Government slashes funds for Stars and Stripes

In an intriguing move earlier last week, the Pentagon decided to cut the government funding for the Stars and Stripes newspaper as part of the 2021 FY budget. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said that the newspaper “is not a priority.”  Esper, speaking to the press at NATO headquarters, defended the move: “So, we trimmed […]

Jim Sursely: Vietnam veteran and warrior mentor for 50 Years

Jim Sursely wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s been mentoring and helping wounded veterans, such as himself, for the past 50 years. He still helps veterans although now he’s semi-retired in the Orlando, FL area. He grew up in Rochester, MN and graduated from high school in May of 1966. By his own admission, […]

Chief Ron Hope: A Vietnam vet who is still flying

We’ve had the privilege to be able to sit down with a number of veterans who have represented our country and the veteran community well. Too often it seems, that only the negative side of the veteran community gets attention these days, while the vast majority is doing tremendous work both in uniform and when […]

A Lifetime of Service and Sacrifice: Meet Bobby Barrera

Bobby Barrera always wanted to be in the military, and once he got in, he wanted to go to Vietnam. But he’d only been there for six weeks when his entire world and life would change forever in a huge fireball. As his armored personnel carrier was crossing a rice paddy and the Viet Cong […]

Shoot, Move, Communicate: How Special Operations prepares you for the real-world

There is a certain culture found in the special operations community. These guys are considered to be some of the toughest, strongest, smartest, and most capable individuals in the U.S. military. It is common knowledge that if you need to make a bad guy disappear or to rescue someone from a hostile environment, that one […]

Brothers Forever: How Bar X Project is healing wounded veterans

A few months ago, I learned about The Bar X Project through its support of the group of men referred to as the MARSOC 7. In June of 2019, seven men from MARSOC Fox Company and one of the panel members from their 2008 court of inquiry (COI) were reunited — some for the first […]

Veterans Day is one to remember when we all answered the call

Every year on November 11, we as a country celebrate Veterans Day, which is a day to honor and show respect for everyone who ever wore a uniform in service to the United States.  Just as every person has different experiences, we respect the contributions and sacrifices that every service member made while in service […]

“Alive”: A fitting Veterans Day documentary for everyone

 “Alive” is a documentary by award-winning director Stephanie Soechtig that focuses on five American soldiers, who were seriously injured during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Scheduled for general release on November 11 at 9:00 p.m. by Epix, the film is a fitting tribute to watch on Veterans Day.  SOFREP was given an exclusive first […]

Every combat veteran needs to read this book

A combat veteran I hired a few years back killed himself this year. I wasn’t surprised to hear the news. This may sound callous, but it’s the truth. I’ve been around “it” long enough to become numb to news like this.  But my thinking on how I will be helping from now on has transformed. […]