US military finally moves Patriot missile batteries in Iraq

The United States is finally moving some air defense systems into place in Iraq after bases that house U.S. troops have been attacked with rocket and missile fire for months. The Pentagon didn’t specify which bases the air defense systems will be deployed to.  However, Al Jazeera reported that according to Iraqi and U.S. military […]

Robert Levinson: Former FBI agent and CIA asset dies in captivity in Iran

Robert Levinson, a former FBI special agent and undercover CIA asset, has died while in captivity in Iran, according to a statement by his family. Levinson’s story is complicated, to say the least. The former FBI special agent retired from the Bureau in 1998. He then proceeded to work as a private investigator. In 2007, […]

The Video of the Week: The five fundamentals of Special Operations

The 75th Ranger Regiment encompasses the Big Five Philosophy: marksmanship, physical training, medical training, small-unit tactics, and mobility for the success of the individual Ranger and the Ranger mission. Special Operations units excel at the battlefield partly because they have mastered the basics of soldiering.

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 […]

Treading carefully: How American troops are protecting Kurdish oil fields

American troops stationed in eastern Syria have the difficult and dangerous job of guarding the very oil-rich Kurdish-held land. And everyone — the Syrian government, the Russians, the Turks, and ISIS — wants to control it.  The area is developing into a very dangerous place for the American troops: They’ve come under attack from a […]

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 […]

Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal community is looking for officers

The Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community is looking for its future leaders. More specifically, the Navy EOD community is looking for either civilian candidates or Sailors already serving in the fleet who are looking into commissioning through the Enlisted to Officer Commissioning Program (OPNAVINST 1420.1B). Both categories of candidates will have to complete the […]

Disbanded but not forgotten: The Czech Special Operations Group

The Special Operation Group (SOG) was a SOF unit from the Czech Republic. The unit was part of the Military Police and was one of the youngest units kicking around having been formed only in 2002. SOG consisted of two departments: the Department of Protection for the Minister of Defense and the Combat Operation Department. […]

The Pic of the Day: The art of replenishing a ship under way

Seaman Brandon Kay, from Surprise, Arizona, shoots a shot-line to the USNS Laramie (T-AO 203) during a replenishment-at-sea aboard the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72). Vella Gulf is conducting operations in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group.