Iran embassy takeover forty years ago helped shape today’s SOCOM

Over 40-years ago, Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, and took 98 hostages. The majority of them would be held for 444 days until they would be freed just before Ronald Reagan became President.  The events that unfolded during the crisis would put in motion the creation of the United States Special […]

The Pic of the Day: MARSOC hopefuls playing in the dark

Marine Special Operation Command (MARSOC) students conduct a helicopter raid at Outlying Field Atlantic, North Carolina, Oct. 31, 2019. MARSOC’s mission is to recruit, train, sustain, and deploy scalable, expeditionary forces worldwide to accomplish special operations missions assigned by U.S. Special Operations Command.

Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 operators on the loose?

How far would the CIA and the military’s elite Special Operations units go to avoid political oversight for their covert activities? To the end of the world, it seems. Congress is suspecting that the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) haven’t been transparent when it comes to briefing lawmakers about their covert operations. […]

No days off: Rucking early on Christmas morning

Before celebrating Christmas with the family today it was time for some exercise. I was up before the sun and since everyone was sleeping in as we had been out late visiting family on Christmas Eve, I decided to take advantage of the quiet time to get some rucking in…and to work off some of […]

The Pic of the Day: Marine Raiders getting ready for business

Marine Raiders and Marines from 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion from 1st Marine Division conducted on-off drills during Marine Forces Special Operations Command’s unit readiness exercise, RAVEN, which is conducted across a 100-mile area, with the exercise operations center at the National Guard Base in Gulfport, Miss. The exercise serves as the certification exercise for a […]

Land navigation refresher: Helpful Spec Ops tips when navigating

“…We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence then is not an act but a habit” Aristotle One of the first questions we always get from any aspiring SOF candidate is, “What do I have to do to get Selected?” While it is a legitimate question, it is a bit simplistic. There is no one specific […]

Two Marine Raiders and Navy Corpsman charged with manslaughter over Green Beret death

Two Marines Raiders and a Navy Corpsman assigned to the 3rd Raider Battalion, Marines Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC), are facing manslaughter charges over the death of Rick Rodriguez, a contractor and retired Special Forces operator, in Iraq in 2018. The three men, Gunnery Sergeant Joshua Negron, Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Draher and Chief Petty Officer […]

Selection in Special Operations? Learn to love your ruck

We always get good questions about how to pass some of the various selection courses. And while certain things will be looked at differently, many of the key attributes are going to be the same in the successful candidate in any course regardless of the branch or unit.  For today’s purpose, I’ll talk about SFAS […]

Could a Spec Ops base in Syria be in danger of being overrun?

The presence of a small, but strategically important, Special Operations base inside Syria might be in jeopardy after Congress raised concerns about its security. Last week, Congress requested the Department of Defence (DoD) and the Director of National Intelligence Retired Vice Admiral Joseph Maguire, a former Navy SEAL, to assess the threat level of the […]

Learn how to prepare for cold weather prior to Spec Ops selection

Because most of our military bases are in the southern United States, one area that can be neglected, especially when preparing for Special Operations training is cold weather training.  It is surprising how many young people who enter the military don’t know or understand the basics of cold weather preparation. First some of the basics; […]

Special Op’s gear review: Salomon XA Forces Mid-Boot

Okay, so anyone who knows me or has read any of my articles in the past knows that I am and have always been a huge Merrell fan. Owner of too many pairs to count, Merrells are my go-to boots for anything. But that may be subject to change. I like to scan and read […]