Iraq

In a further development of the trial of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, seven Navy SEALs who served in the same platoon have been granted immunity to testify against their teammate. Chief Gallagher has been charged with four different violations of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Gallagher, more specifically, is accused of murdering […]

In 2016, the ban on transgender people serving openly in the military was lifted. Now, U.S. President Donald Trump, with the Supreme Court’s approval, has reinstated that ban, citing concerns over transgender service members’ effectiveness in combat. Kristin Beck, a transgender former Navy SEAL, is calling President Trump’s assertion baseless. “The idea transgender effects ‘Lethality […]

Opinion: Sometimes, common sense IS an uncommon virtue. And sometimes the Army, despite all evidence to the contrary actually gets one right. Just recently, the Secretary of the Army, Mark Esper signed a memorandum that states the simple, yet hard to understand for some truth. That the hated reflective belt was not needed in the […]

Earlier this week, the Special Air Service (SAS) mounted a raid against an Islamic State (ISIS) fortified position near the village of al-Shaafa in eastern Syria. According to the scant available information—the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) declines to comment on any inquiries about the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF)—the SAS assault force was comprised […]

In a recent interview with the Cipher Brief, Retired Brigadier General Craig Nixon discussed ongoing problems in the Special Operations community and provided useful insight. During his 29 years of service, General Nixon served as the Director of Operations for both the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which is […]

In the national security decision-making process and military operations, more often than not, intelligence drives action. Actionable intelligence, that is, timely and accurate information about a target of interest, is the most precious commodity. There are numerous ways to gather actionable intelligence: Human Intelligence (HUMINT) is highly valued but very difficult to acquire as it […]

Following a fierce legal battle inside and outside courtrooms that lasted a decade, veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars lost their final chance to receive compensation for illnesses caused by toxic smoke while serving overseas. The group of veterans had sued the military contractor KBR, Inc. for running huge burn pits, which burned tires […]

The second Navy SEAL implicated in war crimes allegations in Iraq has gone to court. Lieutenant Jacob “Jake” Portier, who commanded Alpha Platoon, SEAL Team 7 in a 2017 deployment in Iraq—the same unit to which Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher belonged—has been accused of dereliction of duty because he didn’t properly supervise Chief Gallagher […]

Despite the astounding success of America’s Special Operations Forces (SOF), decades of conflict and consecutive high-tempo deployments have taken their toll. Army SOF units are having trouble filling their ranks. In an attempt to alleviate this conundrum, the U.S. Army is offering financial incentives to applicants willing to try out for SOF units. Although far […]

According to last year’s Program on Extremism Pentagon report, at least 64 Americans have left the United States for Iraq or Syria in order to join the terror group known as the Islamic State. As compared to the thousands of Europeans that have left their homes to join ISIS, that figure is rather modest, perhaps […]

An Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist attack in the Syrian city of Manbij has killed four American and wounded three. The dead included two service members, one Department of Defence (DoD) civilian, and a DoD contractor. In addition, 13 civilians were killed and 18 wounded. The attack took place early in the afternoon. The Americans were patrolling […]

Throughout the War on Terror, there has been a knowledge gap between the civilian population and the service members who have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan. One reason could be the relatively small number of Americans who serve in the military or the fact that those places are so foreign they are nearly inconceivable unless […]