Book Review – When the Tempest Gathers
A new book by Andrew Milburn is a war memoir that covers a 31-year long journey in the Marine Corps. It is the story of a Marine who begins his career as an infantry officer with a deployment to Mogadishu, […]
USSOCOM
Book – “Strategic Latency Unleashed” – SOF, Technology, and the Future
A recently published book entitled Strategic Latency Unleased: The Role of Technology in a Revisionist Global Order and the Implications for Special Operations Forces is a ‘must read’ for SOF professionals. The book, published by the Center for Global Security […]
Review – The American Way of Irregular War
LTG (Retired) Charles Cleveland has provided an interesting look at the past 40 years of the history of U.S. special operations. He combines his personal observations – tracing his career in U.S. Army Special Forces – with an analytical approach […]
Tip of the Spear – USSOCOM, June 2020
The June 2020 issue of Tip of the Spear has been published online by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). This issue has 40 pages of articles and photographs about the operations and missions of the various components of […]
JSOU Report – SOF-led Counterterrorism Efforts (March 2020)
The Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) has released a new publication entitled Re-Evaluating Special Operations Forces-Led Counterterrorism Efforts. The 20-page report by Barnett S. Koven ” . . . posits that kinetic counterterrorism (CT) actions undertaken by the state to […]
Combat Diver Foundation
The Combat Diver Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity dedicated to preserving the history of the Combat Diver community. Though the foundations story began with a recognition that the class plaques at the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in […]
ASD SO/LIC – Reform Needed Within DoD?
The Special Operations / Low Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC) office within the Department of Defense provides civilian advocacy and oversight over the U.S. special operations community. However, there are some in the SOF community that feel the Assistant Secretary of Defense […]
Special Operations News Update – Sep 16, 2019
Photo: Paratroopers from the Italian Folgore Brigade conduct a HALO jump during Exercise Saber Guardian. Photo courtesy of Special Operations Command Europe, September 2019. SOF News Update – Curated news, commentary, and analysis about special operations, national security, and conflicts […]
Special Operations News Update 20190614
Current news, analysis, and commentary on special operations, national security, and conflicts from around the world. SOF News SHOT Show. The annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade event known as “SHOT Show” attracts a lot of members of the special […]
CRS Report on US SOF to Congress
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has updated its U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress report. The latest pub is dated October 29, 2018, (CRS RS21048). This 13-page CRS report on US SOF covers a variety of topics […]
Tip of the Spear – October 2018
The latest issue of Tip of the Spear October 2018 – has been published by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The 40-page publication has a number of interesting articles about special operations around the world. Articles can be […]
The Stabilization Assistance Review and Burden Sharing
Members of NATO-ISAF DCOS-STAB, US Army Corps of Engineers, and Donors Conduct a Coordination Meeting with the Afghan Ministry of Energy and Water to Coordinate Projects (2011) The Stabilization Assistance Review and Burden Sharing “A Construct for Leveraging Stabilization Actors and […]
SORA/JSOU Annual Symposium – Call for Papers
Call For Papers In the 2018 National Defense Strategy, Defense Secretary James Mattis put “great power competition” at the center of the U.S. defense posture. But what will this “competition” look like, and what role will special operations play? Competition […]
Stabilization Environments and the Range of Military Operations
Stabilization Environments and the Range of Military Operations “Implementing the Stabilization Assistance Review” This article is the second in a series of SOF News articles addressing the Stabilization Assistance Review. It discusses multiple stabilization environments in the context of implementing […]
Implementing the Stabilization Assistance Review (SAR)
Implementing the Stabilization Assistance Review “Sacrificing Responsiveness for Cost Savings?” In June 2018 representatives from the Department of State (DOS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Department of Defense (DoD), academia, and other organizations met in Washington, DC and […]