Afghan Air Force A-29 Super Tucano flying over Kabul - Afghanistan Conflict

Afghan Air Force (AAF)

September 2, 2016 John Friberg 0

The Afghan Air Force (AAF) – pilot shortage. While it is currently able to conduct a host of operations (MEDEVAC, troop transport, resupply, close air support, and aerial reconnaissance) it is not to the level of capacity needed by the […]

Afghan Local Police (ALP)

Afghan Local Police (ALP)

August 22, 2016 John Friberg 0

The Afghan Local Police (ALP) was established by U.S. Army Special Forces in 2010 to serve as a locally-based village or community self-defense force. The ALP units are recruited from local communities of key areas where Afghan government influence or […]

Village Stability Operations

Village Stability Operations (VSO) in Afghanistan

August 21, 2016 John Friberg 0

Village Stability Operations (VSO) was an attempt by United States special operations forces to establish security, governance, and development in key critical districts in remote areas of Afghanistan. Typically, these districts were in regions of Afghanistan where the Coalition conventional […]

Map Northern Iraq

Mosul Reconstruction? What Role for USAID?

August 15, 2016 John Friberg 0

With the re-capture of Ramadi and Fallujah, Iraq it was discovered that there was a lot of humanitarian assistance and reconstruction required. Whether this aid is being delivered effectively is still in doubt. The re-capture of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest […]

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 […]