US SOCOM

Opinion: Our Special Operations Command has been in the news these days for much of the wrong reasons. And with the number of questions we’ve gotten asking about the different Selection courses for SOF with an increasing number from potential officers, I felt it was time to address an issue. An increasing number of Special […]

There are some things that stand the test of time and Richard Gatling’s invention of the earliest days of the American Civil War has certainly fit that description. Gatling was an inventor who fashioned the first machine gun, although a different design by most standards. His basic design with many modern variants is still in […]

Contrary to what you’ll see in most action movies, bullets don’t actually travel through water very effectively at all. When a round impacts the water, it very literally impacts, often breaking apart or tumbling off of its trajectory because of the water’s density. As we’ve covered here at SOFREP before, it doesn’t take much water […]

During the battle on February 6-7, 1968 at the Special Forces A-Camp at Lang Vei, NVA troops used armor for the first time against American and South Vietnamese positions. Lang Vei had to be taken before the NVA unleashed 40,000 troops against the Marine base at Khe Sanh. During the battle, as the SF camp […]

In an act of recognition and meaning, the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) awarded six medals to Nigerien soldiers who fought alongside the American Special Forces operators during the Niger Ambush. The deadly incident took place on October 4, 2017, near the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger (that’s why the event is often called the […]

Way back in 2013, SOCOM Commander Adm. William McRaven announced plans to develop a high-mobility suit of armor that could better protect the first special operators tasked with entering contested spaces. This new suit was to be developed around an exoskeleton that would not only permit a high degree of mobility, but also bolster the […]

When one mentions Julia Child, the first thing that comes to mind is the marvel and ease of French cooking that she brought to the United States. But long before she was a culinary artist, she served as an intelligence officer during World War II in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner to […]

For our readers who are attempting to become part of our Special Operations Forces, of course after volunteering, the first obstacle in your path is passing Selection. And the biggest key to that is being properly prepared to do so. We went back and recently posted a series of articles on Land Navigation where we […]

Like many of us, I had issues with occasional lower back pain while in the military. Eventually, suffering a major injury that required surgery, that was in no way related to the normal workout routine that the Army conducts with soldiers doing PT. However, it wasn’t until many years later, I was doing some physical […]

On Monday, the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane Division published a presolicitation notice for a new upper receiver SOCOM can mount on their M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS) to convert it from firing 7.62×51mm NATO rounds to the newer 6.5mm intermediate precision rounds. The change, SOCOM believes, will enhance both the operational range of […]

When we write about preparing for the rigors of Selection and the qualification courses here in Special Operations.com, one specific area we don’t write about often is proper nutrition. It is an oversight on our part and it is for two very good reasons. Number one, I am not a nutritionist and have no training […]

The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall. Vince Lombardi When we write here at SpecialOperations.com and have discussions with aspiring candidates for the various units, we tend to deal only with the positive. It is par for the course, by and large, the vast majority of us […]