Curated news, analysis, and commentary about special operations, national security, and conflicts around the world.
Photo / Image: 10th SFG(A) troops fastrope from UH-60 near Aalborg, Denmark. Photo by SSG Steven Young, SOCEUR, Sep 2, 2018.
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Editor’s Note: An article published by SOF News last week, “Information Advantage in the Indo-Pacific”, had some errors. The Public Affairs Officer of the 1st TIAD set us straight. In the original article the support to SOF was overstated.The article has been edited. The revised version can be read at the link above.
SOF News
The Dangers of the Carl Gustaf RR. The Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS) – aka Carl Gustaf 84 mm Recoiless Rifle – packs a punch in combat and is widely used by U.S. special operations forces (SOF). It was first introduced to the 75th Ranger Regiment in 1993 and then by USSOCOM four years later. While a very effective weapon in combat for SOF, it has some disadvantages. The weapon produces more overpressure than most other weapons – and has affected the health of many SOF veterans. United States Special Operations Command has conducted research on the Carl Gustaf and is taking precautions to reduce the damage done to SOF personnel. Read more in “Carl Gustaf Recoilless Rifle: The Weapon That Hits Twice”, Special Operations Association of America (SOAA), January 12, 2026.
How SF Must Posture for DAO in LSCO. MAJ Logan VonKilmer explains how U.S. Special Forces must posture for Deep Area Operations (DAO) in Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO). VonKilmer uses the example of the Jedburgh teams (SOF News) that parachuted into France to organize resistance networks, provide intelligence, and divert German combat units from attacking Allied forces to set the stage in his article. He argues that U.S. Army Special Forces (USSF) are well suited for DAO – but they must adapt how they infiltrate and conduct operations to be effective on the modern battlefield. He uses the DOTMLPF framework to offer recommendations to better posture USSF for DAO in LSCO. “The Shadow War Within the Larger Conflict”, Irregular Warfare Initiative, January 13, 2026.
Ex-Green Beret Forms Cyber Company. Read the story of Gene Yu and the co-founder of Black Panda – a cyber security company. (CNBC, Jan 14, 2026)
Maduro Raid, SOF, . . . and the Aftermath. The mission of capturing and detaining the President of Venezuela was a very successful special operations mission – supported by a extremely large package of air and naval assets and interagency support as well. The success of Operation Absolute Resolve could lead to a temptation to overuse SOF in the future. Read more on this by Tim Ball, a retired Special Forces officer, in “Trump and the Special Operations Panacea”, Behind the Front, January 14, 2026.
Getting Reserve CA/PSYOP Ready. MAJ Lucas Harrell, a U.S. Army Civil Affairs officer, argues that the Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations personnel in the reserves are both doctrinally and institutionally hindered from training to the level needed for a near-peer conflict. This is a critical issue as 92% of CA/PSYOP personnel and units are in the reserves. He has recommendations that will minimize the wait between frontline losses and the deployment of capable replacements in tomorrow’s fight. “No Bench, No Game: Reconstituting Special Operations Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Depth from the Reserves”, Eunomia Journal, September 22, 2025.
Boarding Tankers – How Its Done. Richard White provides the basics on how oil tankers are boarded at sea. One of the fastest ways is airborne delivery, fast-dropping from a helicopter. “Suspect tanker boarded at sea – find out how these operations are carried out”, Forces News, January 13, 2026.
Fast Roping at Sea. John Ismay, a former EOD officer with the U.S. Navy, writes about getting on ships. “U.S. Boardings of Oil Tankers Reflect Hard Lessons Learned Sea”, New York Times, January 16, 2026. (subscription)
Green Beret Shooting Rampage – What Caused It? In 2020, Sgt. First Class Duke Webb, started shooting people in a bowling alley. Three people were killed and three people wounded. Webb was an active-duty Special Forces NCO with seven deployments. A likely cause of his actions is the brain injuries he suffered while taking part in Special Forces training. “A Green Beret Went on a Shooting Spree. Is the Army at Fault?”, New York Times, January 12, 2026. (subscription)
SOF History
Detachment B-52 Recon Tips of the Trade. Barrett F. Lowe writes about the training and manuals that Long Range Surveillance Detachments (LRSD) use to prepare and train for their ground reconnaissance missions. One of those manuals was the Detachment B-52 (Project Delta) Reconnaissance Tips of the Trade published by the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1970. Read “Throwback Thursday”, Harding Project Substack, January 15, 2026.
On January 22, 1946, President Truman directed the establishment of Central Intelligence Group, forerunner of CIA.
https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/studies-in-intelligence/1996-2/the-creation-of-the-central-intelligence-group/
On January 24, 1964, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was established. It was a highly classified, multi-service U.S. special operations unit that conducted operations during the Vietnam War in Indochina. It conducted reconnaissance missions, capture of enemy soldiers, rescued downed pilots, and rescued POWs throughout Southeast Asia. Individuals assigned to MACV-SOG came primarily from U.S. Army Special Forces. However members of the U.S. Navy SEALs, Air Force, Marine Corps, and CIA were present in the organization as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Assistance_Command,_Vietnam_%E2%80%93_Studies_and_Observations_Group
On January 25, 1974, General Creighton Abrams directed the activation of the first battalion-sized Ranger unit since World War II. HQ U.S. Army Forces Command issued General Orders 127 directing the activation of the 1st Ranger Battalion 75th Infantry with the effective date of January 31, 1974. The battalion was to be an elite, light, and very proficient infantry unit. (USASOC)
https://www.soc.mil/rangers/1stbn.html
National Security and Commentary
Building Resistance Capability Prior to Invasion. Jeremiah “Lumpy” Lumbaca describes why “developing true, comprehensive, whole-of-society resistance capability, prior to invasion,” is very difficult. He defines resistance as countering an external invader – a good example is the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion. In his article he goes on to explore how resistance would work in the United States. In this enlightening piece Lumbaca provides comments on historical perspectives of resistance and challenges for resistance advocates. This good read on resistance can be found at “Resistance is Futile . . . Until it’s Not: Assessing a Nation’s Willingess to Build Resistance Capability Prior to Invasion”, Small Wars Journal, November 11, 2025.
“Arctic Angels” Alerted. Two battalions of the 11th Airborne Division based in Alaska have received alert orders to deploy to Minnesota. President Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to unrest there. A DoD spokesman said that the alert orders have nothing to do with Greenland. The division exists to ensure a U.S. Army presence and capability in the Arctic region. It was reactivated in June 2022 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The Army, looking forward at the Arctic region as an area of competition, announced a new Army Arctic strategy in March 2021 with the publication of a document entitled Regaining Arctic Dominance. The special operations community is also paying increased attention to the Arctic region and conducts periodic training exercises like Arctic Edge to refine and develop their Arctic capabilities.
SFABs Reorientation. Two regionally focused Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) are being transferred to the newly created Western Hemisphere Command (Fort Bragg, NC). The Security Force Assistance Command (SFAC) has been inactivated as part of the Army Transformation Initiative. Six of the advisory brigades were established between 2017 and 2020 – but most of them are being inactivated. The SFABs were created to take the advisory burden off of Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). Between 2012 and 2013, the US Army deployed brigade combat teams to Afghanistan to perform advisory missions, called Security Force Assistance (SFA), from kandak (bn) to corps level. Essentially the command and staff elements of brigades and battalions deployed leaving most of the ranks stateside – which resulted in several combat ineffective brigades.
SFABs – Force Multipliers. Dr. York Kleinhandler (CW5 Ret, SF) provides his insight on the loss of advisory capacity with the drawn down of the Security Force Assistance Brigades in the U.S. Army. In a very articulate article York explains why doing away with the SFABs is a really bad idea. “Force Multipliers, Not Force Replacements”, Special Operations Association of America, January 19, 2026.
NATO and the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). P.A. Cegielski evaluates NATO’s WPS policy and identifies inconsistencies in policy execution, data transparency, and institutional accountability. “A La Carte Feminism: The Limits of NATO’s WPS Commitments in a Time of Crisis”, Small Wars Journal, January 13, 2026.
“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also.”
Another Oil Tanker Apprehended. In a pre-dawn action on January 15, 2026, Marines from Joint Task Force Southern Spear launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and took control of the Motor/Tanker Veronica. She was operating in defiance of the quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean. This is the sixth tanker seized by the U.S. in the past two months. Watch a quick video (35 secs) of the helicopter fast-rope insertion posted by DVIDS.
Pipelines to U.S. for Afghan Allies Closed. Established visa pipelines for Afghan allies have been slammed shut by the Trump administration. Interpreters, Afghan SOF, and others that qualified for the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program are now left in precarious positions in Afghanistan and elsewhere. “Veterans defend Afghan ally programs as Trump closes doors”, by Patty Nieberg, Task & Purpose, January 14, 2026.
Intel, IO, Cyber, AI, IW
Cognitive Warfare. Three writers collaborate in an article on how cognitive warfare is a fight for cognitive superiority waged through synchronized military and non-military action across the continuum of competition. It targets how people perceive, make sense, decide, and act in an environment where modern technology makes attacks faster, cheaper, and harder to attribute. “Cognitive Warfare: An Allied Blueprint and a Pentagon Opportunity”, Small Wars Journal, January 16, 2026.
SF, AI, and SSE. USSOCOM is looking for ways that artificial intelligence (AI) can exploit and analyze (F3EAD) documents, computers, and data during the sensitive site exploitation phase of raids, ambushes, and other types of special operations missions. “America’s Special Forces Are Caught Up in the AI Craze”, by Stavros Atlamazoglou, The National Interest, January 14, 2026.
Intel Warning from Army. Lt. Gen. Anthony Hale, the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G-2), has issued a critical warning to soldiers regarding the threat posed by foreign intelligence entities. “Army’s Top Spy Warns of Growing Threat”, U.S. Army, November 24, 2025.
AI and Pentagon Network. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says that the artificial intelligence chatbot Grok (X/Twitter) will join Google’s generative AI engine in operating inside the Pentagon network. GenAI.mil is the Pentagon’s new secure, military-focused AI platform. It provides a portal where DoD personnel can access commercial generative AI models on government systems – both classified and unclassified. Read the X.ai announcement.
New Series – Inside the CIA: Secrets and Spies. Disney has announced a new documentary series that will tell the stories of real life CIA missions and intelligence officers. https://whatsondisneyplus.com/inside-the-cia-secrets-and-spies-coming-soon-to-disney-hulu/
VOA Funded by Congress. Lawmakers from both parties and houses of Congress have agreed to provide over $600 million to fund the U.S. Agency for Global Media – of which the Voice of America is a part of. It is four times more than the administration has requested. “Congress agrees to fund Voice of America, bucking Trump shutdown order”, The Washington Post, January 13, 2026.
Stars and Stripes – DoD Taking Control. The independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes is having their wings clipped. The news outlet, which has a lineage to the Civil War, has a legacy of independence from government officials and military leadership. That is no longer the case. Congress established the independence in the 1990s after a series of military leadership getting involved in editorial decisions. Congress had mandated that the publisher and top editor be civilians. “Defense Department says military newspaper Stars and Stripes must eliminate ‘woke distractions'”, Associated Press, January 15, 2026.
Info Warfare and the Army’s Transformation. Ryan Walters writes about the U.S. Army’s emerging approach to the fight in the info environment. “Information Warfare: The Army’s Continuous Transformation in Action”, Small Wars Journal, January 15, 2026.
DoD’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy. A memorandum has been issued by the Department of Defense laying out the DoD’s artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. The U.S. military is stepping up efforts to make to make its “Warfighters more lethal and efficient.” The memorandum identifies identified seven “Pace-Setting Projects” (PSPs) that will make this happen. (PDF, 7 pgs)
Ukraine Conflict
86th IBCT Soldiers to Germany. Around 140 members of the Vermont Army National Guard will be heading to Europe to take part in a mission to train Ukrainian soldiers. They will take part in training offered by the Joint Mulinational Training Group-Ukraine. The soldiers are expected to return in November 2026. (MY NBC 5, January 12, 2026.
Partisans Fighting Russia. A clandestine resistance movement formed in late 2022 consisting of Ukrainians, Russians, and Crimean Tatars has been carrying of operations inside and outside of Russian controlled areas. The activities are intelligence, target identification, sabotage, and cyber campaigns. Like many resistance movements, it is decentralized, cell-based in structure, and multi-layered partisan network. Read more in “Inside Atesh: The Underground Partisan Movement Fighting Russia”, by Ivy Shields, Grey Dynamics, December 27, 2025.
Ten Lessons from Russia’s War on Ukraine. In February the war in Ukraine will have gone on for four years. What Putin described as a “special military operation” that would last 3 days has gone on longer than the ‘Great Patriotic War’ of World War II when the Soviet Union (alongside allies) fought and won against the Germans and its allies. Basil Gavalas and Greg Mills list some lessons learned from the conflict. “Four Years On – Ten Lessons from Russia’s War in Ukraine“, Royal United Services Institute, January 15, 2026.
- References:
- 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
Middle East
Iran. The riots and demonstrations in Iran are still continuing, but possibly at a lesser scale. The regime is likely getting control of the situation. While all this is going on the U.S. is moving the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group from the South China Sea toward the Middle East. Arrival time is predicted to be 18 January. The Nimitz class strike group consists of an aircraft carrier, supported by five warships, 90 aircraft, and more than 5,000 sailors.
Syria. The Syrian Democratic Front (SOF News) will be repositioning forces east of the Euphrates River in line with commitments under a March 10, 2025, agreement. There are concerns that the new government of Syria is mobilizing its forces to attack the SDF . . . and that Turkey will jump into the fray to attack the SDF as well. Some SDF forces in and around the northwestern city of Aleppo (map NSI) will be repositioned as part of that move.
Africa
Somalia – UAE Relationship – On the Rocks. Somalia is ending agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) citing concerns of over-reach by UAE in politics, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. There is a lot of politics associated with the international recognition of Somaliland. The UAE is supporting Somaliland. Berbera is attracting a lot of international attention – some of it due to economic interest and some because of its success in fighting jihadist extremist groups.
TPS for Somalis Ends. The Trump administration is ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis. Somalis in the United States with TPS must leave the country by March 17, 2026. The initial TPS designation date was September 16, 1991. The last extension for Somalia’s TPS was announced on July 19, 2024, extending it for 18 months to March 17, 2026. “Homeland Security Terminates Somalia’s Temporary Protected Status Designation”, Homeland Security, January 13, 2026.
Arms Markets, Mercenaries, and Northeast Africa. Emadeddin Badi has a report on the impact of Sudans’ war on arms markets and mercenary networks in Chad and Libya. Collateral Circuits, Central Africa Observatory, December 2025, PDF, 52 pages.
Proxy Wars and Mercenaries. Fighters from Colombia have been recruited to fight on behalf of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan. They were recruited, flown to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and then deployed into southeastern Libya to link up with the RSF. The use of mercenaries appears to be in growing in Africa. “The Troubling Rise of Mercenary Armies in the Gulf”, World Politics Review, January 12, 2026.
Books, Podcasts, Videos, and Movies
Podcast – Resilience and Resistance: Interdisciplinary Lessons in Competition, Deterrence, and Irregular Warfare, The Trident, U.S. Naval War College, Guests Robert S. Burrell and John Collison discuss the book Resilience and Resistance, January 12, 2026, 1 1/2 hours. https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/the-trident/22/
Video – Special Forces Soldiers KIA/MIA Vietnam, The Special Operations Association has posted a 21 minute-long video of Green Berets lost during the Vietnam War. SOA, Vimeo, January 13, 2026.
https://vimeo.com/1154135151
Video – Special Ops Aviators / Ground Commandos, The Jedburgh Podcast, January 9, 2026, YouTube, 16 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD0TlDm3Fvk
Video – Saving Lives is the Mission. Special Operations Independent Duty Corpsmen (SOIDC) with Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) conduct mission rehearsal training at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Dec. 16, 2025. SOIDCs are highly specialized U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman, serving as embedded medical experts for elite special operations forces including MARSOC Raiders and SEALs. SOIDCs provide advanced tactical and clinical care in austere environments, managing everything from trauma surgery to preventive health for their teams. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Staff Sgt. Andrew Skiver & Lance Cpl. Jared Saul) https://www.dvidshub.net/video/991194/saving-lives-mission
Video – Thule Air Base, Greenland. A short video (60 secs) showing scenes of Thule Air Base. DVIDS, October 6, 2022. View map of Greenland showing location of Thule Air Base (NSI).
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