Specialoperations

Recommending gear is always a difficult proposition. Why? Because everyone is different, has different tastes, is built differently and certain gear that may work perfectly for one guy, won’t work a bit for someone else. Caveat aside, one thing that we’ve harped on is having comfortable, tough, versatile boots on your feet. In Special Forces, […]

A friend is leaving in a matter of days for basic training, followed by Airborne School and then on to one of our Special Operations Units where, hopefully, after he navigates the Selection and Assessment courses, will get qualified and serve as a member of one of our very best units in the force. But […]

It may seem a little strange, having “Combat Weathermen”, but in an age when so many operations involve airborne (para-) or helo-driven delivery of direct action and recce assets, knowing the weather to the last detail is imperative (consider the fact that the 173RD probably wouldn’t have jumped when it was supposed to in the […]

We’ve gone over the rucking tips quite a bit and everyone preparing for selection should be very comfortable with a ruck on their back and be humping long distances. It goes without saying that rucking and land navigation is the bread and butter of special operations forces. If you can show the intestinal fortitude needed […]

This small pocket pistol from Leinad Arms is the epitome of simple and rugged. There are virtually no moving parts other than the barrel break action to load and unload the ammunition. This particular model is the 45 Long Colt / .410 Shot Shell version. I have personally shot several rounds of 45 long colt […]

Israel’s B-300 provided the basis that evolved into the SMAW (Shoulder launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon), first fielded by the United States Marine Corps in 1984. Versatile, with a lot of punch as a support weapon, seven years later it saw first combat during Operation Desert Storm, and proved even more useful since the War on […]

Though it sounds like the plot of a movie the reality is that select Army engineer, Special Forces, Navy SEALs and select Marines were once trained to employ backpack nukes. The scientists of Los Almos Scientific Laboratory created the W54 atomic warhead in the late ‘50s.  It was one of the smallest nuclear warheads ever […]

In use since 1987, the Vintovka Snayperskay Spetsialnaya finds its home in Special Forces, conducting clandestine missions when targets need to be taken out from close range up to distances of 400 meters.  Nicknamed the ‘Vintorez,’ or thread cutter, it’s an extremely effective design, and uses two important elements that enable it to live up […]

By the end of the First World War, rifle caliber machine gun could be defined in two categories.  One was the tripod mounted water-cooled Maxim/Vickers series, of German and British origin whose effectiveness was best used in static or fixed positions along with plenty of support.  The other was the relative newcomer, the air cooled […]

Apart from the AK-47, no other weapon has graced the world’s television screens more in modern times, than the RPG-7.  Officially known in Russian as the Reaktivnoi Protivotankovii Granatomet (Hand antitank granade launcher), the slender hollow tube with its conical rear and oversized diamond shaped warhead continues to play just as an important role in […]

Municipal Policemen William Fairbairn and Eric Sykes had no idea that the knife they designed in pre-war China would go on to be adopted by elite fighting forces, and become world famous. Called the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife, their design featured a dagger shape with a grip style commonly found in fencing foils, and was purpose built […]

Combat Aviation Advisors all call the 6TH Special Operations Squadron home; it is the only Combat Aviation Advisory Organization in the Air Force. Though its mission is Foreign Internal Defense (FID) and Combat Foreign Internal Defense (CFID), those aren’t the preferred AFSOC catchwords. They use phrases like “combat aviation advisory unit” and “non-standard aircraft squadron” […]