Navy SEALs accused of invading Washington State parks

Navy SEALs accused of invading Washington State parks

For the past 30 years, the SEAL Teams have had had an agreement with Washington State to be permitted to train on five of their State Parks. Recently, the Navy presented a proposal to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, seeking access to 29 State Parks for training purposes. These State Parks, many of […]

Special Forces operator hounded by leadership catches a break

Special Forces operator hounded by leadership catches a break

MSG Hasenbein is charged, among other things, with Reckless Endangerment, and Aggravated Assault, in violation of Article 128, UCMJ. The incident that forms the basis of the charges occurred on Mar 22nd, 2019, during a pre-mission training event where MSG Hasenbein allegedly assaulted an F3EA role player. LTC Haake recommended General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand […]

Battle of Mirbat: The near Alamo of the Special Air Service

Battle of Mirbat: The near Alamo of the Special Air Service

You can read part four here.  July 19, 1972 The small fishing village was still dozing under the monsoon’s early morning mist. A half-mile to the north, behind a small hill, 250 adoo advanced in silence. No sound came from their cloth-muffled Chinese webbing. Their brand-new Russian AK-47s were well-oiled, their RPGs and 12.7mm heavy […]

Airborne Operations can always be an adventure in Special Operations

Airborne Operations can always be an adventure in Special Operations

Just a few days ago, Stavros did a great writeup on how conducting airborne operations in the Third World, with some of our partners and allies who aren’t very well trained, can be… interesting. Many of these soldiers had never even been around aircraft before joining the military, and most of those on their first […]

A failing Army: Most recruits can’t complete basic fitness test

A failing Army: Most recruits can’t complete basic fitness test

A misty morning at Fort Jackson, SC, basic trainees, currently in week seven and set to graduate soon, are tested on the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT). About 80 percent of them will fail the test. There are six events in total: THREE REPETITION MAXIMUM DEADLIFT (MDL): Deadlift the maximum weight possible three times. STANDING […]

The Pic of the Day: Egyptian commandos visit 5th Special Forces Group

The Pic of the Day: Egyptian commandos visit 5th Special Forces Group

A Soldier with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) coaches Egyptian Special Operations Soldiers of Unit 999 during room clearing exercises at a training complex on Fort Campbell, Ky., February 10, 2020. 5th SFG(A) Soldiers trained with the Egyptians on a variety of tasks during a two-week-long joint training event designed to enhance the operating […]

US strike kills terrorist leader behind the deadly Manda Bay attack

US strike kills terrorist leader behind the deadly Manda Bay attack

Last week, a series of U.S. airstrikes killed the terrorist leader behind the attack on the joint American-Kenyan base in Manda Bay. According to the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), the senior al-Shabaab leader was killed inside Somalia, which borders Kenya from the north and provides a safe haven for the Jihadist organization. His wife, also […]

Interview with Stu Bradin, President of the Global SOF Foundation

Interview with Stu Bradin, President of the Global SOF Foundation

The face of war has changed in the past two decades. While the world’s bad guys and the terrorists have been continually morphing and popping up around the globe, as they’re stomped out in one place and reappearing in another, the “good guys” of the world need to network, innovate, and operate, globally.  That’s why […]

Winning hearts and minds the Special Air Service way

Winning hearts and minds the Special Air Service way

Read part 2 here “For all their limitations, I don’t believe we could’ve won the war without the firqats,” says Ian Gardiner, a former Royal Marines officer with extensive service to include deployments in Oman, Northern Ireland, and the Falklands. Before we delve into what the firqats, literally meaning a company, were and their operations with the SAS, […]

Pararescueman recognized for his role in the Thai Cave rescue operation

Pararescueman recognized for his role in the Thai Cave rescue operation

A Pararescueman (PJ), who played a key role in the rescue of a boys soccer team from a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018, was chosen as one of the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year. Technical Sergeant Ken O’Brien, who is assigned to the 320th Special Tactics Squadron (320th STS) out in Kadena Air […]

Watch what happens when airborne ops go wrong

Watch what happens when airborne ops go wrong

Last year, during the annual exercise Flintlock, we wrote an article about the dangers of airborne operations. As this year’s iteration of Flintlock is upon us, it’s prudent to review what went wrong when some Special Operations troops from an African country decided to conduct some airborne training. Bad exits or landings during parachute operations […]

Pentagon releases new Artificial Intelligence guidelines

Pentagon releases new Artificial Intelligence guidelines

The U.S. Department of Defense released a set of guidelines for how artificial intelligence (AI) should be deployed on the battlefield. These guidelines are intended to provide for the ethical use of new technologies that are increasingly defining modern warfare. Among the principles laid out was the call for personnel to “exercise appropriate levels of […]