Category: History

During the Lebanese Civil War of 1983, two suicide trucks laden with explosives are driven into the barracks at Beirut’s airport where the Multi-National Force in Lebanon (MNF) peacekeepers were staying. A total of 307 people are killed. 241 Americans, 58 French, 6 civilians and the two bombers. A terrorist group calling themselves Islamic Jihad […]

We talk often here about how Special Operations Forces are not athletes but tactical military members. That’s not to say that SOF troops aren’t athletic but that training an operator is much different than training a football or baseball player. However, certain aspects of each’s workouts have bled into one another’s training regimen. Some of the […]

Much of what we post here is based on preparing the potential Special Operations candidates for what they will face in the various Selection or qualification courses. But sometimes it is good to change things up a bit and delve into our shared history to learn and respect where we come from. Other times, like […]

When the name “Wild Bill” Donovan is mentioned, most think of the World War II OSS (Office of Strategic Services) which later became CIA and another part of it branched off to later become the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) of today. But what many people don’t realize is that long before he became […]

Like most Special Forces guys, especially of my generation, I can’t get enough of OSS (Office of Strategic Services) from World War II. OSS was the “Greatest Generation” version of both CIA and the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) as both sprang forth from the extraordinary organization that General William “Wild Bill” Donovan built […]

In the 1960s, Che Guevara was an iconic figure, especially among those who thought that the young revolutionary was hip, chic and achieved almost rock star status. He was young, handsome and very well educated. In fact, Che is now probably more popular in the country responsible for his death, Bolivia, by people who have […]

The Green Beret community lost a legend this week as Sidney Shachnow, who survived a concentration camp for three years starting when he was just seven years old. He served in a variety of Special Forces units and a few conventional billets and eventually retired as a Major General. He retired in Southern Pines, NC […]

Learn why knot tying and lashing are crucial for SFAS success and get tips on mastering these vital skills through practice.

On Monday, President Trump decorated former Green Beret medic and SSG Ronald Shurer II with the Medal of Honor for outstanding heroism and bravery during a combat mission in Afghanistan in 2008. Amazingly enough, Shurer was once rejected by the military for a medical condition before he joined and was accepted shortly after 9/11. Shurer […]

In our daily Special Operations PT Preparation workouts that we publish, Sunday is our ruck day, just like going to church, it is our weekly ritual before the sun comes up kind of like paying homage to the Special Forces gods before we get on with our regularly scheduled Sunday activities, like coffee (Black Rifle […]

The U.S. Army Special Forces built a number of camps to defend South Vietnam from Communist infiltration during the war in Vietnam. These would be manned by a typical Special Forces A-Team and manned by paramilitary Montagnard tribesmen, called camp strikers, in the Civilian Irregular Defense Program (CIDG). Special Forces camp A-109 at Thuong Duc […]

The United States involvement in Vietnam began long before the 1960s as most U.S. citizens tend to believe. Most don’t know that at the end of World War II, the United States sent several Office Of Strategic Services (OSS) operatives into then French Indochina, to facilitate the release of American pilots. LTC Peter Dewey was […]