Operation Valkyrie: the failed plot to assassinate Hitler

Operation Valkyrie was the plan by German Count Claus von Stauffenberg and other senior German generals in the Wehrmacht to assassinate Adolf Hitler and several other high ranking Nazis in an attempt to end the war in Europe. It failed. Stauffenberg planted a bomb concealed in a briefcase under the conference table in Hitler’s Wolf’s […]

SOF tips: Decrease lower back pain and workout more effectively

Like many of us, I had issues with occasional lower back pain while in the military. Eventually, suffering a major injury that required surgery, that was in no way related to the normal workout routine that the Army conducts with soldiers doing PT. However, it wasn’t until many years later, I was doing some physical […]

Feed the beast! Proper nutrition will help in SOF preparation

When we write about preparing for the rigors of Selection and the qualification courses here in Special Operations.com, one specific area we don’t write about often is proper nutrition. It is an oversight on our part and it is for two very good reasons. Number one, I am not a nutritionist and have no training […]

Oct. 31, 1972: Michael E. Thornton, SEAL, Medal of Honor recipient

Michael Thornton was a Navy SEAL and was awarded the U.S. military’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the war in Vietnam. He was decorated for saving the life of his senior officer, Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris, who also a recipient of the Medal of Honor in another combat action in […]

SOF tips: Teamwork and perseverance pay off in the long-term

One of the most common mantras you will hear in Special Operations is the absolute must of being known as a team player. The very essence of a successful special operation is with a team working together to accomplish their mission. With it, the missions don’t get accomplished and the units fail. And yet the […]

Can Special Forces teach everything? Pretty much

As a member of a Special Operations unit, you can be tasked with damned near anything and probably will. The best indicator of having a skill is the fact that you can teach it to others. As we wrote here some time ago, “Teaching is An Art in Special Forces”, and some of the best […]

MARSOC Critical Skills Operator (CSO) selection outline

The Marine Corps took its time to become part of SOCOM but now their MARSOC units are not only part of the SOCOM umbrella but growing in both size and influence. The Corps keeps a pretty tight lid on their operators and their training. We visited their booth at the annual SOFIC event in Tampa. […]

Operation Urgent Fury: The US invades Grenada on this day in 1983

On this day in 1983, members of the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions, 82nd Airborne Division, Marine Corps 8th Marine Regiment, US Army Delta Force and Navy SEAL commandos invaded the island nation of Grenada. The small island, located about 100 miles north of Venezuela, was under strife after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was placed […]

On this day in 1944, 800 Gypsy children are gassed at Auschwitz

During the Holocaust, it wasn’t just the Jews who suffered at the hands at the Nazis although they bore the brunt of the racism and extermination at the hands of the Germans and their allies during World War II. The Gypsies were also persecuted during the reign of Hitler and his henchmen. The Nazis at […]

Assault on the Merville Battery

There were 600 of them.  All belonged to Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway’s 9th Parachute Battalion, and were cramped aboard thirty two transport planes winging their way over the English Channel on this momentous night of June 6, 1944.  They’d gone over their assignment during maneuvers, studying maps, and photographs and replaying everything they could remember […]