SF

US Soldier killed while fighting Islamic State in Afghanistan

U.S. Navy Captain Bill Salvin, spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, stated that a US soldier was killed while fighting ISIS in Nagarhar Province, Afghanistan late Saturday evening. CNN is reporting the service member killed in action was a Special Operations Forces soldier and that this is the first combat related death in Afghanistan for 2017. […]

Capture of Kony no longer a priority for US Special Operations

United States Special Operations Forces will no longer be hunting for the African warlord Joseph Kony. Kony, the head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has seen his number of followers dwindle down to around 100 is no longer a priority to capture for US forces. Kony was branded a “specially designated global terrorist” by […]

The indestructible Toyota Hi-Lux is finally coming to America

As a young man in the US Army the first vehicle I went looking to buy was a Toyota Hi-Lux.  Just as many soldiers are likely to buy a AR-15 rifle patterned off of the M16 or M4 that they use in the service, the Hi-Lux is a mid-sized pickup truck that punches way above […]

Importance of Language, Cross-Cultural Communication in Special Forces Operations

Special Forces troops and all Special Operations Forces for that matter are masters at relationship building with host nation forces that they live with, train, and fight alongside in the world today. From the beginning of the OSS, the special operations forces had to earn the trust of their counterparts in occupied France before they […]

Pentagon plan to seize Raqqa calls for significant increase in U.S. participation

A Pentagon plan for the coming assault on Raqqa, the Islamic State capital in Syria, calls for significant U.S. military participation, including increased Special Operations forces, attack helicopters and artillery, and arms supplies to the main Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighting force on the ground, according to U.S. officials. The military’s favored option among several […]

Female officers in Special Forces will face additional challenges

When Defense Secretary Ashton Carter opened combat occupation roles for women in the military, it also allowed women to volunteer for the various Special Operations units. These units in the military that are not only difficult to get into but even more so to complete the grueling courses. Carter admitted that the differences in the […]

Replaced? Security Force Assistance Brigades vs. Special Forces

The U.S. Army recently announced it would be standing up six security force assistance brigades (SFABs), designed to provide the Army with units specifically trained to work as military advisors. As part of their training pipeline, these advisors will likely receive cultural and language training to facilitate working with their partner forces. They will have […]

Think Like a Green Beret: Surrender

When I went to Ranger School, I memorized the Ranger Creed and learned  that “surrender is not a Ranger word.” I love that. As a student of military history, the Green Beret knows what happens after surrender.  In Afghanistan, there were some very frank team-room discussions about capture. Short of being blown unconscious by an […]

Do you have to stay in the military forever? (Part One)

I met someone recently who spent twenty years in SOF and was more or less kicked out. He was an asset than and still is today. He’s just not normal. I was in for eight years of active duty, total. No that’s not as long as some. But longer than most. However, in SF and […]

Pentagon is considering deploying conventional troops into Syria (MAYBE)

To jumpstart the campaign against ISIS, the Pentagon is considering deploying conventional troops into the fray against ISIS. The implications are far-reaching and many questions arise. This could have been an inevitable outcome. It could be a product of ‘mission creep.’ Stakeholders within the Pentagon are beginning to claim their ‘piece of the pie.’ The […]