Special Forces selection stories can be hilarious

Sometimes it is weird how a picture or something you see on television can trigger a memory. The odd thing is that many times, these things can be totally unrelated to the memories that they trigger and yet, they all come back in a flash. And this one memory about being a student in the Special […]

Pentagon identifies fallen Special Forces team members

Editor’s note: Please consider supporting the families of the fallen. You can support Sgt. Rodriguez’s family by donating here; and you can support Sgt. Gutierrez’s family by donating here.   On Saturday, a Special Forces team was ambushed in Afghanistan by a rogue Afghan policeman. Two American commandos were killed and six wounded. The Department […]

Against all odds: Decorated Special Forces operator fights for his innocence

Master Sergeant John “Jay” Hasenbein gets dressed for trial in his Army dress uniform, shiny, with more medals than most can imagine, his combat Infantryman’s Badge squeezed in near the top of his shoulder. MSG Hasenbein and his family come to the Fort Campbell, KY gate, and are treated like criminals. They and his vehicle […]

Green-on-Blue attacks: Too much, too often

On Saturday, we learned of a deadly attack on American Green Berets by a member of the Afghan National Police. The Green Berets were from the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Special Forces Group (7th SFG) and were on an operation with their counterpart Afghan Special Operations Forces (ANSOF), conducting Key Leader Engagement (KLE). When […]

Update: How the Special Forces team was ambushed in Afghanistan

Update: The Department of Defence has published the names of the two KIAs. Sgt. 1st Class Javier Jaguar Gutierrez, the senior communications sergeant (18E) on the ODA, and Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Rey Rodriguez, a SOT-A soldier, were killed during the incident.    Yesterday, a Special Forces team was ambushed in Afghanistan by a rogue […]

His Navy SEAL son committed suicide, now he fights for his name

On a Sunday morning of 2017, Ryan Larkin, a Navy SEAL with four combat deployments under his belt, committed suicide. He was just 29 years old. He was haunted by a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that was caused by repeated exposure to concussive blows and explosions. But the Navy and the Department of Veteran Affairs […]

Thinking Before Shooting: Intelligence and Special Operations

The attacks of 9/11, which seem so long ago, caught the United States by surprise. There were some warning signs that were missed by our intelligence and law enforcement agencies but pointing the finger isn’t the purpose here. The last 16 years have seen our forces fighting a different kind of war, with a different […]

That Time When Yemeni Rebels Beheaded Two SAS Operators

Amidst the rugged Radfan mountains and the political upheaval of 1964 Aden, the SAS faced treacherous tribal rebels, culminating in harrowing skirmishes and a stark reminder of war’s brutalities within Aden’s city limits.

Stack the bodies and screw the rest: The issue with SOF

After months of investigation, the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has finished its comprehensive review into the professionalism and ethical issues in the Special Operations community. The 69-page report found that Special Operations units are too focused on being lethal on the battlefield and deploy as much as possible. As a consequence, what might appear […]