SF

Nasty Nick: The Special Forces obstacle course from hell

Ah yes… the Nasty Nick Obstacle Course. If you are an aspiring Special Operations soldier in the Army, you will become intimately familiar with this obstacle course. It is one of those rites of passage gated events that you have to complete. Part of the reason we do so much upper body training while preparing […]

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 […]

The Special Operations argument for a Civil Affairs tab

Symbols are important. Civilizations, organizations, corporations, and even an individual’s identity are built on and around symbols. They communicate values, demonstrate principles, express aspirations, declare intentions, assert purpose, affirm origins, and galvanize solidarity. Symbols are powerful because they instill pride, evoke camaraderie, and spur individuals to strive harder in their pursuits. The proud graduates of […]

The Iranian commando who became an American Green Beret

The first time Changiz Lahidji joined a Special Forces unit, his loyalty was to Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. But he found himself guarding lavish parties in the middle of the desert, protecting the opulent ruler of Imperial Iran and his guests. It wasn’t exactly the life of adventure that John Wayne movies led […]

When Special Forces meets entrepreneurship

“How the hell am I going to fill 1,000 sandbags, and how did I get myself into this mess?” I thought. Sometimes life throws curveballs at you and you have to do your best to sit back in the box and hit them the opposite way. In doing so, you can make the most out […]

German woodcarver becomes honorary Green Beret

Special Forces have a very tight select group of members and it isn’t often that an outsider is accepted as one of their own. Very few have been given the honor of becoming an honorary Green Beret. A German woodcarver, who has been supporting the members of the 10th Special Forces Group in Europe for […]

Special Warfare Museum to close permanently

In January, the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum closed in order to conduct a complete inventory. The Museum announced that once it reopened it would fall under the U.S. Army Special Operations Command and expand to include all of the ARSOF Regiments. Therefore it would also include Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations. Let the […]

The Pic of the Day: SF operators hone their quick-reaction drills

A 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Soldier takes cover behind a car during an indoor live-fire training range in Fort Carson, Colorado. The indoor range tests the operators’ ability to move and communicate in an urban environment, suppressing enemy small-arms fire while quickly rescuing incapacitated teammates in an ambush.