Major James Capers: Marine Recon legend & Commando Hall of Fame member

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on June 23. Major Capers was honored with a parade and homecoming ceremony in his birthplace of Bishopville, SC on August 28. Visit United American Patriots to view photos and videos from the event. We’ve all seen those Hollywood films where the protagonist has a resume that is […]

Women & standards in Special Operations and Special Mission units

SOFREP recently published an exclusive piece covering the journey of the first female candidate set to graduate the Special Forces Qualification Course and earn her coveted green beret — an amazing achievement. Similarly, recent years have seen the services open their previously male-exclusive roles, including the opportunity to attend Ranger School and others, to women […]

The Rhodesian SAS: Covert external operations

You can read the previous part here. We explored the historical background of the Rhodesian SAS C Squadron. Now it is time to focus on a few of the missions that they undertook during the Rhodesian Bush War, a war that threatened to destroy the government of Rhodesia, take the land and evict those of […]

The Pic of the Day: Combat Control students get ambushed

Combat Control School students assigned to the 352nd Battlefield Airman Training Squadron are ambushed at their drop-off point during a tactics field training exercise at Camp Mackall. Special Operations airmen are in high demand. Recently, the Air Force has made significant changes to its Special Operations with the creation of the Special Reconnaissance job and […]

The Mahari Desert Patrol: Tunisia’s desert raiders

Editor’s note: This article was written by Louis Tayler and originally published on Grey Dynamics. Deep in the South of Tunisia, the Groupement Territorial Saharien (GTS), a part of the Tunisian Army, protects the border areas and remote deserts of Tunisia from all who may do Tunisia harm. This includes terrorists, smugglers, those crossing borders […]

The Special Operations world of Sub-Saharan Africa

It is common knowledge that warfare has greatly evolved in our times: from the strategic to the operational and tactical levels, from training and equipment to mission statements and structure. Indeed, literally every facet of warfare has seen close to a complete doctrinal overhaul. A good number of countries across the globe have firsthand experienced […]

French Special Operations task force grows as Estonia commits commandos

Estonian commandos are the latest to join a French-led Special Operations task force that will deploy in Africa in the upcoming summer to fight Islamic extremists. The deployment of the Estonian commandos was first reported by the Defense Post back in 2019. Then, an Estonian Defense Ministry spokesperson had stated that the country’s contribution to […]

When Special Forces Recon Team Python ruled the Valley of Death

Situated in the northwestern portion of South Vietnam, along the border with Laos, lies the A Shau Valley.  At 25 miles long and one mile wide, A Shau the valley consists of tall and thick elephant grass flanked on either side by steep mountain ranges, dense with jungle, that rise between 3,000 and 6,000 feet. […]

Air Force creates new pathway for Special Operations candidates

The Air Force has created a new, single pathway to funnel candidates in its Special Warfare specialties. Called the Special Warfare Operator Enlistment Vectoring (SWOE-V) program, the new pathway will pool all those who wish to join one of the Special Operations career fields of the Air Force (Pararescue, Combat Control, Special Reconnaissance, and Tactical […]

Exclusive: Army Special Forces command disbands elite units

Update: SOFREP has learned that the 1st Special Forces Command will retain some CRF-like Direct Action capability, though significantly smaller than the current one. The rationale behind the decision to downsize, however, remains the same: CRFs are too expensive for their utility. In a historic decision for the Special Forces community, the Crisis Response Force […]