Tag: Delta Force

The military is full of professional jargon and SOF is certainly no exception.  With the growing interest in Special Operations, I hear a lot of terminologies used to describe us which makes me cringe.  The worst part is that some of these terms are thrown around so often that they become an institution in and […]

(Continued from Part II) White privilege: now, just what again is that? I may have to go to my heavy hitter, the 14-year-old Small Daughter, to have that one splayned to me. White privilege to me is like the Abominable Snowman; it’s a big white monster that so many insist exists, but nobody has ever […]

On Thanksgiving day, a EOD tech assigned to 5th Special Forces Group was killed in Ayn Issa, Syria.  US CENTCOM (Central Command) announced yesterday that a US soldier was killed by an IED blast, but withheld further details.  To understand why an American Special Forces advisor would be in Ayn Issa with the Kurdish YPG and affiliated […]

In the 1970’s a new form of warfare was emerging: international terrorism.  Two counter-terrorist missions that America initially found itself unable to cope with were situations in which a terrorist barricaded himself inside a structure with hostages or when hostages were taken inside a tubular vehicle such as an airplane.  While the Army’s premier counter-terrorist […]

(Continued from Part I) (Feature photo courtesy of the author (L) and Thomas Story (R)) (Dedicated to: Mr. Thomas Story) My parents did a swimming job of keeping racism out of our house. They had friends of all kinds, they listened to possibly every genre of music in existence. They made no comments, used no […]

I’m a Catholic man by religion, or at least I do fancy myself one. During legion routine boring days on the job contemplating my domestic plight, I, like most others, indulge myself from time to time in a micro dream of my fantasy job. Mine would be to assume the position of his excellency, the Pontiff. […]

(Please understand that at the time of this writing Tom Greer is indeed still living) It is with a profane sorrow that I push this essay to the editor of SOFREP. I seize the opportunity to further a personal agenda of mine. It did truly catch up with me eventually, the pain of the loss […]

It was still dark when Master Sergeant Don Hollenbaugh heard the call to prayer echoing from a minaret 300 meters to the north. The haunting sound unsettled the Delta operator. “This is not going to be a good day,” he told Staff Sergeant Dan Briggs, a twenty-eight-year-old Delta medic kneeling beside him on a street […]

Special Operations Forces (SOF), such as the Navy SEALs and Delta Force, may soon get a new type of technology that gives them additional eyes on the ground, make airstrikes more accurate, and help them better discern enemy fighters from civilians.

Using this new technology, troops will be able to livestream video back to command, see through each-other’s eyes, track targets, and call in air strikes—using just their smartphones.

The new technology could roll out soon. The company that develops it, CrowdOptic, received a rapid prototyping request from SOFWERX, which is a partnership between Doolittle Institute and U.S. Special Operations Command. Under the request, which CrowdOptic received on Sept. 8, they are expected to have a working prototype available by Sept. 30.

According to CrowdOptic CEO Jon Fisher, the technology works on just about any device with a sensor, from smart glasses to drones, but they’ll be starting with smartphones since troops with SOF use personal phones as their main communication devices while on the field.

“It’s the phones first because that’s what’s everywhere for the military,” Fisher said.

The technology works by linking data between multiple devices and finding common information between them. It can also detect the direction a device is facing, and Fisher noted “with that type of content you can do some incredible things.” This opens many doors for new technology that Fisher said could benefit anyone from warfighters to firefighters, and in industries from police work to entertainment.

The technology has been framed before as a tool that lets you “see through walls.” This is partially true, since by using smart glasses and syncing them with cameras fixated in various locations, a wearer can look in the directions of different cameras to see what they see. The CrowdOptic technology is being used this way by San Francisco Zoo’s wolf exhibit.

Since the technology can sync multiple devices and find common information, it can also be used to interconnect what various people are looking at through smart glasses. The Denver Broncos are using CrowdOptic technology, for example, to detect where fans are looking on the field, and to use this data to find the best camera angles of the action.

“Nobody believes in it. You’re like, ‘Fuck this,’” a former Green Beret says of America’s covert and clandestine programs to train and arm Syrian militias. “Everyone on the ground knows they are jihadis. No one on the ground believes in this mission or this effort, and they know they are just training the next generation of jihadis, […]

Tyler Grey (former Army Delta Operator) has started a new series called Greyman. In this series you will gain new knowledge, new tools, and new skills to be able to better protect yourself, your family and your friends.  In this first episode Tyler hooks up with a professional in lock picking and other physical security areas. They expose […]

George is a former Delta Force operator (master sergeant) and a current vigilante against the scourge of human trafficking in the American Southwest.