Category: JSOC

The officer, who commanded the Delta Force raid that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, is now in charge of all Green Berets. Last month, Major General John Brennan replaced Major General E. John Deedrick Jr at the helm of the 1st Special Forces Command. The 1st Special Forces Command oversees the seven Active […]

MH-6 Little Birds and MH-60 Black Hawks helicopters buzzed downtown Los Angeles this week as a part of a Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) training exercise. Spectators observed the helicopters landing operators on building rooftops, then later setting down to pick them up at street level. Presumably, the training scenario involved the operators assaulting from […]

For the first time, an Air Force officer has been nominated to command Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) the go-to maneuver element for the National Command Authorities, President Trump and Secretary Mattis, which includes units such as Delta Force and SEAL Team Six. As an Air Force pilot, Lt. Gen. Scott Howell has a background […]

The night of April 17th, New Yorkers were rattled by the sound and sight of low flying helicopters buzzing around southern Manhattan. In this case, there was nothing to be alarmed about; New York City had announced that the flights would occur and the gents flying the helicopters are the best in the world: The […]

On this day: October 5th Iran-Contra scandal goes public — 1986 Believing any further encroachment of Communism in the western hemisphere to be a direct threat to the United States, from the beginning of his time as president, Ronald Reagan supported the Contras, a paramilitary group who opposed the communist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. However, […]

President Obama’s recent decision to grant Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) expanded authorities in the fight against terrorism likely came as welcome news to many. Anything that means we move more quickly and nimbly in hunting the enemy has to be welcome. Here is the reality, however. We are in this war for the long […]

Who’s flying the best SOF units into harm’s way? JSOCs TF 160th, that’s who. Helicopter pilots in general are often the black sheep of the military aviation community.  I saw this first hand as an H-60 Search & Rescue Swimmer Crew Chief (AW) before I went into the SEALs.  A lot of jet jocks would […]

Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), announced on Monday that a mass grave containing more than 80 bodies of the so-called Islamic State (IS), or Daesh terrorists from different nationalities has been found in the city of Fallujah in Anbar Province, Iraq.

In the early morning hours of May 10th, Somali special operations soldiers joined by United States JSOC commandos conducted a direct action raid against an al-Shabaab target in the village of Toratorow, 100 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu within the Lower Shebelle province. Around 3:00 am local time – residents witnessed two American helicopters, most likely […]

In a scenario eerily reminiscent to US Special Forces deployments to Central America in the 1980’s, Obama announced today that 250 more Special Operations troops would be deployed to Syria to help fight ISIS.  In the 80’s the numbers of Special Forces troops allowed in countries like El Salvador and Nicaragua was capped around 50, […]

The raid occurred south of Mosul, in Hammam al-Alil—42 miles from the Kurdish capital of Erbil, where U.S. and Kurdish forces launched their assault.

This type of arrangement is hardly unprecedented, as Delta Force also worked in the shadows during the search for, and eventual killing of, Pablo Escobar in Colombia. They’ve also served in advisory capacities during hostage-rescue missions in places as diverse as Sudan and Peru.