Mosul Endgame?
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 […]
Articles by John Friberg
SOF in Libya – Providing Direct Support
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 […]
Russian Hybrid Warfare
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?
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 […]
SOCSouth and Belize Special Assignment Group (BSAG)
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)
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 […]
Paper – “Assessing SOF Transparency and Accountability”
Jon Moran has penned a 25-page paper entitled Assessing SOF Transparency and Accountability. The report examines the type of military intervention that takes place behind the scenes or at a distance rather than on the traditional battlefield. The author, Dr Jon […]
U.S. SOF Once again in Middle of Yemen Conflict
U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) are once again operating in Yemen. The country has seen its share of turmoil recently and in the last few years has been in the midst of a civil war. The Iranians have been supporting […]
Iraq Special Forces – the “Golden Division” Leads the Way
For many years the ‘go to’ unit for the Iraqi Army has been the Iraq Special Forces or ‘Golden Division’. They have been in the forefront of all the battles against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). There […]
Video – Latvia Special Forces Training
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, […]
Medal of Honor Award for SOG Vietnam Vet
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 – […]
Book Review – “Ashley’s War” – CSTs in Afghanistan
A recently published book is about the Cultural Support Teams (CSTs) that supported U.S. special operations forces (SOF) in Afghanistan. The CSTs were an innovative attempt to bridge the divide between the U.S. forces combating the Taliban and the female population […]