Five years after the Taliban captured Kabul, this article examines the Doha Agreement, U.S. troop withdrawal, collapse of Afghan security forces, chaotic airport evacuation, and volunteer “Digital Dunkirk” organizations that helped endangered interpreters, commandos, citizens, and families escape Afghanistan in August 2021 to safety.
The U.S. Army Special Operations Command bid farewell to its outgoing Command Chief Warrant Officer, CW5 Stephen Finney, and welcomed its newest senior warrant officer, CW5 Damian Owens, during a change of responsibility ceremony at 9 a.m., Aug. 6, 2026.
By Matt Ikenoyama. SOCOM’s Preservation of the Force and Family program names spiritual health as one of its pillars; an important aspect in operator syndrome. Moral injury isn’t an endocrine problem or a sleep problem. It’s a violation of conscience, and working with it means working with guilt, meaning, and trust. That’s the territory chaplains train for.
This essay provides an account of the British submersible attack against the German dreadnought Tirpitz in the fjords of Norway in September 1943. The Kriesgmarine (German Navy) moved Tirpitz to a protected anchorage in the Kaafjord, well out of range of allied reconnaissance aircraft and bombers.
Walk into almost any team room in the SOF community and you will find them: a rack, a shelf, sometimes just a desk drawer heavy with metal. Challenge coins accumulate around SOF the way sand accumulates in a rucksack. Almost no one can tell you, years later, exactly where each one came from.
This week’s SOF News update covers leadership changes in Ukraine security assistance, proposed protections for special operations personnel, international exercises, SOF history, conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, emerging technology, Afghanistan, veterans’ issues, and selected reports, commentary, podcasts, and videos from across the national security community.
By SOAA. China’s recent submarine-launched ballistic missile test highlights the military power supporting Beijing’s unrestricted warfare campaign. This article examines inadequate launch notifications, defense supply-chain restrictions, and calls for a comprehensive U.S. strategy to counter PRC coercion worldwide more effectively.
Historian Ben Powers interviews retired Army First Sergeant Christopher “Moon” Mullins about his forthcoming biography of Lieutenant General William P. Yarborough. Mullins discusses Yarborough’s wartime leadership, airborne innovations, institutional battles, and enduring role in shaping the identity, culture, and doctrine of Army Special Forces soldiers.
The U.S. Army has authorized permanent, service-wide wear of the Jungle tab for graduates of recognized jungle training courses. The new policy includes retroactive eligibility for qualifying personnel who trained in Hawaii or Panama, including former students at Fort Sherman’s historic Jungle Operations Training Center.
Why SOF modernization must include persistent support for correct execution after fielding By Woody Hurd On my first deployment to the Middle East with 5th Special Forces Group, I was tasked with setting up a notoriously complex tactical SATCOM node […]
This week’s SOF News Update covers senior U.S. defense and intelligence appointments, special operations developments, the Iran and Ukraine conflicts, emerging military technology, strategic competition, and global security affairs. It also marks the Extortion 17 anniversary and highlights SOF history, veterans, commentary, and upcoming events.
July’s drone developments highlighted the accelerating shift from experimentation to combat employment. U.S. forces used one-way attack surface vessels, while Ukraine expanded deep-strike operations against Russian energy and logistics networks.
Story by Staff Sgt. Austin Baker, 3rd SFG(A). If you listen to the briefings, you’d think international partnerships are only built around a formal table and greeting with formal handshakes. On the ground, in the dense heat of Côte d’Ivoire, […]
This weekly briefing summarizes the most significant events affecting SOF, IW, intelligence, and national security during the past week. Some stories in this update include a new PSYOP unit for Africa, an essay on SOF in 2040, testosterone treatments for SOF members, how technology is shaping the future of SOF in the Pacific, and SOCKOR CoC.
The Pentagon has removed the names of four service members who died in Jordan and Iraq in the past week from the official list of casualties from Operation Epic Fury.
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