Tag: unconventional warfare

Situated in the northwestern portion of South Vietnam, along the border with Laos, lies the A Shau Valley.  At 25 miles long and one mile wide, A Shau the valley consists of tall and thick elephant grass flanked on either side by steep mountain ranges, dense with jungle, that rise between 3,000 and 6,000 feet. […]

A little over 14 years ago, Marine Raiders became a reality. The Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is the latest addition to U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Established in 2006, MARSOC has steadily grown ever since, often having to fight skeptics both in the Marine Corps and the Department of Defence (DoD) about its […]

You can read part 3 Here October 1971 Government forces and a permanent presence on the Jebel was unheard of. Scant water sources and lack of air transport had restricted the Sultan’s Armed Forces’ (SAF) patrols to the number of rations the men could carry. In a humid, mountainous terrain with simmering temperatures that wasn’t much. The introduction […]

Read part 2 here “For all their limitations, I don’t believe we could’ve won the war without the firqats,” says Ian Gardiner, a former Royal Marines officer with extensive service to include deployments in Oman, Northern Ireland, and the Falklands. Before we delve into what the firqats, literally meaning a company, were and their operations with the SAS, […]

The Pentagon’s decision to replace elements of an infantry brigade of the 101st Airborne with elements of the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) has long been in the works.  This will accomplish two tasks: Firstly, it will provide better continuity in training missions with a unit designed to train foreign troops, thereby freeing up […]

Don’t miss out on Part One. How do you defeat an insurgency? How do you win over a people who has been treated as second-class citizens for centuries? Throughout history, many a politician and military officer have lost sleep over such questions. Yet a particular strategy seems to work—blend in with the population, gain their trust by concrete […]

While the Vietnam conflict was in full swing, not too far away another war of similar nature was taking place. Although the Dhofar War (1963-1976) didn’t attract the same publicity as its infamous American contemporary, it was certainly no less — and probably even more — important for the global power balance. Whereas a terror […]

In a historic move, the Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) has decided to move all of its subordinate units to the East Coast. The 1st Raider Battalion and 1st Marine Raider Support Battalion, both of which are currently located at Camp Pendleton, California, will relocate to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, by the September 2022. […]

What have Canadian Special Operations units been up to over the last two decades? We tend not to talk about it very much, but we’ve been busy.

This is the second part of a series, you can read part one here. The Egyptian Air Force. That was the true menace. Soldiers and tanks, the royalists could manage. But against the enemy MiG 17 fighters and Ilyushin II-28 bombers they were helpless. So, the mercenaries’ first task seemed simple: recce Sanaa, the Yemeni […]

SOF Operators take to two-wheels in the hunt for Taliban in remote regions of Afghanistan. If you are the Taliban, this is your worst nightmare come true. A ten-man element of U.S. Spec Ops shooters armed with precision fire weapons and night vision optics, weaving through rolling hills along goat trails on blacked-out motorcycles in the […]

As U.S. Special Forces recently turned 67 years old, it is interesting to take a look back at this public service announcement from the 1960s about the legendary Green Berets. Check out the video to learn more, but you may also enjoy this interview I did with Sergeant Major (Ret.) William Bowles. Sergeant Bowles passed away in […]