MQ-9 Reaper on flight line at Creech Air Base, Nevada. The RPA can carry four AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and two 500-pound bombs. It can fly for a 18-24 hour mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christian Clausen).

Drones – News Reports, Papers, and Publications

December 29, 2016 SOF News 0

Drones Update 20161229 – U.S. supplied drones in Ukraine are disappointing, drone tactics in Afghanistan, counter-drone challenge, low morale and training of drone pilots, and more. Not a Good Job – Piloting Drones. “The U.S. Army and the Air Force both […]

U.S. Army Soldier conducting a High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) parachute jump. (Photo from U.S. Army Recruiting video, December 19, 2016).

Special Operations News Update 20161228

December 28, 2016 SOF News 0

SOF News Update 20161228 – “Will Trump Break the Special Forces”, video of U.S. Army parachute riggers, British SOF depending on charity, Belgium SOF aviation capability to grow, audio interview of book author, and more. Video – MOS 92R Parachute […]

UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from 101st CAB land at LZ in Laghman province, Afghanistan. (photo Sep 23, 2015 by CPT Jarrod Morris, U.S. Army).

Afghan War News Update 20161228

December 28, 2016 SOF News 0

News Update on the Afghan War 20161228 – Celebrated Afghan female Air Force pilot chooses to seek asylum in the United States, regional powers ‘threatened’ by Afghan insecurity, disposition of junk Afghan military vehicles, Taliban peace talks sabotaged by Pakistan, […]

SOF Operators helicasting onto a rooftop (photo from USSOCOM 2016 Factbook)

Special Operations News 20161227

December 27, 2016 SOF News 0

SOF News Update 20161227 – destruction of ISIS, Global SOF Symposium, Afghan interpreters in the lurch, fake SEAL goes to prison, French reporters embed with Iraqi SOF, top 5 Marine Corps around the world, and more. Global SOF Symposium. February 20-23, […]

Niloofar Rahmani, first female fixed-wing pilot in the Afghan Air Force. (Photo from video by Ryan M. Harper, Navy Media, 11 Mar 2015.)

Afghan War News Update

December 27, 2016 SOF News 0

Afghan war news update for 20161227 – Afghanistan has lots of generals, video of C-130J capabilities, Iran and Russia encircling U.S. in Afghanistan, video – “Bagram Airfield: 2016 Year in Review”, the downside of NDS funding “uprising militias”, and more. […]

Camp Vance Afghanistan Christmas 2002

Christmas 2002 – Camp Vance

December 24, 2016 John Friberg 0

A snowy Christmas Eve on December 24, 2002 at Camp Vance (CJSOTF-A), Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. It has been a decade and a half since the initial entry of U.S. Special Forces teams into Afghanistan. U.S. Special Forces and other […]

Water Jump by SOF Operators from Special Operations Command Europe (photo by SOCEUR 2016).

Special Operations News Update 20161222

December 22, 2016 SOF News 0

SOF News Update 20161222 – India’s police Special Commandos, E&E maps of WWII, former EOD tech for JSOC shares his story, AF Special Operations Surgical Team (SOST), in Middle East, relationship b/t SOF and CIA, India’s Special Frontier Forces (SFF), […]

Intel Update - Intelligence Agencies

Intelligence Update – News, Pubs, & Analysis

December 22, 2016 SOF News 0

Intelligence Update 20161218 – LTG Flynn’s views of the CIA, Flynn sharing secrets inappropriately while in Afghanistan, CIA’s classified cloud, America’s ‘Top Spy Catcher’, an Intelligence Officer’s guide to dissent, Trump and the intelligence community, and more. CIA’s Classified Cloud. The […]

Social Media News and the Islamic State

Social Media News – Papers, Pubs, and More

December 20, 2016 SOF News 0

Social Media News – papers, publications, commentary, and analysis on how information operations is used to influence the population in support or against governments and their security forces. Islamic State and Social Media, the Kremlin’s IO machine, ‘disinformation’ (dezinformatsiya) is […]

SOF Operators

Special Operations News Update 20161217

December 17, 2016 SOF News 0

SOF News Update for 20161217 – Russian SOF key to Aleppo victory, large drug seizure by SOF / DEA in Afghanistan, MARSOC brother’s in arms, Russian mercenaries in Syria, JSOC’s CEOTF, dune buggies for CANSOF, and more. Russian SOF Plays […]

ANA Commando

Afghan News Update 20161216

December 16, 2016 SOF News 0

Read news updates on Afghanistan – 20161216 – Fact sheet on the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan (Oct 2016), Heart of Asia Conference, Survey of the Afghan People, Saudis role in Afghanistan, U.S. Soldier dies of wounds suffered in Afghan suicide […]

AC-130 Gunship

Special Operations News Update 20161215

December 15, 2016 SOF News 0

Photo Credit: AC-130 Gunship, Department of Defense Special Operations News for 20161215 – JSOM December issue, lasers for the AC-130, video of MC-130J at work, AFSOC training events, video of Russia’s elite KSO special operations unit, JSOC, SAS, formation of […]

SOF News Update

December 13, 2016 SOF News 0

SOF News Update 20161213 – Lithuanian PYSOP Team, preparation tips for snipers, investigation reopened of Green Beret who killed an unarmed Taliban fighter, JTAC training, capture on Saddam Hussein Dec 13, 2003, SOF motorbike, Ukrainian SOF webpage, and more. Operation […]