honored Maj. Andrew Byers, Sgt. 1st Class Ryan […]

Battle of Lampaden Ridge, Germany, March 1945

Battle of Lampaden Ridge, Germany, March 1945

With Memorial Day nearly upon us, we as Americans take the time to remember the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that paid the ultimate sacrifice. Today I will join other members of our local Veterans Council and visit the local high school for a Memorial Day ceremony to fill in for those who can’t be […]

Special Operations Aviation Statue Unveiled at Ft. Bragg

Special Operations Aviation Statue Unveiled at Ft. Bragg

The US Army’s Special Operations Aviation Command (ARSOAC) had a statue to honor the men and women of the unit unveiled at Ft. Bragg on Tuesday. The command wanted the statue to be dramatic and unique, rather than the basic helicopter monument or a stone obelisk, they wanted something special. Like the troops in the […]

Japanese Special Operations Suicide Attack on Yontan Airfield Okinawa

Japanese Special Operations Suicide Attack on Yontan Airfield Okinawa

In the closing days of World War II, the US and the rest of the allies had defeated Germany and Hitler was dead, Italy had capitulated, and Mussolini was executed by partisans. Only Japan was left and the US was tightening the noose around the Japanese homeland. A successful but bloody island hopping campaign had […]

Florida Ranked #1 State For Military Veterans to Reside

Florida Ranked #1 State For Military Veterans to Reside

The military has a big presence in the state of Florida, with many bases being home to a number of troops from all the services. But it isn’t just the active duty troops flocking to the Sunshine State. Retirees and veterans are staying in Florida and for a number of reasons. The weather, the booming […]

Remembering Bull Simons, A True Legend in the Special Forces Community

Remembering Bull Simons, A True Legend in the Special Forces Community

On May 21, 1979, Special Forces had one its true legends take from it prematurely. Arthur “Bull” Simons died at the age of 60 and was buried in Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida. He was one of the best SF commanders to have ever served but never made it to General Officer rank because he lacked […]

3rd SFG Honors Their Fallen Operators With a 5K Memorial Run

3rd SFG Honors Their Fallen Operators With a 5K Memorial Run

The upcoming week at Ft. Bragg and every other military base in the United States will be a hub of activity as the bases prepare for Memorial Day to honor the fallen of all of the United States’ conflicts. But the 3rd Special Forces Group, 3rd SFG(A) is getting a bit of jump on the […]

United Airlines Charges Soldier Coming Home from War $200 for Overweight Bag

United Airlines Charges Soldier Coming Home from War $200 for Overweight Bag

A National Guard officer coming home from Afghanistan was gouged by United Airlines $200 for a checked piece of luggage. John Rader a 1LT coming home from a deployment to Afghanistan said United Airlines made him pay $200 to check a military-issued bag on his flight to Austin, Texas, from El Paso, the final leg […]

SOFIC: Robots, rappelling, rifles, and Special Ops gadgetry

SOFIC: Robots, rappelling, rifles, and Special Ops gadgetry

The SOFIC Conference is over and the turnout, especially on Tuesday, was heavy. The conference is a fantastic display of weapons, equipment and nice to have gadgets for the Special Operations Forces on not just the United States but others as well. While it is billed as a gathering for US personnel, there was a […]

The Attrition Rate for Special Operations Forces Don’t Matter

The Attrition Rate for Special Operations Forces Don’t Matter

One of the things that always gets a ton of mileage on social media when discussing Special Operations troops is the attrition rate. Drop in on any of the major sites and the talk of the training attrition rates always comes up. Would-be SOF candidates are always doing the math in their heads, trying to […]

A Funny Blackmail Moment in Special Forces Courtesy of AFSOC

A Funny Blackmail Moment in Special Forces Courtesy of AFSOC

Most of what we write here at SpecialOperations.com deals with the training side of the house. What you’ll need to do to pass the Selection and Assessment courses and the follow-on training in the qualification courses, with a fair bit of history thrown in. Today isn’t any of that. Although in the past, the history […]