SF

The act of killing

Don’t you know it is wrong to kill? Yes. But you do it? Yes. And you still believe absolutely that your cause is right? Yes. It is right, he told himself, not reassuringly, but proudly. I believe in the people and their right to govern themselves as they wish. But you mustn’t believe in killing, […]

From the Editor: Why we published the Niger video

This morning, I have heard the voices from the Special Operations community, along with many of our readers, loud and clear. They are angry and disappointed that SOFREP chose to publish helmet camera footage from the ambush in Niger back in October in which two U.S. Special Forces soldiers and two support soldiers killed. We […]

SOCOM budget expected to grow by almost $2 billion by 2019

Senior officials from the United States’ Special Operations Command addressed lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Friday to discuss funding and expectations for the nation’s special operations forces in the years to come. Special operations forces played an integral role as part of the joint force in the destruction of ISIS’ physical caliphate in Syria and […]

ISIS claimed responsibility for deadly attack on a children’s charity and it shows their resilience in Afghanistan

ISIS militants conducted an attack on the Save the Children’s Jalalabad office on Wednesday morning. ISIS’ Afghan chapter, known as ISIS-K, has managed to hold onto territory and conduct a number of deadly attacks in Afghanistan despite large battlefield and territorial losses. ISIS-K benefits from Afghanistan’sAfghanistan’sAfghanistan’s rough terrain, a steady stream of recruits from neighboring […]

This map shows how the US is fighting terrorism in 76 countries around the world

“This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while,” former President George W. Bush said on the White House South Lawn on Sept. 16, 2001. “And the American people must be patient. I’m going to be patient.” Bush was right that a war on an abstract noun like “terror” would take awhile. It began […]

Think like a Green Beret: Never Quit

One thing that all special units have in common is an aversion to quitting and quitters. The greatest sin, the one unforgivable error is to quit, no matter what the obstacle. Only death can stop a truly determined man. You have to know that the man next to you will not break and run when […]

The Haunting Begins: Rescue mission with James Shorten

[Editor’s Note: This is the sixth in a series of exclusive SOFREP stories of what led to the MACV-SOG Bright Light mission that haunts SOG Green Beret SSG James H. Shorten (Jones) to this day. It has taken him back to Cambodia twice and he hopes to return to Cambodia in 2018 to help DPAA […]

Op-Ed: Security Forces Assistance Brigades: The death of Special Forces

Over the years, many have lamented the end of Special Forces, foreseeing the destruction of the Green Berets, a slipping of training and selection standards, and plenty of general navel-gazing about how it “use to be.”  Hell, I remember buying a copy of Soldier of Fortune magazine in the PX at Fort Bragg over a […]

Exfil under fire: Rescue mission with James Shorten

  [Editor’s Note: This is the fifth in a series of exclusive SOFREP stories of what led to the MACV-SOG Bright Light mission that haunts SOG Green Beret SSG James H. Shorten (Jones) to this day. It has taken him back to Cambodia twice and he hopes to return to Cambodia in 2018 to help […]