SOF

The 1st Reconnaissance Battalion was voted the fittest unit in the entire Marine Corps. To achieve this honor, the 1st Recon Marines had to beat not only the other Recon battalions but also the Marine Raider units. This is the second year that the Marine Corps is holding this competition. To win, a unit must […]

In the first three articles of this five-part series, you learned what it means to be Special Forces; how those warriors are found; and how they are groomed over time to allow them to accomplish the missions they are tasked with. In this article, I’ll explain why, even with great soldiers and great culture, there still needs to be […]

The pair of MH-60 Blackhawks roared past the target building. One of the birds came into a hover, and operators started fast-roping. Time was of the essence. They were supposed to have hit this target some minutes before. The ISIS cell leader that was inside might have already left. An MH-47 Chinook carrying the blocking […]

The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) appears to be short on active-duty operators, a report indicates. As 2019 faded away, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report that reveals a crisis in the making for the Air Force’s elite. Like almost every other Special Operations Command, during the last years, AFSOC has […]

So, there we were. It was late winter and we were doing helicopter insert/extract training, known as helocasting, in the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. The water was somewhere around 45 degrees. It was cold enough that we were wearing our dry suits instead of wet suits. The dry suits we wore were essentially onesies, with […]

A Ranger medic who helped to save the lives of six of his comrades during a firefight from hell has been recognized as the USO Soldier of the year. Sergeant Ty Able, a combat medic assigned to 1st Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, was part of a Ranger assault force that was going after a […]

Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWWCs) pride themselves in being subject matter experts and jacks of all trades simultaneously. As all special operations units do, SWCCs operate in small groups in harsh and remote environments. This unique mission set requires operators to become very good at their respective jobs because most likely, they won’t have any […]

A Special Forces junior officer is to be kicked out of the Army with just a two-week notice following a personal transgression that took place years ago. In 2015, the Green Beret captain, whose name hasn’t been published for personal security reasons, had had an extramarital affair with the wife of a fellow soldier, according […]

In yet another move to increase its combat effectiveness and retention, the 75th Ranger Regiment rolled out the PHALANX program. The initiative is centered on three pillars: Human Performance (performance enhancement opportunities, holistic health assessments, world-class offsite care tailored to each individual) Career (mastery of Ranger fundamentals and competences, more time in key positions — […]

When it comes to medical care under fire it’s hard to find a better remedy than Special Operations combat medics. Last year, two Ranger combat medics proved that fact by saving the lives of six of their brothers during an operation that went south in Afghanistan. And they did so by implementing medical procedures that […]

I remember Jonny Kim as a new guy at SEAL Team 3 and later when he checked into sniper school at the old bunker complex south of Coronado, California. He had a quiet intensity and determination about him that years later I still remember. When I was a sniper course manager for the west coast […]

A Navy SEAL has successfully completed the NASA Astronaut program. Last week, Lieutenant Jonny Kim graduated from the course and now is qualified for missions to the International Space Station and the moon. Kim enlisted in the Navy in 2002. After successfully completing the grueling Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) and SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) courses, […]