Coalition SOF

War Stories: 2009 Fighting Season Starts

May 23, 2009 – It was a nice quiet evening with a good breeze to keep us cool, which was nice because temperatures were already reaching 40 degrees Celsius in May and the sun was setting slowly. All we were hearing on the ICOM (a small two-way radio used by our interpreter to listen to the […]

Canadian SOF Selection Issues

Note: JW Wade speaks French as a first language so please consider this as you read his work. Thank you -Brandon There is a huge debate now about how unit commanders are denying their soldiers application to the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, mostly known as CANSOFCOM. We all know that they are drawing their […]

JW GROM Member Awarded the US Meritorious Service Medal

During his stay in Poland, US Secretary of State John Kerry paid a visit to the Łask Polish Airforce Base on Nov 5, 2013. There he had the chance to inspect the F16 squadron that is stationed at the base but also had a chance to honour one of the best Polish soldiers. For his […]

Should Women Be Allowed Into The Canadian Forces Infantry?

There are more than 10,000 women currently serving in the Canadian Forces (CF). In 1989, they were allowed to join the combat trades but, up to this day, only 2.4% of the combat related positions are occupied by them. Don’t get me wrong here, I am strongly in favor of having women in the CF […]

Admiral (SEAL) Pybus, NATO SOF Commander, visits POLSOF Command

Vice Admiral Sean A. Pybus commander of NATO SOF finished his visit to the Polish Special Operations Forces Command (DWS) based in Krakow. It was his first trip to Poland since he assumed the duties as Commander of NATO Special Forces (NATO Special Operations Forces Headquarters – NS HQ ) in June this year. On […]

Alpha Raiders Squadron in Cyprus 1974

On July 15, 1974, with the support of the Ioannides  junta in Athens, a coup d’état  against the Cypriot government of the archbishop Makarios, took place. The reason for that were Makarios’ efforts to reduce the junta’s influence by expelling all Greek military personnel from Cyprus. This would have meant the loss of military control over Cyprus […]

Australian SOF: Exercise Iron Moon

The Australian military wrapped up a large scale training exercise dubbed Iron Moon in late September which saw a widespread use of Special Operations Forces and capabilities.  The training scenarios included training jumps, ship seizures, and recovery operations more commonly known to the public as hostage rescue. Using the waters off the coast of North […]

Greek SOF Coup d’état?

After the recent Washington Post article you may be wondering whether the Greek SOF are preparing a coup d’état. In one word, the answer is no. But let me explain to you what is indeed happening. One of the casualties of the Greek civil war of the 1940s was the moderate and rational political thinking. […]

Jaeger: Undercover Recce Ops with Danish SOF

Thomas Rathsack’s explosive memoir, Jaeger: At War with Denmark’s Elite Special Forces is available now! I do not look like an Afghan, never have, never will. My heavy build, broad jaw and Scandinavian facial features are far removed from the typical Afghan’s narrow face and long, hooked nose. But my beard and eyebrows are now […]

Greek SOF: Zeta Amphibious Raider Squadron

The dawn of February 1st 1996 was the end of the Imia crisis that unfortunately created unsubstantial ground for a challenge on the Greece’s claim on the Dodecanese islands and other parts of the Aegean. Whatever could go wrong that night, didn’t hesitate to do so: poor political administration, inefficient coordination due to factional interests mainly […]

ANASF and Afghan Commandos: Our 3rd World SOF Experiment

As I was looking through SOFREP’s “Coalition SOF” articles, I noticed there weren’t any stories about Afghan SOF. Even if you think the phrase “Afghan SOF” is an oxymoron (which I think it is), there is still value in reporting our assessments and experiences working with them. My experience with Afghan SOF involved training and […]

Greek SOF: Amphib Ops With Russian Zubr Hovercraft

This article comes to us from a former member of the Greek Special Forces, Vasilis Chronopoulos.  I’m trying to get him on board as a regular writer with SOFREP so let us know how you like his first article! -Jack Seeing that Russian Zubr casually docking amongst heedless sunbathers surprised many. For me, what it […]