Wounded Air Force PJ that fought off Taliban for hours receives Bronze Star

U.S. Air Force pararescueman Staff Sgt. Aaron Metzger was awarded the Bronze Star with valor last week for his actions during combat operations in Afghanistan last year. The special operations Airman assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron (RQS) withstood significant injuries from both small arms fire and grenade shrapnel during an hours-long firefight that Metzger […]

In case you missed it: Our top headline picks from the past week

Snubbed by SEALs: A Delta Force operator on working with SEAL Team 6 A U.S. Navy Admiral “owned” the Balkan State of Bosnia under the behavioral tutelage of the United Nations Peace-Keeping organization. He was the sheriff, the police chief, the governor, the president of the country until such time humanitarian order could be restored […]

Purging the waste: SOCOM commander orders new review of culture and ethics in SOF community

After a rash of high profile incidents involving the U.S. Special Operations community, Gen. Richard Clarke, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, has ordered a comprehensive review of the culture and ethics in play throughout America’s elite war fighting institutions. Recent incidents have called our culture and ethics into question and threaten the trust placed […]

WATCH: How to pass Special Forces Assessment and Selection

The journey to becoming a Special Forces soldier won’t be easy. Special Forces training is rigorous and highly selective, but the courage and strength you will gain as a candidate will stay with you your entire life. In addition to Basic Combat Training, soldiers must have completed Advanced Individual Training and U.S. Army Airborne School to […]

Watch: The Green Beret is an outdoorsman trained to live and fight anywhere

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 […]

Letter from the editor: Writing and editorial decisions about controversial stories

We certainly live in some tumultuous times, with what appears to be a full-blown culture war erupting between various factions in a highly polarized society. With social media added into the equation, Americans are thrown together into one big pool—one that is often filled with sharks—while the design of said social media apps has the […]

Special Operations reading list: A few of my favorite hidden gems

I love reading about Special Operations history. It’s amazing what information can be found in published sources if you’re prepared to dig around. There’s a whole hidden history that can only be compiled by doing some deep research and really looking for sources. Thankfully, some former operators penned books that are well worth tracking down. Here […]

Green Beret killed in training incident last week was also previously in MARSOC

Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Sheperty died last Wednesday after suffering critical injuries during airborne operations training. Local emergency services personnel declared the 36-year-old Sheperty dead at the scene, and a command investigation into the cause of the incident is underway. “On behalf of the men and women of the West Virginia National Guard, I extend […]

“Murphy’s Law” now available as an audiobook

My memoir, “Murphy’s Law: My Journey from Army Ranger and Green Beret to Investigative Journalist” releases as an audiobook on April 23rd. The book is also available in hardcover later this month. I decided I wanted to be the one to narrate the audiobook edition.  It’s my story, so it only makes sense that you […]

Former Green Beret reportedly trained fundamentalist Mormon militia in Utah

A former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier is thought to have trained and equipped an armed militia-type organization in Utah. Scott Mangels, a former Green Beret and part of the Army National Guard’s 19th  Special Forces Group (SFG), allegedly worked with the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), a Mormon fundamentalist organization based in Bluffdale, Utah, to […]

Analysis: Latest Islamic State propaganda video shows recovered weapons of Niger ambush?

A video recently released by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), the group responsible for the ambush on October 4th, shows U.S.-made weapons. The video is titled Punishments of Traitors and features brutal executions, accompanied by nasheeds (Islamic ballads). In the video, Abdelhakim al-Sahrawi, the Emir of Gourma for ISGS, can be seen […]