Phil Melcher | U.S. Army

Phil Melcher | U.S. Army

Phil Melcher may never know about the total impact he has made throughout the world, but he got a glimpse of it through a chance meeting in Columbia several years ago. Melcher, an Army Green Beret, was serving in the South American country when he was woken up at 2 a.m. to deliver a baby. […]

Pages of War: ‘In Our Time’ by Ernest Hemingway

Pages of War: ‘In Our Time’ by Ernest Hemingway

One of my favorite aspects of Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down was the departure from unrealistically long machine gun bursts and grenades erupting into ridiculous fireballs, and a distinct lack of overly-dramatic crying and shaking of fists to the sky.  It has a visceral, primal tone to it as the quiet protagonists are firing single […]

On this day in SOF history—October 16th: 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is born

On this day in SOF history—October 16th: 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is born

On this day in SOF history: October 16th 1981 — 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is officially established The legendary aviation unit responsible for flying the most high-risk missions in American Special Operations was officially established on October 16th, 1981. We take for granted the incredibly skilled pilots within the Regiment, but before the Night […]

Mogadishu: A history rife with violence

Mogadishu: A history rife with violence

Somalia’s capital city, Mogadishu, has a long history stained with blood and conflict.  It’s the country’s largest city, and it seems that any headlines regarding the place always include some kind of gruesome bloodshed.  It’s like the city has never found a moment of peace to catch its breath.  Reports have just come in of […]

SOF Pic of the Day (from GEO’s Private Stash): Delta and SAS, brothers in arms

SOF Pic of the Day (from GEO’s Private Stash): Delta and SAS, brothers in arms

SOFREP’s own George E. Hand IV has collected some incredible photographs throughout his legendary career as a Green Beret and Delta Operator, and he’s been generous enough to share some of them with us. Here’s a shot of Delta’s Sam B. Foster, who you may recall from GEO’s five-part series entailing his heroism and tragic […]

SOF Pic of the Day (From GEO’s Private Stash): Delta teams in Panama

SOF Pic of the Day (From GEO’s Private Stash): Delta teams in Panama

SOFREP’s own George E. Hand IV has collected some incredible photographs throughout his legendary career as a Green Beret and Delta Operator, and he’s been generous enough to share some of them with us. Here’s a shot GEO shared with us of two Delta Assault Teams during the Panama invasion, which took place in 1989 […]

On this day in SOF history—October 13th: Islamic State of Iraq forms

On this day in SOF history—October 13th: Islamic State of Iraq forms

On this day— October 13th 2006: The Islamic State of Iraq is declared. The subject of “when” the Islamic State (ISIS) was founded has been a go-to method of scoring political points since the emergence of the group as a violent worldwide threat. President Trump and other Trump administration figures have recently said that Trump […]

On this day in history: The United States Navy is born

On this day in history: The United States Navy is born

The U. S. Navy is the most powerful force the waters of the world have ever seen.  It has more ships than anyone (by far), superior technology, and a staggering number of sailors working on its behalf.  The sheer, literal weight of the equipment far outweighs any near competitor simply because they’ve got so much […]

SOF pic of the day (from GEO’s private stash): Jumping from a Little Bird

SOF pic of the day (from GEO’s private stash): Jumping from a Little Bird

SOFREP’s own George E. Hand IV has collected some incredible photographs throughout his legendary career as a Green Beret and Delta Operator, and he’s been generous enough to share some of them with us. Here’s one of those pictures, which GEO characterized nonchalantly as just, “jumping from a Little Bird,” as though he’s recounting his […]

SOF pic of the day (from GEO’s private stash): The rigors of Delta Selection

SOF pic of the day (from GEO’s private stash): The rigors of Delta Selection

SOFREP’s own George E. Hand IV has collected some incredible photographs throughout his legendary career as a Green Beret and Delta Operator, and he’s been generous enough to share some of them with us. Being selected to serve in one of the world’s most elite fighting institutions, Delta, comes at a tremendous physical and emotional […]

On this day in SOF history—October 12th: JFK authorizes the wear of the Green Beret

On this day in SOF history—October 12th: JFK authorizes the wear of the Green Beret

On this day: October 12th 1961 — Long before President John F. Kennedy’s vision of the “soldier statesmen” concept that came to be embodied by the American Special Forces soldier was solidified with his authorization of the distinctive Green Beret, Special Forces soldiers had sought headgear that would instantly set them apart from other soldiers. […]