Task Force South West - Marines in Helmand Province

Helmand Province at Risk

August 11, 2016 John Friberg 0

Afghanistan’s largest province, located in the southwest of the landlocked country, is the objective of a resurgent Taliban offensive. According to some news reports the Taliban control 11 of the 14 districts in Helmand province. Almost all roads connecting the […]

Map Northern Iraq

Mosul Endgame?

August 10, 2016 John Friberg 0

So  . . . the Iraqi forces (might as well say the ‘Golden Division’) will soon capture Mosul – Iraq’s second largest city now controlled by ISIS. So what happens after the capture? We know that the Iraqi forces (spearheaded […]

Libya Maps and Flag

SOF in Libya – Providing Direct Support

August 9, 2016 John Friberg 0

Recent news reports from major news outlets (New York Times, Washington Post, and others) are reporting that U.S. SOF in Libya is providing direct support to Libyan militia groups fighting the Islamic State. The area of the fighting is in the […]

Map - Russian Hybrid Warfare

Russian Hybrid Warfare

August 9, 2016 John Friberg 0

Hybrid Warfare is a term closely aligned with other terms that attempt to describe the area of conflict between peace and full spectrum warfare. The other terms that are similar include Unconventional Warfare, Political Warfare, Irregular Warfare, Gray Zone, and […]

NATO SOF: CT Capability Needed?

August 8, 2016 John Friberg 0

Does the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Special Operations Forces (SOF) need a Counterterrorism (CT) capability? Currently the three mission sets for NATO SOF are Direct Action (DA), Special Reconnaissance (SR), and Military Assistance (MA). For many years NATO SOF has […]

BSAG training with SOCSouth

SOCSouth and Belize Special Assignment Group (BSAG)

August 4, 2016 John Friberg 0

Special Operations Command South (SOCSouth) and 1-228th Aviation (Joint Task Force Bravo) recently conducted a training exercise with some specialized units of Belize. In late July the U.S. personnel worked with the Belize Special Assignment Group (BSAG) and Belize Coast […]

UW Pocket Guide (USASOC, April 2016)

August 4, 2016 John Friberg 0

A UW Pocket Guide is now available to help understand Unconventional Warfare or UW. Unconventional Warfare (UW) is defined (see Joint Publication 3-05.1) as “. . . activities conducted to enable a resistance movement or insurgency to coerce, disrupt or […]

Latvian Special Forces Training (photo from NATO video July 29, 2016)

Video – Latvia Special Forces Training

July 31, 2016 John Friberg 0

Those trying out of the Special Forces of Latvia have an intense selection process to undergo. Watch a video entitled “The Brave Man Wins” that show a series of tests the candidate must endure. This includes trust falls from bridges, […]

SOG veteran and Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor Award for SOG Vietnam Vet

July 31, 2016 John Friberg 0

Gary Rose, a U.S. Army medic, was part of the secret Studies and Observation Group (SOG) – an organization made up of Special Forces volunteers who served in Vietnam. During the Vietnam War SOG conducted cross-border operations into Laos – […]