Five personality traits of a Special Operator

People are always asking, “What do I need to do to become a Navy SEAL?” Or they say, “Those Rangers are all psychos and mindless killing machines; that’s not for me.” Or, perhaps someone thinks they have what it takes, physically, to be a Special Forces soldier, but they don’t know if they have the […]

So you wanna be a Navy SEAL?

“Hey, can you talk to my nephew? He wants to be a SEAL.” I always say yes and answer whatever questions I can. Let’s be honest; I enjoy it.

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 […]

The Pic of the Day: Meet the newest SWCC operators

A member of Crewman Qualification Training Class 108 receives his Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman (SWCC) Basic pin during a graduation ceremony at Naval Special Warfare Center’s SWCC Training Center in Coronado, Calif., March 12. SWCCs are the Navy’s elite boat operators and are quiet professionals dedicated to achieving excellence in maritime special operations. NSW Center […]

The Video of the Week: The life and deeds of Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV

Chief Special Warfare Operator Charles Keating IV was killed during a firefight with ISIS forces in May 2016. He was part of a quick reaction force (QRF) that was trying to rescue a joint American-Kurdish force that came under attack by scores of ISIS fighters. For his heroism in the battle, SOC Keating received the […]

The Benelli M4 – Spec Ops shotgun of choice

When it comes to semi-automatic shotguns Benelli reigns supreme. Benelli shotguns are in use around the world with police officers, conventional forces, and special operations. The Benelli M4 has its roots in the United States Marine Corps and their quest for a new combat shotgun. They specifically wanted a gas-operated gun over inertia driven weapons […]

You don’t get a medal for being shot by enemy wildfire

Read part I here. A few hours later we were allowed back onto the range, cleared hot to commence our night shoot. There was still fire in the valley and it had spread across the terrain, but it was considered under control. As before, we shot into the night, firing all of our weapons, including […]

SEAL Team 6 operator convicted for catfishing

The Navy found a SEAL Team 6 operator guilty of catfishing a woman online. The operator will now spend 30 days in the brig and forfeit $500 from his paycheck for three months ($1,500 t0tal). A Navy court-martial found Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SO1) Aaron Howard guilty of trying to elicit nude pictures from […]

Stack the bodies and screw the rest: The issue with SOF

After months of investigation, the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has finished its comprehensive review into the professionalism and ethical issues in the Special Operations community. The 69-page report found that Special Operations units are too focused on being lethal on the battlefield and deploy as much as possible. As a consequence, what might appear […]

What’s a good Special Operations workout?

When training Special Ops candidates or qualified operators, there are many, many tests I have them perform to determine where their strengths and weaknesses lie. A SOF soldier needs to have a solid base of strength in the following: upper body pushing and pulling, single and double leg, and core; he also needs to have […]

NASA just got its first Navy SEAL Sniper: Meet Lt. Jonny Kim

I remember Jonny Kim as a new guy at SEAL Team 3 and later when he checked into sniper school at the old bunker complex south of Coronado, California. He had a quiet intensity and determination about him that years later I still remember. When I was a sniper course manager for the west coast […]