Curated news, analysis, and commentary about special operations, national security, and conflicts around the world.
Photo / Image: U.S. Air Force Special Tactics operators, assigned to the 352d Special Operations Wing, prepare to conduct a simulated MEDEVAC mission on March 2, 2020, near Constanta, Romania, using the 352 SOW’s CV-22B Osprey. (Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Pena via DVIDS)
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SOF News
Army Maj. Gen Steven Marks has been nominated for the grade of lieutenant general with assignment as vice commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Marks is currently serving as director, J-8, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base.
Army Col. Clifton C. Kyle has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Kyle is currently serving as commander, 353rd Civil Affairs Command, Staten Island, New York.
F3EAD and SOF. Gabriel Fanelli writes on how “Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, Analyze, and Disseminate” is used widely within special operations. The process bundles the life-cycle of a target from awareness to actionable intelligence into a flexible workflow. “F3EAD: SOF Specific Targeting in the Intelligence Cycle”, Grey Dynamics, December 17, 2025.
Army Col. Clinton Mead has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Mead is currently serving as deputy commanding general, U.S. Army John Fitzgerald Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Questions about Space Force Special Operations Command. Congress wants to know why the Space Force needs a special operations component command, and wants answers before any taxpayer money is spent on creating it. Within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Congress has called for a report that provides an explanation of the command and administrative relationships between SOCOM, Space Command, and the Space Force. “Space Force Special Operations Command? Congress has questions”, Defense One, December 17, 2025.
Soldiers Medals Awarded to 10th SFG(A) Soldiers. Maj. Gen. Lawrence Ferguson, Commanding General of 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), delivered remarks and presented the Soldier’s Medal to two members of the 10th Special Forces Group. “Uncommon Courage: Two Originals Earn Soldier’s Medal”, DVIDS, December 17, 2025.
Counter Logistics Planning Needed in ARSOF. A Logistics Officer with the 528th Sustainment Brigade argues that more attention is required in ARSOF planning for the disruption of an adversaries logistics chain. He looks at how special operations forces throughout history have had significant contributions to the fight when targeting logistics nodes of the enemy. He suggests that a robust sytem of collaboration among several specialties (Intel, log, PSYOP, CA, SF, and others) take place that will help identify support targets and execute effective attacks. Read more in “Past the Line of Disorder: Counter-Logistics as a Special Operations Capability”,Small Wars Journal, December 15, 2025.
SOF and SF Explained – Once Again. Every few months an article comes out that explains to us the difference between two terms that are sometimes used interchangeably. “The Difference Between Special Forces and Special Operations (and why words matter)”, We Are the Mighty, December 17, 2025.
SOF History
Attack on FOB 4. On August 23, 1968, a secret Special Forces Forward Operating Base was attacked. The engagement was one of the worst days in terms for casualties for U.S. Special Forces. FOB 4 was a staging point for teams assigned to MACV-SOG that would insert ‘across the fence’. The base was attacked and overrun resulting in 17 Green Berets killed and several more wounded. In addition, numerous indigenous troops were killed and wounded in the fighting. Read more in “Attack on FOB 4: The Worst Day in US Army Special Forces History”, SANDBOXX, December 15, 2025.
On December 20, 1989, more than 3,600 Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) soldiers participated in Operation Just Cause (Panama). Parachute assaults were conducted onto Panamanian airfields. Read more at USASOC History Office: https://arsof-history.org/arsof_in_panama/index.html
Indian Scouts. The crossed arrows worn by Special Forces soldiers are a connection to the indigenous scouts who served the U.S. military in North America several decades ago. In 1890, the Army authorized insignia for the Indian Scouts consisting of two crossed arrows. This remained the insignia of the Scouts until their disbandment in 1947. In 1952, U.S. Special Forces were formally established and their founders adopted the crossed arrows as their insignia. “The Indian Scouts that forged the legacy of American Special Forces”, We Are the Mighty, December 17, 2025.
National Security and Commentary
Some Combatant Commands Going Away? The Department of Defense is considering changes that would do away with some of the major commands around the world led by four-star general officers. (See “What is a Combatant Command?”, SOF News) In a major consolidation, the DoD would likely reduce the size of CENTCOM, EUCOM, and AFRICACOM and place them under the control of something called U.S. International Command. Northern Command and Southern Command may also be merged. There are multiple concepts being discussed within DoD; one which would downgrade USSOCOM to the three-star level. “Pentagon plan calls for major power shifts within the U.S. military”, The Washington Post, December 15, 2025. (Editor’s note: If implement, it will be interesting to see how this affects the theater special operations commands or TSOCs).
Trump’s Bonus for Troops. The president has given one-time “$1,776 “warrior dividend” checks to U.S. service members. The money was taken from $2.6 billion in funds Congress had set aside to supplement the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). “Trump will use military housing money for $1,776 Pentagon bonuses”, The Washington Post, December 18, 2025. (subscription)
Sustaining Warfighters in the Arctic. Feeding troops in sub-zero conditions in the Arctic region is a difficult task. However, researchers at Natick Labs in Massachusetts are hard at work to solve this vexing problem. One solution is the Expeditionary Field Feeding Equipment System (EFFES), a collapsible kitchen system in a air droppable or sling loadable box that will feed over 100 warfighters. “Sustaining Expeditions: New Tech Keeps Warfighters Fed in Arctic Conditions”, Pentagon News, December 16, 2025.
Venezuela
Maduro Regime Declared a Terrorist Organization. On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, President Trump declared that the Venezuela government was a foreign terrorist organization. This will give the administration additional ‘legal cover’ to conduct more aggressive operations against the country. The U.S. military buildup is increasing steadily in the Caribbean Sea.
Oil Tanker Blockade. The Trump administration has announced that the U.S. will impose a complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela. Some news accounts say that a good percentage of Venezuela’s oil exports go out via sanctioned vessels, perhaps as much as 70%. Over the weekend the U.S. seized a second oil tanker, a Panamanian-flagged vessel named the Centuries. A third was hailed by the U.S. Coast Guard for boarding but has decided to not stop.
Exile Talks. Part of this ramp up of diplomatic, economic, and military actions against Venezuela is an attempt to get Maduro to leave the country. Apparently, there are talks taking place to negotiate such a departure.
Venezuela Resistance to a U.S. Invasion. There is a lot of speculation about U.S. intentions and whether or not an actual invasion of Venezuela is a possibility. The current buildup of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean is much more than is necessary for the interdiction of narco speed boats. There is less talk about how Venezuela could respond to a ground incursion. While the country would be hard-pressed to put up much of a fight with its conventional forces; it certainly could cause the U.S. significant difficulties with a guerrilla-style resistance. Read more in “Weak in Battle, Dangerous in Resistance: Venezuela’s Military Preparedness and Possible Response to U.S. Action”, by John Polga-Hecimovich, War on the Rocks, December 18, 2025.
Intel, IO, Cyber, IW
IW: More Work to Be Done. DoD Instruction (DODI) 3000.07, Irregular Warfare, was published in September 2025. This document recommends priorities for Irregular Warfare (IW) policy, plans, analysis, capabilities and strategies to the Secretary of Defense. Mark Grdovic, a retired Special Forces officer, provides some analysis of the updated document. He provides a deep dive into the understanding of IW – beginning with its definition, then onto the types of operations and activities currently considered as part of IW. He then offers a proposed mode of IW with its associated operations and activities. “Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Irregular Warfare”, Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), December 16, 2025.
“It will take more than a strongly worded document insisting that the Department of Defense places a premium on this capability (and therefore you should too) when it simultaneously disbands 33 percent of its Security Force Assistance Brigades in the name of restoring proper warfighting capability.”
Creating an IW Branch. CW4 William Bryant, a Special Forces officer, argues that U.S.’s adversaries have the advantage when it comes to the information environment (IE) – especially in this new age of strategic competition. The U.S. military must adapt to ensure it can compete in the IE in the future. An Information Warfare Branch would be a good step forward. Bryant describes the current state of Army information forces and then discusses the way forward: establishing the Information Warfare Branch. “Transforming and Modernizing Army Information Forces: Creating the Information Warfare Branch”, Small Wars Journal, December 16, 2025.
China, IW, and Cognitive Warfare. A panel discussion (link to article and YouTube video) took place at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on December 15, 2025. See “Irregular warfare threats during multi-domain operations in the Indo-Pacific region topic of latest CASO Panel”, U.S. Army, December 18, 2025.
Russian Cyber Attacks Against Denmark. The Danish Defense Intelligence Service (DDIS) announced that groups associated with Moscow conducted cyber attacks and a series of distributed denial-of-service attacks on Danish websites in the lead-up to recent municipal and regional council elections. “Denmark says Russia was behind two destructive and disruptive cyber-attacks”, The Guardian, December 18, 2025.
New Leader for NSA and Cyber Command? Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd, a Special Forces officer, has been nominated to be a four-star general and may soon be nominated to head the National Security Agency (NSA) as well as U.S. Cyber Command.
Restoring the “I” in “DIME”. The strategic rivals of the United States – Russia and China – are very adapt in information warfare (IW). The United States is running behind in the IW effort. Read more in “Fortitude 2.0: Steel & Shadows”, Small Wars Journal, December 15, 2025.
Head of UK’s Spy Agency Makes Speech. Blaise Metreweli, the current head of MI6, recently provided her outlook on today’s troubled world scene. The UK’s Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) says the world now lives in a world where the rules of conflict are being rewritten. She has three decades of experience in the HUMINT world as well as in the technology fields. She broke with tradition from her predecessors – instead of a one-over-the-world view she concentrates on Putin’s Russia. She points out that the UK and the rest of the Free World face the menace of an aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist Russia. It is an excellent read. “Speech by Blaise Metreweli, Chief of SIS, 15 December 2025”, gov.uk.
Ukraine Conflict
Peace Deal Unlikely. Ivo Daalder served as the U.S. Ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He is now a senior fellow at the Belfer Center at Harvard Kennedy School. He was recently interviewed about the prospects for a peace agreement – and he explains why he is skeptical about the latest negotiations. “Hope for imminent Russia-Ukraine peace is out of touch with reality, expert says”, by Christina Pazzanese, The Harvard Gazette, December 18, 2025.
“Russia and Ukraine have fundamentally opposite goals. Russia wants to subjugate Ukraine — control its future from Moscow. It wants to deny its sovereignty and independence, as well as take chunks of its territory. And Ukraine wants to be a sovereign country that has control over all its territory. That’s what this war is about.” (Invo Daalder).
- Interactive Map. Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine by the Institute for the Study of War and Critical Threats. On storymaps.arcgis.com See also https://www.national-security.info/ukraine/maps.html
Afghanistan
Afghan SOF – Broken Promises. Recent changes to how the United States implements its Special Immigrant Visa program – from start to finish is adversely affecting the relocation and resettlement process of Afghan special operations personnel to the U.S. Whether in Afghanistan with an ongoing SIV application process, stranded while in transit at a ‘lily pad’ in the Middle East, or now in the United States hoping for asylum and a Green Card – thousands of Afghans who worked with and for U.S. special operations forces are in a legal limbo. “Left Behind: The Afghan Allies Who Fought Beside America Still Need Our Help”, Special Operations Association of America, December 18, 2025.
Middle East and Africa
Operation Hawkeye Strike. The U.S. struck dozens of targets (CNN) on Friday, December 19, 2025, located in northern and central Syria (map NSI) that were connected to ISIS. The attacks are likely retaliation for the deaths of two American service members of the Iowa National Guard and a U.S. interpreter on December 13, 2025 in Palmyra, Syria by a member of the Syrian Security Forces with alleged ties to ISIS. Iowa is known as the “Hawkeye State”. Some news reports say that Syrian and Jordanian Armed Forces are assisting and participating in the strikes. The attacks are being conducted by fighter jets, attack helicopters, HIMARS, and indirect fire systems. A CENTCOM statement categorized the the operation as consisting of “large scale” strikes hitting more than 70 targets.
Kenyans on Russia’s Front Lines. Overseas recruitment networks are luring Kenya citizens to Russia with promises of work – only to find themselves sent to military camps and then to the front line in Ukraine. Many Kenyans enter combat with just one week of training. “Nairobi sounds alarm over recruiters luring Kenyans into Russian war effort”, RFI, December 19, 2025.
Farmer-Herder Conflict in Nigeria. The region of central Nigeria suffers from a conflict that is very complex – one based on economic activity, religion, and ethnicity. Mack Gage, a Major in the United States Marine Corps, provides a detailed account of the conflict in “Next Fight Nigeria: An Introduction to the Central Nigerian Operational Environment”, Small Wars Journal, December 17, 2025.
Books, Podcasts, Videos, and Movies
Book Review – Special Operations and National Security: Policies, Strategies, and Tactics. A book by Ben Gans, a Visiting Professor at the Defense Analysis Department, US Naval Postgraduate School, focuses on strategic special operations and how these have led to the achievement of major foreign policy goals. He illustrates this by six case studies. The book is reviewed by Alex Deep, a Special Forces officer assigned to U.S. Special Operations Command. Read the review published by the Irregular Warfare Initiative, December 19, 2025.
IWC Spotlight Newsletter. The December 2025 Spotlight newsletter of the Irregular Warfare Center has been published onine. (PDF, 2 pgs)
Podcast – What is Irregular Warfare?, Mark Grdovic, a retired Special Forces officer, discusses the different definitions for Irregular Warfare that exist, the consequences of getting definitions wrong, and recommendations for a better understanding of what IW is. Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), December 17, 2025. https://www.fpri.org/multimedia/2025/12/what-is-irregular-warfare/
Podcast – What Determines Success in Guerrilla Warfare? This podcast examines what enables guerrilla and insurgent forces to develop military effectiveness on the battlefield. The participants, General (Ret.) Stan McChrystal and Dr. Alex Worsnop, draw on historical examples and a detailed analysis of the Taliban’s evolution in Afghanistan. The conversation also explores broader implications for understanding insurgencies, counterinsurgency challenges, and security force assistance programs. Irregular Warfare Initiative, December 15, 2025, 44 minutes.
https://irregularwarfare.org/podcasts/what-determines-success-in-guerrilla-warfare/
Video – Lethal Kinetic Strikes – Dec. 18, 2025. The Department of Defense is continuing its strikes against narco-trafficking vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Watch a video of two strikes conducted on December 18, 2025 by Joint Task Force Southern Spear that destroyed two narco-boats and killed five males. https://www.dvidshub.net/video/991059/lethal-kinetic-strikes-dec-18-2025
Video – Assessing Cognitive Warfare. Dr. Frank Hoffman has penned an article entitled “Assessing Cognitive Warfare” published by Small Wars Journal. In this short 3-min video he talks about the topic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txcdobl4kbc
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