Prosecutors Grant Immunity to Seven SEALs in Gallagher Case

Prosecutors Grant Immunity to Seven SEALs in Gallagher Case

The military court-martial trial of Navy SEAL Edward Gallager took a surprising turn on Friday during the motion hearing phase. The Navy’s prosecutors have granted seven Navy SEALs immunity to testify for the prosecution at the upcoming trial Gallagher, a chief special warfare operator alleged to have murdered a wounded teenage ISIS combatant by stabbing […]

7 Navy SEALs granted immunity to testify against Chief Gallagher

7 Navy SEALs granted immunity to testify against Chief Gallagher

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 […]

Can transgender service members be warriors? Transgender former SEAL Team 6 operator says yes

Can transgender service members be warriors? Transgender former SEAL Team 6 operator says yes

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 […]

RIP to the Army Reflective Belt, You Won’t Be Missed

RIP to the Army Reflective Belt, You Won’t Be Missed

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 […]

Special Air Service launches revenge raid against ISIS

Special Air Service launches revenge raid against ISIS

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 […]

Accountability, discipline, and leadership: How to solve ongoing issues in Special Operations

Accountability, discipline, and leadership: How to solve ongoing issues in Special Operations

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 […]

Finding needles in haystacks: The future of military intelligence?

Finding needles in haystacks: The future of military intelligence?

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 […]

Second Navy SEAL charged with war crimes, goes to court

Second Navy SEAL charged with war crimes, goes to court

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 […]

Warriors needed: Special Operations units offer bonuses to boost ranks

Warriors needed: Special Operations units offer bonuses to boost ranks

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 […]