The Aircraft of the Air Force Special Operations Command

The United States Air Force has some of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world. And some of the most feared aircraft by our enemies aren’t the sexy, sleek fighter jets, but the fat, slow converted cargo aircraft. The AC-130U gunship, “Spooky” as the pilots call it strikes more fear in the hearts of the […]

How the OSS Shaped Special Operations Forces and CIA of Today

Just a few short months after Pearl Harbor, the United States was locked in a global war with both the empire of Japan and Nazi Germany. And the country had no formal intelligence gathering apparatus. So, in July 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and appointed BG William “Wild […]

Pineland Role Players Show Importance of Popular Support in Unconventional Warfare

The final training in Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) is the Unconventional Warfare (UW) exercise “Robin Sage”, which we went over in detail in an earlier post, that you can read here: The prospective Green Berets put all their training together and infiltrate into the fictional country of Pineland via an airborne operation. The SF […]

US Raising the Stakes in Somalia, Despite Losing Navy SEAL Last Week

  The US is going to raise the pressure on the al-Shabab terrorist group despite the loss of a Navy SEAL operator and two other wounded in an operation last week. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said that the battle took place in Barii, a small town 40 miles west of Mogadishu. It was reportedly a Somali-led operation, U.S. forces reportedly came […]

Robin Sage, Prospective SF Students Should Study Up on Pineland

“Free Pineland!” This is the cry many a prospective Special Forces student will hear during their final phase of the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) that culminates in the premiere Unconventional Warfare (UW) exercise in the military, Robin Sage. After many months of training, in some cases over a year, prospective Green Berets put all […]

National Special Forces Green Beret Memorial Planned for Ft. Bragg

The National Special Forces Association has collaborated with artist Rebecca Clark to honor the Special Forces men of past and present with a National Green Beret Memorial. The advisory board for this project includes five General Officers from the Regiment and officers and NCOs who have also served in Special Forces. The planned location for […]

The US Needs a Light, Turboprop, Ground Support Aircraft

In a not-so-amazing turn of events, the Air Force has come to the realization that they need a lighter, more cost efficient, ground support aircraft. The Air Force hasn’t had those types of aircraft in the inventory since Vietnam and has been loath to even keep the invaluable A-10, preferring the sleek, sexier F-15, and […]

USSOCOM Wants Performance-enhancing Products for its Operator Dogs

“Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war.” USSOCOM is trying to upgrade the performance of its working dog component and they’re looking at pharmaceutical companies to help them do so. The value of working dog teams with the Special Operations teams with whom they operate can’t be understated. Perhaps no dog is more well-known […]

The Golden Age of Special Operations, But is the OpTempo Too High?

The United States’ Special Operations Forces are seemingly everywhere and that perception is not far off. In 2016, they were deployed to 138 countries around the globe or about 70 percent of the world. From battlefields in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, to Somalia and West Africa, to advising counter-narcotics units in the Andean Ridge, working […]

Special Operations is About People Not the Equipment They Use

It is well-known fact inside our Special Operations Forces that being in one of the many units in the United States SOF has more to do with the operators being ‘special’ and not just the gear that they use to get the job done. But frequently the public gets wrapped around the ax handle with […]

Special Operations Legend Keller Gives Back to Vets, Police

A Special Operations legend among his peers has been on operations on all over the world. Bob Keller has been a Ranger, a Green Beret and now is in a non-named ‘secret unit’ in Special Operations Command. But he’s giving back to his peers and the law enforcement officers in his community. Keller is nearing […]

Special Forces Honor COL Bob Howard (MOH) With Building Dedication at Camp Mackall

The Special Forces community in an act that many considered long-overdue, honored the memory of one its most decorated soldiers, Colonel Robert Howard by dedicating the central classroom to him at Camp Mackall. The Rowe Training Facility is where all Special Forces soldiers receive their classroom instruction when at Camp Mackall. And Howard spent nearly […]