Free Republic

The DOD just announced that all civilian spec ops are to report directly to Chris Miller. My understanding is all the spec ops teams from CIA, FBI, DEA, DHS, etc now report directly to the DOD instead of using the traditional chain of command bypassing the corrupt bureaucrats. I am not sure, but this seems like a big deal.

The roughly 900 U.S. troops who are currently deployed to Syria are mostly invisible to Congress, the media, and the American public. Syria is just the latest forgotten battlefield in the Global War on Terrorism. The troops who went there have succeeded in destroying the Islamic State group’s former caliphate, but ISIS fighters are waging the type of insurgency that the American military has a bad track record of defeating. For the time being, American forces are keeping a lid on the situation and protecting their Kurdish allies from Turkey, who considers them terrorists. But the mission is stuck in...

The immense noise pulsing from the helicopter's rotors and engine washed out all sounds. The Special Operations Forces (SOF) operators stood ready to launch out of the Blackhawk's doors as soon as they touched down. On that helicopter, nestled next to one of the operators, stood a calm, ready-to-launch, four-legged fur warrior. A force multiplier our enemies in the Global War on Terror sometimes feared more than the operators. For decades, specially trained K9s have teamed with our nation's top-tier operators to wage war on terror abroad. The four-legged fur missile can be seen on our couches at night as...

On Thursday, the U.S. Army announced it had approved upgrades to the medals 60 special operations troops received from 1993’s Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia, also known as the Battle of Mogadishu or “Black Hawk Down.”In total, 58 special operations troops were upgraded to Silver Stars, the third-highest U.S. military decoration for valor in combat. Two more special operations troops were upgraded to Distinguished Flying Crosses, which recognizes acts of heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight.The Oct. 3, 1993 battle in Mogadishu, Somalia was part of a U.S. Army mission to capture Somali warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid....

A linguist for the Department of Defense pleaded guilty on Friday to passing classified information about U.S. human intelligence sources to an individual with ties to Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist organization, the Department of Justice said. Mariam Taha Thompson began sending the information after the U.S. killed Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander, in an airstrike in early 2020, according to court documents. Thompson, who held a top secret security clearance, had been stationed at a Special Operations Task Force facility in Iraq from mid-December 2019 until her arrest a few months later. Years before she began passing classified...

United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has hired as its first “chief of diversity and inclusion” a person who posted anti-Trump memes on his Facebook page, including one that compared the former president to Adolf Hitler. After his hire was announced, some of Torres-Estrada’s apparent social media posts began circulating. A Facebook account appearing to belong to Torres-Estrada posted on June 2, 2020: “Here I leave this and slowly retire (to continue working from home)…” along with a meme of then-President Donald Trump, holding up a bible in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church after Black Lives Matter protesters set...

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...