updated Wed. March 30, 2022
-
FRANCE 24
April 27, 2018
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday that French special operations forces arrived in Syria over the past two weeks to help boost US-led efforts ... Even after IS -- which still control two pockets of territory along the middle Euphrates River Valley -- are defeated, the US military wants to maintain aÃÂ ...
Boston.com
April 27, 2018
According to officials, the investigation concludes the Army Special Forces team didn't get required senior command approval for their risky mission to capture a high-level Islamic State militant. U.S. special operations forces have been advising and working with local troops on the continent, including inÃÂ ...
Ottawa Citizen
April 26, 2018
Command of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) officially changed hands at a ceremony Wednesday in Ottawa. The new Commander of CANSOFCOM, Major-General Peter Dawe, assumed command from Major-General Mike Rouleau at a ceremony at Cartier Square DrillÃÂ ...
New York Times
April 12, 2018
American troops landed in the ground war in Syria in late 2015 with a small contingent of Special Operations forces, hoping to forge an alliance with local militias and ... And in June, a United States military jet shot down a Syrian warplane that was trying to bomb American-backed fighters on the ground.
Task & Purpose
April 12, 2018
Through simulated battlefields, Brunson said the exercise tests soldiers' ability to respond to tactical, operational and strategic problems. ... If deployed, 1st Special Forces Command would oversee special operations forces not only from the Army – Special Forces, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations,ÃÂ ...
Global Risk Insights
April 2, 2018
Many Western military commanders consider Special Operations Forces (SOF) to be the perfect tool for almost any job, but the current deployment ... Not only the combat footage from the recent Niger ambush where four U.S. Special Forces soldiers were killed, but other sources as well, indicate that notÃÂ ...
Department of Defense
April 2, 2018
Editor's note: The names of special operations forces members have been withheld due to security concerns. ... Airmen assigned to the 352nd Special Operations Wing and Special Forces soldiers assigned to 10th Special Forces Group conducted a winter training course here from February to March 2018.
EurasiaNet
March 16, 2018
Kyrgyzstan had been one of the US's top beneficiaries of special forces training in Central Asia, but those trainings abruptly stopped after the Manas closure. Nevertheless, according to recently released State Department documents that detail US military training activities over the last two years, the USÃÂ ...
The New York Review of Books
March 13, 2018
A senior Nigerien military commander told me that the American military has an expansionist agenda in the country and constantly pushes for more missions on the ground. According to a Nigerien soldier who participated in the operation on October 4, the American soldiers involved in Tongo Tongo hadÃÂ ...
Virginian-Pilot
March 13, 2018
But the technology's penetration of the military over the years has been uneven. It was originally more prominent among special operations forces, but has since expanded to conventional troops as the cameras became more widespread and more commanders became convinced of their value.
The Drive
March 13, 2018
Earlier in March 2018, Special Operations Command, Europe (SOCEUR), which oversees American special operations forces activities in and around the continent, posted a series of images from an exercise in Germany nicknamed Allied Spirit VIII. They show Special Forces soldiers from the U.S. ArmyÃÂ ...
Military Times
March 10, 2018
Belgian television reported the operator was 27-year-old Dimitri “Dimi” Trainis who had only recently joined the elite Belgian Special Forces Group. ... According to the post, Trainis had recently completed his Special Operations Forces Advanced First Responder course and was at Yuma completing tacticalÃÂ ...
Military Times
March 6, 2018
He added that the report into the deaths of members of an Army Special Forces team, which first went to meet local leaders and was then redirected to assist in the ... The deaths of the four U.S. soldiers — Sgt. La David Johnson, Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson and Staff Sgt. Dustin WrightÃÂ ...
TIME
March 6, 2018
The finding will likely increase scrutiny on U.S. military activity in Africa, particularly the role of special operations forces who've been advising and working with local troops on the continent for years. Four U.S. soldiers and four Nigerien troops were killed Oct. 4 about 120 miles (200 kilometers) north ofÃÂ ...
Robins Rev Up
March 6, 2018
The 815th AS “Flying Jennies” provided airlift support for the special operations joint training event at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Feb. 26-March 2. The exercise involved units from all U.S. military branches, U.S. Special Operations Command and North Atlantic Treaty Organization partner forces. (U.S. Air ForceÃÂ ...
Task & Purpose
March 5, 2018
The fallen soldiers were reportedly part of a 12-member Army Special Forces unit that was accompanying about 30 Nigerian troops when they were ... pictures had been taken by one of the soldiers caught in the ambush and ISIS captured the images after the soldier was killed, according to Military Times.
VICE News
March 2, 2018
Private intelligence contracts between the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) — the most elite branch of the military — and ... is often associated with on-the-ground targeting and drone surveillance during operations, something US special forces are focusing on for its soldiers.
Daily Signal
February 26, 2018
A 12-man Special Forces A-Team (Green Berets) cannot stop an enemy tank formation alone. The best weapon for that is one of our own tank units. We can “make do” with special operations forces in extreme situations if supported by air power (think the recently released movie “12 Strong”), but that shouldÃÂ ...
Military Times
February 24, 2018
Special operations forces numbers are higher than they have ever been, but leaders in that community want Congress to approve their highest budget ... The special operations forces, which include Army Special Forces and Rangers, Navy SEALs, Marine Raiders and Air Force Special Tactics OperatorsÃÂ ...
Popular Mechanics
December 31, 1999
Today, the bistro is overrun with the United States Military, because this conference is not for golf balls or gaming or the International Council of Shopping Centers. Today is the second day of the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC), where U.S. Special Forces meet the companies thatÃÂ ...
TIME
December 31, 1999
U.S. Special Operations forces, which include Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Army Delta Force, and others, use the cameras as they conduct ... The U.S. military has yet to release a full accounting of what happened that day after a dozen U.S. soldiers and 30 Nigerien troops embarked Oct. 3 on aÃÂ ...
Sputnik International
December 31, 1999
An unspecified number of Lithuanian troops from Special Operations Forces will join the 21 Lithuanian soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan with NATO in April, the ministry noted. "Lithuania receives strong support from our allies, therefore we have to contribute according to our means to fight againstÃÂ ...
Business Insider
December 31, 1999
Given the scope of a war, Milley said that "the brutality of this will be beyond the experience of any living soldier," officials familiar with the TTX said in the ... According to The Times, military leaders looked at various factors, including how many Special Operations forces could deploy to target nuclear sites inÃÂ ...
i-HLS
December 31, 1999
The Sky Wolf Commandos of the Chinese Army's Special Operations Forces from the Western Theater Command, have been equipped with the QTS-11 system in their ... Military experts say the QTS-11 system is similar to the one of the US army as it contains soldier combat system, including detection andÃÂ ...
The National Interest Online (blog)
December 31, 1999
A 12-man Special Forces A-Team (Green Berets) cannot stop an enemy tank formation alone. The best weapon for that is one of our own tank units. We can “make do” with special operations forces in extreme situations if supported by air power (think the recently released movie “12 Strong”), but that shouldÃÂ ...
Task & Purpose
December 31, 1999
Incorporating lessons from Western special operations forces, the Russian military has established its own equivalent of the U.S. Army's elite 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta—better known as Delta Force. This new force is called Special Operations Command, known by its RussianÃÂ ...
i-HLS
December 31, 1999
Canada's special operations forces are considered to be among the world's elite, regularly compared with American SEALs, Delta Force, and British ... CANSOFCOM soldiers did multiple tours fighting ISIS in Iraq over the last three years, which is viewed as one of the most secretive military campaigns inÃÂ ...
Military Times
February 11, 2018
This is the first Afghan Special Forces instructor pilot trained in-country - the ability to train its own instructor pilots should help grow the ranks. ... Special Mission Wing, an elite unit that conducts rotary-wing and fixed-wing intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance for all Afghan special operations forces.
Pensacola News Journal
February 11, 2018
The movie depicts the actions of the first Special Forces soldiers to enter Afghanistan in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks. ... ODA 595 was a natural choice for the mission — a mature, experienced team that had recently worked with special operations forces in Uzbekistan, a northern neighbor toÃÂ ...
New York Times
February 10, 2018
WASHINGTON — A draft military investigation into the deadly ambush of American soldiers in Niger in October calls for the Pentagon to scale back the number of .... Donald C. Bolduc, who until last summer commanded United States Special Operations forces in Africa, said that at the time he left, AmericanÃÂ ...
CNN
February 9, 2018
With US special operations forces in Northern Syria (CNN) It was not the freshness of the meat or piquancy of the sauce that made the chicken kebab .... the source of mortar attacks by ISIS fighters on nearby villages, and that they strayed into Syrian Kurdish territory without Russian military knowledge.
Task & Purpose
February 8, 2018
Despite this, Americans still valorize Kyle as the hero soldier of the Global War on Terror five years after he was shot and killed at a Texas shooting range .... Indeed, the cult of the quiet professional that is central to the U.S. special operations forces community (and the Naval Special Warfare community inÃÂ ...
The Drive
February 5, 2018
This facility routinely supports the research and development of new small arms systems for the SEALs, which sometimes filter down to special operations forces in other services. According to the documents, technicians at Crane will use existing M4A1 carbine lower receivers as the starting point to buildÃÂ ...
The Fort Hood Sentinel
January 31, 2018
Yet no matter their occupation or skills, the SORB message was clear: anyone interested in special operations should look into it. “A lot of Soldiers don't know that they have what it takes to become a Special Forces Soldier,” the SOF recruiter said. “A lot of them think that because they're cooks or fuelers thatÃÂ ...
Task & Purpose
January 29, 2018
In modern-day America, this plan would seem to violate two of the five special operations forces truths that the U.S. military subscribes to when it ... also known as the MARS Task Force, a long-range penetration unit and predecessor to the modern U.S. Army Special Forces and 75th Ranger Regiment.
Voice of America
January 26, 2018
He said U.S. and Somali special operations forces recovered the 35 children during a raid on an al-Shabab camp at Jamea Jidyale, a village ... The U.S. military has grown increasingly active in Somalia, targeting Al-Shabab leaders through airstrikes and helping to train federal government soldiers.
U.S. News & World Report
January 25, 2018
An Indonesian soldier bites into a live snake during a special operations forces demonstration. ... OF INDONESIA – Smashing blocks engulfed in flames, walking on broken glass and biting the heads off snakes are not the kinds of military maneuvers Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is used to witnessing.
Newsweek
January 25, 2018
U.S. Army Special Forces soldier nicknamed "Cowboy" and others secure an airstrip during an operation August 28, 2002 in the town of Taloquan in Northern Afghanistan. ... Second, the NDS omitted any explicit mention of the rise of special operations forces (SOF) as the U.S. military's tool of choice. And itÃÂ ...
Military Times
January 23, 2018
... Mattis told reporters that conventional forces would start assuming greater roles in mission sets that were once the purview of special operations forces. ... deployed last year to advise Afghan security forces in the volatile Helmand province — a mission set historically assigned to special operations forces.
The National Interest Online
January 22, 2018
Edited by Ruslan Pukhov and Christopher Marsh, Elite Warriors: Special Operations Forces From Around the World is an excellent, methodically researched study of various special mission units from around the globe. While information about well-known American and British special operations forces suchÃÂ ...
AlterNet
January 21, 2018
The war in Afghanistan had just begun and U.S. Special Operations forces (SOF) were the tip of the American spear. ... many impressive, highly skilled personnel involved in special operations on behalf of the United States, but the problems they are being asked to solve often do not have military solutions.
Voice of America
January 18, 2018
That's what happened in Niger in October, when four American soldiers died in an IS ambush, and in May, when a U.S. Navy SEAL died aiding Somali ... The number of times that U.S. troops are exposed to danger in Africa are rare, a U.S. military official told VOA, adding that Special Operations Forces limitÃÂ ...
Foreign Policy In Focus
January 17, 2018
“There is no persuasive security rationale for having U.S. Special Operations forces involved in an astonishing 149 countries, given that the results of these missions are just as likely to provoke greater conflict as they are to reduce it, in large part because a U.S. military presence is too often used as aÃÂ ...
DefenseNews.com
January 16, 2018
Al Tabaqah was a Syrian military air base before revolts ended the hold. U.S. also has special operations forces along the Jordan- Iraq- Syria borders in Al Tanf, a crossing where Syrian revolt groups are trained. The U.S. military presence in Deir Ezzour and in Al Tanf have “sandwiched” this area, impairingÃÂ ...
Aljazeera.com
January 16, 2018
The Special Operations forces of the United States - currently 70,000-strong and thus larger than the regular militaries of many sizable countries - occupy a very special place in US national mythology. According to TIME Magazine, Special Ops "heroes" are the "planet's most skillful soldiers" and "toughestÃÂ ...
Center for Research on Globalization
January 15, 2018
Its planes continue to drop a staggering tonnage of munitions; its drones continue to Hellfire-missile country after country; and, in recent years, its elite Special Operations forces, now a military-within-the-U.S.-military of about 70,000 personnel, have been deployed, as Nick Turse has long reported at thisÃÂ ...
Greensboro News & Record (blog)
January 15, 2018
Mulholland, who later commanded the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, was commander of the 5th Special Forces Group in 2001 and led what became known as Task Force Dagger — the initial force of about 300 special operations forces from across the military who kick-started theÃÂ ...
The Fayetteville Observer
January 13, 2018
Mulholland, who later commanded the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, was commander of the 5th Special Forces Group in 2001 and led what became known as Task Force Dagger – the initial force of about 300 special operations forces from across the military who kick-started theÃÂ ...
The Fayetteville Observer
January 13, 2018
Mulholland, who later commanded the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, was commander of the 5th Special Forces Group in 2001 and led what became known as Task Force Dagger – the initial force of about 300 special operations forces from across the military who kick-started theÃÂ ...
Fair Observer
January 12, 2018
In another ground operation in August, according to an investigation by The Daily Beast, Special Operations Forces took part in a massacre of 10 Somali civilians. (The US military is now investigating.) As in Afghanistan, the US has been militarily engaged in Somalia since 2001 and, as in Afghanistan,ÃÂ ...