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The move "will put special operations command on par with the military services for the first time,” acting SecDef Chris Miller announced today *snip* The crux of the transformation will ensure that the top special operations official at the Pentagon can go directly to the Defense Secretary on matters of training and equipping special operations forces, along with operational matters, including secret raids against high-value targets. The office will no longer have to move through the larger DoD Policy apparatus to reach the secretary, though some issues with the country’s larger counterterrorism policy will likely still need to be coordinated...

The WhatsApp group would eventually lead to formal allegations that Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher fatally stabbed a wounded Islamic State captive in his care and shot civilians in Iraq in 2017. Gallagher, 40, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A jury of mostly combat Marines will ultimately decide the fate of the 19-year-veteran and Bronze Star recipient charged with murder, attempted murder and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline for posing with the corpse for photographs. No matter the outcome, the court-martial at Naval Base San Diego has provided a rare view into the insular Navy SEAL...

The AC-130J Ghostrider was delivered to Air Force Special Operations Command on March 6, 2019, in Crestview, Florid. (Image: U.S. Air Force, Senior Airman Caleb Pavao) The AC-130J Ghostrider gunship is officially the “most lethal aircraft” in Air Force Special Operations Command’s inventory. Close air support for America’s elite warriors dramatically improved this month when the improved gunship and its “Precision Strike Package” was unveiled Wednesday at Bob Skies Airport in Crestview, Florida. Special Forces Operators were previously assisted by the Block 20 version. “The AC-130J Block 30 is our most lethal aircraft in the AFSOC inventory...

It was a real honor to interview Dr. Iddo Netanyahu—notable historian and brother of the Israeli PM—for this podcast episode about one of the most inspiring chapters in Israel's modern history: "Operation Jonathan—The Most Daring Rescue Attempt in History."

John Brennan rallied numerous high-powered defenders to his corner over his security clearance clash with President Trump, but some well-known special ops heroes are firing back suggesting the former CIA director got what he deserves. Kris “Tanto” Paronto, a former Army Ranger and private security contractor who was part of the CIA team that fought back during the 2012 Benghazi terror attack, accused Brennan of putting his “politics” before those in the field. “He is lucky the security clearance is all he is getting away with,” Paronto told Fox News in an interview on Friday. Responding a day earlier to...

A U.S. special-operations forces service member was killed and four others were wounded in Somalia Friday after they came under small-arms and mortar fire from suspected members of an al Qaeda affiliate, the Pentagon said. A local service member also died, defense officials said. Three of the wounded U.S. service members and the one local fighter who was wounded in the attack were medically evacuated, the Pentagon said. The fourth wounded U.S. service member was treated in country, the Pentagon said. The attack, at about 2:45 p.m. local time in Jubaland in southwest Somalia, happened during what was supposed to...

SAS soldier 'chopped off ISIS thug's head with SHOVEL and used his gun to kill more militants' The British sergeant was said to have run out of ammunition during a bloody battle in Afghanistan By Chris kitching Updated 20:40, 7 JAN 2018 An elite SAS soldier cut off an ISIS fighter's head with a spade after he ran out of ammunition during a bloody six-hour battle, it was claimed. After killing the jihadist, the British sergeant used the enemy's gun to kill more militants. The brutal battle is said to have occurred six weeks ago in war-torn Afghanistan. The British...

What do you think of when you hear Spec Ops Operator? Beards, Heckler & Koch MK 23s and HK416s? Well maybe a guy with a black Under Armour T-shirt with an OD brown operator hat instead. On the serious side, US SOCOM (Special Operation Command) have just released their 2018 Fact Book. Inside the new Fact Book are a run down of SOCOM Medal of Honor recipients, Bull Simons Award winners and Commando Hall of Honor inductees as well as breakdowns of SOCOM’s many, many sub-commands including JSOC, MARSOC, USASOC, AFSOC and NSWC functions and capabilities. The insightful part of...

BREAKING: US officials: Special operations forces have captured militant who was instrumental in Benghazi attack, US envoy's death.

Three U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed and two others were wounded Wednesday in an ambush in the west African country of Niger. U.S. Africa Command confirmed that a joint patrol of Green Berets and Nigerien soliders was attacked in the southwestern part of Niger, near the border with Mali. Officials told Fox News that between eight and 10 troops were part of the patrol.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hinted that the United States still had military options left for dealing with North Korea, but did not elaborate when asked for details Monday. Most experts think a military strike on North Korea would invite a devastating response from Pyongyang. The city of Seoul, South Korea, home to 25 million, is well within artillery range of the North, which would most likely use conventional artillery munitions and chemical weapons. But according to Mattis, the Pentagon has a few tricks up its sleeve that wouldn't involve the decimation of Seoul.

<p>Full Title: Special Forces hero who led secret mission to blow up Saddam Hussein's communications network dies from 'human Mad Cow Disease'</p> <p>An ultra-fit Special Forces hero who led a real-life “mission impossible” behind enemy lines has died from the rare human form of Mad Cow Disease.</p>

Lockheed Martin’s proposed C-130J-SOF export variant will be tailored to different international operators’ requirements as interest in the type grows worldwide. According to Lockheed Martin, the C-130J-SOF will be the tenth J-model Super Hercules variant to enter production, including the MC-130J Commando II, which can trace its ancestry to the original MC-130E Combat Talon introduced more than 50 years ago. The proven MC-130J Commando II, which entered service in 2011 and remains in production, provides a developmental baseline for the C-130J-SOF. Tony Frese, VP of business development, air mobility and maritime missions at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, told Shephard that legacy...

In Urgent Request, US Special Ops Adds 350 Kamikaze Drones to Fight ISIS And that's not all. The command is also opening a drone-hacker lab to help keep up with ISIS weaponeers. TAMPA, Florida — Here’s how Mad Max the situation in Iraq is right now. Earlier this year, the military put out an urgent request for inexpensive kamikaze drones that special operations troops could fire from handheld bazooka-like launchers against ISIS, according to documents obtained by Defense One. It’s another sign that drone warfare is changing far faster than traditional military equipping can keep up, a fact reinforced this...

Reports that SEAL Team Six is training in South Korea are false, a senior defense official told Fox News on Tuesday. SEAL Team Six is a direct action and hostage rescue team, part of the national mission force, not the type of unit that would participate in a training exercise in South Korea, a separate U.S. defense official said. There are U.S. special operations teams -- including SEALs -- who always conduct training in the region with their South Korean counterparts, according to officials. They say the U.S. forces will continue to do so in the annual Foal Eagle exercise,...

THE crack US Navy Seal team that killed Osama bin Laden is reportedly training to take out North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un. Seal Team Six is taking part in secretive drills alongside other elite US forces in South Korea amid rising tensions with Pyongyang, news.com.au reports.

US intelligence agencies are finalizing a plan to eliminate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, an anonymous high-level Pentagon source said. One source claims that according to a leaked document, the US plan includes disguising a small building opposite Kim's primary office in the DPRK building. The disguise would turn the smaller building into a "Pizza Hut" selling both normal and poisoned pizzas. According to a South Korean military official, the US will work under South Korean command. US special agents will form a special brigade under South Korean command, which the natives would tailor to meet the area's unique requirements....

The Islamic terrorist front group that transformed the way U.S. law enforcement agencies conduct anti-terrorism training is ordering the Air Force to sever ties with an instructor it considers to be anti-Muslim. The question is will the Trump administration cave into its demands? Under Barack Obama, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group that reportedly raises money for Hamas, wielded tremendous power and managed to bully law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal level to alter counterterrorism training materials deemed by the group to discriminate against Muslims. This includes getting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to...

.@CJTFOIR statement on the #Tabqah Dam OP: “There is nothing easy about this – it takes audacity & courage. And the SDF has that in spades.” https://twitter.com/KonstantinKlug/status/844623180270632965

An unspecified number of Navy Special Warfare forces have been punished for flying a Trump flag on a military convoy seen traveling through Louisville last month, igniting fears of an authoritarian state among some motorists. An inquiry by the unit’s commander found that the service members “violated the spirit and intent of applicable DoD regulations concerning the flying of flags and the apparent endorsement of political activities,” according to a statement issued Tuesday by Lt. Jacqui Maxwell of the Naval Special Warfare Group 2 in Virginia Beach, Va. She said “administrative corrective measures” were taken with each individual based on their respective...