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 […]

Kabul Investigating Taliban Use of Russian-made Night Vision Goggles

Defense officials in the Afghan government have admitted this week that Taliban militants have obtained night-vision equipment but would not confirm suspicions that the Russians are furnishing the Taliban with the equipment. The officials said that an investigation is continuing on the matter of the potential game-changer of high-tech equipment being introduced to Taliban forces […]

US-Backed SDF Deny They Allowed ISIS Fighters to Escape Raqqa

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US-backed peshmerga fighters are denying reports that they approved a deal with the Islamic State last month to allow safe passage to hundreds of trapped ISIS and foreign fighters evacuating from Raqqa, the de facto capital of the so-called Islamic State in northern Syria. The BBC on Sunday published a report, […]

Veterans Suicide Epidemic Needs National Attention

Hardly a day goes by where someone on social media in our military circles publishes the sad news that another service member has taken his or her life. With so many of our veterans having ties across service lines and across the country, it hits home and hard. There are about 22 veterans every day […]

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 […]

What’s in the Future for Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe?

The army coup against Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe continues as the country’s press released photos of Mugabe meeting with the army chief who placed him under house arrest and two envoys from South Africa. The 93-year-old Mugabe has been in power since 1980. He was a major player in the guerrilla war against the former […]

Taliban “Special Forces” Another Issue Coalition Forces Must Deal With

The Taliban has been touting their “Special Forces” unit for quite some time, however with recent attacks on Afghan government police and conventional military units, they’ve been pushed to the forefront in the news. Reports of the Taliban using night vision equipment and laser aiming devices have the Afghans worrying. On November 13, Taliban units […]

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

  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 […]

Russia, U.S. In a Stalemate Over Syria Chemical Weapons Probe

Russia was playing double speak on Monday, on one hand stating that it was still in talks with the United States about the ongoing inquiry by the U.N. Security Council into the Syrian governments use of chemical weapons on their own people, but the US countered that the Russians have refused to engage on the […]

Raqqa’s Dirty Secret, Thousands of ISIS Fighters, Families Allowed to Flee

After months of bloody, hard fighting, the Syrians trying to take back their territory from the Islamic State wanted the fighting to be over. Especially so in the self-styled “caliphate” of Raqqa. The Syrians entered into a deal with ISIS to allow their fighters and families to escape Raqqa. The agreement was supposed to forbid […]

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 […]