Trump nomination for next intelligence chief backfires

Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) has withdrawn from consideration for the soon-to-be-vacant Director of National Intelligence [DNI] post. Ratcliffe had been nominated by President Trump to replace the soon-leaving Dan Coats

The night when everything went wrong: The exclusive story behind the deaths of Delta Force and SAS operators 

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) released the results of an internal investigation last week regarding the deaths of Special Air Service (SAS) Sgt. Matt Tonroe and Delta Force Master Sgt. John Dunbar during a high-value target operation in Manbij, Syria, in March of 2018.

When the SAS defied their government to rescue their own

19 September, 2005. Basra, Iraq. The British soldiers couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Before them, on a TV screen, sat two of their own, faces bloody from beatings, being paraded on Iraqi TV. The announcer read in Arabic that they were being charged with the murder of an Iraqi policeman; they were held in Basra, the very city where they were stationed; and they would soon go on trial. The realization of what was happening caused blood pressures to rise among more than a few of the men, who felt like someone had slapped them in the face. Yet, unknown to them, at another location nearby, emotions were much worse. The beaten men were not just from the British Army, they were from the elite Special Air Service, or SAS.

Delta Force Selection: When not to dance

Every one of us inherently wants to be selected. “Oh…PICK ME, PICK ME!” We bustled on the school playground forming up for games. Doesn’t it seem like you can hardly just go participate in a thing anymore without being selected first? “The specially selected elite,” “select cuts of meat,” “they were selected on the basis of their superior ability.” Most of us want to be selected for something, but until what? Until there is nothing higher to be selected for?

‘We have a problem’: Top Navy SEAL partially acknowledges cultural issues but ignores reality

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Collin Green has distributed a letter to the leadership within the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) command structure in which he acknowledges, “We have a problem.”

SEAL Team 6 operator left hanging by his senior leadership over alleged catfishing scandal

A highly-decorated Navy SEAL operator assigned to SEAL Team 6 is facing a possible court-martial over an alleged catfishing incident.

Elite French Foreign Legion unit wins US Army sniper competition

A sniper team from the French Foreign Legion’s 13th Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) won the 2019 European Best Sniper Team Competition. This year’s version of the annual competition was hosted by Germany and Latvia at the camp of the 7th Army Training Command in Grafenwoehr, Bavaria.

The Video of the Week: Do you have what it takes to join the 75th Ranger Regiment?

Recently, the 75th Ranger Regiment released a recruiting and capabilities video. As the military’s—and arguably the world’s—premier special operations light infantry unit, the 75th Ranger Regiment is an ideal place for competitive and ambitious soldiers to begin their career. Physical grit and mental stamina, however, are necessary not only to pass the Ranger Assessment and Selection Process (RASP), but to remain in the unit.

Before the AR-15, there was the FN FAL

The Fabrique Nationale Fusil Automatique Leger (Light Automatic Rifle), or FN FAL as it is more commonly known, began life in 1946 when FN and Great Britain created a piston-operated prototype rifle that utilized the German intermediate 7.92x33mm cartridge. This new round was a first attempt at a cartridge that could do the job of both the short-range submachine gun and longer-range rifle. Proof of this came from the world’s first true assault rifle, the Sturmgewehr 44, which was used to great effect during the closing months of World War II.

‘The Red Sea Diving Resort’: How Hollywood ruined a great spy story

This is a film I was anxiously anticipating since it was based on an amazing – and true – story. Israeli Mossad agents operated a diving resort in Sudan for three years as a front operation while they whisked Ethiopian Jews out of danger and into Israel.