Tag: Special Operations

Ah, life in the military is very rarely boring. You get to travel to some exotic — well, different — places and meet some of the most interesting types of people. But one time-honored tradition was celebrating the 4th of July, our Independence Day, while deployed outside of the United States. For me, there are […]

Mindfulness is all the rage right now. Yet, the idea of being mindful — the ability to be fully present — is not a new concept in the warrior culture. As Togo Shigekata, who was a samurai from the Satsuma domain, noted, “One finds life through conquering the fear of death within one’s mind. Empty […]

It is no secret that technology is rapidly taking over the military. This can be seen in recruiting techniques, training styles, and weapons and tools being used in battlefield settings. Behind the gruff, rough, dip-spitting, barrel-chested freedom fighter attitude that the Navy SEALs and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) of Naval Special Warfare have come […]

Combat hand-to-hand is another animal entirely, not like being in a ring or on a mat, and is often not one-on-one.

Some SAS members acted like “self-righteous, entitled pricks.” After a long-running investigation looking into war crimes reportedly committed by Australian troops, Major-General Adam Findlay, the commander of Australia’s Special Forces, has admitted that some members of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) indeed committed war crimes in Afghanistan. He blamed these atrocities on “poor moral […]

Recently, SOFREP had the opportunity to interview actor Jake Lockett. A trained pilot of Cessna 152 and VFR 172-class aircraft, Jake was considering a career in the Central Intelligence Agency or the military before the attractions of acting lured him to Hollywood. With an Aerospace Engineering degree from Texas A&M University, Jake worked at Boeing […]

The German Defense Ministry is going to dissolve the country’s top Special Operations unit over a series of right-wing scandals. According to an exclusive report by the Frankfurter Allgemeine, the Kommando Spezialkrafte (KSK) is losing at least one-quarter of its strength as troops suspected of right-wing extremism are either canned or suspended. The unit has […]

Special operations continued to develop and improve its hand-to-hand combat systems, from LINE to MACP.

The Combat Diver Foundation and the U.S. Military Freefall Association will be jointly hosting a virtual fundraiser to raise money for their respective causes. The “Jump & Dive Fundraiser” will take place on August 29. The event will include a livestream of the fundraising event, comments by notable Combat Diver and Military Freefall qualified leaders, […]

During the Vietnam War it became very clear that the U.S. military needed to revise their hand-to-hand training.

For most people, surviving the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Europe would be the defining moment of their lives. Men like Major General Sidney Shachnow aren’t most people. The Lithuanian-born Shachnow survived a forced labor camp and went on to join the U.S. Army, serve in Vietnam, and lead the Army Special Forces’ ultra-secret World War III […]

World War II saw the advent of modern special operations, and thus the need for special hand-to-hand fighting skills for special operators.