The 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) is standardizing the baseline training pathway, building readiness and enhancing combat lethality for the Special Forces Operational Detachment Alphas (SFOD-A or ODA).
This week’s SOF Weekly Brief covers special operations developments, the Russia-Ukraine war, escalating tensions in the Middle East, emerging drone threats, and international security challenges. Additional reporting examines multinational SOF exercises, military technology, strategic vulnerabilities, and developments affecting the SOF community.
A deadly ambush of Erik Prince’s Vectus Global contractors in eastern Congo highlights the growing role of private military companies in the conflict with M23 rebels. The incident raises questions about foreign security assistance, critical minerals, and regional instability.
The 390A Robotics Technician military occupational specialty was officially activated at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, the Special Operations Center of Excellence, on October 1, 2026.
Taliban propaganda exploited coalition mistakes, government corruption, cultural divides, and trusted local networks to undermine America’s Afghanistan campaign. The article examines how insurgent narratives shaped perceptions, weakened Afghan legitimacy, and offers enduring lessons for future irregular and asymmetric conflicts worldwide.
Homeland Security Today and Narrative Strategies hosted the first-ever Narrative Strategy Symposium on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at Amentum in Arlington, Virginia. This gathering brought together leaders from government, academia, industry, the military, and the homeland security community.
This week’s SOF Weekly Brief covers the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, developments in the Iran conflict, Ukraine battlefield gains, international SOF activity, Special Forces recruiting, defense policy changes, renewed fighting in Ethiopia, sanctions on Iran, and other national security developments worldwide.
September’s Drone Report examines developments in unmanned and autonomous systems, including a Special Forces drone competition, new Army robotics capabilities, lessons from Ukraine, maritime and undersea systems, artificial intelligence, counter-drone technology, and the growing proliferation of drones worldwide.
Soldiers, veterans, and families of the 8th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) gathered at the John F. Kennedy Auditorium on Sept. 29, 2026, to witness the formal casing of the group’s colors.
This week’s SOF News Update covers emerging special operations technology, expanded U.S. military access in Greenland, Ukraine’s evolving battlefield, Cuba contingency planning, the Iran conflict, Houthi ambitions, renewed fighting in Ethiopia, critical minerals competition, and other national security developments worldwide.
The 10th annual Global Special Operations Forces (GSOF) Symposium Europe will take place this year from 6-8 October 2026 in Rome, Italy. The event is co-sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Defense, with support from the Italian Special Operations community, and will bring together members of the global SOF community, industry.
Washington spent most of two decades building a counterterrorism force in northern Somalia. A dispute between Mogadishu and Puntland took the Puntland Security Force (PSF) apart in two days.
This essay provides an account of H.L. Hunley’s daring attack on the Union’s USS Housatonic on 17 February 1864. H.L. Hunley was a civilian submersible on loan to the Confederate Navy. The Union had a larger navy than the Confederacy, so the Union used this advantage to blockade southern ports to prevent resupply.
Any operator who has survived one, or multiple recycles in their special operations training pipeline can tell you that failure is a far better teacher than success. Retired U.S. Navy SEAL Dr. Reynaldo Baviera has had more of those opportunities for learning than most.
This week’s SOF Weekly Brief covers Ukraine’s drone campaign and counteroffensive operations, growing Houthi pressure on Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping, a new Greenland security agreement, major defense sales, U.S.-China diplomacy, and developments affecting special operations forces worldwide.
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