A life in special operations: Ranger Regimental Sergeant Major speaks out

The 75th Ranger Regiment is known for raising its own. Often, privates enter the Army’s premier Special Operations direct action unit right out of high school only to depart years, and even decades, later. Recently, and after 24 years of service with the Regiment, Command Sergeant Major Michael D. Albaugh, the Regimental Sergeant Major of […]

A letter from the Editor-in-Chief

SOFREP Community, It has been a while since I’ve written a letter to the community-at-large, but with the world around us being so highly impacted socially, economically, and physically, I wanted to share some updates about what we’re doing to support in the small ways we can at SOFREP. Our company is distributed around the […]

Boston brings in General Stanley McChrystal to fight Coronavirus

The State of Massachusetts and the City of Boston is also wracked with cases of the coronavirus. In response, Boston’s mayor, Marty Walsh, has sought outside help and has hired a retired Army general to advise the city on its efforts.  General Stanley McChrystal was best known for his work in the Joint Special Operations […]

How a New Zealand SAS team responded to a volcano eruption

Last December, a tourist visit to an island with an active volcano in New Zealand went catastrophically wrong. On December 9, while 47 tourists were admiring the natural beauties of the Whakaari/White Island, the volcano in the center of the island erupted. In total, 20 people died and 25 wounded, most of who critically with […]

Trump appoints Special Forces officer to head Counterterrorism Center

With questions arising over whether the administration is going to downsize or even cut the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), the White House fired acting director Russ Travers and sent his deputy Peter Hall back to his parent organization, the National Security Agency.  President Trump on Tuesday appointed Christopher Miller to serve as his next permanent […]

A one million dollar shot, Ranger snipers save teammates in Iraq

In 2006, a group of U.S. Army Rangers pursued a high-value target in eastern Iraq. This Ranger, who is now the Command Sergeant Major of 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, tells the story of how the quick action of one of his team’s snipers saved his life and others that day. You can read more […]

Al-Qaeda’s bastions of power: Somalia and Yemen

Ever since the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. military and intelligence agencies have been battering al-Qaeda terrorists wherever they have found them. Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, everywhere. What used to be safe havens have now become graveyards. But other bastions have emerged in the meanwhile.  Somalia and Yemen are two of them. Al-Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate was bolstered […]

US strikes back at Iranian proxies behind deadly rocket attack in Iraq

In response to the deadly rockets against a Coalition base in Iraq, the U.S. military conducted targeted strikes against an Iranian-backed militia believed to be behind the attack. According to the Department of Defense (DoD), the airstrikes targeted five weapon storage facilities of the Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH), a Shia paramilitary terror group. KH is believed […]

The Pic of the Day: Working on them deadlifts

Sgt. 1st Class John Walker, a Basic Officer Leaders Course manager, assigned to U.S. Army Reserves Headquarters at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, tests his physical abilities by dead-lifting 340 pounds during a diagnostic Army Combat Fitness Test, March 6, 2020. The ACFT highlights a new way to assess the mobility, lethality and survivability of America’s […]

Two Americans, one British soldier killed in Iraq by rocket attack

The American military has confirmed, in a released statement, that a rocket attack on an Iraqi base, where U.S. and coalition troops are based, has killed an American and a British soldier and an American contractor. The three men were killed on Camp Taji base as 18 Katyusha rockets slammed into the base on Wednesday […]

Pentagon identifies fallen Marine Raiders killed in Kurdistan

The Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) has identified the two Marine Raiders, who were killed in action, supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, March 8. The two Critical Skills Operators killed in action are Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, a critical skills operator from Simi Valley, Calif., and Capt. Moises A. Navas, a special operations officer […]

Exclusive: Army Special Forces command disbands elite units

Update: SOFREP has learned that the 1st Special Forces Command will retain some CRF-like Direct Action capability, though significantly smaller than the current one. The rationale behind the decision to downsize, however, remains the same: CRFs are too expensive for their utility. In a historic decision for the Special Forces community, the Crisis Response Force […]