ISIS Recruiting Fighters for the Philippines, Not Syria

With the pressure on the Islamic State growing in the Middle East, and the beating they’re taking in Syria and Iraq, ISIS is changing its recruiting tactics to gather fighters for the fighting in the Philippines. Foreign fighters are defecting by the hundreds in Syria and Iraq, so ISIS is putting the Philippines as their […]

9-11, Sixteen Years Later And What It Means To Us Now

It is hard to believe that the awful events on September 11th are now 16 years in the past. Much has changed since then. Our country has been in a constant state of war since that date, and we’re no closer to the end of it than we were on that fateful morning. We, as […]

US Backed SDF, Syrian Army Advance on Deir el-Zour

With both the Syrian Army and the US backed SDF militias advancing on the city of Deir el-Zour held by Islamic State fighters, the U.S.-led coalition has said they are says monitoring the Syrians to ensure they do not cross a deconfliction zone established across the city. “We do monitor and watch where they are […]

Pakistan Tell US, “You Won’t Win War on Terror Without Us”

The government of Pakistan has made it very clear, and they are correct that the war on terror “cannot be won by excluding or confronting” Islamabad. Despite the words of President Trump (also correct) criticizing Pakistan’s penchant for allowing terrorists linked to the Taliban and the Haqqani network to hide in their territory, Pakistan vows […]

Israelis Hit Syrian Target, Reportedly Chemical Weapons Hub

The Syrian military has claimed that Israel has hit two military sites in Hama province early on Thursday morning. The air strikes targeted a reported chemical weapons production facility and also hit a military camp that was used to store ground-to-ground rockets and where personnel of Iran and its ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, had […]

Contractors Taking Over in Afghanistan: The Story That Refuses to Die

Opinion – The administration of President Trump, when not engaging in a 7th grade Twitter War with King Jong Un from North Korea,  has invested long-term in Afghanistan. Right or wrong isn’t the topic here but the manner in which the United States decides to prosecute the war. A couple of the President’s advisers, including […]

National Preparedness Month, Death, Taxes and Disasters, SOF is Ready

President Trump has declared September 2017, as National Preparedness Month, and this is a good time with the devastation of Tropical Storm Harvey that we all develop personal plans on what to do in our family if a disaster strikes. Some of our SOFREP brethren in the LoadOut Room will be writing about how we […]

Book Review, American Guerrilla: The Forgotten Heroics of Russell W. Volckmann

Unless you’re a Special Operations soldier or avid reading buff of guerrilla warfare, chances are that you’ve never heard much of Russell W. Volckmann. But American Guerrilla, The Forgotten Heroics of Russell W. Volckmann should be required reading for prospective Special Operations troops as well as current operators (although I dislike that term). The book […]

U.S. Confirms Higher Number of Troops in Afghanistan

The United States and the Pentagon have disclosed there are significantly more troops in Afghanistan than previously reported. Just a week after President Trump released a new strategy to end the war after 16 years, this report shows that the numbers of US troops to be much higher than previously thought. According to Pentagon officials, there are […]

U.S. Airstrikes Block Road and Strand ISIS Fighters in Syria

The United States condemned an “agreement between Lebanese Hezbollah and ISIS” allowing hundreds of ISIS fighters and their families to be bused through Syrian territory controlled by President Assad to an area on the Iraq border.  Later, US-led coalition aircraft bombed a road and vehicles in Syria on Wednesday in an effort to prevent those […]

Iraqi Army Calls Fighting for Tal Afar Worse than Mosul, ‘Gates of Hell’

Iraq’s military forces are engaged in a fierce fight in the small town of al-’Ayadiya just outside of Tal Afar. Islamic State fighters have dug in to hold the small town where reports of the fighting being ‘multiple times worse’ that the battle for Mosul. One Iraqi officer, Colonel Kareem al-Lami, described the fighting at […]

U.S. and Japan Seek to Cut Off North Korea’s Oil Supply

In response to the missile launch of North Korea over the Japanese islands on Tuesday, the United States and Japan will call for an international embargo on oil exports to Kin Jong Un’s government. The allied effort seeks to strike at the heart of Pyongyang’s weapons programs. Japan has requested an emergency meeting of the […]