green berets

SOF Pic of the Day: The flight surgeon’s struggle

Capt. Aaron Thomas, a flight surgeon with the 1st Special Operations Medical Group, wipes sweat off his forehead during Task Force Exercise Olympus Archer at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Aug. 18, 2016. Olympus Archer focuses on maximizing training opportunities for more than 230 Air Commandos, with the 1st Special Operations Wing, emphasizing on […]

SOF Pic of the Day: Special Operations Surgical Teams save lives

U.S. Air Force Special Operations Surgical Teams practiced integration operations with a special operations partner force during a Special Tactics exercise, Hurlburt Field, Fla., Oct. 16, 2015. SOST members are military medical professionals selected to provide battlefield trauma and other surgical support in a special operations mission set. SOST members often forward deploy to austere […]

Pentagon defends U.S. troops who searched for slain soldier missing in Niger

Senior Pentagon officials on Thursday defended the small team of American troops targeted in a deadly ambush earlier this month in Africa, an incident that has raised questions about why a slain soldier was not recovered for two days. The Oct. 4 operation in Niger, now under U.S. military investigation, resulted in the deaths of four Special […]

SOF Pic of the Day: Spanish special operations forces aboard the USNS Saturn

Spanish special operations forces stand guard over USNS Saturn crew members who played the role of a hostile ship crew during a mock boarding exercise conducted as part of Exercise Sea Saber 2004. The exercise focused on the interdiction of a maritime shipment of weapons of mass destruction and related material on the high seas. […]

SOF Pic of the Day: The wind through your fingers

A member of the U.S. Army 20th Special Forces Group sticks his hand out of UH-60 Black Hawk to feel the wind during Emerald Warrior 2014, Gulfport, Miss., May 5, 2014. Emerald Warrior is an annual, joint exercise to train special operations, conventional and partner nation forces in combat scenarios designed to hone special operations […]

How a US raid on an Afghan village went wrong

The Chinook helicopters lifted off, and Richard Hunter’s mind was at ease. It was Nov. 2, 2016, and he was strapped into one of two mammoth CH-47’s flying over the city of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan on a moonless night. Loaded with 59 men in all — a company of Afghan commandos and a team of […]

On this day in SOF history—October 18th: Special Forces legend Larry Thorne, veteran of Finland, Nazi Germany, and the United States, is killed in Vietnam

On this day: October 18th 1965—Before Special Forces Captain Larry Thorne was tragically killed in combat in Vietnam, he had already lived a legendary career spanning multiple continents, careers, nations, and wars. Born Lauri Allan Törni in Finland, as a young man Thorne led Finnish soldiers in their war against the Soviet Union in 1939-1940, […]

SOF Pic of the Day: Air Force Pararescuemen save lives

A U.S. Air Force airman from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron swims to a boat after rescuing a simulated crash victim at Wynnehaven Beach, Fla., April 9, 2013. The 23rd STS trains, equips and employs combat control, pararescue and support personnel in response to presidential and secretary of defense tasks.   U.S. Air Force photo/Airman […]

SOF Pic of the Day (from GEO’s Private Stash): Delta and SAS, brothers in arms

SOFREP’s own George E. Hand IV has collected some incredible photographs throughout his legendary career as a Green Beret and Delta Operator, and he’s been generous enough to share some of them with us. Here’s a shot of Delta’s Sam B. Foster, who you may recall from GEO’s five-part series entailing his heroism and tragic […]

SOF Pic of the Day (From GEO’s Private Stash): Delta teams in Panama

SOFREP’s own George E. Hand IV has collected some incredible photographs throughout his legendary career as a Green Beret and Delta Operator, and he’s been generous enough to share some of them with us. Here’s a shot GEO shared with us of two Delta Assault Teams during the Panama invasion, which took place in 1989 […]

SOF pic of the day (from GEO’s private stash): Jumping from a Little Bird

SOFREP’s own George E. Hand IV has collected some incredible photographs throughout his legendary career as a Green Beret and Delta Operator, and he’s been generous enough to share some of them with us. Here’s one of those pictures, which GEO characterized nonchalantly as just, “jumping from a Little Bird,” as though he’s recounting his […]

SOF pic of the day (from GEO’s private stash): The rigors of Delta Selection

SOFREP’s own George E. Hand IV has collected some incredible photographs throughout his legendary career as a Green Beret and Delta Operator, and he’s been generous enough to share some of them with us. Being selected to serve in one of the world’s most elite fighting institutions, Delta, comes at a tremendous physical and emotional […]