Tag: Special Forces

Touching down before dawn, Somali “Lightning” commandos climbed out of U.S. military helicopters and carefully advanced in the dark toward a ramshackle compound tucked into muddy farmland dotted by banana trees. U.S. surveillance had monitored the site for days after an intelligence tip signaled the location of Moalin Osman Abdi Badil, the suspected leader of […]

During the lead up to Memorial Day here at  SpecialOperations.com we’re looking at some of the more interesting tidbits of our history. Some you may not have heard of before and others may be familiar to you. While the US had sent Special Forces advisors to South East Asia during the 1950s to Vietnam and to […]

Reports are emerging of an anti-terror operation conducted early Wednesday morning in Lille, France.  Members of the elite French special forces anti-terrorism unit known as RAID (Research, Assistance, Intervention, and Dissuasion) were dispatched to two locations within the city, where they have reportedly taken two women into custody. RAID used explosives to breach the door […]

On May 21, 1979, Special Forces had one its true legends take from it prematurely. Arthur “Bull” Simons died at the age of 60 and was buried in Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida. He was one of the best SF commanders to have ever served but never made it to General Officer rank because he lacked […]

In 1989, NATO published a set of requirements that requested a new type of firearm with rounds capable of penetrating body armor. Called the Personal Defense weapon, or PDW, it was meant to replace weapons, such as pistols and submachine guns, whose caliber was found wanting against ballistic protection. Several companies went on to design […]

Note: This is part of a series. You can read parts one, two, three, four, and five here. In 2001, the Army opened the Combatives School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and began formulating training and protocols for this new mixed martial arts-based combatives system, further analyzing and preparing the soldier for close-quarters battle. In 2002, the U.S. Army officially adopted […]

Before the days of Salomon, Merrell, Oakley (all of which I own and love) and the endless list of boot options available to soldiers (at least in the SOF community), and the “after market” desert boots available to all, there was one venerable, unchallenged boot for the grunt. Few items conjure a nostalgia like seeing […]

Note: This is part of a series. You can read parts one, two, three, and four, here. The late ’70s and ’80s was a time of expansion and experimentation as U.S. SOF units digested the lessons of Vietnam and reveled in the Reagan presidency, which meant increased funding for all of the U.S. military, and especially special […]

One of the things that always gets a ton of mileage on social media when discussing Special Operations troops is the attrition rate. Drop in on any of the major sites and the talk of the training attrition rates always comes up. Would-be SOF candidates are always doing the math in their heads, trying to […]

US special operations is researching how to counteract a new breed of warfare that Russia, China and Iran have been using quite successfully in recent years, Defense News reported.   Known as gray-zone conflict or hybrid warfare, it encompasses “activities conducted to enable a resistance movement or insurgency to coerce, disrupt, or overthrow a government or occupying power by operating […]

NEW YORK – May 18, 2017 – The latest episode of SOFREP TV’s Training Cell focuses on combat training and readiness from the air. Veterans from multiple branches of U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) worked with fellow former SOF members and current instructors from Shooter Performance Institute and Last Shadow to refine their skills from […]

Note: This is part of a series. You can read part one, part two, and part three here. During the Vietnam War it became very clear that the U.S. military needed to revise their hand-to-hand training. This was particularly apparent amongst SOF units, especially Army Special Forces, LRRPs, and Navy SEALs; each often sent their people in small teams […]