Perfecting an Exoskeleton for SOF Needs To Happen Now

Today’s military is much more technology-based than in previous eras but while the high-tech gadgets make the soldier’s job easier and much more lethal on today’s battlefield, it also weighs them down more than ever before. The price of having the technology at their fingertips is that, while all of that gear works and is […]

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 7, Day 4

Shoulders and back day in the gym before heading off to do the SOF (Special Operations Forces) Triathlon. A 3-mile run, a 3-mile rucksack march, and a 300-meter swim with fatigues and boots. Aim to go as fast as you can in each event. Get used to swimming with fatigues and boots. It is much […]

Mission Accomplished 2 for US SOF? No Easy Answers in Syria

President Trump ruffled quite a few feathers both here in the United States and abroad when he tweeted out a few days ago that our troops were being pulled out of Syria. The President said, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” which he said during […]

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 7, Day 1

It is time for our Sunday morning ruck march. We’ll do a six-mile course today over varied terrain, aim for a time better than the standard of 90 minutes. Do a quick warmup of pushups and sit-ups before heading out. Stretch well both before and after the ruck march. Remember to drink plenty of water […]

Finland is mobilizing drone militias to counter Russia’s hybrid war

With an 830-mile border with Russia and the recent incidents with Russian Spetnaz close to Finnish territorial waters, Finland has been soliciting the assistance of drone pilots to mobilize drone militias in time of war. This move also fits into the larger Finnish Defence Force’s strategy to implement the so-called “readiness units” (Fi: valmiusyksitöt). According […]

Israeli SOF Units Are Preparing New Tactics to Face Hezbollah in Lebanon

With the news that Hezbollah is turning Lebanese villages along the border with Israel into military bases, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) specifically their Special Operations Forces are expecting an urban guerrilla warfare scenario. And they are preparing their forces and training to meet the threat. Hezbollah has been constructing tunnels from Lebanon into Israel […]

Is Artificial Intelligence making fingerprint security obsolete?

Although Apple went all-in on facial recognition, most manufactures still use fingerprint sensors. To improve “convenience,” even major banks, such as Wells Fargo and HSBC, are letting customers increasingly use fingerprints to log in their checking accounts. However, the results of the DeepMasterPrints experiment highlight how AI can be deployed by criminals to bypass security measures. […]

SOCOM Commander Tackles Ethics Issues Head-on

SOCOM Commander Tackles Ethics Issues Head-on With SOCOM reeling from one incident after another in the past year, General Tony Thomas, the Commander of SOCOM is tackling the issue of moral and ethical standards declining among the force directly. With allegations of misconduct, spousal and sexual child abuse, war crimes, drug running and murder among […]

New Miniseries “When Heroes Fly” Looks to Be a Smash

The Israelis are producing some excellent quality miniseries for television. “Fauda’ which centers around an Israeli Special Operations unit that goes undercover inside Gaza looks a lot like what we’ve read recently where a real operation went bad and the team got into a shootout with Palestinian members of Hamas. “Mossad 101” was another good […]

Mattis, Thomas Trying to Set The Record Straight on Niger

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is calling out the senior leadership of the Pentagon and Africa Command for placing all of the burden of the ill-fated Niger mission where four Special Operations soldiers were killed on the team leader and the most junior officers and NCOs while absolving the higher command of any blame, despite the […]

Special Operations Candidates, Get Your Mind Right

Opinion: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say to me or comment in my presence about what they “think” it takes to become a Navy SEAL or Green Beret. Most often, these people are unaware of my profession and it is always with a sense of amusement that I hear their […]