Extortion 17: CrossFit gyms honor fallen Navy SEALs

August 6th, 2011, 40 miles south of Kabul, Afghanistan. The Chinook helicopter callsigned Extortion 17 (“one-seven”) took off into the darkness and accelerated toward a destination less than 20 miles west. Extortion 17 carried 38 men, 15 of them SEALS from Gold Squadron of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, popularly called SEAL Team 6. […]

21st Special Tactics Squadron Commandos receive 90 medals

On July 24, 2020, members of the Air Force’s 21st Special Tactics Squadron, along with their friends and family, joined together for a special awards ceremony. The squadron’s most recent deployment was in 2019. It involved members deploying to three different locations and fighting against six different extremist organizations. Due to the actions of the […]

Special Forces Detachment A: Training & missions

You can read part I here.  Assigned to 10th Special Forces Group in 1958, radio repairman Private James Wild was selected to go to Berlin despite his objections, as he wanted to stay with an A-Team. Trucked over to Munich, and then taking the train to Berlin, he was picked up by several Det A […]

Risk aversion in Special Operations: When aid workers have more freedom in a combat zone

Who has more freedom of movement in a combat zone: a highly trained and well-resourced Special Operations fighter, or an untrained volunteer working for a cash-strapped religious non-governmental organization (NGO)? In the author’s opinion and experience, the answer is the NGO worker — and by a long shot. The reason for this predominantly boils down […]

Navy SEAL museum gives back to the Special Operations community

The Navy SEAL Museum’s Trident House Charities Program has successfully donated education funds to children in the Special Operations community for the sixth year in a row. To accomplish this feat, it partnered with the Marlee Foundation and for the first time this year, Trident Tuition Funds joined the fray. Together, they were able to […]

Valor in Afghanistan: Marine Raiders receive 8 medals for bravery under fire

Last week, several Marine Raiders received awards for their actions during a deployment in Afghanistan. In total, the Raiders, who are assigned to the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, received eight medals. The team chief of the Marine Special Operations Team (MSOT) that was involved in the action received the Silver Star (the third-highest award for […]

SEAL Teams are getting a new and improved delivery vehicle

Naval Special Warfare is in the process of taking delivery of the new Mark 11 SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. According to SOCOM’s maritime program executive officer, Captain Kate Dolloff, two of these Mark 11s have already arrived, allowing SEAL SDV operators to begin the familiarization process. The Mark 11 will replace […]

The American heritage of Iran’s Special Forces

When looking at Iran’s 65th Airborne Special Force Brigade, you might notice a few striking features similar to U.S SOF units. For example, the Iranians’ yellow enlisted chevrons seem a lot like the yellow chevrons on the old Army greens. Additionally, before the Iranian Revolution, their unit insignia looked a lot like the De Oppresso […]

Special Operations close air support aircaft questioned by Congress

The plan for a Special Operations aircraft that would provide close air and overwatch support to American commandos is under question by Congress. The idea for the Armed Overwatch program spawned from the need to provide sufficient platforms to support Special Operations troops and their partner forces in low-intensity conflict scenarios. The inability of the […]

Killer of 3 Special Forces operators is unlikely to be extradited

On November 4, 2016, three U.S. Army Special Forces operators were shot dead as they were re-entering the King Faisal Air Base, Jordan. Their killer, Jordanian Air Force Sergeant Ma’arik al-Tawayha, was stopped by another Green Beret before he could kill more Americans. He was arrested, and after a controversial trial, was sentenced to life […]