Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 15, Day 1

Sunday morning rucksack march. Do a quick warmup of pushups and sit-ups before heading out. Head out over varied terrain and try to go as fast as you can without running. Stretch well both before and after the event. Remember to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated out there. Even though the winter weather […]

American Paratroopers Assault “The Rock” Corregidor, Feb. 16, 1945

After the fall of the Philippines in early 1942 by the Japanese, recapturing the island was of paramount importance to General Douglas MacArthur. Corregidor, known as “The Rock” to U.S. troops was the last piece to fall and American and Filipino troops wanted their redemption. During the subsequent invasion to retake it, MacArthur used a […]

“Kill the Enemy, But Please…Don’t Hurt His Feelings”

If this sounds strange, ludicrous and outright ridiculous…then congratulations! Welcome to our politically correct world where our leaders who send our troops into harm’s way to kill our enemies are more worried about hurting those said enemies’ feelings than they are about ensuring that our troops have everything they need to accomplish their mission and […]

With Mattis Gone, SF Command Again Punishes SF CPT From Niger Ambush

Op-Ed: The handwriting was on this one right from the very start. The Army tried to lay the blame on the ambush of the American Special Forces troops in Niger on the commander and NCOs of the SF A-Team before the last body had even been recovered off the battlefield. The Army had issued a […]

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 14, Day 4

Wednesday is a light Shoulders and Back training day in the gym before heading off to do the SOF (Special Operations Forces) Triathlon. A 3-mile run, a rucksack march, and a swim with fatigues and boots. These are three things that you’ll have to be able to do well to pass Selection. If your plans […]

Don’t Poke the Bear Especially With Special Forces Troops

“And Don’t Shoot the Goddamn Beanbag Lights” One of the best perks of this position is that in trying to read all the news concerning the military and Special Operations around the globe every day, everyone now and then something triggers. And as you’re reading something having to do with 1158th Special Operations Squadron of […]

FIRE AND ICE:  ICELAND’S ELITE, “VIKING SQUAD” SWAT TEAM

“Never walk away from your home ahead of your axe and sword. You can’t feel a battle in your bones, or foresee a fight.” —     The Hávamál (Viking book of knowledge), circa 1000 A.D. Occasionally here at SpecialOperations.com we get article submissions from authors, that we believe that our readers will enjoy. And this one […]

Talos “Iron Man” Was Always A Pie in the Sky Option For SOCOM

Opinion: Coming back to reality was the first order of business for USSOCOM this winter. The command finally admitted that the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit or TALOS project was not even close to being a reality, which we reported after attending the SOFIC Conference in Tampa two years ago. The entire concept was flawed […]

SAS Selection in Australia, Lesson in Perseverance

We’ve shared many of our Selection anecdotes here on the pages of SpecialOperations.com  the past two years and it is always refreshing to see someone else’s perspective especially if the person is in one of our allies Special Operations units. This one account is a really close look at one officer’s Australian SAS experience. It […]

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 13, Day 2

Are we all tired from staying up to all hours of the night watching the Super Bowl and all the related aftermath hoopla? Well, we have the perfect cure for that. A quick workout to start the day and week off right. Start off with the basics of pushups, sit-ups, and crunches, then to the […]

5000 Troops to Colombia? It’s Probably Not What You Think

Opinion: Like everyone else, we all saw the yellow notepad that John Bolton may or may not have inadvertently showed to the press during a Monday briefing. On it was two hastily scrawled notes about supporting the Afghanistan peace talks and the other was the “5000 troops to Colombia” alleged bombshell. Immediately alarms began going […]

US Intelligence Contractors Working for UAE, Blurring Lines of Loyalty

There have been several disturbing trends being seen in the Middle East involving U.S. contractors working for local governments. There were reports of former Delta Force commandos working in Yemen. Even more so was the bombshell two days ago about American intelligence professionals working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who conducted offensive cyber warfare […]